Rebounding from restaurants
mommacara82
Posts: 15 Member
How does everyone else plan around a night out? I am going to a really good restaurant and I am not skimping just this one meal, which could be bad later on, but how do you get through after?
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Replies
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Just resume your calorie deficit the next day. I also don't usually eat that day if I know I will be eating out or at a family dinner or something that I can't track. Like today, we're having our family Thanksgiving dinner at 3 so I won't eat anything, and will just eat one plate of food. Should be about my maintenance calories, or maybe even a little less.4
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You can save up some calories for it...eat a little less in the days around it. Do some extra exercise if you can to add some calories to your bank.
In the end, one meal is not going to hurt your progress. Just know that most restaurant meals are high in sodium so you might see a jump on the scale for a few days after. But it's water retention not fat gain.7 -
How does everyone else plan around a night out? I am going to a really good restaurant and I am not skimping just this one meal, which could be bad later on, but how do you get through after?
Banking some calories through the week and do a long run the day I am going out is my solution.5 -
I put the calories to good use and hit the gym for an extra heavy lifting day. I've hit some nice PRs after an extra calorific dinner. I'm also usually a lot less hungry the next day and I eat accordingly.4
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I did this last night. Really nice restaurant with the family. I saved some calories over the week, did an extra bit of exercise, and hoped for the best. I had to guesstimate the calories I ate (and yes, they possibly went over maintenance even!) but it was lovely occasion.. We shared 2 desserts with 3 of us, the food was amazing and the company great.
One night of indulgence won't make me gain back all I've lost so far. Will it mean no loss this week? Maybe, maybe not, but I regret nothing because I am creating a lifestyle I can keep forever, and if I had to never ever taste Creme Brûlée again and a really nice bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, well, then I'm out!
I did notice though that my way of eating had changed. Yes, we had 2 desserts, but I had about 3 spoonfuls of each, and I was satisfied. They tasted great but I didn't feel the need to inhale as much as I could of them. Likewise I left a little bit of my meal on my plate.
Today I'll walk an extra couple kms, and get back to eating in a deficit.
Enjoy your night out!4 -
TavistockToad wrote: »10
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I don’t think banking calories all week will help ?? I’d doesn’t work that wayPhoebe5164 wrote: »
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Banking calories for later works fine. I know people who have done it for years while staying on track.
Many of us follow a weekly calorie goal for this reason.8 -
Phoebe5164 wrote: »
I don’t think banking calories all week will help ?? I’d doesn’t work that way
What exactly is it that you don't think 'works that way'?7 -
I don’t think banking calories all week will help ?? I’d doesn’t work that wayPhoebe5164 wrote: »
Banking calories for later works fine. I know people who have done it for years while staying on track.
Many of us follow a weekly calorie goal for this reason.[/quote]
Exactly. Your body doesn't reset at midnight.5 -
The quotes on this page are all outta whack.1
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The quotes on this page are all outta whack.
They are! I think @Phoebe5164 edited something. Anyway, I was agreeing with you, @kami3006 that yes, many of us bank calories and track weekly for flexibility. I wasn't disagreeing with you. Quotes are nuts today!4 -
I only eat out once a week... sometimes only once a month...and usually stick to my calorie goal even when I eat out at a restaurant. Some places are a bit trickier to do that.
I went out for lunch today with my family. I knew it was going to be higher calorie today based on past experience with this restaurant so I ate a smaller than normal breakfast, ordered what I really wanted for lunch and plan to have a lighter dinner as well. I am also having a maintenance calorie day. I am doing my normal exercise for the day. I do not plan to reduce calories any other days or exercise more than normal to make up for it. I could do that but I did not exceed my maintenance calorie level and I don't feel like it.3 -
I only eat out once a week... sometimes only once a month...and usually stick to my calorie goal even when I eat out at a restaurant. Some places are a bit trickier to do that.
