Nutrition/Food + Exercise

bvar1

Hey guys,

So I've been pretty good the last few days, and if I go over my target calorie goal of 1200 it's usually in all-natural sugars from fruit or veggies. I don't eat any breads/pastas/fake sugars, but last weekend I decided to indulge on bread and chocolate (it was that time of the month), and gained a whopping 4lbs in 2 days!! My weight has since come down, but is that normal??

But onto my real question, since I know I was crazy bad with my eating last weekend. I've been strict, tracking everything, and have been exercising around 4 times a week. This week I felt hungrier, and so I would snack on fruits. It seemed to take more food to satisfy the hunger, it wasn't just munching unnecessarily. Is it okay to go over the calorie mark if it's healthy stuff, or should I just work through it using willpower haha? Basically I'm asking if it's okay to go slightly over with exercising, even when subtracting the calories I burn I'm still in a little excess with fruits/veggies. Just trying to figure out the balance, because I know it's mostly diet that helps with weight loss, then exercise as well. Thanks.

vanguardfitness

and gained a whopping 4lbs in 2 days!! My weight has since come down, but is that normal??

Yes

Basically I'm asking if it's okay to go slightly over with exercising, even when subtracting the calories I burn I'm still in a little excess with fruits/veggies. Just trying to figure out the balance, because I know it's mostly diet that helps with weight loss, then exercise as well. Thanks.

Generally yes. But frequently going over is going to be a problem with weight loss. I find it easier though to track weekly deficits instead of going nuts on a daily basis. I weigh myself nearly daily to track any fluctuations over long periods (monthly). Those calorie formulas are just ball park figures and it could take some time to find the sweet spot.

I find it better to snack on protein if I'm hungry.

rileysowner

Just to clarify, are you going over 1200 calories, or are you going over 1200 calories plus your exercise calories? If you are only going over 1200 while you are exercising, you are not going over your goal. By the end of the day your calories remaining should be close to zero (50 calories more or less would be a success in my book and not going under or over).

bvar1

thank you. i am mostly within my calories at the 1200 mark, but one day i tracked everything and i consumed closer to 1600 which was bad. but usually it's very close - for example, one day this week i consumed ~1650, burned 350, so netted 1300 which is fairly close. another day i actually ended up eating around 1400 calories, but burned 400 and netted 997. and i just wasn't hungry that day. but there has been the occasional day where i consume the 1450-1500 cals (with or without exercising, it nets to that amount), which i don't want to make a habit of. although i'm pretty used to no bread, sometimes I think snacking on more protein/fruit gets a little unsatisfying so maybe my problem is eating the occasional extra fruit when i'm not quite hungry enough to need a snack

bvar1

i've also heard that having a cheat/high calorie day once a week is helpful because it keeps weight loss going and helps metabolism. any thoughts on this?

SherryTeach

It sounds like it is possible that 1200 isn't enough for your body. Really only very tiny people can use that low calorie number. I did fine on it, but I'm 5'1", 59 years old, and weigh 103 pounds. I'm pretty sure anyone taller, younger, and heavier should be eating more calories. You shouldn't feel so hungry.

rileysowner

thank you. i am mostly within my calories at the 1200 mark, but one day i tracked everything and i consumed closer to 1600 which was bad. but usually it's very close - for example, one day this week i consumed ~1650, burned 350, so netted 1300 which is fairly close. another day i actually ended up eating around 1400 calories, but burned 400 and netted 997. and i just wasn't hungry that day. but there has been the occasional day where i consume the 1450-1500 cals (with or without exercising, it nets to that amount), which i don't want to make a habit of. although i'm pretty used to no bread, sometimes I think snacking on more protein/fruit gets a little unsatisfying so maybe my problem is eating the occasional extra fruit when i'm not quite hungry enough to need a snack

I would at the very least say you should net 1200. Ideally you probably need to net more, but if you aren't netting 1200 then you are not definitely not eating enough, and having days where you can't control yourself is not only understandable but should be expected as you are not eating at a moderate deficit but a huge one.

bvar1

Okay, thanks so much