Having an "off" day...?

Today I have had a lot of deserts...and I'm kind of worried about it. They were there at work and I couldn't help myself.

I am still trying to figure out how many calories may have been in the bars that I ate, but in the meantime...will having an off day -- where, who knows, I may or may not have gone WAY over a reasonable calorie intake -- totally screw me up? Or is it true that having a day where you go over your normal range and kind of "surprise" your body (in a sense) can help jump-start metabolism? If anyone understands that...

I would just pass on the day and let it lie.  Dont worry about the calories, dont worry about where you will be tomorrow.  After all you really can not undo what is done and any outcome will be as it is.  "que sera sera, what ever will be will be, the future is not ours to see, que sera sera". 

Really the point is - what ever happened today will have an out come tomorrow and you will just have to deal with that out come from right where it is at. 

I try to log my calories everyday for the simple reason that I get to see over and over again that "off" days don't cause a ton of harm.  Plenty of days I've been well over 3,000 or even strings of days at 2100 (maintenance) and no harm.  On hard to count days, I just make my best guess and put it in there.  I use the analysis tool to look at my calorie averages over 30 days.  It all comes out fine.  Don't sweat it.  It's like a new world for me not to panic and hate myself on days I overeat.  It's truly no biggie.

Original Post by madamq:

I would just pass on the day and let it lie.  Dont worry about the calories, dont worry about where you will be tomorrow.  After all you really can not undo what is done and any outcome will be as it is.  "que sera sera, what ever will be will be, the future is not ours to see, que sera sera". 

Really the point is - what ever happened today will have an out come tomorrow and you will just have to deal with that out come from right where it is at. 

I LOVE THAT SONG! Also, nice usage to make a point, madamq! 

Also, to the OP, I wouldn't worry about a few sweets.  Just take today off and don't worry about it.  Try to eat healthy the rest of the day, but I wouldn't really worry about your calories. 

When I did this (I went to a party for my marriage (we got married in the courthouse in America but we live in Italy) in Italy and there were 5 cakes...I just HAD to taste all of them!), I found that since I ate well in regards to everything else, I had maintained my weight...so I really wouldn't worry about it!

What if I said it wasn't ok? What if I said you would gain 5 pounds immedediately from the extra sweets. From not knowing your cals for the day and going over....then what would you do? Nothing, I hope.

You will be fine, I'm sure you have overeaten at many different points in your life and nothing bad has happened. You will not gain any weight, maybe retain a little water but maybe not. What's done is done and you can't undo it, so don't worry about it, just do your best to eat healthy the rest of today, tomorrow, and the rest of your life. And when you mess up sometimes just think of it as a little mess up and move on.

My girlfriend has lost about 15 pounds in the last month and she works in a lab where she can test her own ketones.... Well anyway - she ate a single and a frosty from Wendys on the way into work and four hours later, she tested her ketones- still burning fat.

If you're really on a diet and doing well, it's like driving a car down the road at 80 miles an hour with lots of momentum.  Well, the desserts you ate that day represent taking about two feet of ground out from under your car.  If you're going fast enough, the momentum will carry you over the dead spot in the road without any problem. You're body likely burned those calories up without a problem.

But, if you let it spiral and do it again the next two days it's like taking 15 feet of road out from under your car and you're going to crash. 

One bad day isn't a big deal.  But two or three in a row?  Not so good.

When you have a bad day, enjoy it... don't let the guilt override your pleasure, just use it to inspire you later.