We are pleased to announce that on March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor will be introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the upcoming changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Left over calories

sammie5155
sammie5155 Posts: 2 Member
edited December 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Hi. I have a lot of calories left over, will it make a difference?

Replies

  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    For one day? Not really. You just don't want to make it a habit, and ideally, you will want to make up the extra calories on another day this week so it balances out.
  • sammie5155
    sammie5155 Posts: 2 Member
    Hi. I only joined today and I've worked out my meals for the next 3 days and I have calories left over each day.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    sammie5155 wrote: »
    Hi. I have a lot of calories left over, will it make a difference?

    What is a lot of calories? What difference are you worried about?

    The main difference is that for a single day you may lose slightly more weight than you should. If this is a very occasional thing then it should not matter. If this becomes a habit it could cause you to become fatigued and/or eat everything in sight, derail you, or, worst case scenario, have a very negative impact on your health.

    If you are new it is very likely you have eaten more calories than you have logged. This is not an insult it is just that it takes time to capture everything correctly. There are things you use that are easily overlooked like cooking spray, condiments, etc. Also, if you are not using a food scale and personally verifying all the entries you choose you are less likely to be accurate.
  • SuzySunshine99
    SuzySunshine99 Posts: 2,989 Member
    Can you give us some more information?

    What's your gender, height, current weight, and goal weight?

    What rate of loss did you select?

    How many calories did the app give you as your goal?

    How many do you have left over?

    How are you measuring your calories? Weighing your food on a scale, using measuring cups and spoons, going by package labels, or estimating?
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    sammie5155 wrote: »
    Hi. I only joined today and I've worked out my meals for the next 3 days and I have calories left over each day.

    Then it might be okay. Pre-logging your food is a GREAT idea but only if you are sure you can eat what you have planned and it control your hunger. If you are sure you can control your hunger then plan to eat more calories. If you are unsure then leave some calories for snacks and whatever you need to get through. Misery is your enemy. You do not want to be white-knuckling your way through the day very often. You may need to experiment with different ways of eating to control your hunger properly.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories