[wisher]

Okay, so I'm trying to stick to a routine, both eating and exercise but inevitably I do have days like today.

I ate a whole grain english muffin with peanut butter for breakfast at 6 am (I'm usually not all that hungry in the morning) then I went to work, was in surgery all morning, had time for a handful of baby carrots while I cleaned up the OR then went right into a bone scan where I spent the rest of the day, then at about 5:30 pm I finally had time to eat my lean cuisine meal (again, while I was cleaning up after the scan) and that's it. So I've eaten hardly anything (but I'm not hungry because my lean cuisine came around dinner time) only around 650 calories and I'm too exhausted to work out because I spent 12 hours on my feet (plus I'm not sure if I should try to work out on a day where I've taken in so little fuel).

I'm worried that this is really bad for my body, however in this case it was just one of those days where I didn't have the opportunity to eat every 3 hours like I usually do and there's really nothing I could do about it. Does this screw up my metabolism? Will this cause me to stall? These days come along atleast once every couple of weeks, sometimes once a week...is there something I can do to counteract them?

[sharonrr1]

I also have days like that. We have been moving lately. I eat breakfast then I don't eat again till dinner some days. We have been moving slowly for about 3 weeks. Because we still own both houses and run a campground. Anyways, I haven't stalled. I do try to get in 1200 calories most days but just like overeating one day didn't make me obese, not eating enough isn't going to screw up all my efforts. That is my opinion.

[ennay]

One day wont probably matter much but since it does happen fairly routinely, why not try to have a more substantial quickie snack around instead of baby carrots. A handful of nuts and a protein shake would be a mini meal in 30 seconds

[jordan]

Dried fruit would also be a good choice in place of the carrots and similarly simple to snack on but a bit more calorie dense. I may be in a minority but I really don't think periodic low calorie days will hurt a bit as long as they don't result in a binge. Yes, if someone lived for months on 650 calories/day their metabolism will slow...but they would still lose a heck of a lot of weight! Enjoy the extra calorie deficit you got on days like today and eat a bit more tomorrow, no big deal. And great job thus far, you are SO dang close to the 50 pounds lost mark and the lovely 199!

[Kery]

One day now and then will probably not screw your metabolism--the same day one day of eating too much won't make you gain 5 lbs if the following days are 'normal' again. But dried fruits/nuts could indeed be a good thing. I get it that you're working in a hospital? And there, such days aren't always easy to foresee, so something that you can keep there in a box and won't get rotten after 3 days, in case of an emergency, could be a good thing.

[JayEll]

Hey wisher!

Wow, what a day! I'm with the others who say that better planning would help. Clearly you can't control your work environment--but you can make sure you have better foods available for those days when breaks are hard to come by. Snacks like Kashi bars, FruitFast bars, and other healthy food bars come in handy, and they keep indefinitely if the wrapper is unopened. Other ideas: slice up an apple and put it in a zipper bag. (If it goes a little brown, that's OK--or you can put some lemon juice on the slices to prevent that.) Peel an orange and put the segments in a zipper bag. Hard boiled eggs also come in handy, and they keep for a day or so in the shell without refrigeration.

Making sure you drink enough water is also a good idea.

The general rule is not to average below 1200 cals a day--but as others have said, a day now and then that is too low won't necessarily do any harm. Still, it's not a good idea just because you get too hungry, and then it's too easy to swing into overeating to compensate.

On a day when you've only eaten 650 cals, I'd think that exercise is probably not a good idea. When the body has too few calories to work with, it will burn muscle as well as fat, and that can be counterproductive.

Hope this helps!

Jay

[Kilketay]

I would say it's not at all a problem to have an occassional day like that - once every couple of weeks. Just eat more on other days and just some exercise in then!

[lynnm39]

I agree with what others here have said about it being no big deal to eat low calories occasionally. Indeed, there's plenty of research out there that suggests that eating very few calories on some days activates a similar gene to that which is activated when one fasts; it also produces some of the benefits of fasting.

Also, I often think about how people who've never had a weight problem eat. My husband, for example, sometimes eats a lot, but there are days when he'll skip breakfast and dinner (he forgets to eat). He's never had a weight problem.