Am I in the clear?

Drank and ate too much last night. About 3,500 calories and I usually consume an average of 2100/day to maintain, but I tend to eat less than that during the week so I can eat more on the weekends (hence the average).

Had whiskey and a lot of chocolate last night. Got up and weighed myself this morning and I weigh exactly what I did yesterday morning. If I just eat my normal maintenance calories today as I planned (or a slight deficit), you think I’m in the clear for las night’s indulgence, or is it going to show up tomorrow or in a few days?

Obviously only time will tell but curious to see what people think!

Replies

  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    Usually after drinking you can actually weigh less due to dehydration, but I think you're fine.

    I practice something similar and last weekend I had cake, ice cream, an entire bottle of rum and still managed to come across with -1.0 lbs today (my login day).

    And even if not, don't worry about it. Just avoid making it habitual.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,355 Member
    Well.

    You'll know in a day or two.

    I wouldn't think any more of it, life happens.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 33,866 Member
    Hard to tell, but for sure not worth worrying over.

    I'm in year 4+ of maintenance. I calorie bank, and have some over-goal days. The latter are spaced out, so I've basically simulated what you say you did, in my body (sometimes with substantially more than 1400 extra calories above maintenance, BTW). I generally just to go back to my regular routine afterward (so 150 or so calories under where I think my maintenance is, as that's my bank-deposit routine deficit). If I'm less hungry that day, I'll eat accordingly, but I don't make any other attempt to "make up for it".

    Usually, I see a big-ish scale bump the next day (which you didn't, but as others said, that could be dehydration). Usually, that next day, my resting heart rate is up a bit, by anything from a few to 10bpm. Subjectively, I may be a little likelier than normal to feel hot (like hot flashes). Other than that, I don't usually perceive any kind of energy jump the next day, but maybe there's something happening.

    Even if I ate enough over goal to gain a pound or more of fat (which I have done quite a number of times), I can't think of a case where the total gain seems to be as much as the raw number of calories would suggest, if this is a rare event. This, even though "3500 calories = 1 pound" works out pretty close for me in slow gain/loss situations. (I wonder whether some of the calories are not extracted during digestive transit, when eating dramatically more than my body is accustomed to eating. 🤷‍♀️)

    I've seen at least 2 other people here report pretty much what I said above, about their experience - less gain than expected from a big day. I've seen one person report the exact opposite, that they gain more than expected from a big over-maintenance day, after the water weight settles out.

    So, bodies are weird. You're running your n=1 experiment. You can learn how your body responds, which will be useful info. I don't know whether you're a daily weigher, but if you're not, and the scale isn't too stressy for you, this might be an educational time to weigh daily for a week or two.

    FWIW, I posted a "case study" of a long weekend of over-goal eating for me, with calorie estimates and weights for about a week: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10603949/big-overfeed-ruins-everything-nope

    If you feel like it, let us know how this works out, eh? 🙂
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    Personally I see the increase (if any) about a week after. I see the effects of what I was eating about a week delayed. So if I have an indulgence I usually see it about a week later. It takes time for the body to convert extra energy to fat. You weren't much over so you may just naturally expend a bit more energy the next few days (extra walking here and there, etc) and may see nothing. That is what usually happens for me.
  • ChickenKillerPuppy
    ChickenKillerPuppy Posts: 297 Member
    Thanks everyone! I really was just curious - I’m not concerned at all. I have gone on vacations and totally indulged and have gotten back on track and all that - just was nice to see no change in the scale. But it’s all good - I weigh myself every day so yes, of course I know my weight changes every day. I guess we will see!
  • xayles
    xayles Posts: 32 Member
    I tend to find that it takes a couple of days for the weight to show up if I have a binge.