1000 calories over maintenance today...

I wouldn't worry about it too much. It happens to all of us. As long as you have been doing good lately and have been exercising you should be fine. I have a day out of every week that I totally do not calorie count at all! It actually helps me throughout the week
Stay positive and don't beat yourself up about it.

Not at all! I have a cheat day once a week and usually go 2000 calls over the limit and I still lose. If you were to go a 1000 over the period of a whole week then you might gain a pound of unwanted weight. If its just a one time thing though you have absolutely nothing to worry about. DO NOT THREAT MFP as do or die lol. So many people quit because they have a rough month and they go over the limit a couple of times a week and think that the whole thing is rendered useless!

LOL! This will not mess you up....I do that a lot...I took in 5000 cals yesterday for Cinco de Mayo....

I will go over my maintenance often to spike my metabolism...throw it off!

We all have those days when we go way over our calorie limits, for various reasons. Dont feel defeated. Learn from what you did get up and try again. Sometimes Spike days like that will help you loose weight in the long run. You may gain in the beggining then drop real fast after that. It really depends on your body. I know there are people who do a weekly spike day for that reason. The best thing to do is Learn from it and then work to make sure you dont gain to much from it. I bet you will find it comes off real quick.

Also, You shouldnt be having cravings. If you are having cravings then you are limiting something that you actually love completely out of your diet so once you do get around it then you eat a lot of it because you are are "craving" it. I dont limit what I eat, I limit how much I eat. I still eat high calorie foods like pizza (yum) but I dont eat 3 pieces in one setting anymore. Depending on my mood I'll eat one or two slices and then I stop. Most of the time its just one piece. Limiting what you eat vs how much of it you eat it can cause binge eating when you do get a taste of something you truly love. Anyways just wanted to give you my opinion, as that is all it is an opinion. Its up to you to decide whether you will go with it or not.

Good luck and remember you dont have to cut everything you love out just smaller portion sizes and staying in your calorie range is the best.

you have to eat 3500 calories to gain a pound, and that's after calories burned from just daily living.
If the scale goes up it is likely retention from water since restaurant food and processed foods has more sodium.
Don't feel bad, I eat "bad food" pretty much daily. And still have lost 37 pounds in 2.5 months, its not about being perfect just making changes!

Just like everyone here said, its only one day. If you still have time in the day, go for a walk or eat very clean and light the rest of the day and go back to normal tomorrow. Also, i like this quote that i read on MFP at one point...'Saying "Oh, Ive already ruined my good eating today, ill just eat crap" is like saying, "Oh, i dropped my phone on the floor. Ill just smash it til it breaks."'

You will have days that you will "fall off the wagon" probably more times. It will not hinder your weight loss or gain weight, as long as you pick yourself back up and go back to where you left off before the bad day or meal, you will be fine.

This is exactly why (or one of the many reasons why) weight loss is not easy. Just pick yourself back up and continue looking forward. What you just explained happens to all of us. Its part of the game. If it was easy, no one would be over weight or need to lose anything.

We all have those days when we go way over our calorie limits, for various reasons. Dont feel defeated. Learn from what you did get up and try again. Sometimes Spike days like that will help you loose weight in the long run. You may gain in the beggining then drop real fast after that. It really depends on your body. I know there are people who do a weekly spike day for that reason. The best thing to do is Learn from it and then work to make sure you dont gain to much from it. I bet you will find it comes off real quick.

Also, You shouldnt be having cravings. If you are having cravings then you are limiting something that you actually love completely out of your diet so once you do get around it then you eat a lot of it because you are are "craving" it. I dont limit what I eat, I limit how much I eat. I still eat high calorie foods like pizza (yum) but I dont eat 3 pieces in one setting anymore. Depending on my mood I'll eat one or two slices and then I stop. Most of the time its just one piece. Limiting what you eat vs how much of it you eat it can cause binge eating when you do get a taste of something you truly love. Anyways just wanted to give you my opinion, as that is all it is an opinion. Its up to you to decide whether you will go with it or not.

Good luck and remember you dont have to cut everything you love out just smaller portion sizes and staying in your calorie range is the best.

This

If you're eating at a 500-calorie deficit the rest of the week, you've still got a 2000-calorie deficit for the week.

Don't beat yourself up and don't get upset if you see a gain on the scale. You are probably going to be up, as others have said, due to water gain. Drink lots of water and watch what you eat, and within the week, you will be back to where you were. (or after TOM - that can really mess with things). I am one of those who actually plans a high day every week. My day is Friday. I will eat almost double my allotted calories on that day and I will eat and drink whatever I want. Last week my gain was 7.5 pounds after the spike. By this Friday, I was back down to where I started because I drank lots of water, ate lots of salad, and watched carbs and fat intake. I will be spiking every Friday. I have been losing about a pound a week most weeks by doing this and I don't feel deprived or like I'm missing out because I know I will have what I want on Friday! The weeks I haven't lost anything, just broke even, are the weeks that I don't stay on my "lo carb,no fat" days during the rest of the week. So get back on the bandwagon and drink lots and lots of water to help get the sodium out of your systerm. You will be fine!:flowerforyou: