Hi Everybody,

I'm still fairly new to the boards and am currently trying to bulk. I've set myself a 0.5lb per week goal and have been doing fairly well.....until now.

As yesterday was New Years Eve, I was at a party and sufficed to say, there was lots of food. Clean food, mind you (Shrimp, crackers, fruit exc). Well I had about 200 cals left for the day and I thought, "What the hell, I'll pull it out of my calories tomorrow. Anyways, so I picked up a plate and started eating. The only problem was I ended up going about 800 cals over my goal that day.

I was just wondering if there is a way to correct this "pig out" such as cutting my 200 cals per day until a balance out the 800 or even balancing it all out today.

Has anybody ever encountered a problem like this? Any responses would be appreciated!

Thank you!

PS-Sorry to ramble on a bit

step 1. take a deep breath and calm down
step 2. stop agonizing over every calorie

if your goal isn't to be a pro bodybuilder, don't take these cheat days so seriously. you didn't eat an entire pizza by yourself...

people don't get fat or shredded because of 1 day with an extra 800 calories.
just get back on track today. if you can adhere to your diet goals 90% of the time (and assuming your diet goals are "good" for what your end goal is) then that other 10% doesn't really undo things.
at the end of the month if you can only find 3 days where you 'screwed up', don't fret. aim for only 2 days...but don't fret.

if you can't have a slice of cake at someone's birthday party because of your diet, you'll start disliking your diet, and then you'll start slacking on it big time. don't fall for that mind game

"Cheat meals" should be accommodated in every diet. Don't do this too often and hit the gym to compensate for the occasional "pig out" as you call it.

malkore is ' spot on ' IMO.

You have to ' chill ' once in awhile when it comes to how strictly you follow your dietary guidelines IMO.

You're just an average gym rat trying to make some changes in your physique - you're not a cover model or bodybuilder or elite level athlete - so there is no need to " obsess " about every single calorie you consume 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 365 days a year.

Just my personal opinion, but you have to take a common sense and ' open-minded ' approach to meeting your dietary / nutritional goals.

That means you are ' open ' to being flexible about your self-imposed calorie restrictions on those special occasions that inevitably crop up throughout the year - i.e. Xmas, New Years, Thanksgiving, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations etc. etc.

Additionally I'm willing to bet that most of the people on this site who are either maintaining, bulking or cutting deviated from their dietary goals in some way during the festive period. Its not the end of the world.

Sadly, some people on this site think it is IMO.

Lol yeah that's what I figured. Am I right in assuming that you guys said NOT to try and compensate for at least some of those extra calories? Like, I just did some running this morning that burned close to 400 calories. I could just not eat those extra 400 today and be halfway to compensating for the "New Years Surprise." I'm not beating myself up over it, I just want to balance things out. Is that a smart idea?

Thanks again guys

Don't even worry about it. It's 800 calories of relatively clean food. It's minuscule in the grand scheme of things. If you try to correct it today, I think you'd be encouraging the obsession, which you don't want to do. Go watch some football.

Yeah, I think you missed the point they were making. Don't worry about one day. It's what you do most of the time that counts. Don't worry about compensating, just continue on with your plan.

First off, drop the "last meal" mentality. What you did was what people with eating disorders do: they eat something they think is bad, then say to themselves, "Well I did this, might as well eat the whole thing because tomorrow, tomorrow I will burn it off in exercise, and this will never happen again." You trending in bad water, don't go any farther, and simply back off. It's a purging behavior, and forcing yourself to overwork to purge the calories is no worst than force vomit or using exlaxs. Relax. Be cool about. Release your thoughts about food.

Second, one day isn't going to ruin your diet. Enjoy life. One day of "pigging out" isn't going to kill you. Just enjoy the food, and simply forget about it. If anything, it will help you. Don't base your mood on failures or success in your pseudo diet.

Third, relax. Take it easy. Don't worry about the party. It's over, and I hope you had a good time.

You're bulking.

Exactly. There were more than a few times when I went a few hundred cals over my limit and if anything, it did me good. Some weekends, I got a little carried away, and I would be feeling so strong and ready from the extra energy, I would tear it up on Monday. So as they have said, don't worry, don't try to "make up for it", and just move on. As long as you limit it, you will have no problems.

A solid steel ship with a great foundation, steers itself into the wind. The waves rise, and toss the ship to and fro. The captain stays persistent because he/she has been trained in how to handle troubled water when the ocean gets upset and the winds are fierce. The ship didnt sink because of this training implementation, and there is a look of joy and happiness when the storm calms. A sense of accomplishment and relief.

(Chillen)

When you arm yourself in the circumference of knowledge applicable to your goal, and partake in goal driven "perception of this knowledge" beyond just the basics, one can implement and apply this different perception to resolve problems that develop and create some freedom of the self at the same time.

(Chillen)

With this in mind, one can even plan "eating over maintenance" or (deal with unplanned eating over maintenance" when deficit dieting and reduce guilt and the associated emotions that come with it).

For example, it can come down to 5 things: 1. Knowing your MT Line, 2. Viewing days for calories within a 24 hour cycle clock (knowing your prior history of deficits and current tabulation), 3. Knowing the approximate calories in deficit to lose an approximate pound of fat tissue, 4. Approximate calories burned during different types of exercise, and 5. Knowing how to manipulate calories (and even timely manipulation of the three nutirents, carbs, protein, and fats)


Manipulation of these 5 items can open up the mind! Look at them differently: Use them they are always there waiting.

These 5 things can be used as tools to assist one when one is thinking they may have messed up.

(Chillen)

Some things to think about:

I just "firmly" believe if one wants their goal bad enough they will "do what it takes" to get the job done. And, I believe in having a plan in place for weaknesses we all have......and embrace the mere fact they will come; there is no doubt. Why be surprised? Have a plan and you will serve yourself much better, I promise.

Here is an example:

If one were to "view" their days in 24 hour cycles "particular to their lifestyle" and all calories consumed would fit within this 24 hour cycle period. When one goes over their limit (for sake of argument--for what ever reason), the person can leave the calorie surplus for the period that day, and just flat "move on" and continue with the projected deficits the next day as before or develop a strategy and do something else--that can lead to being more productive

Can you tell me some things you can do with the 5 things I listed?

One more thing to remember, that some people miss: When one is on a deficit diet for a rather long period, for example, the body is much more "tolerant" to a calorie surplus dependent on the amount of the surplus, and in most cases will not even make an impact against ones goal--especially just one day among many calorie deficits of the past.

I would thoroughly enjoy your feed back: Get your mind rocking and a rolling!

One of the MAIN reasons I am successful, is due to knowing how to "manipulate perception" of things learned and how to apply this "manipulated perception" to "strengths and weaknesses". This can save a ton of sorrow and can create much happiness.


When learning certain information on health and fitness, learn how to "think deep" past the obvious topic at hand, and how some information that you are reading can be applied to "invest within yourself" to combat weaknesses and entice strengths and in some cases, allow a strength to assist a weakness.

Learn to work with and manipulate the basics of nutrition and fitness--VIEW IT DIFFERENTLY...

EDIT: Set your own "realistic" standards.


ROCK ON!



Chillen

good post!

Thank you, FF