Craving for Macdonalds?should i give in?
Tanie98
Posts: 675 Member
I've been eating at deficit of 250 to lose 0.5 lb. I only have 100 calories left and i was going to eat at maintenance since i don't have time to exercise tonight. For some reason i have big craving for Macdonald fries and cheese burger. I haven't had Macdonalds in months. Would you say screw it and be in calorie surplus for today then go back on track tomorrow?
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Replies
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No. Why mess up your hard work?1
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Doing things we don't want to do all in the name of weight loss is the recipe for eating it all back. Stay the course but tomorrow is another day. Have one. The all or nothing approach to food doesn't work over the long haul.
Eat the foods you enjoy but track and measure your portions. Aiming for .5 lbs week is a good solid plan.9 -
No. Not yet. If you still crave McD tomorrow, Wednesday, make a plan to fit it in on Thursday. The only way to deal with a real craving is to try to satisfy it. But try to fit it in.
I’m not totally opposed to going over my number, but not without a good faith effort to make it work.11 -
Definitely should. It's much better to work a craving into your calories when you're having it than letting it fester, get worse, and then possibly binge and go over-board6
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I’d allow myself to get McDonald’s Friday, if I were still craving it then.6
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I'd work it into my calories otherwise I know I'll be craving it for ages. A cheeseburger and small fries won't detail you1
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No. Not yet. If you still crave McD tomorrow, Wednesday, make a plan to fit it in on Thursday. The only way to deal with a real craving is to try to satisfy it. But try to fit it in.
I’m not totally opposed to going over my number, but not without a good faith effort to make it work.
This is the ideal answer.
We are already conditioned to satisfy cravings. That is not something to reinforce. I do believe in compromising and not allowing them to fester but I believe there should be a delay on gratification and a good faith attempt to keep it in the calorie budget.
The other thing is that you may not know what has spawned the craving or if it even is a craving. It is likely something you have seen like an ad. You do not want to keep reinforcing a "see food = want food" response. It is unhelpful.
If you do decide to eat it later I suggest prelogging the entire day of food with the McD in it. Look at how it will fit or how it may be hard to fit. Awareness helps retrain us.
With all that said... I still eat McD on occasion. I am not against it at all. I just have conditions.
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IMO it can be a slippery slope. If you have established solid habits around food then I would say go for it. If not, then I would say don't.
That said, if you do give in and get it, do not beat yourself up. Just move on...1 -
Just an update:
I ended up giving in, so I had
World Famous Fries – Small
240 calories based on their nutrition information and cheese burgurger which was about 300 calories, plus few other things in my house such as vegetables, small peace of lamb and I indluged in other things so i was like f it, this will just turn into cheat meal and needed mental break from tracking every single thing. so i definately ate in calorie surplus of at least 1000 or more.
Today i went back to counting and back to clean eating7 -
Just an update:
I ended up giving in, so I had
World Famous Fries – Small
240 calories based on their nutrition information and cheese burgurger which was about 300 calories, plus few other things in my house such as vegetables, small peace of lamb and I indluged in other things so i was like f it, this will just turn into cheat meal and needed mental break from tracking every single thing. so i definately ate in calorie surplus of at least 1000 or more.
Today i went back to counting and back to clean eating
Hey, if you are able to directly go back to counting that is good. I'd say try to track what you ate yesterday just so you truly have a picture of how many calories you consumed, bug 1 cheat meal in several months wont hurt you.3 -
I had a whataburger green chili bacon burger with no bun tonight and only ate half and had planned on eating the rest tomorrow until I saw how many calories I had just consumed. I have worked out over an hour tonight and still am over calories. Just be ready for a little disappointment if you don't look at calories ahead of time and plan on how much you have to exercise to compensate for what you just ate. oh I see you did give in. I just now looked at last comment. Well keep it up I am trying hard to do the clean eating by with a husband who won't cooperate (well that is my excuse LOL) it is hard.
I keep telling myself that when I am on the way home from work and he wants me to pick up dinner that I just need to say no and come home and cook healthy. Anyway, good work on getting back on track
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Kick it down the road... Maybe tomorrow, or Monday, or next Friday...1
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No bc it will kick off more cravings for it and you are hungry short while later1
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I had a whataburger green chili bacon burger with no bun tonight and only ate half and had planned on eating the rest tomorrow until I saw how many calories I had just consumed. I have worked out over an hour tonight and still am over calories. Just be ready for a little disappointment if you don't look at calories ahead of time and plan on how much you have to exercise to compensate for what you just ate. oh I see you did give in. I just now looked at last comment. Well keep it up I am trying hard to do the clean eating by with a husband who won't cooperate (well that is my excuse LOL) it is hard.
I keep telling myself that when I am on the way home from work and he wants me to pick up dinner that I just need to say no and come home and cook healthy. Anyway, good work on getting back on track
I mean this in the kindest possible way: The bolded is a step on the slippery slope to a bad place. It hints at the "food is sin that must be expiated" diet drama.
Exercise is supposed to be fun, and promote good health, not be a sort of compensation (or even punishment!) for over-eating. One day of over-eating is not the end of the world. The majority of our days determine the majority of our progress; guilt, shame, and their near relatives are things that burn no extra calories. Zero. None. (In fact, they can represent stressors that can potentially cause water weight retention and scale scares, worsening the whole scenario.) Plus they feel icky.
For sure, if you do eat something unusual and over calorie goal, for heaven's sake enjoy the heck out of it. Don't eat it then hate yourself for it. Really, drama is optional.
Furthermore, half a "whataburger green chili bacon burger with no bun" is really, really not a big deal. What is that: Maybe like 400-500 calories, tops? If you're losing a pound a week on average, that's one day delay in reaching goal weight. Meh.
Over the past 5 years, I've had multiple days where I ate a whole deep dish pizza (*usually* not a large, maybe small or medium 😆) plus craft beer, or something like that, maybe 5000-6000 calories for the day, which is more than double my TDEE (around 2100-2200 to maintain). You know what happened? The scale jumped up for a few days, then settled back down in a week or so to where I'd started, just by getting back to my normal routine. (I'm in year 5 of maintenance, BTW, 124.8 pounds this morning at 5'5" age 64, after around 3 decades of obesity before weight loss in 2015).
Really, one day is nothing. Was it worth it? Worth maybe a day-ish delay in reaching goal, or at worst having to re-lose a little? If so, just go on with life and don't stress over it; just make sure way-over days are pretty rare. It'll be fine. If it wasn't worth it, then think about why it occurred, make a plan how to handle similar situations more productively in the future, and go on with your healthy habits.
It'll be fine. Really. 🙂
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Yes. I allow myself maintenance days often. I just don't go over maintenance (well. Usually.). Going over my deficit without going over maintenance really isn't a big deal. If you have 100 left for the day and you're at a 250 deficit, you have 350 calorie allowance left anyway. Thats basically a mcdouble or a snack size oreo mcflurry. I just am aware that I'll reach my goal one day later. ... for every time I go to maintenance. And im good with that.3
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Someone told me not to demonize fast food and after really taking that in. I have had way less of a hard time saying no. Take the bread off the burger try to stay under your calorie goal. But go get a little bit with alot of water2
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Each time you say no to a craving like that, the stronger you get to make it.. Giving in keeps you week and a victim of yourself. Eat some celery and chicken breasts.. cup of tea..and call it a night.0
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i'll also leave my two cents. you should give in)) that doesn't mean to overeat, one hamburger or a box of McNuggets would be okay.
Try to reduce your sugar not carbs. Sugar makes you hungry!!1 -
I went to McDonalds last week fir the first time in 2+ years.
What a vast disappointment. As I sat there noshing on fries, I thought,”man, I make better fries than this in my air crisper!” and, knowing it was true, said a silent prayer for alllll those wasted calories.
Won’t be doing that again. Tastebuds successfully retrained, at least in the McD’s department.4 -
Hell McYeah....!! 👍0
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If it fits, why not? I feel planning is best with things like this. You know it’s a lot of fat, so eat light the rest of the day🤷🏾♀️🤷🏾♀️🤷🏾♀️0
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