Now come on....really?

Options
annaliza
annaliza Posts: 809
in Fitness and Exercise
I haven't been on this site for very long but I keep reading people post the same things: Oh no, I ate (insert bad food you over ate here) so tomorrow I'm going to work extra hard and do (insert x amount of time here).

While I agree that adding a little exercise could only be helpful over all, does it really make up for the stuff you did the day before? I read one of the fitness guru's posts that your body doesn't care when you eat, only how many calories you feed it in your day. So does it really help or do we just do it to make ourselves not feel so guilty for going a little overboard (which in my opinion, is ok occasionally but too much is pretty much the reason why I'm here in the first place).

I'm not trying to be sarcastic or quip about it....I just want to know if adding extra exercises or eating less the next day is really beneficial.

Thanks!

Replies

  • annaliza
    annaliza Posts: 809
    Options
    I haven't been on this site for very long but I keep reading people post the same things: Oh no, I ate (insert bad food you over ate here) so tomorrow I'm going to work extra hard and do (insert x amount of time here).

    While I agree that adding a little exercise could only be helpful over all, does it really make up for the stuff you did the day before? I read one of the fitness guru's posts that your body doesn't care when you eat, only how many calories you feed it in your day. So does it really help or do we just do it to make ourselves not feel so guilty for going a little overboard (which in my opinion, is ok occasionally but too much is pretty much the reason why I'm here in the first place).

    I'm not trying to be sarcastic or quip about it....I just want to know if adding extra exercises or eating less the next day is really beneficial.

    Thanks!
  • nickybr38
    nickybr38 Posts: 674 Member
    Options
    I've always thought of things in terms of a week not a day. So I don't think of one day as being the be all and end all.

    If I overeat one day I just undereat a little the next day to balance out the weekly total. Dunno if that's proper but it's what I do.
  • erica9699
    erica9699 Posts: 53
    Options
    Bump...I am curious to see the responses to this question...
  • tig3rang3l
    tig3rang3l Posts: 270 Member
    Options
    I'm in agreement here. Every once in a while is fine, I do it too (I eat out on special occasions... that's something I'm not willing to give up) but seeing the same people posting the same thing over and over makes me really wonder if this site is helping or just fuelling the problem by saying it's OK to do it.
  • tig3rang3l
    tig3rang3l Posts: 270 Member
    Options
    I've always thought of things in terms of a week not a day. So I don't think of one day as being the be all and end all.

    If I overeat one day I just undereat a little the next day to balance out the weekly total. Dunno if that's proper but it's what I do.

    Seems to work for you if you've lost 25 pounds. I usually try to think in terms of a week as well. I've heard that it's beneficial not to eat the same amount of calories per day, and instead you can trick your body by rotating. 'Cheat' days that stay within a reasonable amount of calories may be beneficial, as long as your net deficit for the week is the same. I'm no expert, but this is what I read.

    The people who do it constantly however, and expect everyone to say 'aww, it's ok, try harder tomorrow'.... this is where the problem is, I think.
  • naugustyniak
    naugustyniak Posts: 836 Member
    Options
    I have been trying to keep track weekly as well. I have been getting a calorie total for the week and an exercise calorie burned total for the week to see where I stand. This day to day stuff makes me crazy. I am trying to lose 1-2 pounds a week so figuring by the week makes sense to me. I also agree that if a person is on here over and over complaining about overeating or "cheating" they probably are not really serious about this. I mean yesterday was a REALLY bad day for me (special occasion thing) but I had been careful and worked hard the days before and will today and the rest of the week to make up for it. Personally I think "cheating" is a stupid term anyway. It makes it sound like you have no control over what is happening. You choose your lifestyle, stick with it or don't but don't complain when you don't stick with it and cannot understand why you can't lose weight.
  • Dropka
    Dropka Posts: 72
    Options
    I look at my calories on a daily basis but I don't eat the same amount of calories everyday. I have no will power so some days I eat worse. I don't "make up for it the next day." I just try and do better the next day. I consider it a "getting back on the horse" type of thing. Once I've gone to sleep, I start anew. I don't know how you can burn calories you ate the day before? If you eat really bad one day- does that mean you can not eat anything the next day to make up for it...? I don't think it works that way.
  • Dropka
    Dropka Posts: 72
    Options
    I have been trying to keep track weekly as well. I have been getting a calorie total for the week and an exercise calorie burned total for the week to see where I stand. This day to day stuff makes me crazy. I am trying to lose 1-2 pounds a week so figuring by the week makes sense to me. I also agree that if a person is on here over and over complaining about overeating or "cheating" they probably are not really serious about this. I mean yesterday was a REALLY bad day for me (special occasion thing) but I had been careful and worked hard the days before and will today and the rest of the week to make up for it. Personally I think "cheating" is a stupid term anyway. It makes it sound like you have no control over what is happening. You choose your lifestyle, stick with it or don't but don't complain when you don't stick with it and cannot understand why you can't lose weight.

    I completely agree with the word "cheat." I'm not on a diet, I'm trying to better myself overall.
  • Families_R_Forever
    Families_R_Forever Posts: 630
    Options
    This is the first I have read of someone going over in cals and then making up for it the next day. That does seem a little silly! However, If I cheat and go over I might post something for encouragment on not doing it again. Maybe not so much from other people, but just verbally acknowledging would give me more will power to not do it again or even to sorta of start fresh I guess. I have more than once spoke of myself falling off the wagon and ready to start again.

    tig3rang3l...I think it's good to talk about our failures and our successes. We all need both! If everyone just spoke of their successes then I would be pretty discouraged that I was doing something wrong. I love how we can post our mishaps and then have others say you are not alone, I am in the same boat. Is that not what this is for?

