Accidentally went LOWER in calories...

Somanyquestions2021 · July 2021

I cheated on my diet but not in the way you might think...

I went about 100 calories lower for about a week and a half without realising.

I am in week 3 now and I have put on 1 kilo.

Have I ruined my diet now?

I am back on my normal calorie intake and do not want to reduce by 100 calorie again as I felt like I was going to die lol!

Any help appreciated 🙏

penguinmama87 · July 2021

Cutting calories will not cause you to gain fat, it's impossible for it to do so. What might have happened is that the additional stress on your body caused some temporary extra water retention (or, if you're female and cycling, going up may be cycle-related.) If you felt like you "were going to die" (assume you're dramatizing a bit here and you just meant you felt really tired, not like a real medical emergency), then I think that could point to extra stress as the culprit here.

You can't "ruin" your diet, especially for something like this. What you can do is trend in a direction you don't want to for a while, but all that's required is that you get back on track and get the trend going the way you want again. 100 calories for 9-10 days is basically nothing (remember that one pound is approximately 3500 calories.)

Some people disagree, but I personally find the use of the term "cheating" to be not very useful, and in many cases counterproductive when it comes to describing how we eat. You accidentally ate less than you meant to. Now you will correct that and eat more because your body needs it.

Somanyquestions2021 · July 2021

Thank you 😊

Hopefully my weight will fall again next week but if it doesn't I will keep soldering on!

I'm I started at 73kg, I'm 60kg now and want to get to 52.5kg.

I am also a female so could be cycle related.

paperpudding · July 2021

100 calories?? Per day for a week and a half??

That really wouldn't make a dent in your progress one way or the other and definitely not enough to 'feel like you are going to die"
Placebo effect there I think.

Anyway just be a bit more attentive and accurate with your logging and continue on from here.

cmriverside · July 2021

With just 7.5 kg to lose, it's going to be slow.

Don't worry about that 100 calories. I've been logging food and using a digital food scale set to grams for 11 years and I'm still certain I make about 200 calories per day in errors. 100 calories means nothing.

Set your Goals to "Lose 1/2 pound per week." Be honest and realistic in your Activity Level setting. Literally no one is "Sedentary" unless you sit 12 hours a day.

When you exercise, add that into the Exercise tab and eat more (not 1000 more, but 200-300 for an hour of moderate exercise.)

The reason for a slower loss when close to a healthy weight is complicated, you can do some research. It's important to give the body enough fuel so you don't stress it out.

Somanyquestions2021 · July 2021

Thank you. I will start logging in my steps. I am usually on my feet with a 6.6kg newborn strapped to my front in a sling so that should burn 🔥a couple of extra calories.

cmriverside · July 2021

lucyjanerushton wrote: »

Thank you. I will start logging in my steps. I am usually on my feet with a 6.6kg newborn strapped to my front in a sling so that should burn 🔥a couple of extra calories.

Absolutely. Being a new mom is very active.

If you have a fitbit, there is a fitbit group with threads that tell you how to use it with Myfitnesspal. "Logging steps" and your setting in the Activity Level need to be tweaked a bit so they work well together. I never used any step-logging device, so maybe start a new thread asking how to set that up, or go to the fitbit group here:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

If it's some other kind of device, I'd start a thread and title it with something like, "Help setting up my Apple watch with MFP"...or something like that.

penguinmama87 · July 2021

lucyjanerushton wrote: »

Thank you. I will start logging in my steps. I am usually on my feet with a 6.6kg newborn strapped to my front in a sling so that should burn 🔥a couple of extra calories.

Congratulations!

Remember if you are breastfeeding too to account for those calories. Typical estimations are 500 for exclusive and 250 for partial or if your baby eats solids, but those are averages and you might burn more or less depending on a variety of factors.

ETA: Other thing that came to mind that might apply to you (or others reading the thread): if breastfeeding, cycle may not return for many months or even past a year though hormones will still do weird fluctuations during that time that could affect water weight. So if things look weird on the scale, give it some time to settle itself. I think that's good advice anyway, but especially important for postpartum moms when everything is weird.

kshama2001 · July 2021

Somanyquestions2021 wrote: »

Thank you 😊

Hopefully my weight will fall again next week but if it doesn't I will keep soldering on!

I'm I started at 73kg, I'm 60kg now and want to get to 52.5kg.

I am also a female so could be cycle related.

How long did it take for you to lose that 13 kg? (29 pounds.) You said you are in week 3 now but surely you did not lose an average of 10 pounds per week for 3 weeks, right? Unless you just gave birth 3 weeks ago?

You have 7.5 kg / 16.5 pounds left to lose - what weekly weight loss goal are you using?

Somanyquestions2021 · July 2021

Yes I didn't make that clear sorry! I weighed myself after giving birth three months ago and I was 73kg. Tried making a few changes here and there but then really started a proper diet 3 weeks ago when I was 65kg and now I am 60kg.

I am aiming for 52.5kg.

kshama2001 · July 2021

Somanyquestions2021 wrote: »

Yes I didn't make that clear sorry! I weighed myself after giving birth three months ago and I was 73kg. Tried making a few changes here and there but then really started a proper diet 3 weeks ago when I was 65kg and now I am 60kg.

I am aiming for 52.5kg.

You haven't "ruined your diet" - that 1 kg you "gained" is likely normal water weight fluctuations - but you should start eating more starting immediately.

Are you breastfeeding and giving yourself calories for that?

5 kg / 11 # in three weeks is way too aggressive for someone who only has 7.5 kg / 16.5 pounds left to lose - what weekly weight loss goal are you using?

Somanyquestions2021 · July 2021

Oh good.

I am not breastfeeding as unfortunately I can't take my medication and breastfeed.

I'm not using a weekly weight loss goal. I'm just going to keep going until I get to my goal weight.

I'm a bit ashamed to say I'm using those exante meal replacement things! I figured it was one of the only ways to go quite low calorie whilst still getting vitamins and minerals in me.

paperpudding · July 2021

I'm not sure what those exante meal replacement things are - but if they work for you, no problem.

Dont try to go too low in calories though - you have a small amount to lose, only aim for 1/2 lb per week rate.

ie put your stats into MFP (and put at least lightly active if you are caring for a baby) and eat the amount of calories it tells you to eat for 1/2 lb per week loss rate.

kshama2001 · July 2021

Somanyquestions2021 wrote: »

Oh good.

I am not breastfeeding as unfortunately I can't take my medication and breastfeed.

I'm not using a weekly weight loss goal. I'm just going to keep going until I get to my goal weight.

I'm a bit ashamed to say I'm using those exante meal replacement things! I figured it was one of the only ways to go quite low calorie whilst still getting vitamins and minerals in me.

You have to SET a weekly weight loss goal for MFP to determine how many calories you should eat.

https://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/change_goals_guided

I only pay attention to the weight loss over time. I'm currently set to lose a pound per week, and rarely hit that exactly weekly or monthly, but in the 26 weeks of this year, I have lost 26 pounds.

Accidentally went LOWER in calories...

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