Cheat Day Hangover??
 

Hi Ladies, I posted a little while ago that I wanted to try a cheat day, but that I was scared. I have eaten on-plan every day since March of 2010, but realized that there would be a few times a year that I would like to have 'bad' things like cake, french toast, etc.

Well, I picked today as my first 'Cheat Day' or 'Sugar Day' which is what I've been calling these planned cheat days. I went to an Easter brunch with my family, and I got to fulfill a year's worth of cravings in one buffet, which was convenient.

Also, on the way home, we stopped at CVS and my bf bought me a marshmallow chocolate bunny (my fave).

Anyways, I'm lying on the couch BLOATED AS HECK. I didn't even go that nuts by my standards in my formerly fat life, but I definitely consumed about a week's worth of my normal consumption of sugar in a day, along with a lot of white carbs that I normally pass on.

I know my brain and my body will be relieved to go back to my normal foods tomorrow, but do you guys ever get a cheat day hangover where the effects last longer than the day you cheated?? I'm scared I will be a zombie at work tomorrow..

No. Tomorrow you will be brand new!!!:D

Ahaha. I'm not as self-controlled as you are, so I've been "cheating" a little every day this whole time -- probably why I'm so far behind schedule on my loss -- but I usually keep sugar to manageable levels, and yes, every sugar binge is accompanied by discomfort. You'd think it would teach me, but it doesn't...

Anyway, now you can go back to your clean eating habits tomorrow without any regrets -- you won't want to turn back to unhealthy eating for another year! Awesome :)

Yep.

I remember the first time I had a cheat day/holiday after eating clean for several months. Christmas. My mom's cookie party. Oh so much sugar... that I definitely wasn't used to. Oy.

I literally felt drunk driving home and had a pounding headache the next morning.

Now that I splurge more often (like once a month, but not to such an extensive degree) its not so bad, but I still try to avoid going too overboard cos of that. Ugh.

Absolutely, that's how days-long sugar binges start. Eat a lot of sugar, go to bed feeling gross, wake up feeling hung over and craving a "hair of the dog" treatment for the sugar headache.

Please post how you feel/deal tomorrow and in the coming days! I will use it as preparation for my planned excursion off-plan on May 22.

Haha, oh god I thought I was the only one! I'm going through the exact same thing today! I had insane amounts of sugar this morning... WAY more than I'm used to these days, and I almost felt drunk for the next few hours and have subsequently felt horrible for the rest of the day. So weird!

I guess I don't really plan a cheat day, but if there's something I want to splurge on I might have it. Then I work out a little more or eat something much healthier later. I don't like completely depriving myself of foods I enjoy, but for the most part I take things as they come.

I tend to have a 'sugar-hangover' untill about midday the next day. I find drinking plenty of water helps.

Yes. I do. I actually have one today from having some Easter candy. I had one yesterday too. Yes, I have had candy two days in a row now. :o

The only thing I know of that's get rid of these things is a good workout with plenty of water. If I don't workout, I have to wait them out. I feel so yucky. I can't wait to workout. I know what you mean about having nowhere near the amount of candy you used to eat. My body just doesn't get hit with this kind of sugar anymore. I am glad when I really eat candy that it's just a few servings and not like I used to eat candy on holidays!

I eat something sweet every day. But it is usually just a teaspoon full of honey on my joghurt or 10gr of chocolate.
So I never really want to have a day where I eat more sugar.

Just out of curiosity..do you check your blood sugars when you feel like that? I am thinking I should, just in case. Does your Doctor have you monitor your sugars at all?

Hi gals, thanks for the replies and support!!

Last night I passed out too early to even read most of your answers- haha!

I am embarrassed to note that my tummy was so puffed out that I couldn't sleep normally (I'm a stomach sleeper), so I had to sleep on my side like a pregnant lady.

This morning when I woke up, my food-baby had shrunk in size considerably, and I'm feeling ok. Since I am doing intermittent fasting, I don't plan on eating until 1pm, but I have NO DESIRE for sugar or carbs at this point.

