going over daily calories

kjthurston1969

I recently stopped Weight Watchers and am trying out MFP. I am finding that most days I am eating more than my allowed calories. Is it ok to go over a little or should I be trying harder to stay within my calorie limit.....I am afraid that it will start to feel like too much of a diet and I will get discouraged. Any suggestions will help. Thank you

qtgonewild

thats going to be up to you. but i guess to reach the goal you initially set when you signed up, you might want to stay within your calories. theres a reason that you have the alotted calories that you were given. sure going over once in a while wont hurt you, but you do want to stay within your calories as much as possible.

tbreck1

I agree, WW lets you eat enless fruit and veggies so you always have a go to....it's still calories though

nornyb

Are you "earning" extra calories by exercising? MFP recommends eating those calories back, so you could be okay, but if not, you may not get the results you are looking for.

walkerkt00

I am by no means an expert, but I try to not restrict myself too much. It is hard to comment in depth as your diary is not public, but as long as the foods you are eating are healthy and whole foods you should be okay. The macros of how much sugar, protein etc are important to pay attention to as you do not want your extra calories to be an excess of one group. It took me time to adjust to the restricted calories, and some days I find I still need more. What calorie limit are you currently at? Are you logging all of your exercise? You will need to eat back calories you burn. Good luck on your journey, and go at a pace that is right for you. One step at a time, and make adjustments as you go.

Cortneyrenee04

If I go over on my calories, I take a walk or rides bike. If I don't make time for that, then I I eat a little less the next day to make up for it. If its only like 20 calories then I don't care

DianneP6772

Do you exercise? Its such a help. You can then eat more - it will work! I go over almost everyday ~ but i do exercise everyday to more than compensate for it.

cwolfman13

I always gave myself about 100 calories either way. If you have a 1 Lb per week goal, that's 500 calories per day deficit...going over by a few calories isn't really going to matter too much...going over by 500 calories just puts you at maintenance. Also, as others have stated, if you workout you get extra calories given that your activity level is supposed to be sans exercise and your calorie goal is already a huge deficit from maintenance.

ea101367

How many calories are you allowed in a day? I find it much easier to stay with in my calorie limit if I am being realistic in my weight loss goal. So 1/2 - 1 lb /wk and not 2lb/wk

phocid

What do you have your weight loss goal set at on MFP? I set mine at 1 lb per week, which allows me plenty of calories. On days when I'm hungrier than others, I make sure I exercise so that I can eat more. And I have been known not to freak out too much if I've had a couple days when I've gone under to allow for those calories on a day when I really seem to be needing it.

Give yourself some time to settle in and figure out what works for you. I used to do WW too, and I like this so, so, so much better.

jfrankic

What is your daily calorie goal? What is your weekly weight loss goal? It could be that your goal is too aggressive and you should lower your weekly goal to 1 pound or .5 pounds. Also, are you tracking and eating back exercise calories? MFP is set up where you are SUPPOSED to eat back your exercise calories. From what I remember in WW, it was optional (but that was a decade ago).

Your NET calories should be your calorie goal (goal - exercise calories = net). So if your goal is 1600 and you burn 300, then you eat a total of 1900.

Or you could figure your TDEE and just eat less than that, not worrying about exercise calories. This is my preferred method, works the best for me. I'm happy to help if you want.

Normally, if someone keeps eating more than their calorie goal, they are either eating a bunch of junk (donuts, fast food, etc) or the goal is too low. Me, I eat 2600 per day so I have lots of room for all of the junky foods I want. :drinker:

Again, message me if you want some non-forum help figuring our your calorie goal.

DesireeNL

You could give it some time by simply logging your calories for a couple of weeks. If you find that you are still losing weight then obviously you can eat more than the goal MFP is giving you. The MFP goal might be on the low end to begin with, search the forums about TDEE and BMR (there's a topic called 'roadmap' which holds a lot of information). A lot of people following these guidelines found that they can eat way more than the MFP recommendation and still lose weight.

bethannien

I always gave myself about 100 calories either way. If you have a 1 Lb per week goal, that's 500 calories per day deficit...going over by a few calories isn't really going to matter too much...going over by 500 calories just puts you at maintenance. Also, as others have stated, if you workout you get extra calories given that your activity level is supposed to be sans exercise and your calorie goal is already a huge deficit from maintenance.

This. Some days I go over by 50 calories and I don't really sweat it. And sometimes, when I'm not making my own food, it's tough to stay within my goal and I often end up going over by as much as 300 calories. But I know I'm not GAINING weight like that. It isn't the end of the world. But, it is good to try not to exceed your goal by too much too often.

donjessop

This may sound a little too controlling, but every day I plan out my breakfast, morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack in advance. This gives me s good idea as to what I can have for dinner with the family and allows me to know, well in advance, what my calorie intake is going to be for the day. If it looks like I am going over my dinner is lighter/smaller than if I have more slack. Being realistic with your goals is also important. While I can lose upwards of 2 - 3 lbs a week right now, I know that as i get closer to my goal weight it is going to come off in smaller and smaller increments so that my target for the week may only be 1/2 a pound.

ameryati

Exercise and that will give you a little leeway. But if you plan on focusing on diet alone then you'll have to eat within your goal else you won't get the results you are looking for.

laursoar

From what I've read on here so far, it depends a lot on your goal too. If you have MFP set to -2lbs/week but are okay being between -1.5lbs/week and -2lbs/week, you'll still be on target to lose weight in the in-between even if you go over by 300 calories 2 to 3 times in one-week. In some cases, this appears to actually be a better goal for losing weight in a healthy way even though it takes slightly longer. It's more of a worry if you have a goal per week like -0.5 lbs or 1lb, because then overeating calories (not counting the exercise ones) brings you close to maintenance or potentially over.

redladywitch

Can you open your food diary? How many calories are you eating?

jonnythan

Assuming your calorie goal is set to a proper number then it's OK to go over occasionally, as long as you don't go over maintenance. Even that is OK very occasionally.

We can't tell you much more than that without seeing your diary. Also, please give age/height/weight and activity level, including exercise routine.

bcattoes

If you are set at 1200 calories, then yes, it's fine to go over a little. That will be a fairly large deficit so if you go over a little you will likely still have a deficit and still lose weight. And you are smart to think of the sustainablility of your diet. That is a very important factor.

Good luck to you!

jonnythan

If you are set at 1200 calories, then yes, it's fine to go over a little. That will be a fairly large deficit

Impressive divination skills. Is your first name Sybil by any chance?

marko320

I use MFP as a guide to make the right choices. Every day is different and I'm looking at this from a long term perspective. I still consume less than ever before. Some days I eat less and others I treat myself a little. Some days I do four hours of yard work and others I drink beer. It all balances out.

cadaverousbones

You can use MFPs guidelines or set custom ones for yourself.... If you use MFP guidelines you should be eating back extra calories from exercise, it adds it in automatically for you. Maybe adjust your settings.. like if you have it set to lose 2 lbs per week, change it to 1 or 1.5 lbs. That will give you more calories. Also.. exercise!

diannethegeek

I love mysteries, but this thread feels like a whodunit novel with the final page missing. I take it the OP never came back with more information?

jacksonpt

Do you know how big your calorie deficit is? When you setup your MFP profile, what weight loss goal did you set? And how many cals does MFP have you eating?

But to your question specifically (and making assumptions about the above questions)...
Yes, you should be trying harder. Yes, it is a diet (especially when you are first getting started). Losing weight is about calorie restriction. If you aren't restricting calories, how are you going to lose weight?