Do you beat youself up when you go over your calorie limit?

So it's the end of a holiday weekend, where I ate so many bad things, I was down 2.5 lbs before I went to East Texas for my fiance's family reunion and I came back and ended up 3.3 lbs heavier. Oh well, cheesecake & peach cobbler weren't going to eat themselves. Plus I think some of it could be due to my raging PMS. My question is, I came back from the little vacation ran and started logging calories again. My eat meter is at 1525, and my burn meter is at 2025; today I ate 1925 (atleast it wasn't 2325 or whatever). Of course tomorrow is a new day and I'm not going to eat 800 calories (in order to 'make up for today'), but how do you get your body to get back to where you need to be at calorically speaking? I'd like to try to stick to my 1525 per day.

I don't ever go over my calorie limit because I give myself a range.  I usually go for 1500-1800 and once in a while if there is a special occasion, I eat maintenance and I plan on eating maintenance (not counting and not stuffing myself- just eating until I'm full and happy).  There's nothing wrong with eating cheesecake or peach cobbler or other fun foods during the holidays.  You shouldn't restrict the day after, though.  Eat your regular amount of calories.  Chances are you're going to be fine, you aren't going to gain anything- just chill, eat your regular calories, do your regular exercise and maybe even step it up a little for a few days if you feel better doing that, and then weigh yourself two weeks from now.. and you will be very happy with what you see on the scale.

Hi, Megan i just read your dilemma well I wouldn't suggest to cut 800 calories in one day it can backfire and you might over eat the next day.  You may want to spread it out over the week just remember your body needs at least 1200 calories per day in order to keep loosing weight,  anything under that may cause your body to retain weight.

Hi Becky! I'm not at all planning on going to 800 calories or even 1200, I'm going to act like it never happened. If I could stick with 1500 that'd be awesome, I'm just wondering how far off of my target intake should worry me?

Don't let it break your stride.  You only ate 400 cals more than normal on one day.  The very worst that could mean is that you fail to lose about an ounce and a half..... nothing, basically.

How to get back to 1500.... make a plan for the day including your most favourite, healthy, flavoursome foods.  If you've got a day ahead of you that you're looking forward to then it's a pleasure to get started.   Pad out the meals with plenty of tasty vegetables so that everything's nicely satisfying.   If you're looking at 1500 cals of boring, dreary foods or expecting a growling tummy then you'll dread it.

Final thought.... PMS, yes, well.  However, if your dietary choices up to now have been on the boring, dreary side then that makes opportunities to eat cheesecake all the more inviting. 

What I found out when I did a similar thing and went to a 4-day family reunion was that when I got home, the scale said I had gained 6 pounds.  Well, at first I was outraged with myself.  But then rational thought set in.  3500 calories times 6 equals 21000 calories extra in 4 days on top of the games I played and walking I did and my BMR.  So there was no way I gained an actual 6 pounds, since I couldn't possibly have eaten that many extra calories.  Sure enough, quality reading room time, getting rid of some water weight, eating normally, and getting back to regular exercise and the "6 pound gain" was gone in a few days.  So there would be a good chance that your 3.3 pounds of gained weight was not permanent weight gain to begin with. I agree that 1525 is the bare minimum you would want to consume, though.  What worked for me was to eat a good high-protein breakfast and to eat a lot of high fiber, filling fruits and vegetables with great health benefits and low calories such as shredded cabbage, apples, cucumbers, tomatoes, and carrots.

I think its been several times over but just for my 2 cents - dont beat yourself up.  Go back to your routine and plan like normal.  Bottomline is I bet the 400 calories really wasnt 400 seeing nothing is perfect...its an estimate.  So instead of guessing away just go back to your plan and you will be back to where you were int he end.

Dave

I do beat myself up! And I hate it. But I just love food, I find eating soo satisfying for some reason. But my thing is when I go over, it's over by alot more than necessary (like my limit is 1600 and I'll eat 2200 some days). I'm addicted to food I guess.. But I do love the fact that I don't usually gain a big amount of weight, so I guess you have a point when you say "Chances are you're going to be fine, you aren't going to gain anything"..

And like some others said 400calories is really nothing, it takes 3500 calories for a pound so more than likely you worked those 400 extra off by walking around and talking and laughing :)

I don’t beat myself up, I just drink lots of water the next day & get back to my routine. After my big weekend the scale said I gained 2 lbs (Monday) now it says I’m down 1 lb (from my starting point). I’ll wait until Friday for my official weight for the week.

I agree with pilgramdude completely, give your body some time & get back to your routine, you’ll be fine.

 I used to stress about calories, but then I decided to just have a "goal". If I go over the goal, that's okay. It's not a limit, it's just what I'm aiming for.

I find guilt to be the least productive emotion possible. 

I have a realistic plan to get to my target weight over the next year or so (I am more than 40% there after 8 months).  That plan includes moving at least 30 extra minutes a day, and aiming for an average calorie count between 1600 and 1800 per day.  Special days (about once every 2-3 weeks) I plan to meet my full calorie needs for my goal weight (about 2000 - 2200 per day). 

If life intervenes and I eat a little more than I planned once in a while, I just look at what triggered the lapse, and try to make a plan to keep that from happening again.

If my plan stops working for me (the weight loss trend line stops going down), I will reevaluate the plan, but in the meantime, no matter how slowly I sometimes seem to be going, the trend line is always down, so I know it is a good plan.

Its important not to beat yourself up over that - guilt doesn't do you any good! At best, you enjoyed a holiday weekend, which, as long as its not a super-regular thing, is good for you. If you can't enjoy a cheat day every once in a great while, you're not living! And at worst, you had a few overly caloric days and you're going to get back on track now. And its important that you don't try to undereat to "make up" for any day you've messed up. Just get back into your regular calorie range, and move forward.

Hey Megan, I agree with novileigh just treat it as a once in a long-while treat.  You probably wont eat like that every weekend just make sure the special ocassion is worth it. Mentally prepare yourself for the future if you know a party is coming up or a holiday, I know it can be hard with all the tempting food, especially trying to estimate how many calories each item has when your unsure just take a bite but if you know a bite will lead to a plate full stay away just tell yourself "YOU KNOW WHAT IT TASTE LIKE" because you have probably eaten it before, and IS IT WORTH IT? that little pep talk helps me. Have a good one! ; ) Becky

Hey...

Sometimes I get frustrated when it happens, but my eating habits aren't so sensible these days. It really frustrates me when I do good all day, then when I am about to cook dinner, I get so hungry and I start picking on things...ugh!! Then I can't keep track.

This thing actually told me that I am allowed 1750 calories a day, but that seemed high so I brought it down to 1450 myself and then brought it down even more to 1250...so I guess I have a range to keep within too so I shouldn't fret too much and neither should you... :-D

Good luck!!!

Oh man the other day I sure did! It was a terrible feeling - I only get upset with myself if I go REALLY overboard and don't work it off. Sometimes my body likes a feast and I wake up the next day with way too much energy, but sometimes it makes me feel sluggish and grumpy the next day, like there's a bowling ball in my gut.

I don't think you have to trick your body into going back to a lower calorie level. Just go back to what worked before. My ideal day is a medium breakfast and lunch, snack around 4, and a small dinner + dessert, so after that day of feasting I went back to that routine and it's working for me. There were a few times at night when my gut was grumbling but I stuck through it and had cold tea.

Good luck!