That being said, my hands are a little shaky but I was fine driving to work. Drinking lots of tea and water.

Thanks again for the help, and if you overindulged on Easter as well, let me know how you're feeling now!!

My hangover is more emotional than it is physical. After yesterday’s feast of marshmallow peeps, chocolate, chips & dip, cheese, crackers, sausage, ham, potatoes, cinnamon bread, etc --- I am just, sick. I had an hour drive home and all I kept thinking about was what I put into my mouth. I would tell myself, “Hey, I didn’t eat THAT much” and then my next thought would be, “Oh, nevermind. I forgot I ate XYZ”. I’m still feeling that way a little bit this morning. Beating myself up that I let myself go above and beyond what a cheat day/meal should be. The only thing that is helping me is setting a plan for myself for the rest of the week. Work extra hard at the gym tonight & this week, plan my meals for the week, cancel my dinner plans for Thursday. I’m hoping to snap out of my food funk soon and just move on! :)

Glad things are looking up for you. In my experience, it has taken me at least 3 days to get back to "normal" health. That would include bowel issues, headaches, pounding heart rate and overall feeling of bloat & gross. On the 3rd day, it is usually followed by Mental issues like insane cravings and on a few occasions a total relapse. This stage usually goes on for another week. For us sugar junkies, I totally don't recommend sugar binges. IMHO, they are very hard on the body.

But for some reason, I continue to torture myself on occasion. Yesterday was no exception. 6 pounds up and feeling like ****.

This is exactly what I'm terrified of. Thinking in terms of a normal hangover, it is possible that I'm still 'drunk' on sugar and the bad part is yet to come....

I tend not to overdo it on sweets... I much prefer real food. That being said, I ate what I wanted yesterday, and when I got home, I tallied up all my WW points for the day. I was pleasantly surprised.

I get 39 daily points, plus I have my 49 weekly points and any activity points I earn through exercise. (In the five weeks I've been on WW, I've never eaten all my weeklies and I've never touched my AP.) Yesterday I had a "good" breakfast, totalling 9 points. It was larger than my usual breakfasts, but I wanted to eat a little more quality food in the morning, to stave off the urge to eat more unhealthy food later in the day. I also had a snack of celery and Laughing Cow before we left the house. So, my pre-holiday dinner points were 12 before heading out for dinner.

At my aunt's, I brought shrimp cocktail for an app and a WW-friendly strawberry-vanilla trifle for dessert. She made ham, roasted potatoes, quiche and green bean casserole. I had a little of everything, and that was the key - a LITTLE of everything. I had to guesstimate my points for it, but I tend to guess high to cover myself. When all was said and done, my holiday eating totalled 33 points.

At day's end, my daily total was 45 points. That means I ate my 39 dailies and 6 weeklies. I'm VERY happy with that!!! I consumed way more than that last weekend in wine alone! LOL!

I will say, though, that most of yesterday's meal was very salty, so I still feel as though I've got a bit of a food hangover. I drank a ton of water during and after dinner, and I'm going to have to rehydrate a lot today too.

All things considered, I feel good about my choices and I didn't once feel deprived. :-)

Ha - glad I'm not the only one who calls the bloated stomach a 'food-baby' - usually mine is a pizza-baby or a chocolate-baby etc. I can easily look 5 months pregnant after a naughty day. I freak my husband out - I walk about stroking it and talking to it - lol!

I have the same issue, it ceases to be worth it more and more these days. If I am going to have a cheat day, I feel better doing it on a good steak than a milkshake.

This has definitely happened to me in the past. I agree with many of the previous posters that sugar/carbs or too much fat or fried foods tend to be the main culprits, in addition to obvious ways our bodies retain water/ sodium.
I have found a "cure" that works for me though, which may seem obvious or silly, but is a life-saver those rare times when I go overboard these days.

