If you’re on a calorie controlled diet, or are simply watching your weight – it can be easy to feel disheartened when you overeat. For many of us, the hardest time to maintain control is during the holiday season – dinner parties, Christmas foods and an abundance of comforting dishes are enough to tip anyone over the edge. So what should you do if you do slip and overindulge?
Relax
First thing’s first – one indulgent meal isn’t going to ruin your hard work; it takes a whopping 3,500 calories to gain one pound of fat. Remember that nobody’s perfect and we all overindulge from time to time – giving yourself permission to do this will help remove any feelings of guilt. Having said this, you shouldn’t use this as an excuse to overeat and binge for the rest of the year.
Don’t beat yourself up
It is all too easy to think ‘well I’ve already failed, might as well eat my way through Christmas’, but you should try not to feel disheartened. When you overeat one day, pick yourself up and get on track the following day.
Resume sensible eating
While it may be tempting to compensate for the overindulgence by skipping meals the following day, this will only leave you hungry, grumpy and at risk of bingeing. Instead try to resume your sensible eating plan – a series of small, fibre-rich meals will keep you satisfied.
Avoid the scale
After a splurge, your weight may be inflated – not because of an increase in body fat, but because of water retention (incurred due to the excess salt you are likely to have eaten). Weighing yourself now will only hinder your motivation – instead, give it a few days of normality so you get a truer representation of your weight.
Stick to your usual exercise routine
Don’t try to overcompensate by working out for hours on end – this will lead to burn-out and you risk injuring yourself. Instead, try to stick to your usual exercise routine.
If you are looking for professional advice when it comes to weight loss, a nutritionist could help. Find out more by reading our weight management page.
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