Do I need to always eat my calories and hit my macros?

griggdeb3390
griggdeb3390 Posts: 3 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello, I am starting back today on Fitness Pal and I am 56 yr old female with about 30 lbs to lose. 😊. I have some calories etc left on my dashboard for today but I’m not hungry and may not eat anything else tonight unless it’s a snack. Should you eat all your calories and meet your macros to lose weight successfully or is it ok not to here and there? Thanks, Debbie

Replies

  • Rockmama1111
    Rockmama1111 Posts: 262 Member
    A couple of questions: What settings did you use to get your calorie goal (e.g. number of pounds per week, your activity level)? Are you using a fitness tracker or entering exercise that gets added to your base calorie goal? What is your calorie goal?

    You and I have similar stats. I don’t always eat all of my calories on a given day, but you can be sure I’ll make up for it another day that week! I don’t go below 1200. I try pretty hard to get close to my protein and fiber goals regardless.
  • sollyn23l2
    sollyn23l2 Posts: 1,788 Member
    griggdeb3390 wrote: »
    Hello, I am starting back today on Fitness Pal and I am 56 yr old female with about 30 lbs to lose. 😊. I have some calories etc left on my dashboard for today but I’m not hungry and may not eat anything else tonight unless it’s a snack. Should you eat all your calories and meet your macros to lose weight successfully or is it ok not to here and there? Thanks, Debbie

    My theory is that if you're not hungry, don't eat. Excluding, of course, anyone with a history of anorexia or true binge eating. Outside of that, if you're not hungry, that's clearly your body communicating that it's a-okay and doesn't need to eat right now.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,749 Member
    As long as you are not consistently way under your calories, or way over, you are fine not being exactly on target. What matters if the week to week average. If that is close to where you want to be and you are losing at a reasonable rate, you are fine.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 12,075 Member
    I LOVE days I can bank calories, it means when I get to a heavy-calorie day (pizza party, anyone?) or want that special dessert I'll be able to indulge guilt-free. This is, of course, if you're reasonably close... if you are 1,000 calories below target and not ill, I would make a mental checkmark on the day... another similar day, and I'd start to reassess whether my goals or logging needs tightening. If you're just a couple hundred calories off, then no sweat.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,886 Member
    Calories: weekly view is fine.
    Macros: weekly view is fine (although I would personally avoid extremes) and on top of macros are not essential for weight loss
    -> macros influence satiation and health, so it can be pretty flexible according to your preferences. The only thing I'd say is that you need a certain minimum of protein (to maintain muscle mass) and fat (for brain function, hormonal health...) but other than that, it's more of a matter of preference
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    I eat a diverse diet with meats, dairy, and vegetables-- starchy and leafy. I was raised on the standard American plate: meat, "starch," vegetable. When I'm cutting, I start by limiting the carbs. I'm cutting right now and I've ended up with a breakdown of 22% P, 42% F, 36% C on my last weekly average. These are calorie percentages of a daily average intake of ~2000kcals/day, which includes exercise calories (sedentary goal of 1500kcals/day).

    It is working well! My advice is to listen to your body and settle into habits that work for you. The exact macro breakdown (within reason) is less important than the total calories in terms of weight control.
  • griggdeb3390
    griggdeb3390 Posts: 3 Member
    Thank you everyone for the replies! I read them all and definitely appreciate the tips. I’m finding that most days I’m below my 1200 calories by at least 50-100 calories but I’m not worrying about it. Going to incorporate an exercise routine so that will probably increase my calories some. Thank you all again!
  • Rockymountainflyer
    Rockymountainflyer Posts: 26 Member
    I am 55 and have lost 30 pounds over the last 13 months by tracking EVERYTHING even spices, ketchup etc. Olive oil is a big calorie item but I use it daily. Make sure you are tracking every little thing and weigh and measure at first. You may be a bit higher than you think. I was counting my chicken breast as 4 ounces, but upon weighing, it was 8 ounces. I kept calories between 1100-1300. My doctor told me 1100 was needed at my age and height. Check your base metabolic rate. I also walk 2-3 miles a day, but don't eat extra because of this. A FEW days I've had extra calories, but not many. With all this, i only lost about 2 pounds a month. But over 13 months, the difference is incredible!

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