I went out for lunch today with my family. I knew it was going to be higher calorie today based on past experience with this restaurant so I ate a smaller than normal breakfast, ordered what I really wanted for lunch and plan to have a lighter dinner as well. I am also having a maintenance calorie day. I am doing my normal exercise for the day. I do not plan to reduce calories any other days or exercise more than normal to make up for it. I could do that but I did not exceed my maintenance calorie level and I don't feel like it.
This is what I do. Yes the sodium (probably) will increase the number on the scale and influence weight loss a bit, but this is real life. I find this helps me to feel nothing is restricted. In the end I lose weight because the next day I am back on track. It is a win.0 -
I agree that looking at weekly calories helps with things like this OP - so if you are going out for a special meal, aim to eat at, say, 100 calories less other days that week and that builds up a surplus of around 600 calories for the special meal.
I would also eat lightly on the day itself and that builds up a few hundred more for tea than your usual - I wouldnt do the eat nothing else on the day thing myslef - going out for tea, I still need food during the day but just go lightly in the preceding meals.
So, with only making smallish tweaks, is not hard to have a splurge meal and still be on target (or close to it) for the week.2 -
How does everyone else plan around a night out? I am going to a really good restaurant and I am not skimping just this one meal, which could be bad later on, but how do you get through after?
If they have menus online you can choose something ahead of time that will keep you close to your goals.
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TavistockToad wrote: »Phoebe5164 wrote: »
I don’t think banking calories all week will help ?? I’d doesn’t work that way
What exactly is it that you don't think 'works that way'?
You might notice I said “ I don’t think...” I’ve never heard of saving your daily calories and then using them up later ... why not have a monthly calorie goal?
Our bodies do reset over night .. do whatever works for you ,boy this is such a friendly place 🙄
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Elphaba1313 wrote: »The quotes on this page are all outta whack.
They are! I think @Phoebe5164 edited something. Anyway, I was agreeing with you, @kami3006 that yes, many of us bank calories and track weekly for flexibility. I wasn't disagreeing with you. Quotes are nuts today!
Thank you for your graciousness to a new member ... wow 🙄I didn’t “ edit “ anything I quoted a post , sorry if I didn’t do it correctly 😛
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I wasn’t having a dig at you. I’m forever quoting and doing something that edits the content and stuffs it all up. It happens!3
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Phoebe5164 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Phoebe5164 wrote: »
I don’t think banking calories all week will help ?? I’d doesn’t work that way
What exactly is it that you don't think 'works that way'?
You might notice I said “ I don’t think...” I’ve never heard of saving your daily calories and then using them up later ... why not have a monthly calorie goal?
Our bodies do reset over night .. do whatever works for you ,boy this is such a friendly place 🙄
Not sure why you sound so defensive and making sarcastic remarks about friendliness of place - nobody posted rudely or was unfriendly.
No, our bodies dont reset overnight - weight loss works by consuming less than you burn over continuous time, not specific time periods like 24 hours.
It does work like that, even if you dont think so.
and now you have heard of something new, which you may or may not like to incorporate into your strategy.
No reason anyone couldnt set up their calories as a monthly goal - except MFP doesnt have such a feature, so you would have to work out your own spreadsheet or such like.
IMO for most people a month is too long and too much data to be trying to work with and you would have to factor in that some months are different lengths to others, an issue you dont have with weeks.
- but from a physical point of view it would work if anyone had the inclination and skills to do that (ie if you eat the equivalent of your daily calories 28/30/31 times averaged over a month)
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This thread is a mess. So many woo’s, and messed up quote strings. Anyway, my solution is to just not worry about it if it’s just an every once in a while thing. Maybe eat light that day leading up to it. Or like others have said, save 100 calories or so every other day that week to give yourself some extra. I had like 1600 calories tonight at dinner. Oh well.1
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Phoebe5164 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Phoebe5164 wrote: »
I don’t think banking calories all week will help ?? I’d doesn’t work that way
What exactly is it that you don't think 'works that way'?
You might notice I said “ I don’t think...” I’ve never heard of saving your daily calories and then using them up later ... why not have a monthly calorie goal?
Our bodies do reset over night .. do whatever works for you ,boy this is such a friendly place 🙄
So maybe instead of the attitude, stick around and read and learn a little? That's what we all did at the start!
