Anyone else nervous to go too close to the calorie limit?

tbright1965

Meh!

I tend to round up things, so if I'm over, I may not really be over.

If I'm doing it every day, yeah, it's a problem. If it happens occasionally, no big deal.

What is more important is that you are accurate, or at least know your error mode when logging food.

As I said, I round up, so if I weigh out 25g of cheese and a serving is 28g, I'm not sweating getting the extra 3g of cheese on the scale. I just gave myself some margin.

I personally believe a bigger problem is underestimating how much one is eating.

If you think you are under when you are really over, and you are doing that on a daily basis, that's a bigger problem than over logging and then occasionally being over your daily limit.

I hope that is clear.

gallicinvasion

TavistockToad wrote: »

gallicinvasion wrote: »

I think I psyche myself out of calories sometimes. I use a food scale for calorie-dense foods at home and all my lunch prep recipes, but however exact I try to be, sometimes I just get way too nervous that I have miscalculated somewhere, and I start thinking about how many calories I could be off by, and then I stay away from my calorie goal by more than that imagined margin of error. Anyone else do this?

No, and it sounds like a shortcut to disordered eating to me.

Look at your weekly goal, not daily.

Weigh all your food with scales and as long as you're using accurate database entries and that's as good as you can get.

You’re right about that; I definitely have a history of disordered eating (of the binge/no purge variety). I definitely use the most accurate entries possible. The Weekly goal is something I should definitely pay more attention to! That will be my next step. Thanks!

gallicinvasion

mitch16 wrote: »

I've been down that rabbit hole. I'm a little OCD and have a history of ED, so I've come to terms with the fact that it's probably better for me to not weigh every morsel and just better for me to estimate to the best of my ability. And I'm still successfully losing, so it's working for me.

Although being a healthy weight is healthy, don't undermine your mental health to get there.

A wonderful point to remember, thank you!

gallicinvasion

TavistockToad wrote: »

Tedebearduff wrote: »

gallicinvasion wrote: »

I think I psyche myself out of calories sometimes. I use a food scale for calorie-dense foods at home and all my lunch prep recipes, but however exact I try to be, sometimes I just get way too nervous that I have miscalculated somewhere, and I start thinking about how many calories I could be off by, and then I stay away from my calorie goal by more than that imagined margin of error. Anyone else do this?

Nope, but like just realize if you go over you can go for a 20 minute jog/walk/run or go to the gym for an hour and lift some weights to work it off.

A 20 minute walk burns 64 cals for me so wouldnt really help in that situation!

Same! Not knowing how many mystery calories I might be over a deficit, a random walk would be no guarantee of remaining within the deficit.

gallicinvasion

pinuplove wrote: »

gallicinvasion wrote: »

I think I psyche myself out of calories sometimes. I use a food scale for calorie-dense foods at home and all my lunch prep recipes, but however exact I try to be, sometimes I just get way too nervous that I have miscalculated somewhere, and I start thinking about how many calories I could be off by, and then I stay away from my calorie goal by more than that imagined margin of error. Anyone else do this?

How long have you been at this? The best way to be certain of your calories/logging is to track you intake vs losses over a period of time. Then you can be quite comfortable knowing how much you can consume (based on your own pattern of logging - whether or not it is technically 'right' won't matter).

ETA, like this https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10702775/why-consistency-matters-more-than-accuracy-to-me/p1 (ignore the silliness at the end )

I LOVE that thread! I did an excel analysis of my own and it was great to see that consistency. I’ve been at this since mid May 2018, and I’ve lost about 60 lbs. I’ve been logging for quite a while, and I think I’m improving in getting closer to my calorie limit now that I’ve been reading the forums more. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. The habits are what matter!

gallicinvasion

Tacklewasher wrote: »

pinuplove wrote: »

Tacklewasher wrote: »

pinuplove wrote: »

ETA, like this https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10702775/why-consistency-matters-more-than-accuracy-to-me/p1 (ignore the silliness at the end )

Geez. Gonna bring up that thread of your every chance you can????

Yeah, I know it's a good thread.......

It's not as good as my stepladder thread, but I'm not above a bit of self-promotion

I remember that one.

It was a short read.....




Back to the OP, @gallicinvasion did you get the info you think you need?

Yes I think so! You guys are very helpful 👌

gallicinvasion

AnnPT77 wrote: »

I'm with those who say that if you estimate your maintenance calories, and know you're under those, the minor variations and oopsies really don't matter in the long run. It's all estimates, and we can't be precise - but echoing others again - consistency is enough.

Moreover, if you're doing your best to be meticulous in all respects, you'll be over sometimes and under others (looking at the total picture of activity and eating). The overs and unders tend to even out.

From Wikipedia:

In probability theory, the law of large numbers (LLN) is a theorem that describes the result of performing the same experiment a large number of times. According to the law, the average of the results obtained from a large number of trials should be close to the expected value, and will tend to become closer as more trials are performed.

See, it's science!

Seriously, finding a way to be calm about minor variation is a good thing. You want to be practicing for your future healthy, happy weight maintenance. If necessary to avoid developing negative modes of thinking about food, talk to an expert sooner rather than later. It's like hiring a personal trainer: We need to use whatever tools and methods are applicable, to stay strong and healthy.

I love this! Yes, I speak to a behavioral therapist now to help me build small habits over time. Definitely helps me talk myself down from overthinking things.

robthephotog

As long as youre being honest w quantities and cals during the day, 80-100 over or under your goal wont do anything to your loss goals.