Hitting daily calorie goals

dagrees

I’ve been on this journey since Jan 8. Weigh, measure and log my food faithfully.
I am losing weight (17.8 lbs), and know that this is a slow and steady process.
Started at 1200 calories per day, and upped them after learning more about BMR, and TDEE.
There are days however (even at the 1200), that I do not hit my calorie goal. Then there are days I go over, because I have to “guesstimate”, and am probably way off( going out for meals, in particular), which I still do once in a while.
But I wonder, after accurately researching, measuring, weighing, and logging, if still being under my calorie goal is okay, because I’m probably off on the calorie anyway.
I realize it is impossible to be 100% accurate, and to hit exact amount of calories each day.
My stats are
Female 63
SW 179
CW161.2
GW 140 and see how much more I want to lose.
I do 50 minutes combined strength training/cardio 3-4 times a week. Walk on weekends and other days.

I guess my question is, do others fluctuate daily on calorie intake?
Thanks!

MikePTY

Nobody eats the exact same number of calories everyday. It is normal to sometimes be over and sometimes be under. I don't think it's a good idea to be under every single time, especially if you have a low calorie goal. But some days will naturally be under.

lynn_glenmont

Yes, others fluctuate on their daily calorie intakes.

But you also said you're wondering if being under is OK, and the answer to that depends on how much under, what your goal is, & what your stats are.

Someone who needs to lose 200 lbs to reach a healthy weight and has set a goal of losing one pound a week can probably safely go under their calorie goal on a regular basis by 500 cals per day, maybe more.

Someone who has less than 50 lbs to lose and has set their goal to lose a pound to a pound and a half per week probably cannot safely go under their goal by any significant amount on a regular basis.

You seem to be in the latter category. You've been averaging 1.5 lbs per week weight loss. Unless I missed it, you don't tell us your height, but unless you are extremely short, you probably don't have 50 pounds to lose (from 161) to reach a healthy weight. And you're at an age where, statistically, you're already at risk of muscle loss, and you don't want to compound that by losing too fast (which increases the risk of unneccesary muscle loss).

So, while it's OK for some people to go under their goal, I'd say it isn't for you, at least not to go as much under your current goal as much and as frequently as you are.

ematsui

You are losing weight, what you are doing is working. Don’t sweat it.

kimny72

Considering as you say that many of the numbers we use are estimates, the best measure of if you are eating enough/too much is your rate of loss over time and how you feel. If I'm mathing correctly, you are losing @ 1.5 lbs per week. Depending on your height, that's a pretty good rate of loss, maybe a teensy bit fast for some people. If you are comfortable with the way you are eating, and losing at a reasonable rate, and not averaging less than 1200 net cals per day over the course of the week, you're probably fine.

As you get closer to the healthy weight range, you might want to slow it down a bit more. And if you start to feel fatigued or moody on the lower cal days, avoid them. Congrats on your success so far!

staticsplit

I range anywhere from 1400 on days I'm not that hungry or active up to like 2600 on days I go out or am really active or just hungry AF that day. I'm in maintenance now but when I lost I still varied things. Life happens, I'm hungrier around my period, some days I exercise more than others. Sometimes I still emotionally eat.

Now I'm at goal I'm doing quasi intuitive eating (I still roughly guess/log calories), so I aim to listen to my body and what it wants. Nothing's off limits (my lunch was most of a cheeseburger and half a portion of chili cheese fries) but as a result I wasn't not that hungry for dinner, so it was smaller. Ended up at just over 2100 calories in the end, which is what I normally eat even on days I eat 'healthier,' just usually more spread out.

AnnPT77

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

Yes, others fluctuate on their daily calorie intakes.

But you also said you're wondering if being under is OK, and the answer to that depends on how much under, what your goal is, & what your stats are.

Someone who needs to lose 200 lbs to reach a healthy weight and has set a goal of losing one pound a week can probably safely go under their calorie goal on a regular basis by 500 cals per day, maybe more.

Someone who has less than 50 lbs to lose and has set their goal to lose a pound to a pound and a half per week probably cannot safely go under their goal by any significant amount on a regular basis.

You seem to be in the latter category. You've been averaging 1.5 lbs per week weight loss. Unless I missed it, you don't tell us your height, but unless you are extremely short, you probably don't have 50 pounds to lose (from 161) to reach a healthy weight. And you're at an age where, statistically, you're already at risk of muscle loss, and you don't want to compound that by losing too fast (which increases the risk of unneccesary muscle loss).

So, while it's OK for some people to go under their goal, I'd say it isn't for you, at least not to go as much under your current goal as much and as frequently as you are.

I'm with Lynn, in this case.

It's fine to be above/below calorie goal now and then. It would be a good idea IMO to:

(1) Try to come out pretty close to goal calories on a weekly average basis, and
(2) Strive not to lose so fast that there's health risk, unless under close doctor supervision to achieve fast weight loss for urgent health-related reasons.

I started on MFP at age 59, at about 154 pounds (5'5"), at that point already down from 183 pounds. Eating 1200 (plus all exercise), I accidentally lost weight too fast for while (MFP underestimated my calorie needs). Even though I corrected quickly, I got weak and fatigued, and it took several weeks to feel normal strength and energy. I can't recommend that.

I'm 63 now, and in maintenance, still at a healthy weight (mid 130s). Personally, I think exercise and weight loss are not that different for me at our age vs. for younger people, but I do feel like I recover more slowly from any problem (injury, illness, under-eating, under-sleeping, etc.) than I did when I was younger. I also detrain a bit faster (lose fitness a tiny bit faster through reduced activity, when reduced activity happens). That combination makes avoiding the problems more important to me than when I was younger.

If you're anything like me, I'd encourage keeping weight loss rate on the conservative side, to minimize health risks. IMO, 1% of current weight per week is a reasonable maximum, and slower than that is better in a lot of cases when within 50 pounds of goal.

Best wishes!

dagrees

Thanks for all the replies, and great info/advice!
I did say though it may have not been clear that I had upped my calorie intake. Though there are days I don’t hit that.
My tdee is 1888, bmr is 1371. That is why I upped my goal.

Thanks again.