Feeling Guilty

idziak04
idziak04 Posts: 69
in Health and Weight Loss
So I have been eating healthy and working out regularly for close to a month now. I have lost about 4 pounds and a few inches overall. Today a bunch of us went out after work and everyone here knows what you eat and drink when you go out for "happy hour" with the office staff. Two fuzzy navels, a large diet pepsi and a basket of (shared) curly fries later and I am regretting all of it!!! Plus, I never had a chance to work out today. So my question is how does everyone here deal with the "guilt" of eating completely crappy every once in a while?

Replies

  • katythemommy
    katythemommy Posts: 437 Member
    Like you said, "every once in a while" enjoy the splurge and get back on track tomorrow.
  • mead723
    mead723 Posts: 4
    Feeling guilty doesn't make it go away or change it. You just enjoy it for what it was and now it is over. Tomorrow is a day to start new and be back on the program. Don't let it take away all of the good work you have done for a month....
  • purpleipod
    purpleipod Posts: 1,147 Member
    I don't feel guilty about it. This is a lifestyle that you need to make livable, not some silly super restrictive diet that will cause you to fail because you never indulge.
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
    Embrace the idea that once in a while, it's ok. I bet your are still in a calorie deficit by the end of the week.

    My wife and I give ourselves every Saturday to break our diet. We don't go crazy (most of the time) but we do allow ourselves a few treats.

    So relax, and stop fretting! :)
  • idziak04
    idziak04 Posts: 69
    Thanks to you both. I am back on track tomorrow. The good news is that I ate healthy the first part of the day, so it isn't like the whole day was a wash. Tomorrow's breakfast is greek yogurt with a little granola sprinkled in. I guess today was my cheat day, so I will be good the rest of the weekend.
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
    Feeling guilty doesn't make it go away or change it. You just enjoy it for what it was and now it is over. Tomorrow is a day to start new and be back on the program. Don't let it take away all of the good work you have done for a month....
    *LIKE*
  • MenaMena
    MenaMena Posts: 232 Member
    No matter what guilt says, 1 evening can not undo a month's progress. Don't listen. Good luck to you.
  • djean2
    djean2 Posts: 37 Member
    This is a journey you will detour "every once in a while" and then get back on the path keeping your eye toward where you want to go. Every moment is a choice. Don't look back you have to allow some flexability or you will crash a burn.
  • tabithaanne
    tabithaanne Posts: 38
    Before, if I ate something that was going to put me over my calories for the day, I would hate myself but have the attitude that since I was already over, the rest of the day didnt matter and I would "get back on track tomorrow" and literally blow the day. Then I just accepted the fact that this is a lifestyle change and not a diet. I am in it for the long haul and it's not going to happen over night. So, if I eat something that's a little excessive, I eat lighter the rest of the day and move on. We all need to live and enjoy life so if I am working out like I should and watching what I eat 90 % of the time, I am not going to let a little enjoyment make me feel bad.
  • Rainforst
    Rainforst Posts: 40 Member
    I don't feel quilty either....... dieting is depriving........I don't diet and I don't deprive.......Soon you will learn how to control your eating when you don't deprive yourself of some fun........ the key word is SOME.......each day is a new day and you just keep going. everything in moderation. Tomorrow you work out twice as hard and eat a little less. Good luck put today behind you and move forward. That is how I lost 41 pounds so far.
  • JoJo_fat2fab
    JoJo_fat2fab Posts: 297 Member
    Key word/s: once in a while.

    If I were to eat healthy 100% of the time I would go crazy. Just enjoy and start anew tomorrow. Don't wait until Monday. Most likely if you count all the calories you had left all week, you would come out even or even under.
  • jennimink
    jennimink Posts: 1 Member
    You have to give yourself a day to eat without guilt. You are developing a healthy lifestyle by exercising and eating right, but you have the right to splurge on occasion. Just look at it this way, if you ate junk food 6 days a week and decided to eat healthy for one day would not cause you to get skinny, so one day out of 7 of eating freely without guilt will not cause you to gain weight. Trust me on this.
  • Redbird99ky
    Redbird99ky Posts: 305 Member
    Once it's done, it's done. No sense in feeling guilty about it. Just let it go. Like others said, tomorrow is a new day, another chance to start over. I would add, however, that you don't have to wait till tomorrow to start over. You can start over NOW.

    Don't, however, use this as a reason to say to yourself "Since I ate so crappy out with the office people, I might as well go ahead and have ______________ , and while I'm at it, I'll have ____________."

    If you're a spiritual person, ask God to help you let it go, and He will.

