Is everyone ALWAYS under their calorie goals, or is it an average?

madrose0715

I look at my intake averages (both net and gross) as weekly and monthly trends and what is respectively happening to my weight. Works for me.

prattiger65

Not even weekly for me, sometimes circumstance make it more like two weeks or more. I look for the weight to keep moving down, after all, that is ultimately my goal. And LoL at someone " not giving themselves permission".

TheVirgoddess

Honestly I've gone over a total of 5 times in 9 months (4 of those were planned) - but that's just me and my habits/approach.

I think tracking weekly would probably work for you. But honestly the more seriously you track/log, the better results you're going to have. Calories and counting them shouldn't be a chore, it's just information - that you choose what to do with.

tycho_mx

you don't "have" to count calories. you just have to eat less. I know a lot of people that do that all the time to lose weight. Of course, those people normally don't suddenly come up with "yikes, I need a tool to help me with my weight loss".

If this tool (MFP) is making it worse for you, use a different tool. The premises for weight loss are the same: less calories in than out. The mechanics depend on preference!

(I am a cyclist and many of us don't like to count calories. The simple idea for many is "be a bit hungry all the time". Sometimes they get headaches from the big deficits when mismanaged, and of course it also is benefitted by 1500+ calorie workouts regularly. What is the path you prefer?)

njitaliana

It all depends on your weekly deficit. If you have calories left over for the week, you can use them on the weekend. You can also exercise a bit more to create more of a deficit.

tigerblue

If I have a day where it is likely I will go over, I still try to stay within what would be maintenance calories for me. That way, I am not really doing harm, just not as much good. I keep in mind that I might have a maintenance day once a week, and I try to plan ahead and use it either for "date night" (usually Friday or Saturday) or a day where I won't be able to control my choices as well (like a catered luncheon at work or a Dinner party). I try not to make those days more than once a week.

Emmy4444

Thanks for the productive tips and responses, everyone. I like the idea of focusing on a weekly balance of calories in/out - will likely drive me less insane.

NK1112

How much over, and on which macronutrients ... all of them in a balanced way or really high in carbs. You could find a 4 pound gain on Monday morning from Friday morning because ... if you restrict yourself for the weekdays and have a drop, you have dropped water weight, and some fat weight ... any your body is in shorter supply of glycogen in your liver. Then when you over-indulge on Friday night through Sunday night, your glycogen levels are maxed out and stored .. and the storage requires water ... so your weight goes up.

I have a friend who has gained and lost the same 4 pounds from Friday to Monday mornings for the past 7 years that I have know him/her ... and so, basically, they are staying the same ... or perhaps creaping up a bit.

If you are going to do this feast/famine type eating ... there is a diet out there called intermittent fasting that might appeal to you ... or just keep going along as you have been ... but track your weight and see if the trend is a downward one over time. You might want to check-in your weight into MFP so you can look at the weight report and see how it's been going.

Also ... as long as you are happy with the results, feast on the weekends if that's your wish.

Cortelli

Agree with the advice to look at a snapshot that is longer than one day - a week is good for me.

At the same time, it all depends on what motivates you and how you react. I personally am almost always over by a bit. But that's because for whatever reason, I find it incredibly easier to go a bit above my target than try and stay under. So I set my targets lower than I actually expect or plan to hit. I *know* that the target is artificially low; I'm not really fooling myself. But for whatever reason, when I am losing weight, I seem to be happier and more successful when I "tray to stay close" but end up going over -- even if the target is 1800 cals instead of 2100 cals (for example) -- the absolute number seems secondary; trying to get under it is strangely more challenging than just getting right round the target, whatever it is in absolute terms.

Try and figure out what works for you and run with it!

samchez0

christinev297 wrote: »

Check out what your weekly deficit is in your diary

Where do you find the weekly deficit at in the diary?