Feeling like I ruined it...

  • I have been dieting since early september and i have been doing fairly well. In effort to lose weight, I have been cutting calories and I was maintaining to eat between 1200-1800 calories. I had lost approximately 8 pounds.

    However, last night, I was celebrating a special occasion and it spiraled out of control. I ate and drank and my calorie count was 3,200+. Insane. Now I am depressed and angry at myself, feeling like I ruined everything I just worked towards. I do not want to gain any of that weight back. Did I just ruin it?
  • That's life! We ALL slip up sometimes.... just brush yourself off, and try again. Today is a new day.
  • If you gain it will be lb or 2 at the most. If so, you can get that back off in a matter of weeks! Don't worry, you haven't ruined it, the great thing is with weight that what goes on can still come off. Don't look back, just look forward because you only have control of your actions here and now You can do it.
  • You didn't ruin it. The occasional over eating isn't going to ruin your efforts. It was one time in one month. Most fitness models and bodybuilders do it once a week to keep their bodies from plateauing. As long as it doesn't happen more than once a week you'll lose weight. You have to look at it in terms of whole picture; not one meal.
  • i agree....
    if you do gain u can shift the weight again....
    we all binge from time to time....
    ive had some major major binges myself....
    its all about learning how to move onwards after them....
    and not dwelling on them to make yourself feel worse....
    2mora is a new day and all that....
  • thanks everyone.

    i will avoid the scale for a day or two.

    and try to get back on track by eating right again and exercising more this week.
  • Just like everyone else said - you didn't ruin it. What will ruin it however is if you let it get to you and bum about it for a week. Don't look back because tomorrow (or today?) is a new day to get right back on track and keep loosing! Maybe throw in an extra 10 minutes of cardio into your work outs this week to help you feel better about it

    I've had my share of MAJOR slip ups - especially when I'm drinking. I just devour everything in sight without even thinking. I think a lot of us have that problem. Keep up the hard work!!!!
  • you didn't ruin it at all.

    stay off the scale if it bothers you
    (i usually know if my rings are tight i over indulged)
    and the KEY

    GET RIGHT BACK ON TRACK!
  • Of course you did not 'ruin it'. Weight loss is a lifestyle change -- not a temporary fix. All of us hope that over the course of our lives, we get to have nights that we go out and have fun and not think about dieting. The key is to make it a special occasion thing and not a daily choice.

    I mean even if you break down just the simple math -- 3200 calories is not even a pound! AND some of that 3200 was probably inside your daily calorie count, AND, even if it wasn't, you do not process every single molecule of energy out of a binge of eating and turn it all into fat. This will probably not even be a BLIP!

    The worst thing that will likely happen is that some of the bad food you ate will cause you to retain water for a few days. That may SHOW UP as an increase of two or three pounds on your scale, but it is not real weight. It is water weight, and it will fall right off again once you get back on track for awhile. If it really bothers you, stay off the scale for a week and by the end of that time, everything should have evened itself out again.

    You are just fine.
  • I agree with the other posters!
    I would like to add that you may want to consider eliminating (or drastically reducing) your alcohol consumption. It sounds like it may be a trigger for you. I rarely drink and I did a few weeks ago. I wanted to eat everything in sight-- luckily there wasn't too much around for me to get it trouble with-- but my resolve was kaput! I know it is a trigger for me!!
  • i completely know the feeling...i am in a depression from a relationship ending (yet another one) and yesterday, i went straight for the comfort food...we went to eat at a local amish restaurant, with family style eating- complete with chicken, mashed potates, biscuits, gravy, etc..and i savored every minute of it. I know i'll get back on track and it was bad, but sometimes, you just have to stray off to realize that you really do want to get to your goal and it really is worth it.
  • I've read that it's okay for your body to have that huge fluctuation of calories. Once a week, it's suppose to boost your metabolism. That's why I have a free meal day where I can have whatever I want within reason.

    Like everyone said - it's okay. Don't give up. We have all experienced this, and we are still putting all effort into it. One little slip up doesn't ruin everything. Keep your head up, and just keep going!
  • I do this almost every week. We have dinner nights on Wednesdays and I always go over my calorie limit. I just make sure to only let it happen once. Hehe... It keeps me from hitting my plateau that is always lurking around the corner...
  • Once again, I really appreciate all the support. I feel better now.
  • That "I blew it" feeling, is the arch enemy of weight loss. Ultimately, it isn't the slips and mistakes and even hog-wild binges that cause us to fail, it's not getting back on the horse that threw us.

    If you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep going, you'll be ok. Even weight gains don't derail weight loss efforts, it's only when you decide it's no longer worth the effort that real backsliding happens.

    I know it's sometimes hard to forgive yourself, but what would you tell your best friend in the same situation? "You big, fat loser, youre an idiot and you'll never lose weight?" Or would you tell her, "Hey, it'll be ok, you can do it."

    You already know the answer to the question "did I ruin it?"

    Of course you didn't, even if you ate enough to gain an actual pound - you just have to lose that 1 lb over again, not the 17 you already lost.

    I've used the analogy before, but if you trip on a steep flight of stairs, and fall down a few of them, do you keep going even though it means walking a few of the stairs twice, or do you decide that climbing the stairs is impossible and throw yourself to the bottom.