    Good luck!
  • Topxgun
    Topxgun Posts: 38
    Options
    I agree as well. If you eat a lot in one day, then have very low net calories the next, your body will react in a negative way. The human body craves stability.
  • Topxgun
    Topxgun Posts: 38
    Options
    Actually, I don't like the word cheating. It's not cheating, you're just letting yourself down. You usually gain something from cheating, but in terms from your goal, you gain nothing.
  • tig3rang3l
    tig3rang3l Posts: 270 Member
    Options
    This is the first I have read of someone going over in cals and then making up for it the next day. That does seem a little silly! However, If I cheat and go over I might post something for encouragment on not doing it again. Maybe not so much from other people, but just verbally acknowledging would give me more will power to not do it again or even to sorta of start fresh I guess. I have more than once spoke of myself falling off the wagon and ready to start again.

    tig3rang3l...I think it's good to talk about our failures and our successes. We all need both! If everyone just spoke of their successes then I would be pretty discouraged that I was doing something wrong. I love how we can post our mishaps and then have others say you are not alone, I am in the same boat. Is that not what this is for?

    Good luck!

    I don't understand why it is silly to work out the following day if you feel guilty about going over the day before. I've found it fairly helpful, even if it is just for my own sanity.

    I agree, talking about our failures and successes is great... everyone is going to have both, and they are lying if they say they don't. That isn't what I'm talking about, however, if you read my post.
  • Families_R_Forever
    Families_R_Forever Posts: 630
    Options
    I must have misunderstood the whole question to start with. No worries:smile: I wish you the best! :flowerforyou:
  • pixiestick
    pixiestick Posts: 839 Member
    Options
    I have to be really careful on this score... it's why I usually do not post 'Oh crap, I ate 'x' and now I feel guilty'

    I am a recovering bulimic, and just because I don't purge one way doesn't mean I don't feel the urge to purge (:laugh: sounds sort of funny) with exercise.

    I have to be very hard on myself: I cannot binge. If I do, it starts a vicious cycle and I don't want to ever go back to that place. So while I have compassion for others and their diet/exercise dilemmas, I can't really let myself go there (and I don't think that it is a healthy mentality to have anyway, especially considering the personal struggle I have had with the psychology of it).
  • annaliza
    annaliza Posts: 809
    Options
    I think encouragement, help and motivation is a great thing and I am all for it. I don't think it's silly in any way. Heck, I feel guilty all day long...maybe with food, but mostly because I am a mom who fights everyday with low self esteem.

    What I'm questioning is not someone's feelings or what they are wanting to do. I was just looking for answers in terms of going below your net calories and starvation mode. Would making up for the next day really work because it doesn't seem very logical to me.

    I'm learning about calorie counting and starvation mode - everything I'm reading is really hitting home. I've never thought so much about nutrition and the food that I"m putting in my body, about being healthy rather than starve myself to try to be thin....or do the opposite and eat and eat my problems away - just getting fatter and sicker as I got older. Starvation mode really opened my eyes. When does it start taking effect? Can you make up a mishap from a previous day without going into starvation mode? Is it healthy?

    So wonder, does making it up the next day work?

    I really liked the answer about doing it week by week and I think Tig3rang3l maybe right: Cheat' days that stay within a reasonable amount of calories may be beneficial, as long as your net deficit for the week is the same.

    But Topxgun said something that I found profound: If you eat a lot in one day, then have very low net calories the next, your body will react in a negative way. The human body craves stability. Which is confliting, but maybe right, too.

    Pixie, I know what you mean about not going there....there are a few places I don't want to go either. Good luck to you, I know it's a hard struggle.
  • ivykivy
    ivykivy Posts: 2,970 Member
    Options
    It's no more silly than cutting 500 calories every day. Why 500 every day? Why not 400 then 600 then 450..? You must realize too not every one is set at 1200 cals or 1lb a week. I set my goals by the deficit I want to create. Sometimes its 400 sometimes its 600 today it's 350. Your body needs more calories on some days than others. Plus it takes longer than one day to go into starvation mode.
    Hope this helps.:flowerforyou:
  • pixiestick
    pixiestick Posts: 839 Member
    Options
    also, the whole 'the body craves stability' argument may or may not be that accurate. There is a whole school of thought which claims that the best weight loss comes when confusing your body--never doing the same workout twice, or at least switching it up daily. And staggering calorie amounts too.

    just another two cents.
  • sonjavon
    sonjavon Posts: 1,019 Member
    Options
    I think it depends on how much you overate by... I mean if I decided to have ice cream last night and went over my calories by 300 - yes, I think I can minimize the damage by doing an extra hour of exercise.
    I don't agree with the word "cheat" either... you cheat on a diet - you don't cheat at a lifestyle... you make choices.
    I don't get upset if I make a choice - I make other choices to counteract the bad choice.

    For me, doing some extra exercise just helps to reinforce my "control" over my choices. I think that those who are posting "OMG - I feel so guilty for eating ____________" really need to focus on this as a lifestyle change... why feel guilty? You made a choice - now make another....

    I've found that RARELY does anything that I do once in a while completely ruin my plan... which makes it super-scary to me to realize what TERRIBLE choices I must have been making in order to have gained the weight that I did. I haven't exercised in 2 weeks and still lost a pound... and I can't say that I was making particularly good choices in food either. But my portions have been much more reasonable!

Categories