How much damage can a couple of days do?

  • Hi guys

    So...I guess the situation isn't as bad as I make it out to be but...I've had a cold for the past 3 days, and an annoyingly strong one at that. So, instead of following my diet and exercise (it's the lack of working out that worries me) as much as I should. Also...the 3 day cold ended with my birthday. Read- cake, cake, cake and a cheeseburger. Oh, and a grilled cheese for breakfast. Haven't had that much food in literally weeks.

    Tomorrow is Monday and a new day. I fully intend to jump right back into my exercise routine and get back on my shakes and calorie counting. But what makes me wonder is, how much damage can one do in a few days? Will it be like starting over again? Is a couple of days too much?

    My next big red alert day is Halloween when I know I can allow myself to be a little bit naughty. But how much is too much? How much can really, really set us back? If I'm very good most of the time, and then have a 'once every month and a half' stretch of a couple of bad days..
  • You might have some water weight to deal with, but I don't think a couple of days are going to be too much to deal with. I mean, unless you were drinking butter or something crazy like that
  • you will be up a few pounds, but none of that will be a real reflection of your normal, more "real" weight. you'll have gained from water retention, which comes from increased carb and sodium intakes. when this happens to me, i'm usually back on track weight-wise 3 days afterward.
  • Trust me, the weight is "real". If the scale is up, there is nothing fake about it. Whether it is water, fat, colon sludge, or what ever, if the scale says you weigh more, you weigh more! Don't let anyone tell you different. AND, if you don't do anything about it, it will stay up. The water WILL stick around, the fat will still around, the colon sludge will make room for more if you don't get back on plan.

    The weight gain might be only temporary, but it is real, and it WILL stay (no matter what it consists of) if you don't get back on plan. Now...get back on plan girl!
  • Well, the weight may come off fairly soon, but for me, when I get into the mode of overeating, it tends to make it more difficult to get back on track the next day. That's what happened to me yesterday. However, even one or two on-track days will make you feel much better.
  • If I had to name the one key to success in weight management it would be dealing with the slip ups.

    Really. That's the secret. We all have them and the way we handle them makes the difference.

    As Lori says, the successful strategy is to get right back on plan. You can do it!

    When you are back on plan, you will see for yourself how hard or easy it was to transition back and then you can work on a strategy for dealing with Halloween. You are the best judge of the sort of indulgence you will be able to incorporate into your plan. It may be that just staying on plan would be best for you, and it may be that a planned day off would be best or something else.
  • I have to say I do understand the "cold" issue. Anytime I'm sick, I tend to stick to chicken soup (with saltine crackers... LOTS (too much!) crackers, and plenty of orange juice, which of course is laden with sugar. When I start feeling better, I get back to my diet. But all that salt & sugar... eh, it takes a few days to recoup from that!

    A couple days damage is "a couple days damage" - the trick is - anytime, for any reason! - any time you fall off the horse, GET.BACK.ON. The reason you fall off is not nearly as important as getting back on. It's the "getting back on" part that matters!
  • I can't really help you when it comes to a cold, but a couple of days CAN make a difference.

    I went away for three days to Philadelphia with the fiancee. I was nervous as it was my first time going away while in weight-loss mode. I still watched how much I ate (although I wasn't able to really practice calorie-counting) and made sure to exercise at the gym at the hotel and we also walked about 6 miles each day.

    I was up a pound when the trip was over. It was annoying, but I assume it was a bit of not eating as healthy as I would normally at home and not getting the right amount of water. It DID go away within two days, but I was still annoyed since I tried to stay on plan the whole time!

    I'm going away again this month though, just for two days. I'm going to use my last trip as a learning experience
  • honestly not to scare you but after a few days of really bad eating (bingeing) i've gone up like 10 pounds... and it takes a few days but each day it does go down a little bit as you lose the bloat and extra salt and water. just try to drink lots of water and avoid any processed foods or carbs and get right back on track as soon as possible
  • I ate on average 300 calories more than I would if I was to lose weight, so fingers crossed, it was just at my 'maintenance' level. Wouldn't it be difficult to gain 10lbs from a couple of days eating?? It took me about 6 months to put on 15lbs..gradually, slowly, but surely.
  • Let me tell you the difference a few days can make. I went on vacation to the Bahamas a month or so ago. When I came back I was 7 pounds heavier! 7!

    I knew that was going to happen because I didn't exercise, I drank a lot and ate poorly.

    There was no choice but to bite the bullet and get right back on track.
  • Keep in mind you need to consume an additional 3,500 calories to gain ONE pound. Just by waking up and breathing you are burning some calories. Also keep in mind that what you consumed 2-3 days ago is still processing its way out of your system -- which is why I don't get anywhere near a scale after I've over-consumed. I focus on drinking a lot of water in order to help my system flush it all out -- no pun intended! Then I forget the past get right back on plan.
  • Glad to report I'm right back on plan.

    Jeez...crazy stuff....to gain 10 lbs in 5 days you'd have to eat a whopping 7000 calories per day. And not lift a finger. Maybe when I'm down to 120 or something I'll have a fun week and climb back up to 130
  • Quote: Trust me, the weight is "real". If the scale is up, there is nothing fake about it. Whether it is water, fat, colon sludge, or what ever, if the scale says you weigh more, you weigh more! Don't let anyone tell you different. AND, if you don't do anything about it, it will stay up. The water WILL stick around, the fat will still around, the colon sludge will make room for more if you don't get back on plan.

    The weight gain might be only temporary, but it is real, and it WILL stay (no matter what it consists of) if you don't get back on plan. Now...get back on plan girl!

    i am doing this to lose fat, not water, thus "real" to me is whether or not what i've gained is fat. hence the quotation marks. in the literal sense, yes, the scale really did go up a few ounces; i'd be ridiculous to suggest otherwise. but i'm also aware of the fact that when, in general, people talk weight, they mean fat; very rarely are people happy to have lost lean mass as opposed to fat, and very rarely is water weight a direct source of any real concern.

    if i gain water weight when i'm on my menstrual cycle, i'm not concerned, because i'm aware that i didn't suddenly gain 1-4 lbs of fat overnight.

    OP wants to know, did she do any major damage? she's obviously aware the scale went up, but what she wants to know is whether or not any of her weight gain was from fat. it wasn't. the weight gain reflected on the scale, in this sense, was artificial.