Whether it was too much wine with dinner, followed by too much dessert (like on Easter Sunday)
Or too much wine in general, on occasion with friends, or too much food at dinner, the next morning i force my butt out of bed, pound a few glasses of water and a cup of strong coffee, and go for the longest run I have time for.
Yesterday, post "Easter incident" I got up at 4:45am, and ran my heart out until I had to get back and be ready for work. That turned out to be 8 miles where I'd sprint one mile on and one mile off. Finished it in 57 minutes, which for me is a pretty bada@@ time. I think of the alcohol or carbs as "fuel" (which we all know is BS---- I overindulged, and I am certainly not eating an athlete's training nutrition with sauvignon blanc and chocolate....hehe) and simply Burn. It. Out.
Next, move on. Get back to what you regularly eat, drink a TON of water--- and for me, try to avoid a "next time" while still a few pounds from my ideal weight. I bet things will look up quickly!

This is exactly what I do! I run, run, run until I can't run no more. I feel like by sweating, I'm getting rid of that bloated feeling - like the excess calories are literally leaving my body.

PS 8 miles in 57 minutes!?! danggggg you go girl.

HAHA--- exactly. Sweat it away, ilovetoot--- it must be good for something, huh? I think in college there were definitely a few times when i ran "the morning after" a night of drinking and was actually sweating straight champagne.

nothing puts my back in the right mindset than mentally and physically reminding myself that i can still push myself with exercise and get motivated to get back on track!

yah, that run was serious-- but again, my first few miles of sprints were literally burning chocolate bunnies.

I actually had a great workout today. I went for a nice, long 75 minute walk this morning. It's like my body rememebered what to do with the candy carbs I ate lastnight. I just felt great with tons of energy the whole way! :running:

The best three miles run I ever did was the morning after Christmas Day (aka Boxing Day for UK-ites).

Isn't this over exercising to compensate for a binge just another form of Bulimia? Seems like I read that somewhere. IDK, no matter what a person does to lose or gain weight there is a diagnosis attached. :(

I guess if you overexert yourself when you exercise as a punishment for the overindulgence it could be part of a eating disorder cycle. The largest difference I see sometimes is the motivation to workout spurned by anxiety about over-eating.

I personally put in that extra long walk b/c I was out on one of my walks and was enjoying it too much to stop at my normal 40 minutes that I do 4-5 times a week. For me, I actually saw how athletes get a boost from carb loading. Kinda neat. No punishment or anything going on here. Just sheer appreciation for a nice day and my health.

People can always categorize anything. Our minds want us to compartmentalize. Just like the free meal discussions and people equating it to a planned binge. It could be construed that way, if you were trying to Dx a disorder although there generally needs to be some emotional distress in the process. For day to day application, there needs to be a time that we go out and can trust ourselves to not count everything and know that we won't fail to eat reasonably.

Hi lori,
In some cases, perhaps-- but in my opinion, and in my experience, the occasional self-motivating kick in the pants through exercise can be a great way to mentally get back on track! I love running, always have, and I enjoy my runs tremendously. This isn't a punishment, but rather a joyful acknowledgment of what my body can accomplish-- and reminding myself that when i overindulge sometimes I can use that extra fuel in a positive way!

Update
 

Hi everyone!! Thank you and :hug: for your support and posts!

Now that I am convinced I will come out of this alive (dramatic, I know), I will share that on Monday I believe I was still under the influence of the sugar demons. I ate my normal foods and went to bed feeling fine, etc. Yesterday morning I woke up with a THROBBING HEADACHE and was super jittery.

It was as if I couldn't run any longer and finally had been chased down by the sugar monster. :devil: I took some Aleve, went on with my day and went to sleep very soon after I got home from work.

I deserve what I got!! However, my greatest fear of wanting more and more sweets was not realized. My body is more like, "lay off the sugar, dummy"

Well that's a nice benefit. Looks like your body has learned that it likes it's carbs in moderation. ;)

I had my first cheat day on Easter--- It worked very well for me. I felt no need to binge. Had all the food I love and a few drinks, felt fine the next day.