Failed at diet after only 4 days AND question about Fitbit tracker

[Lemonade2468]

Hi everyone.

I started my diet on Wednesday of last week and did really well until yesterday when my boyfriend and I ordered delivery food. I rely on public transportation so it is hard to get to the grocery store and we ran out of healthy food to eat so I caved and we got pizza. I feel so guilty and feel like I have failed already! Just looking for a little support or encouragement I suppose. 

I also have a question about my tracker (I just started using the Fitbit One). Today it says I climbed 4 flights stairs but I haven't used any stairs yet nor did I climb any sort of hill. Makes me question how accurate these things are. Any thoughts?

Thanks for reading.

[AprilSun]

Consider it your cheat day and stay focused!  You can do it!

[Raviv]

I agree that you should just realize you're human (like the rest of us) and move on.  Don't take on "pizza eater" or "food cheater" as your identity or decide you're a failure.

You are a healthy person who usually eats well but went on a small side trip.  Now you're back on track and still headed toward the same goal.

[smhermione]

@Lemonade2468  don't worry about the pizza.  Remember that this is all about moderation to have success.  If losing weight meant never having pizza again, it would be a sad life!

For the flights of stairs, fitbit uses an altimeter to measure the flights of stairs using barometric pressure.  If you are having a windy day sometimes this will give you a false count on floors as the barometric pressure is changing as you are taking steps.  Hope that helps!

[Raviv]

@smhermione wrote:

@Lemonade2468  don't worry about the pizza.  Remember that this is all about moderation to have success.  If losing weight meant never having pizza again, it would be a sad life!

For the flights of stairs, fitbit uses an altimeter to measure the flights of stairs using barometric pressure.  If you are having a windy day sometimes this will give you a false count on floors as the barometric pressure is changing as you are taking steps.  Hope that helps!

---

Ooh, good to know!

Monsoon season is just starting here, and sometimes the barometric pressure will drop like a rock, which is when I sometimes get a migraine, then bounce back once the storm is over.

I had no idea that might mess with my stair count.

[Lemonade2468]

Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement and the explanaiton about the tracker. It is a windy rain day today! 

Best wishes to all.

[An-older-person]

What medical weight loss clinic would tell people when they had a cheat day is to cut one fruit the next day and drink parsley tea, then resume your normal food regime.

[SunsetRunner]

---

@Lemonade2468 wrote:

Hi everyone.

I started my diet on Wednesday of last week and did really well until yesterday when my boyfriend and I ordered delivery food. I rely on public transportation so it is hard to get to the grocery store and we ran out of healthy food to eat so I caved and we got pizza. I feel so guilty and feel like I have failed already! Just looking for a little support or encouragement I suppose. 

I also have a question about my tracker (I just started using the Fitbit One). Today it says I climbed 4 flights stairs but I haven't used any stairs yet nor did I climb any sort of hill. Makes me question how accurate these things are. Any thoughts?

Thanks for reading.

---

Just like everyone else is saying, do not beat yourself up over eating pizza. At the beginning I was so upset with myself for having a cheat meal for my cousin's graduation. Eventually I came to realize that I am not on a diet. Dieting is what you do to temporarily lose weight. This is a lifestyle change. I choose to eat healthier because it's good for my body. And come to think of it, that one "bad meal" (2000 calories!!) didn't stop me from losing two pounds that week because I chose to eat healthy for every meal before and after.

It is unrealistic to think that you will never eat something "bad"... that would just be setting yourself up for failure! You are allowed to treat yourself sometimes.

One night of pizza every once in awhile won't ruin your ability to lose weight or be a healthier person. When you do eat something "naughty" just try to eat the right portion size. It's easy to think "well I'm already cheating, might as well do it big" and eat the whole pizza. You'll feel better if you have a little more self control. 

Also, I was told that to gain 1 lb you must eat 3500 calories more than you burned. So unless you really did eat the whole pizza, you should be okay. 

One last thing, it really helps to plan your meals. I sit down every single week for a few hours and plan what I'm going to eat each day for the next week. When I go to the grocery store I only buy what I need for the week. This helps me to stay on track and not eat mindlessly. Planning your meals and snacks ahead of time will make it easier to make healthy choices. And hey, it's okay to even plan a "cheat meal" in there occassionaly. 

If your goal is to lose weight and be healthier then you must have a positive attitude about it, or else you'll quit. You've got this! 😄

[Trooper]

Because your  young, it's going to be difficult to stay away from a lot of the foods that your peers are eating. I am sure that there a lot of older members that can remember the days of pizza, burgers, fries, and shakes. But those days have now caught up to us. Some of us have health issues because of our decisions to eat unhealthy foods  when we were younger, and sadly there are some people that we knew or grew up with that died young because of their poor diet habits. You can eat pretty much anything you want. The secret is to eat only a small amount, and to keep track of your calories. There is nothing wrong with a" cheat day", so long as you choose to make your other meals healthy and nutrional. I personally do not have a cheat days anymore. I tried it too many times before, and my body went crazy for the sweets and the carbs. So I stay away from anything that I know I will lose control over. 

