Making up for the cheat day?
Sparkle097
Posts: 83 Member
So today I had a unplanned cheat day. I Defo went over 200grams of carbs. I logged everything in and it said I went over 1000 cals. Can I make up for this tomorrow and Tuesday so I will still lose weight for that week? I’m
Thinking to reduce 500 calories both days???
Thinking to reduce 500 calories both days???
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Replies
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don't let one bad day ruin your progress thus far. it doesn't matter if you lose weight this week. it does matter that you get back on track tomorrow. don't try to restrict your calories by 500 for both days.6
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You went over your MFP calorie allowance to lose weight by 1000 calories or you went over maintenance calories by 1000? In either case, you will still lose weight... how much just depends on what your current daily deficit is. For example, if you are set to lose 1 lb/week, that is a 500 calorie daily deficit; 2 lbs/week would be a 1000 daily deficit. You have to eat 3500 calories over your maintenance calories to gain 1 lb of fat. However, you will likely see a water weight spike on the scale due to the increase in carbs. It will go away by itself in a couple of days. No, don't try to restrict further to "make up for" anything, but many like to plan ahead so they can work special meals or foods into their overall calorie goal for the week.13
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Honestly? I find it best not to obsess to much. Just go back to normal tomorrow.
You could try an extra workout or longer, but if I cut back to much I'd only go over again.5 -
i wouldn't cut it out of the next day (or two days) as under eating significantly can lead to be overly hungry and over eating day 3-4.
just call it a day and move on. we all have "bad" days. just keep trucking along with your plan.5 -
Restricting after a cheat day can lead to an unhealthy binge/restrict relationship with food. If you have a day where you go over, log it and move on without the guilt and feeling you need to restrict.6
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The best way to handle a day of over-eating is to just go back to your regular routine the next day. Getting into a pattern of binging then over restricting is dangerous and unhealthy. Let it go and move on.5
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its one day. wont make a difference.
do you mean you only ate 1000 cals or you went over your calorie goals BY 1000 cals. big difference there.
my dinner last night was over 1000 cals, granted it was all i had to eat all day, but still... lol2 -
Treat every morning as a fresh new morning. Live to be healthy each day. Leave the past behind.8
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As others have mentioned it is a bad idea to try and pay back calories. At what I assume is 1k over your target goal it is likely you will still be losing weight this week. Perfection is not your goal here, losing weight is.
I think what you need to figure out is if this is a learning opportunity or if this was just a whim. Some people will have an unscheduled day when they are not eating enough and/or they are not eating enough food that they enjoy. I should know... I used to do it all the time. Remember that you have to be kind to yourself as you lose weight. Eat enough calories and have some treats that you enjoy. Don't do anything you can't do for the rest of your life.
In general it is better to plan for days you will eat outside the lines. There are strategies to help and if it is part of your plan you won't feel like you need to make it up which means you will enjoy it more. With that said, there is nothing wrong with the occasional whim day/meal, in fact, they can be a lot of fun. When I have had one in the past I set a calorie number that I want to stay within (usually maintenance and a half) and then just enjoy myself.2 -
1000 cals means you lose 0.3 lb less than you otherwise might have. If everything else is on point, you should still lose.7
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DO NOT CUT DOWN TO 500 CALORIES!! Don’t starve yourself. Just eat pretty clean the next day or two, stay very hydrated and maybe squeeze in a small work out or something on one of those days. Nothing crazy. No restricting. Respect your body by nourishing it, not depriving it.5
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DO NOT CUT DOWN TO 500 CALORIES!! Don’t starve yourself. Just eat pretty clean the next day or two, stay very hydrated and maybe squeeze in a small work out or something on one of those days. Nothing crazy. No restricting. Respect your body by nourishing it, not depriving it.
Cut down by 500 calories, not cut down to 500 calories. Not that either is advisable.
It is also not uncommon to find people that have a deficit during the week and eat at maintenance during the weekend. It will take a little longer to reach goal weight but they find this much more sustainable as it is a way that they can eat foods that they would normally struggle to find enough calories for. It does not feel like a cheat day. There is no guilt attached. You are eating exactly as planned and still meeting your goals. You have to find what works long term for you. Anything else and you are much more likely to resort back to old behaviours because it all seems too hard.0 -
I'm going to assume that your goal loss is set to 1lb a week. This is a daily deficit of 500kcals.
So if you ate 1000kcals over your goal, you actually only ate 500kcals over maintenance. That is only 1 days deficit. Essentially you've only pushed back reaching your goal weight by only two days (one day for the maintenance, one day cancelled out deficit).
So you real thought should be:
Should I be under eating for two days, setting myself up for the potential of another unplanned binge because I'm hungry and starting an unhealthy binge/restrict cycle. Or, should I just move on, get back onto my plan, and reach my goal weight two days later.
So being miserable for two day, or reaching goal weight two days later. I think I know which one I'd rather do.5 -
No making up by cutting your calories so drastically, it creates a cycle you don't want to be getting into.0
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One day will not hurt you. I would not worry too much about you - you had your fun, tomorrow is a new day and things can go right back to normal!
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In case you're still wondering.... don't make up... move forward!0
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This was me yesterday. It was unplanned and I’m sticking to my regular MFP daily calories today. Figure trying to balance it will feel like punishment and is more important for me to be able to get back on track than making up those calories.0
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You've had one day where you went over, you'll no doubt have days to come where you'll go over again. This isn't bad, this isn't a failure, this isn't something that needs to be punished or addressed. It's just normal life.
None of us got fat because of what we did on a single day just as none of us can lose the fat by eating in a deficit on a single day and one single day isn't going to derail your progress significantly. What matters is what we do all the other days so give yourself a break
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