And yes, you could have a monthly goal, but obviously you'd still need the same deficit as you would weekly built up to lose weight...6 -
Phoebe5164 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Phoebe5164 wrote: »
I don’t think banking calories all week will help ?? I’d doesn’t work that way
What exactly is it that you don't think 'works that way'?
You might notice I said “ I don’t think...” I’ve never heard of saving your daily calories and then using them up later ... why not have a monthly calorie goal?
You could.
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TavistockToad wrote: »How does everyone else plan around a night out? I am going to a really good restaurant and I am not skimping just this one meal, which could be bad later on, but how do you get through after?
Banking some calories through the week and do a long run the day I am going out is my solution.
Yep ...
I'll usually come in maybe 100 calories below my goal for 5 days or so ... giving me an extra 500 calories to work with. And then I'll go for a long bicycle ride, or these days, a longish run which might give me an extra 500-1000 calories to work with. Plus my usual calories for the day ... and I'm set for a decent restaurant meal.
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How does everyone else plan around a night out? I am going to a really good restaurant and I am not skimping just this one meal, which could be bad later on, but how do you get through after?
- Enjoy your meal, food isn't just fuel it's also a great social pleasure in life.
- Good food also doesn't mean the same as lots of food or very high calories. Quality not quantity in other words - when I eat out I want something special not a feeding trough!
- Remember if you are losing weight your goal already has a deficit so a higher calorie meal might just mean you have a weight maintenance day - it's not a big deal in the great scheme of things.
- A big exercise day can help offset a bigger meal - that's a bit of a virtuous circle as you get a fitness benefit and have a nicer meal too.
- There is no "bad later on" or "get through afterwards" unless you have unreasonable guilt about enjoying a nice meal.
- Put one meal in perspective - over time it's totally trivial.
- Thinking of a weekly allowance is perfectly sensible and far less restrictive than a daily balancing of the books, dieting isn't fun and making your life revolve around your diet can be miserable.
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Good ideas!1
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Ok @travistocktoad , questioning something is a normal reaction to something Ive never heard of , unlike following blindly , I’ll ask for the facts ...which I’ve not seen yet !
If it works for you ?good
Adios amigos, I’m not doing a weekly or monthly or yearly calories count because that just doesn’t make sense ,when you go to bed content and wake up hungry that’s a reset to me ....
Good luck 🌼10 -
Phoebe5164 wrote: »Ok @travistocktoad , questioning something is a normal reaction to something Ive never heard of , unlike following blindly , I’ll ask for the facts ...which I’ve not seen yet !
If it works for you ?good
Adios amigos, I’m not doing a weekly or monthly or yearly calories count because that just doesn’t make sense ,when you go to bed content and wake up hungry that’s a reset to me ....
Good luck 🌼
I don't do a weekly calorie count either because that would either be a slippery slope for me or I would be hungry on the saving days, but I realize that this is a strategy that many employ successfully. So just because it doesn't work for me personally, I don't discount it globally. There are many paths up the mountain 5 -
So here’s the update/clarification. Went to Lola Bistro, for anyone who knows restaurants, there could be a lower cal version of my brain wanted to go there, but I didn’t. Compared to the damage I would’ve done a few years ago though, I went above maintenance for the day but that was in drinks (which I forgot to add in when I was guesstimating as I ate 🙈) word to the wise- watch your drink calories!!!! I’m usually better on that but I was having a birthday lol1
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So here’s the update/clarification. Went to Lola Bistro, for anyone who knows restaurants, there could be a lower cal version of my brain wanted to go there, but I didn’t. Compared to the damage I would’ve done a few years ago though, I went above maintenance for the day but that was in drinks (which I forgot to add in when I was guesstimating as I ate 🙈) word to the wise- watch your drink calories!!!! I’m usually better on that but I was having a birthday lol
One meal really isn't a big deal.
Just don't weigh yourself straight away, restaurant food is always a sodium bomb!
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Enjoy it and then forget about it the next day, straight back to the deficit 0
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