[fyerocious]

@AprilSun wrote:

Consider it your cheat day and stay focused!  You can do it!

---

Please, no more cheat days. Just cheat MEALS! 

[Heybales]

Pizza can't be on a diet?

Why?

Or was it eating half the pizza that was the problem, and that caused you to go over your eating goal by decent amount?

How far over your daily burn amount did you go over though?

Once you start labeling foods as good or bad - get ready for problems, usually mental.

Unless you have an actual health issue that says certain foods shouldn't be eaten (and likely been living with that already), all food can be in moderation.

Now - if that pack of Oreo cookies can't be eaten as 2 after dinner and stop there, but instead the whole container is wolfed down during TV time - then sure - might be good to not get it until you can figure out why self-control problem.

But saying they can't be eaten because they are bad will usually cause problems later - because they aren't - in moderation.

If they rob calories from food you should be eating for required nutrition, not great. If you have room to squeeze them in, just fine.

[Lemonade2468]

Hi all. Thanks again for so many words of encouragement. I have to admit even though I felt so guilty over eating pizza two nights ago I now feel even more guilty because I ate some of the leftovers last night! The pizza was luckily on the smaller side and was topped with chicken but it still had a lot of cheese. I hope this does not come off as an excuse but like I mentioned my biggest problem is that I rely on public transportation to get to the grocery store because it is not within walking distance and I have a job and I am a graduate student so I am quite busy. This makes it hard to go to the store regularly. The other problem is that we are on a very tight budget so I am finding it hard to keep the foods I need stocked. Any other suggestions?

Thanks again so much! 

(@Trooper while I appreciate the comments and the reply I am not that "young" - 31 - but I do understand what you meant)

[Bjorn]

@Lemonade2468,

CNN published an interesting article in 2010 about a Kansas State University professor of human nutrition who lost weight with an eating plan that mostly consisted of processed sugars and manufactured flour. He wanted to demonstrate the effects of calorie counting as weight management. Try not to punish yourself for eating bread with tomato sauce & cheese.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/

[DominicJ]

Its funny, when I wake up in the morning my fitbit tells me what I need to do today, its doesnt hassle me about mistakes I made yesterday........

[Natalan]

---

@Lemonade2468 wrote:

I have to admit even though I felt so guilty over eating pizza two nights ago I now feel even more guilty because I ate some of the leftovers last night!

There is no need to feel guilty. Focus on your overall nutrition and meeting your daily caloric goals. You're working to create a healthier way of eating that can be sustainable throughout your life, and that can certainly include the occasional pizza (or chips, or cake).

[Heybales]

Most people have found that success to any endeavor is planning.

Seat-of-the-pants decisions may luck out in right direction often enough, but usually there is stress that goes along with it even then. And then when it doesn't work out right, failure and stress.

You need to plan better, that's all.

Also, from the way you are talking about pizza, I'm going to bet your idea of "foods I need stocked" is rather limited and not beneficial for your situation.

If you mean fresh stuff because it doesn't last between store visits, so be it - get other stuff that is calorie dense and goes in freezer or fridge and lasts a lot longer.

Can you plan on some days being a stop at grocery store after school, on perhaps an easy day, then coming home? If you have your list planned as to what you need, there is no wandering around thinking time.

In and out, nobody gets hurt.

But again - takes planning.

Budget may benefit from that type of planning too, if not already done. If some faster type food is needed, must it be expensive options, if that's what is used?

I know some think gourmet if they must eat out, and pay for it. That's fine if affordable, otherwise not really needed.

[Prev]

I have been working on my diet for a while, this time last year I weighed 274, and today I weighed in at 243, it's slow going but it is slow because it is something I can commit to doing all the time. I have a slip, and sometimes I will eat an entire pizza, but that is the exception not the rule. That's what's really important. Pizza and the like used to be my whole diet. By making sustainable, incremental changes I have been able to lose weight without any exercise, and now that I have my fitbit and the leaderboard with my friends I am motivated to get out and walk it off.

Don't feel bad, you'll get it back, you just need to take those steps.

[sm27]

Don't beat yourself up over it! You did well and consider it a reward to yourself, like a treat. I strongly believe in making better choices yet still eating what you like once in a while. That one pizza isn't going to destroy you. Good luck!

[Lemonade2468]

Thanks everyone so much. I am over the pizza guilt mostly because I didn't go over my recommended calorie intake either day. I am working on meal planning and trying to figure out how to get to the store regularly. Tomorrow is a good friend's birthday so I know it probably will be a "cheat" day especially because I know some alcohol will be invovled but I am planning on not going overboard and sticking closely to my diet after that. 

Thanks again. Best wishes to all!

[sm27]

I want to do the same as far as meal planning and going to the store on a regular basis. It is not easy. Maybe make a certain day meal planning day and then the following day grocery day. I'm not sure what works best. Ideally is the weekend but with the crowds it's not exactly fun!