I have been very aware of calories and exercised an hour everyday since Dec27. When I weighted in last week I had not lost at all. I felt very discouraged but keep going till last night I blew it. I was very depressed about working so hard being hungry all the time and no results. So I binged I was staying around 1200 to 1400 calories and yesterday I had 2990. Today I weight myself and was down 6 pounds how bad did I blow it? Am I going to gain a few pounds back? Could I not eat today and exercise like crazy to fix yesterdays blunder or is it to late? Thanks Kelly

When you binged last night it was because you felt you were hungry. While trying to lose weight you do NOT have to feel hungry. Depending on your weight and height 1200 - 1400 may be too little. If you are not eating enough calories and you are exercising a lot you won't be just burning fat....you will also be burning off the muscle you have worked so hard to get. Also, you need to make sure you are drinking plenty of water. Do not limit yourself to absolutely no treats whatsoever. Every now and then it is ok to have a small treat. Like today, I have been feeling stressed, to fight the stress I took a walk, I didn't feel 100% still so I had one hershey kiss (25 cal).

I hope this helps. You can pm me if you would like.
Misty

Don't give up just because of this one binge.

One pound of fat is "worth" 3500 calories. So, you have to create 3500 calories worth of deficit to lose a pound of fat or you have to eat 3500 calories more than your body uses to make a pound of fat. Eating 3000 calories in one day won't create even one pound of fat, let alone more.

Also, I second Misty's recommendation on checking how much calories you should consume daily. You can look up "basal metabolic rate" on the web and get a calculator that can get you close to the number of calories you consume just breathing. Then add some in for your daily activity level plus your exercise and subtract 500. 500 calories/day is the deficit I see most recommended.

I have been overweight my whole life (> 40 years of fat) -- the biggest mistake I made in the past was thinking that I had to starve to lose weight -- NOT TRUE! I could starve myself for a while, but could never maintain it let alone think of doing it for the rest of my life.

Hope this helps -- good luck!

to you!

One binge is nothing to beat yourself up over...it's gonna happen!! Starving yourself to make up for it might do more harm than good. Just put a period at the end of it and move on with your day.

I'm with the others that maybe 1200-1400 might be a little low at the stage you are at. Try bumping up to 1400-1600....at least mostly healthy calories, mind you...lean protein and veggies and fruit and whole grains if you can...

You should feel hungry just before meals, but if you are hungry all day, something is amiss. Are you using FitDay or an online tracker to keep tabs on your calories? If I may be so bold can you post what you are eating?

I save 150 calories at the end of the day for a small ice cream cone with Dreyers Low Fat Slow Churn... Something to look forward to...I also genrally eat more calories on the weekends - and exercise a little more, too.

I almost forgot - 6 pounds - way to go girl!!!

Yet another vote for bumping up your calories! I'm currently right above 230 and I eat a "base" of 1500 cals/day. If I exercise, I ADD those calories in (sometimes it's 500-600 more). I've worked out my approximate metabolic numbers and the 1500 keeps me at about 1000 calories deficit a day which is 7000 calories a week, therefore an expected weekly loss of about 2 pounds. On days when I'm constantly hungry (not head hunger, but honestly HUNGRY) I eat maybe a couple hundred calories more. I have reached the point that I can tell when my body is revved and burning calories faster (like during that time of month--there are a few days where nothing seems to stick in my stomach!).

As far as tomorrow--pick up with the same base calories. No need to "punish" yourself at this point (personally, I just think that's counter productive). Frankly, if you buy into the Calorie Queens calculating approach, your active metabolic rate is about 12 cals/pound, which would be 254 x 12 = 3,048 which means your "horrible" day really did nothing more than HOLD you at your current weight. Now...don't go bouncing on that scale right away! After a day like that, you probably will see a couple pounds just because of the salt/water bloat--don't panic!

Hello,
I just started counting calories a week ago and I have done really well. I am trying to stay around 1200-1300 per day. I have been jogging for 45 min everyday as well. Well....last night I had this huge craving for a chocolate chip cookie (and it was a big,thick one) at that! I ate that cookie and enjoyed every taste of it. Afterwards...I felt so guilty. But you know what...I picked myself up today and started all over. I am so proud of myself. I can do this...I know I can.

When I deprive myself I end up binging. I admire anyone who can omit sweets and such completely from their diet and not feel the effects, however, I'm not one of those people so I live with it and deal with it. I eat what I want but I do it in moderation and count it. I've been told in the past that once you've been away from sweets long enough you don't even like it when you finally have it. Nope - not me! Yeah, I might find something REALLY rich but not like it? I don't think so.

DH sent me an email from work the other day. It made me giggle so I thought I would share....

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION
Eat and drink what you like.
Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

Parlez-vous francais?

I wish that weight loss happened in a logical fashion or on a nice smooth curve, but mine does not. Over time, the math works. It's true that one pound lost equals about 3500 calories either not eaten or used up. But the important note here is that is 'over time'.
I do not drop one pound, the moment my calorie deficit hits 3500 cals. I piddle and diddle away with half pounds and just a hair movement of the scale .... and then suddenly I drop a couple pounds. The math works out ... over time.

Did this six pounds coincide in any way with your period?

I too would like a look at your diet if you don't mind.

I've noticed the same effect, where you hit a plateau and stop losing weight, then you eat too much, and the next day you've lost a bunch. I'm thinking your body needed that extra food.

The experts say that if you undereat, your metabolism will slow and your body will try even harder to retain fat. So your binge kind of jogged it into thinking, oh, I'm getting food after all, so it's okay to let go of the fat.

I'm even thinking of working some of these into my diet, like maybe once a month, have a day where I can eat whatever I want (but NOT an all-out-binge). The thing is, it would have to be only after staying on my diet for several weeks, and I'd have to go back on the next day, and if it didn't result in a weight loss, I wouldn't keep doing it.

Before anyone gets to the term 'starvation mode' please read this very enlightening thread.
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64562

I have also often wondered how people lose weight if starvation mode was all that it's made out to be. Don't get me wrong - I can tell if I'm not eating enough when it comes to the scale BUT I think (and this gets me in a lot of trouble sometimes) it's because I'm not getting the nutrients my body needs to feel good - and when I don't feel good I don't move - therefore I'm not burning the calories like I want to be.

I eat small meals all day long and I think that helps tremendously when it comes to metabolism. Again, my take is it's not the calories I'm taking in but the calories I'm burning. Make sense?