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

JourneyingJessica

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

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

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

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

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

If anyone isn't using their remaining calories, I am currently accepting donations.

Letje_Lux

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

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

My macronutrient ratios generally leave me satiated enough.

ingraha

thats not good.....you need to eat those.

JennetteMac

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sometimes I have extra calories at night because I work out late...but then I always eat them the next day.

BlackandWhitePhotoOp

I eat a protien bar ( low sugar) if I'm over 300 calories.