People w/ TONS of calories "remaining"??!?!?

13

Replies

  • JourneyingJessica
    JourneyingJessica Posts: 261 Member
    I usually bank my extra calories for the rest of the week b/c I work on a weekly deficit, not a daily deficit. Also I have big calorie burns on the weekends, sometimes 800-900 cals each day. It doesn't make sense to me to stuff myself trying to meet my daily calorie goal when I can use them to help average out my weekly caloric goal.

    This is what I do too! Weekly i have one meal planned that is exactly what i want ~ pizza, real burgers with cheese etc... Probably closer to maintenance calories than weight loss calories. So i bank a bit during the week.

    For me, a small change can mean difference between staying under & using every last. For example, skinny cow ice cream sandwich = 150 cals or jolly rancher = 30cals. If I'm not hungry but want sweets i have jolly rancher . Also the week after food shopping is a lot of salad & fresh veggies which tend to be lower cal then rice heavy dishes i make later on as the fresh stuff is used up.
  • danimalkeys
    danimalkeys Posts: 982 Member
    I'm a couple hundred under a lot. I like to leave it as a fluff zone for any inaccuracies in my logging, or in the inaccurate nutritional values of a food that I might log where I can't scan the label.
  • danimalkeys
    danimalkeys Posts: 982 Member
    Over on fat: clogged arteries, heart disease; over on protein: can adversely affect the liver especially if you are not young.

    Not really. Going over your fat and protein macro isn't going to hurt you, if you are otherwise healthy.
  • GingerLolita
    GingerLolita Posts: 738 Member
    My goal is currently set to 1610, which is slightly above my BMR, so I always consume at least 1550 to stay above my BMR. I think that as long as you're not eating under what is recommended for weight loss of 2lb/week, then having calories remaining is fine.
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    I eat 1800 - no exercise cals.

    Sometimes I'm under by a couple hundred, sometimes I'm over.. That's life. I do not deliberately try to be either. Sometimes if I get busy or distracted I will just not eat and end up with a pretty big hole but invariably sometime during the week I will have a day when I am just famished and can't feel full no matter what I do, so on those days any deficit that I 'did' have gets annihilated in short order.

    This is how it is supposed to work. Life is not the same every day, sometimes you aren't hungry, sometimes you get surprised with a dinner out and end up having a really 'good' night full of really BAD choices. I don't regret my choices because in the end it all works out and as long as my choices are more good then bad I will continue to lose weight.

    Now, this being said having a big deficit every night is not good.
  • aubyshortcake
    aubyshortcake Posts: 796 Member
    If anyone isn't using their remaining calories, I am currently accepting donations.
  • Letje_Lux
    Letje_Lux Posts: 31
    That would happen to me if I logged my exercise. Right now, I have my calorie goal set higher, at my TDEE - 20%. If I actually logged my exercise, I would have calories remaining because I don't intend to eat back exercise calories right now.
  • F00LofaT00K
    F00LofaT00K Posts: 688 Member
    I'm trying for between 1200 and 1280. If I add in exercise I may or may not eat all of the extra calories. I don't do much yet because of a broken foot so I'm not sure how accurate my "walking with crutches" is recorded since I'm half walking/half supporting my weight. If MFP says I earned 148 extra calories and I get hungry, I absolutely eat them up. If I don't feel hungry and I got at least 1200-1280, I let it go.
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
    My macronutrient ratios generally leave me satiated enough.
  • ingraha
    ingraha Posts: 99 Member
    thats not good.....you need to eat those.:smile:
  • JennetteMac
    JennetteMac Posts: 763 Member
    I sometimes have 3 or 4 hundred left over, though I will have a treat sometimes if that's the case.
    I eat huge amounts of food, mostly vegetables, although I do have some carbs, usually for breakfast, and treats, often in the evening.
    I try to leave some spare calories, - as someone earlier said I don't always trust my exercise calories and would prefer to act on the side of caution.
    And the weight is only coming off slowly.
    Too slowly!
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
    I always aim to leave 300-400 calories, more if I've had a very active day. This is because I really don't trust the calorie burn estimates and I only eat back a portion of my exercise calories. Plus I actually have a relatively high calorie goal anyway <shrug>.
  • eksero2k
    eksero2k Posts: 83 Member
    If this is the case with me, i usually either get a protein/cereal/chocolate bar or some icecream! Getting a treat at the end of the day is always lovely
  • sadance12
    sadance12 Posts: 8
    It's probably because of the "added" calorie bank they earned because of exercise. If you're cutting it close on calories every day and still hungry, maybe take a closer look at how your calories are adding up (whole grains, veggies, fruits, limited processed foods, etc).
  • notsuchaskinnybitch
    notsuchaskinnybitch Posts: 203
    Some days I can eat like 1500 and have 300 remaining (my goal is 1800) and feel like i have eaten loads. Over days like friday and today i feel like i haven't eaten much at all and im at 3000 calories.... really just depends on the day!
  • sadance12
    sadance12 Posts: 8
    For the most part, the exercise calories estimates seem to be on track. I checked my commonly used ones against other health sites and they were all within 10 calories (per hour).
  • Wenchiness
    Wenchiness Posts: 126 Member
    I often have truckloads of calories left, especially on days when I swim 3 hours. My "fat" Dr. told me not to eat them back, so I usually don't (I could not possibly eat them all unless I mainlined chocolate).
  • annekka
    annekka Posts: 517 Member
    I tend to leave a lot of calories remaining for a few reasons:

    1) I don't know that MFP's listing of calories burned in an exercise is accurate. I've read that they overestimate soooo many places. I'd prefer to be under to account for that.
    2) My work provides a buffet lunch and everything I eat I literally have to eyeball and do guesswork about since I don't know what's in it and how much oil and other crap goes into it. Since I'm human and prone to errors I prefer to leave myself a deficit to account for my miscalculating.
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
    Sometimes I have extra calories at night because I work out late...but then I always eat them the next day.
  • BlackandWhitePhotoOp
    BlackandWhitePhotoOp Posts: 308 Member
    I eat a protien bar ( low sugar) if I'm over 300 calories.:wink:
  • Crystaleyed
    Crystaleyed Posts: 229 Member
    I find that exercise is the biggest reason for me having a gap in my calories.
    I never take a taxi or bus to anywhere, I just walk and I'm also fortunate in the sense that I as part of my degree, we end up doing a lot of exercise so I build up the calorie deficit quite quickly
  • astange83
    astange83 Posts: 105
    Once or twice a week I generally have 300+ remaining and its because I'm off and being lazy. If I'm not moving around I'm not hungry therefore I won't think to eat lunch, and I keep the junk food out of the house. This happens on Sundays a lot which when I'm not working, is also an off day on workouts so my body isn't burning as much to make me want to eat. Today I've got a ton left, trying to think of something to snack on but I'm not really all that hungry. Only want to eat something so I don't go to bed too hungry, so I can workout in the morning, otherwise I wouldn't care less.
  • ellskiNZ
    ellskiNZ Posts: 32 Member
    I sometimes have a few hundred remaining, mostly I think it's because MFP over calculates the calories that I burn while exercising. I still log it because I want to keep a record of them, but I don't always eat them all back. Also, it may be because I slept for 12 hours, and therefore am not really hungry enough to eat all my food in a compressed period of time.
  • jess135177
    jess135177 Posts: 186 Member
    On those days I have a glass of wine or two!
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    I've had 3000+ calories to eat with only a couple hours before I had to go to sleep.

    You don't have to eat them all the same day, you can save some for the next day if you want. There are no rules that say you have to eat them only from 12am-11:59pm only.

    Keep it simple.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    I don't understand either...I can always find a way to eat more than I should
  • Cae_Troi
    Cae_Troi Posts: 66 Member
    I have the same problem! If I'm not hungry, then I let it be. My body will let me know if I'm hungry. If I'm hungry then I'll make something.
  • SupermanRitz
    SupermanRitz Posts: 59
    I stopped looking at short-term (daily) and look at long-term (weekly). I look at my protein intake for the day and go from there. If I'm within 100-200cal for the day then I just leave it. A couple spoons of peanut butter usually do the trick though. Try not to make it a habit, you're really not accomplishing anything
  • GoldwingGrandma
    GoldwingGrandma Posts: 81 Member
    Most times I have 100-500 calories left over. I try to eat 1000 calories per day and exercise off 1000 calories per day. If I try to eat more than the 1000 I find myself battling too much fiber (stomach dislikes too much fiber), too much sugar or too many carbs. I'm trying to work in my blood sugars so I have to limit what I can consume. Am I hungry? Not overly, but am definitely ready for breakfast the next day! My FD is open to the public. I would welcome advice from others about how to improve my plan.
  • Ithina1
    Ithina1 Posts: 93 Member
    I do a Intermitten Fasting / calorie cycling type thing. Usually on Monday's I'll have 1000 calories remaining. I make up for it later in the week =).

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