Big OverFeed Ruins Everything? Nope.

Updating to cross-link a related-topic post from @steveko89.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10672255/examination-of-outlying-scale-fluctuation#latest

(Thought I'd cross-linked it before, but re-reading the thread shows that that thought was optimistic 😉🙄.

For fans of this line of thinking, see also: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10844569/what-happens-when-you-have-a-bad-day-go-over-your-calories/p1

shel80kg wrote: »

An awesome thread.
I'm wondering if there are any peer-reviewed studies which explore how one might create some type of "resilience" with regards to withstanding the occasional deviation from the recommended caloric intake. I have often wondered if the body becomes complacent with low caloric intake and slows down (metaphorically speaking). Could it be the case that a caloric spike might activate the more rigorous digestive machinery and help with the longer term weight loss process? Thank you in advance for your thoughts and expertise.

Not sure how much you're asking about psychological effects vs. physical ones.

I can't think of anything about that "resilience" idea.

With respect to the other part, I think you might find some good info in these threads, including links to other resources:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1077746/starvation-mode-adaptive-thermogenesis-and-weight-loss/p1

That's about the flip side, i.e., the slowing down part, but it has implications for the spiking idea.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

That's more about avoiding the slowing, or encouraging the spiking.

All of the above only if I'm understanding your question correctly, though, @shel80kg.

The full article is paywalled, the link is just the abstract, but I do think this next one speaks somewhat to the individual side of resilience and long term effects:

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1106561?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub 0pubmed

. . . but that's maybe a digression from the main point of this thread, and creeps over into this other one:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

shel80kg wrote: »

Hi Ann*

I am guessing you tend to explain a significant dimension of weight management challenges as a function of psychological conditions, pathologies and learned responses. Although I do not disagree in a general sense, please consider that there can (and is quite likely) metabolic realities which may make weight gain more or less likely. I grow a bit weary with presuming that each body operates similarly and my previous question to this forum was rather specific. If one alters food quantity from low to high does the body benefit from this type of intentional fluctuation with reference to increasing or decreasing metabolic rate. I agree that my term "resilience" was ambiguous. My apologies. I was wondering if inconsistent food consumption can be one factor in creating a more sensitive and responsive metabolic process that may work in favour of legitimate and safe weight loss.

I do think genetic factors make weight gain more or less likely, and do think that personal history can result in metabolic adaptations that make weight gain/loss more or less difficult or easy. I don't think all bodies operate identically, either out of the gate (genetically) or down the road (after varying personal histories).

Also, recall my comment to you on another thread that I don't see the mind and body as separate, i.e., I think that at least some "psychological" things are physical (and vice versa). Learning or knowledge also affect physical responses. See, for example, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21574706/ or https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-018-0483-4.)

If I'm understanding your question correctly, I think the "starvation mode" and "diet breaks" threads discuss ways in which food consumption history affects metabolic factors which in turn affect the difficulty or ease of subsequent weight loss. Both of those refer to some fairly scientific sources of information to support that discussion, IIRC. That is why I suggested you might want to read them. Have you done?

I absolutely believe that human bodies are dynamic, i.e., that calorie intake affects calorie expenditure. That's part of the reason, I believe, that "a big overfeed doesn't ruin everything".

Because the threads I linked discuss physical ("metabolic") responses to changes in calorie intake, and how those changes relate to weight loss, I don't particularly want to try to summarize that material inexpertly here. I think it does bear on your question.

Generally, though, I think that these issues - while very interesting and worthy of discussion - are somewhat tangent to this thread.

Speaking as the OP here, my main point was not to encourage people to overeat wildly - call it "binge" if you will - on holidays or at any other time.

The main point was to try to counter-balance a very common type of post we've seen here, where a person's plan didn't work as intended, and they think they've destroyed all progress in one day, or a few days. Some even decide they've failed so they might as well give up, temporarily or permanently.

One unusual day doesn't totally make or break progress. It's a drop in the ocean. The ocean is regular daily habits we have on repeat. Many of us are trying to make plans that will work for us long term. Some mild indulgence on a literal handful of holidays per year is not The Big Deal. We may even want to have a few days a year - holidays or any other occasion - where we indulge a bit because really good food is part of a celebration.

The scale jump on the day after isn't entirely fat regain . . . though some people who've posted with these "I failed" messages think it is. Most likely, only a tiny fraction - if any - is fat regain, once the weight trend plays out.

Instead of "I failed", IMO the better reaction is to think whether the overage was worth it or not - recognizing that it will delay reaching goal weight a very small amount of time, or require rebalancing at some point if in maintenance. Then, sensibly adjust the plan as needed to accommodate that decision, get back on one's regular healthy routine, and don't catastrophize about it.

The "I ruined everything" mindset can even lead some to just wallow in holiday food for days, because progress is destroyed anyway: "I'll start over in January", say . . . and maybe January never quite happens that way.

If over goal, if over maintenance, just log it, adjust the plans for the future to be more realistic if necessary, go back to a healthy routine ASAP. The scale will sort itself out in a week or few, as long as an exception is treated as an exception and stays truly rare, pretty much.