How many cal's do you leave at the end of the day?

VictoryGarden

So, is there a guideline for how many cal's you leave "unused" at the end of the day? Do you eat right up to your limit, or ????

So for instance, I just reset myself to sedentary (I'm not quite sedentary, and not quite light active, so trying to find my sweet spot). Set at 2 lbs loss/week as I am just getting started (again, sigh). I have an allotment of 1380/day. I try to always get at least 1200. Do I need to find more food to round that out so that it's closer to 1380?

How many do you all usually leave on a typical day?

Jruzer

I try to bring it to zero, unless I 'm banking calories.

BuffyBourbon

I'm far from an expert, but i'll answer! I have a daily allotment of 1490, and I do my best to be within 100 of that every day. If it's bedtime and i'm only at 1300 i'll grab a bite before bed, otherwise i'm likely to wake up in the night and want more than a bite!

kgirlhart

I always try to at least eat my food calorie allotment. If I have exercise calories I usually eat at least 50-75% of those but I will eat them all if I feel really hungry and if I don't quite get 50% of them I don't worry about it, but if I don't eat at least 1200 (my goal is 1300) I will eat a snack at night even if I'm not hungry.

dolliesdaughter

A big fat goose egg.

tomteboda

Depends on whether I've met my nutrition goals and how hungry I am. I like to be within 10% for the week.

murp4069

It depends on the day for me. I try to stay as close as possible to my 1350 MFP goal. If I have extra earned calories from exercise, I'll eat 50% of them them back if I am hungry and won't if I am not hungry. Typically after my dinner and exercise at the end of the night I am not hungry and so long as I am over 1200 I don't get too concerned with eating anything to bring my calories up closer to my goal. I never force myself to eat if I am not hungry, but I never deprive myself if I am hungry, particularly if I have more than enough calories at the end of the day for a snack.

mike_acton

All of them. And I eat 100% of the extra calories from my Fitbit. If I don't though, I don't sweat it. NBD. Lost 80lb+ doing that, so fine for me. YMMV.

AskTracyAnnK28

I bank about 40-50 a day and have those extra calories on the weekend - or on an evening when I go out.

kami3006

I follow a weekly goal but at the end of the week my average is within 50 calories of my goal. This includes all exercise calories.

CassidyScaglione

all of it, obviously, otherwise what's the point of having it set that high? I've finished under a couple of times when i've been feeling ill, but other than that...

MamaMc3

It depends on the day, but I eat as close to my calories as I can. I eat exercise calories if I am hungry, but otherwise I don't. Typically, though, I am hungrier on exercise days.

jeepinshawn

I guess the answer depend son how accurate you log. For instance I don't log the table spoon of butter I use when cooking eggs in the morning. I try to leave 300 or so calorie son there everyday, Im no longer eating at much of a deficit. The hardest part for me is that I do some pretty good workout in the evening after kiddos have gone ot bed so I end up with 600-800 calories to try and do something with.

kirstenb13

I agree that accurate logging is a big part in deciding how close you should get to that number. I eat usually within 100 cal of my goal including all my fitbit calories but I log very accurately/generously and so I'm still losing weight faster than projected.

Francl27

You bet I'm eating my calories, unless I'm really not hungry or it's 50 calories or something and I don't want anything for those calories.

Suzanne106

I eat them all and enjoy every bite

EvgeniZyntx

Within a hundred - over or under. I'm not OC about this - it works. Exercise, I tend to leave a larger deficit unless I feel I need to feed more for future days.

RoxieDawn

I eat every single one of them. I might have a really busy day or two or three for work and have calories left over during the week and I get to bank those on weekend. I never try to approach it in the sense that I will under eat my calories for the day so I can indulge, but it is nice after a long week.

Sued0nim

I do weekly not daily

But I aim to eat around 1500 over my weekly allowance which is made up of MFP set to sedentary + Fitbit adjustments which incorporate specific workouts measured by HRM and experience

I do this in order to stay in my maintenance range as ongoing tracking has proved that all the numbers are under estimating for me over time

JeromeBarry1

For now I'm not trying to reach my calorie target of 2300 per day. I walk a mile in the morning and get 149 calories added to my food. I get to the end of my dinner and and have 50% of my daily target remaining. Oh, please no.

jennifer_417

None, if I can help it. The deficit is already built in

samchez0

Some days 0, some days over, some days 300. Depends on what I ate and whether I worked out.

Cynsonya

Depends on my "food mood" that day. Somedays I'm not hungry and have no cravings and leave up to 400. Other days I want to eat all the food, lol. On those days I eat every single one plus some of my exercise calories. It all seems to balance out in the end for a 2-3 pound a week weight loss. I have a lot to lose. A whole lot. So I can get away with it.

SonyaCele

i always eat all my calories otherwise i wake up hungry.

Lounmoun

All of them.

peachyfuzzle

I leave a BUNCH on the table during the weekdays. I have about 2500 to eat each day that I'm not at the gym (well over 3000 on gym weekdays), but try not to go over 2000 Monday - Friday, and will generally try not to go much over 1700.

I bank them for the weekends, and also have a gym day one weekend day as well so that I don't have to worry too much about logging extraordinarily accurately Saturday - Sunday.

My log is extremely accurate Monday - Friday, but usually just a rough outline to make sure I'm not going too overboard on the other days. If I hit my mark, I'll be right around the 7000cal deficit for the week overall.

BurnWithBarn2015

As close as i can..why should i underfeed ( deny important nutrition to ) my body on purpose?

williams969

I go by weekly calories, so I typically bank 100 per day, and use them for a calorie heavy day. So, essentially, I leave close to no calories left uneaten by week's end.

debsdoingthis

CassidyScaglione wrote: »

all of it, obviously, otherwise what's the point of having it set that high? I've finished under a couple of times when i've been feeling ill, but other than that...

What do you mean by set that high? Depending on starting weight, 1380 could be very low.

Bbeliever215

Prior to fitbit I would eat most of my exercise calories back, usually leaving about 100-200 left most days. However, with my fitbit adjustments I tend to leave a lot more as I just don't feel hungry by bedtime. There are times when it's over 500 calories left. I am not sure how accurate but hey. Also since I do get lazy with weighing some foods, I figure it makes up for any errors. I have my mfp set to sedentary as well.

WinoGelato

williams969 wrote: »

I go by weekly calories, so I typically bank 100 per day, and use them for a calorie heavy day. So, essentially, I leave close to no calories left uneaten by week's end.

This.