600 calories over today 😬 advice?
Replies
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Kittyy1994 wrote: »Thanks for the replies everyone. I have been a little hungrier lately but this is the first time I have gave in.
I am currently at my goal weight (but still not happy with how my body looks) have now been looking into re-composition but have no idea how to approach this- are you supposed to eat at a small deficit still or maintenance?
If at goal weight... at maintenance. remember that maintenance has a range, it is not a static number. Especially at maintenance you will have days that are over. Way more over than 600 Cal.
One way that people handle this is that they "cut" 100 or so cal a day and leave room for slightly higher weekends or occasions. Another, is that the body to a degree compensates and after a slightly higher day you may find yourself slightly more active. So you don't necessarily even have to compensate at all for just the occasional indulgence--depending on the number of occasions and circumstances, of course!
The key, TBH, is not to panic and make large changes, or punish yourself, or get upset. You won't regain several (real) lbs of fat in a day or two, and you don't have to lose them in a day or two. And you don't have to react to every water weight swing.
Have a look through the maintenance forum. There are a couple of interesting threads on how to dial in your maintenance calories. And some that discuss a period of rebound hunger even after increasing intake to full maintenance.
How steep of a deficit were you at during weight loss, especially the last few months?
If you were hitting it hard or for very long there is some danger of re-bound hunger signals.4 -
tinkerbellang83 wrote: »punishing yourself for having an off day!
Trying to drop intake by 600 calories in one day to balance it out can lead to bingeing in the following days out of sheer hunger.
It's not "punishing" yourself to drop a meal; it's sticking to the system and being disciplined.
It's also standard practice in Intermittent Fasting & Time-Restricted Feeding circles. People do it all the time; it's no big deal.
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I think it depends on what works for you and your mindset. For some people cutting calories from the next week or doing too much extra cardio can be a slippery slope. For others it's like balancing a budget. It also depends on your overall deficit and activity level. If you are already at 1200 cals it's going to be hard to cut more than that.
For me if I really overindulge one day/weekend and I know I've definitely gone way over, I will sometimes balance it the next week.. I will cut some calories from the next day or following days or someone extra cardio.
I do not view it as "punishing" more like balancing. This also does not lead to binge/restrict cycles for me since I calorie cycle anyhow. Mind you my intake is fairly high so I can afford it.
In the end going a little over not a big deal overall you can either keep going or shave off some cals if you feel you can handle it. We all have to find something that works for us!2 -
feisty_bucket wrote: »It's also standard practice in Intermittent Fasting & Time-Restricted Feeding circles. People do it all the time; it's no big deal.
It's a nice way to end up in a binge - restrict cycle.
It is also not necessary.
You don't have a time limit.
The world will not end if you don't lose your next 0.25lbs on time by the end of the 2nd week of the month.
A year from now, if you actually manage to lose the next 0.25lbs by the 3rd or even 4th week of the month, or even by the second week of NEXT month, all that will matter is that you eventually managed to lose it!
And you chances of succeeding and ever managing to lose it are MUCH higher if you go back to your normal deficit as opposed to creating a larger deficit the next day by an arbitrary number of extra Calories.
Where do you draw the line on moving overages forward? Are you going to cut 1000 Cal the next day? 2000 Cal? Spread a 3000 Cal all you can eat buffet over two days of eating nothing?
Sure, if the next morning you wake up and you're less hungry, eat a little bit less. That's normal. But deliberately chasing to make up the overage-that's a much more slippery slope.
Not to mention that it turns out that the OP is maintaining and not trying to lose. So even less of a time-table and concern.5 -
Kittyy1994 wrote: »Thanks for the replies everyone. I have been a little hungrier lately but this is the first time I have gave in.
I am currently at my goal weight (but still not happy with how my body looks) have now been looking into re-composition but have no idea how to approach this- are you supposed to eat at a small deficit still or maintenance?
If at goal weight... at maintenance. remember that maintenance has a range, it is not a static number. Especially at maintenance you will have days that are over. Way more over than 600 Cal.
One way that people handle this is that they "cut" 100 or so cal a day and leave room for slightly higher weekends or occasions. Another, is that the body to a degree compensates and after a slightly higher day you may find yourself slightly more active. So you don't necessarily even have to compensate at all for just the occasional indulgence--depending on the number of occasions and circumstances, of course!
The key, TBH, is not to panic and make large changes, or punish yourself, or get upset. You won't regain several (real) lbs of fat in a day or two, and you don't have to lose them in a day or two. And you don't have to react to every water weight swing.
Have a look through the maintenance forum. There are a couple of interesting threads on how to dial in your maintenance calories. And some that discuss a period of rebound hunger even after increasing intake to full maintenance.
How steep of a deficit were you at during weight loss, especially the last few months?
If you were hitting it hard or for very long there is some danger of re-bound hunger signals.
Only wanted to lose around 5kg in total. Have lost 3.5 but happy here (was set to 0.5kg per week)- working on trying to build a bit of muscle now and tone.1 -
feisty_bucket wrote: »tinkerbellang83 wrote: »punishing yourself for having an off day!
Trying to drop intake by 600 calories in one day to balance it out can lead to bingeing in the following days out of sheer hunger.
It's not "punishing" yourself to drop a meal; it's sticking to the system and being disciplined.
It's also standard practice in Intermittent Fasting & Time-Restricted Feeding circles. People do it all the time; it's no big deal.
It is if you're doing it purely out of feeling bad for unplanned overeating on one day then it is punishing yourself.
The difference between doing intermittent fasting/time restriction is that again it's planned and it's something you do regularly, I clearly stated this in the rest of my post.
Calorie cycling (banking) might work for you but that's not to say it will work for the OP, so it's one thing to suggest trying it, but another to totally dismiss all of the other advice they have received from people who are suggesting something else (i.e. "disagreeing with everyone").
I calorie cycle too, but in the OPs case, it's not something they are currently doing, so there is no point in them trying to drop 600 calories in one day for the sake of 1/10th of a pound. Perhaps it's something for them to consider for maintenance, but not as a panic response to one overeating episode.
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Try going at maintenance and see how you do over a month or so.2
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I have a long history of trying to make up those calories the next day by eating lighter, but invariably it just ends up with me overeating again because I feel so depressed and restricted. Allow yourself to enjoy the little splurge you had and just start back in tomorrow at your usual calories.
Allow yourself to be proud of yourself for just getting back on the horse instead of spiraling out of control for days.
If you want to reaffirm your healthy lifestyle, feel free to treat yourself by making time to go out and do something active that you have been putting off because you've been busy. Maybe getting some friends together for a hike or playing some sports, or even, as has been the case for me recently, walking to your favorite deli for a calorie conscious sandwich instead of just driving for fast food or grabbing junk out of the freezer. Or hit a farmer's market for some nice fresh veggies/fruit.
I know it can be really counter-intuitive to treat yourself after a splurge, but I have found that it really can help if you treat yourself to the right things.1
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