You Blew Your Caloric Intake for the Day… Now What Do You Do?

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By: Matt Weik

You blew your caloric intake for the day. You’re probably upset. Maybe you’re flat-out pissed off? More than anything, you’re undoubtedly angry at yourself for slipping up on your nutrition. But do you know what? You’re not alone. It happens to everyone. It’s what you do next after you realize you messed up that will make the difference.

Far too many people exceed their caloric intake for a given day and then have the wheels fall off by their actions that follow. Some will give up. Some will feel regret over the next 24 hours. Some may even say “the heck with it” and go on a binge – eating whatever the heck they want. None of these things are feelings or actions you should take.

Below are some things you need to do when you exceed your caloric intake for the day.

1. Maintain a Positive Mindset​

It’s common to get down on yourself. In fact, it’s a good sign as you’re aware that you made a mistake, and it bothers you. You show remorse for your actions and know you messed up. That said, you want to maintain a positive mindset after you exceed your caloric intake for the day. Now, that’s not to say make it a common scenario and keep telling yourself that you’re “going to stay positive” and pat yourself on the butt with an “atta boy, you’ll do better tomorrow” every day. At that point, it’s the wrong kind of reinforcement.

But you want to stay positive and tell yourself that while you messed up, you’re not going to allow it to continue and vow to do better.

2. Don’t Stress About It​

The only thing stressing about blowing your caloric intake for the day is going to cause is a rise in cortisol levels (a stress hormone). That will kickstart a chain of events that you don’t want to take place. When cortisol levels go up, you may experience sugar cravings, find yourself hungry all of the time, may store body fat more easily, and overall take you down the wrong path.

Circle back to #1 and stay positive, try to minimize stress levels, and know that you’re going to right the wrong and get back on track.

3. Avoid Spiraling Out of Control​

When you blow your caloric intake, the last thing you want to do is throw your hands up in the air and think you ruined everything, so what’s the harm in just eating whatever you want until you decide to hop back on your plan? This will have you going in the wrong direction, can cause you to gain weight, and may even cause you to never go back on your plan ever again.

Take a deep breath, take responsibility for your actions (don’t blame others), and move onto #4, which is incredibly important.

4. Establish Why You Blew Your Caloric Intake​

Now that you took responsibility for exceeding your caloric intake for the day, understand the reason why it happened. Did you not count your calories for the day until later and found out you were way over? Did you binge and have a lapse in judgment? Did you think you would only have a little dessert but instead ate the whole thing? Regardless, figure out why it happened.

Once you look back at where you went wrong with blowing your caloric intake for the day, how will you ensure it doesn’t happen again? Now, what I’m saying is to NOT eat what you ate, but how can you do it within reason and still hit your calories and macros for the day? After all, a nutrition plan shouldn’t feel like a jail sentence. You should be able to eat whatever you want, within moderation.

Maybe it comes down to better portion control? Possibly fit in your workout earlier in the day, so you have some spare calories in the tank that may allow you to enjoy yourself a little? Maybe it’s not giving in to peer pressure where your friends wanted you to come out for A DRINK, and you ended up six deep?

Establish the why and take corrective action, so it doesn’t happen again.

5. Get Back on the Horse with Your Next Meal​

After going through all of the above, jump right back on the horse. Sure, you were thrown off and exceeded your caloric intake for the day, now, move on. Don’t fall into the trap of making it a habit. Simply make sure your next meal, you’re right back on track to get yourself closer to your goals.

Don’t feel defeated if you lose your way for a day. Make it a point to have your very next meal align perfectly with your plan and align with your health and physique goals.

6. Up the Intensity During Your Next Workout​

On top of taking corrective action with your meals to ensure you don’t have another day where you exceed your caloric intake, make sure you kick things up a notch with your next workout. Remember that a surplus or deficit doesn’t cause you to gain weight or lose weight immediately, it’s when done over time (such as a week). Therefore, if you take up the intensity of your next workout, you may be able to burn off the extra calories from the previous day and still be fine by the end of the week when you jump on the scale.

This all goes back to #1 and #2. Don’t get all bent out of shape unless you’re making it a habit. Which at that point, you need to pull back on the reins immediately.

7. Ask for Help​

The last thing you want to do if you blew through your caloric intake for the day is to ask for help if you need it. If it happens once in a while, I wouldn’t worry too much, but it’s time to call in the reinforcements if it turns into an everyday occurrence.

It’s ok to ask for help if you need it. Let’s face it, if sticking to a plan were easy, everyone would look like fitness models with chiseled abs and impressive physiques. Instead, over 40% of Americans are considered obese, and more than 60% of adults are overweight.

Seek out the help of a dietician or nutritionist. They can help you plan your nutrition and get it under control. You can also consider a meal prep service that can prep all of your meals, and the only thing you need to do is heat them up, and you’re ready to dig in.

Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. Instead, it shows strength because you’re willing to do whatever it takes to hit your caloric intake for the day and get yourself closer to achieving your goals.