Feeling like a real failure here. Today was a special Christmas meal at church. I ate and ate without logging anything. I told myself I could have this one "free" day. Now that I'm home and it's late, I'm regretting all that food I ate all day. I logged it all into My Fitness Pal and discovered I consumed 2500 calories!!!! What if I can't recover from this? Have I stretched my sleeve now? I'm worried the old food-dependent me is back. Has anyone else ever had a day like mine?

Absolutely! You are not alone. I think they're are a few things you need to keep in mind.

1. This wasn't a slip. You gave yourself permission to enjoy the day. Don't ruin it with self-incriminations now.

2. Ask yourself what the calorie count would gave been pre-surgery. Rather than focus on 2500, think about what it could've been in your old life. 4000? 5000? When you look at it that way, today was a win.

3. One day will not ruin your sleeve. Even multiple days won't take you back to your former stomach size.

4. Higher calorie days will happen occasionally, what defines these moments is how you recover. So, get your game plan and get back on track.

Hugs!

Amanda

Great answer Amanda! I concur!

FORGIVE YOURSELF! You have a lifelong wonderful tool and you need to recognize you will have times when you will indulge. Let go of the guilt, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back on program. Don't waste the energy beating yourself up. I came to this realization a couple of months ago after beating myself up every time I went off program. I finally realized I have no trouble going right back on program after a day or two of carb romping (;-P) and that this is a lifetime tool for a long time- and I wont beat myself up ever again.

Hi,

Don

t beat yourself up over this. It is done, you can't change the past. Move on and change tomorrow.

Your new sleeve is just fine. Do some extra work outs this next week. Make some healthy choices and get back on track. In a few days you will feel just fine.

You are the 1st person to do this or the last person to do this.

Hugs,

Suzannne

I totally agree with Amanda!! You are only human-- Pre-sleeve I am sure I ate 2500 calories in one meal a few times per week!

It isn't the end of the world! Maybe try to exercise harder to offset the amount of calories eaten.

2500 calories isn't the end of the world. You can't stretch your sleeve with one day of "extra eating". Just like what we're all supposed to do - when you eat more than you should, increase your activity to compensate. Start tomorrow a brand new day. Don't give up - its not all or nothing - every day is a new day. You're doing GREAT! You gave yourself a moment to indulge and I don't see anything wrong with that. You haven't formed a habit, you haven't returned to your "old ways". What matters is what you do tomorrow. Do you give up, or do you work the sleeve like you know you can and create a day of being on track and following your plan? If you can do that - then the day of indulgence was just that - a day of indulgence - which means you AREN'T returning to your old ways - you're living life how its MEANT to be lived!

Feeling like a real failure here. Today was a special Christmas meal at church. I ate and ate without logging anything. I told myself I could have this one "free" day. Now that I'm home and it's late, I'm regretting all that food I ate all day. I logged it all into My Fitness Pal and discovered I consumed 2500 calories!!!! What if I can't recover from this? Have I stretched my sleeve now? I'm worried the old food-dependent me is back. Has anyone else ever had a day like mine?

Surprisingly its not that difficult for the calories to add up even though I'm sleeved. With that in mind, I do my best to make sure my portions are very small.

I only want to tell you, one high calorie day a failure does not make. Dust yourself off and move on. Forgiveness of yourself you will find will be the most powerful motivator in your weight loss journey. The only day you will ever be a failure is the day you give up.

Feeling like a real failure here. Today was a special Christmas meal at church. I ate and ate without logging anything. I told myself I could have this one "free" day. Now that I'm home and it's late, I'm regretting all that food I ate all day. I logged it all into My Fitness Pal and discovered I consumed 2500 calories!!!! What if I can't recover from this? Have I stretched my sleeve now? I'm worried the old food-dependent me is back. Has anyone else ever had a day like mine?

This completely reflects my day in work. There was an end of term buffet with lots of carbs and high cal goodies. I enjoyed every mouthful but I REFUSE to feel bad about it. And compared to what I could of eaten pre-sleeve I di really well!!

This is the beauty of the sleeve. We can eat all sorts of foods and enjoy them! Neither of us are gonna stretch our sleeves from one day... but we both have this amazing tool that limits what we can treat ourselves to.

So, like you, tomorrow it is back to normal!

Try not to be hard on yourself, we are all human ... be kind to yourself and remember that you allowed this special day to be a 'free' day! You will defo recover from this, of that I am sure!

Chin up my sleeve friend.

I want to thank each and every one of you for your replies. You guys helped me get back on track and start feeling good about myself again.

The only day you will ever be a failure is the day you give up.

Thanks LilMissDiva-I needed that today.

Thanks Debbie for posting this. I just finished my first non-program Breakfast since my surgery. Visiting family and my niece made packaged muffins-something I would never eat at home. And I ate 3! I am only 5 weeks out so not only no protein-all white flour and white sugar, but way too Much food for my sleeve. I feel sick and hope that I learned my lesson. but as everyone says, it was one meal (or one day) and as long as we get up and get back on the horse-we should look at this slip and think about how to handle this better next time-as there will surely be a next time.

Good Luck-

Remember that it takes about 3500 calories to gain, or lose, a pound of fat, so one day off isn't going to blow it for you. As long as you don't make a habit of it, you'll be fine. Some diet plans, and even my wife's WLS surgeon (my guy's older brother) suggest taking a day off from counting every week or so.