I am just coming off of a lax weekend of healthy eating. i swore i would get back on it today. (not that i was terrible over the weekend but definately not on my game). So i did fine most of the day but once i got home from work it seemed like i just nibbled, nibbled, nibbled. For a while i wasnt even going to add up the calories i ate today. Then i decided that i needed to see the damage those little "nibbles" had done to my calories for the day. When i added it up i had nibbled my way up to 1394 calories for the day. I dont plan on eating anything else today, as this included dinner. But really for as guilty as i feel the day wasnt a total loss right? My goal is 1200 to 1300 a day. I was a little over but not a disaster right? So why do i feel like i already blown the whole week? Totally disgusted with myself and beating myself up for going 94 calories over. I need to get back to focus and convince myself, this is a lifestyle, not a diet.

Does anyone else get THIS frustrated and depressed when they go over their limit?

At your weight I'm suprised your goal is 1300. I would think that's a bit low. I get what you mean about going over your amount. I have a larger range so I try to hit mid range but happy with upper range as long as it isn't every day. My range is 1200 (rare) to 1800. I try to hit 1400-1500 but I consider anything between 1200-1800 perfectly fine for me. Having a strict 100 calorie range would be hard for me to meet all the time (ie, if mine was 1400-1500). My fitday avg for the past month was 1574.

Congratulations on the 10 lbs. lost. WTG. I do beat myself up when I go over the amount of carbs (I don't count calories as a general rule) that I have arbitrarily allowed myself per day. However, I have increased the amount a little, because I felt like I didn't get enough food. This said, I would think that 1300 calories a day is a low amount. Even though I stay on a low-carb plan, when I have checked my calories during plateau times, I found that I average 1400-1500 calories a day. It may be that you could eat more calories and still lose the weight just as easily and without feeling deprived .Good luck with your continued success.

I definitely agree. You shouldn't restrict your calories too much because your body will go into starvation mode to protect itself. One thing to check out is what you are nibbling on and what you are craving. Sometimes your body is trying to tell you that you aren't eating enough of something. For example, if you crave ice cream or a milkshake, you may need calcium. I think you should try bumping up your calories. You might not lose as quickly, but like you said, this is a lifestyle and not a diet so try restricting your calories more slowly. Give your body time to adjust to the change.

I get the point, but it isn't a good analogy because most of us have to watch for those sugar cravings.

I used to get that frustrated and depressed when I went over my limit (back when I had a limit, LOL), but after giving a lot of thought to what had gone wrong with all my previous weight loss attempts, I realized that being that rigid was one of the things that had caused me to fail.

It's all a matter of proportion. Some days you will go over. Other days you will be under. Some days you will get more exercise, other days less. The important thing is to look at it in the context of the bigger picture. Is going 94 calories over your limit one day going to increase the number of days it will take you to lose 90 more pounds? No. However, beating yourself up about it might, because then that can be an excuse to say, "what the heck, I've already screwed up, might as well binge."

I agree with the other posters that your limit may be too low anyway. I weigh close to what you do, and while I don't count calories, I think my intake is close to 2000 a day. And even with that, the weight is coming off really fast. Of course, I do exercise a lot.

Please don't get discouraged; you are doing great!

Get N Healthy - I think you should be patting yourself on the back that you only went 94 calories over after an evening of mindless nibbling. I can do WAY more damage than that if I put my mind to it.

The key is don't make a habit of going over...I prefer to take my average # calories over a one week period...I aim to stay between 1200 and 1400...this works for me and gives me a little leeway on days when I go out to dinner or something.

You've lost 10 pounds - you are on your way!! Don't beat yourself up, girl...94 calories...you can burn that off with a nice walk!

I know what you mean about beating yourself up. I went all last week without working out or watching my food or anything. When I woke up to the reality of what I was doing I felt so bad. Get more low fat low calories things to nibble on so they don't take such a toll. I have rice cakes and Kraft skim milk cheese cubes (1 serving is 7 cubes I think) for when the nibble attacks hit. Just think of it as motivation for next time too, now you know how much nibbling can cost emotionally, not just in calories. Or you could go for a walk to make yourself feel better. Even if it doesn't burn as many calories as you would like, just getting out, instead of sitting inside feeling bad, can help *Hugs*

Thank you all so much for your input. Everyone seems to think my cals are low. Eating a little more would certainly make life easier, i dont seem to lose ANYTHING if i go above the 1300 though. I dont know if it has to do with the insulin resistence i have or what. I used to could lose so easily but here lately it is so hard to get any results that are good and so easy to get lots of results that are bad. I need to step up my exercise. I have been terribly lazy about exercising. But i wanted to wait on a platuea and then start exercising to sort of kick it up a notch. But i think i need to at least give bumping up the calories AND the exercise a try and see where that gets me. I had such good results on WW and going to a GYM. I miss the GYM terribly but that was back in the day when i was a stay at home mom and getting to the gym was easy...NOT so easy anymore with full time job and the regular demands of a family. I know it can be done...but i also know myself well enough to know that with my schedule the way it is, it wont be done.
You all really had some great advise and i am going to take up on it, AND bump up the exercise. Thanks.