Here's Why One Big Day Isn't Gonna Kill Ya
"Other than death, all failure is psychological." - Jocko Willink
I'm a macro-based nutrition coach. When working with a client with a goal of fat loss, one of the first things I do is establish their calorie and protein targets.
Step 1: Calculate Maintenance Calories - the amount of calories you're consuming per day on average to yield your current body composition. Online calculators make this pretty simple. They generally end up in the right ballpark.
Step 2: Establish Calorie and Protein Targets - Let's say maintenance calories came in around 3000. To lose weight, you need a deficit. A healthy rate is 1-2 pounds per week, which requires a 500-1000 calorie deficit. So I might establish a calorie target of 2250 and a protein target of ~200 grams (35-40% of calories).
Now let's fast forward two months. You diligently tracked food, stuck to the program, generally didn't exceed 2250 calories daily. As a result you dropped 12 pounds. Starting weight was 200 pounds, now you're at 188.
At your new weight of 188, maintenance calories would be lower - likely around 2900 (down from 3000 at 200 lbs).
Let's say month 3 gets off to a slow start - work trips combined with a wedding that leads into a family vacation. You drink and eat a bit more than you wanted to and clock in at ~2700 for a couple weeks.
You might think it's the end of the world, since 2700 is significantly greater than your target of 2250. But hold up - your new maintenance is around 2900. 2700 is still a slight deficit. So you might have actually still lost a little weight during this period.
After you've lost any amount of weight, maintenance is progress. Carving out periods where you can really lock in and make progress, and then maintaining during busier periods, is a very effective and realistic approach to losing weight and keeping it off long term. The timeline doesn't matter much. If you flat line for a few weeks when life gets crazy, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. The periods where you can keep your normal routine always last longer than the busy stretches.
So the next time you go overboard, don't beat yourself up too much. Just get right back on the horse.
Stay well, Hal the Health Coach