    Regardless of what you have done today, use the successes of the past month to keep you motivated and start anew NOW
  • kimlevin
    kimlevin Posts: 14 Member
    If I have a bad food day, I try not to let myself get into the "well, I already blew it so I'm ALSO going to have... and...." and it's hard. That said, I always tell myself that I'm going to reboot while I sleep and start fresh in the morning. Sometimes I also tell myself (with a lot of things that aren't easy) - I can do this for today. I can decide if I want to continue tomorrow. I almost always do. :)
  • melhayes1115
    melhayes1115 Posts: 187 Member
    Don't sweat it. My honest opinion is we need a crap day every once in a while. For me, it helps curb the cravings.
  • Rainforst
    Rainforst Posts: 40 Member
    Today is a new day
  • graelwyn
    graelwyn Posts: 1,340 Member
    I get this issue if I have a bad eating night and then feel too sluggish and lethargic to exercise some of it off the next day. But the mentality to take is that, as long as you get back on track, the odd splurge wont do any harm and you can balance it back out over the next week pretty easily.
  • SweetSammie
    SweetSammie Posts: 391 Member
    I have been struggling with this, too! Thursday I went over my daily calories and felt terrible for a day or so. But then I realized... if I do this for the rest of my life, life will happen sometimes. My husband and I unexpectedly went out to eat with another couple. I ordered a healthy option, and ate it, but it wasn't as low cal as the dinner I would have cooked. I went 250 cals over my daily allowance. As long as it's not every day, you have to accept that it will happen. If you beat yourself up about it, you will be miserable and probably quit.
  • Iceylyons
    Iceylyons Posts: 86 Member
    Do you remember that one commercial for said product where they showed the girl who made an unhealthy choice and then made bad decisions all day? Then they showed her making a healthy choice (maybe a commercial for the Special K drink or something) and she continued to eat healthy and make good choices?

    Wow...hope that is understandable with my half-awake ramble. O.o

    Anyway, the point is, making one healthy choice does lead to more and vice versa. If you realized that you made the "bad" choice, like everyone else said, Today is a new day to make one healthy choice after another. hope this makes sense. I really liked that commercial and I actually still keep it in mind during the day.

    It's going to happen, so mark it up as your one cheat day instead of feeling guilty. That guilt is just going to trick you into thinking you're a failure and try to sabotage your further efforts. =) You've got this! Besides...lawdy.....alcohol and curly fries? Geez....only Mother Theresa could've resisted such temptations! Now I'm drooling......

    Oh, and try to make a note about that possible trigger in the future (maybe being out with friends) just so you are able to better control what you eat/drink in the future. =)
  • heartflood
    heartflood Posts: 18 Member
    There are so many great replies here. What a wonderful topic!
  • FlynnMacCallister
    FlynnMacCallister Posts: 172 Member
    Hey, your weightloss journey should be the start of a long-term lifestyle change, and that s*** would be pretty depressing if you couldn't have some unhealthy food with friends every once in a while. ;p It's silly to feel guilty if it's something you do very occasionally; it's just like treating yourself to a day at the spa or splurging on those gooooorgeous shoes -- you do it occasionally, it stings in the wallet just a little, but there's no long-term damage and it's worth it for the fun you have.
  • Jezebel_Barbie
    Jezebel_Barbie Posts: 198 Member
    Everyone has given really sound advice. You've done amazingly to eat healthily for a month, allow yourself that little splurge (and let's face it it could have been much, much worse!) and carry on as you have been doing. One shared basket of fried will not de-rail you, don't worry!
  • SilentRenegade
    SilentRenegade Posts: 243 Member
    You shouldn't feel guilty. I never do when I go out with friends and have a few drinks and eat something "bad". In fact, I usually rarely gain any weight from it. The key is every once in a while. I went over my calories by 771 yesterday and didn't gain a pound this morning. :)
  • XFitMojoMom
    XFitMojoMom Posts: 3,255 Member
    press reset.

    top athletes have "cheats". Yes, perhaps you don't train as often or as hard as an athlete, but the message is to forgive yourself and move on (hopefully) learning from it.
  • huntindawg1962
    huntindawg1962 Posts: 277 Member
    Sometimes real life gets in the way. Its how you deal with these paths that present themselves that makes your success continue. Budget in advance or try to make up for the deviations. Or just recognize that it was a bump in the path but you can keep going. See, you at least recognized that it happened. Imagine in the past (like most of us) that kind of indulgence would not have even been noticed!
  • sunkisses
    sunkisses Posts: 2,365 Member
    Feeling guilty doesn't make anything better, so I do something that makes me feel better instead.
  • MrsHutcho9988
    MrsHutcho9988 Posts: 99
    Cant feel guilty about it. We are all human and its better to eat the curly fries and drink and have a good time every so often. You deserve to go out and have fun, and like you said its every so often so enjoy it and then get back to your diet and exercise program the next day.
  • idziak04
    idziak04 Posts: 69
    Thanks to everyone for all of the awesome responses!! I actually weighed myself today and I am down 1 pound since Monday. I am so excited. Like some of you have mentioned this is a lifestyle change not a "diet". There are going to be ups and downs along the way, but thankfully I found MFP to help me through this journey.
  • FlynnMacCallister
    FlynnMacCallister Posts: 172 Member
    Thanks to everyone for all of the awesome responses!! I actually weighed myself today and I am down 1 pound since Monday. I am so excited. Like some of you have mentioned this is a lifestyle change not a "diet". There are going to be ups and downs along the way, but thankfully I found MFP to help me through this journey.

    Well done! No long-term harm done, hey? ;p

Categories