What Should I Do When Calories For The Day Are Lower?

SLLRunner

first off...

I'm not sure how many grams "1 medium banana" is. I'd recommend using gram weight. You may already be eating more than you think. Until you're legitimately weighing your food, you're not gonna know how much you're eating anyway.

I don't weigh. I measure out cups and tbsps. But why would I weigh a banana? I feel like that's more worrying then necessary. How many more calories can a normal sized banana be? Possibly 50? Same goes with apples...don't get why id fuss.

Do you know that two bananas that look to be the same size do not weigh the same?

Do you know that one tablespoon of peanut butter does not weigh the 32 grams as the nutrition information on the jar indicates?

Do you know that small, medium, or large anything is in the eye of the beholder?

Do you know that one cup (or 1/4 cup, or 1/3 cup, or 1/2 cup) generally has more calories than it's corresponding gram count? In other words, 1/4 cup of nuts is more than a 28 gram serving.

Do you know that if you underestimate your calorie intake and/or overestimate your calorie burns, you are basically eating more than you think and will mostly likely gain weight?

The above is why it's important to weigh your food and measure your liquids, log all food, and log accurate exercise burns.

I'm sorry. I'm simply not going to buy a freaking scale. I am a college student. My weight has been constant with whatever amount of calories it is. I think I'll stick with these figures. If I do gain on whatever intake, I'll just cut down my intake to maybe one tbsp of peanut butter or take out some calories in my snacks. But honestly...I don't see myself gaining in fact I've lost .4lbs which I don't want to continue. So I may have to add a little bit more next week.

Don't be sorry. Just stating some truths.

Best of luck to you.

dpr73

first off...

I'm not sure how many grams "1 medium banana" is. I'd recommend using gram weight. You may already be eating more than you think. Until you're legitimately weighing your food, you're not gonna know how much you're eating anyway.

I don't weigh. I measure out cups and tbsps. But why would I weigh a banana? I feel like that's more worrying then necessary. How many more calories can a normal sized banana be? Possibly 50? Same goes with apples...don't get why id fuss.

Do you know that two bananas that look to be the same size do not weigh the same?

Do you know that one tablespoon of peanut butter does not weigh the 32 grams as the nutrition information on the jar indicates?

Do you know that small, medium, or large anything is in the eye of the beholder?

Do you know that one cup (or 1/4 cup, or 1/3 cup, or 1/2 cup) generally has more calories than it's corresponding gram count? In other words, 1/4 cup of nuts is more than a 28 gram serving.

Do you know that if you underestimate your calorie intake and/or overestimate your calorie burns, you are basically eating more than you think and will mostly likely gain weight?

The above is why it's important to weigh your food and measure your liquids, log all food, and log accurate exercise burns.

I'm sorry. I'm simply not going to buy a freaking scale. I am a college student. My weight has been constant with whatever amount of calories it is. I think I'll stick with these figures. If I do gain on whatever intake, I'll just cut down my intake to maybe one tbsp of peanut butter or take out some calories in my snacks. But honestly...I don't see myself gaining in fact I've lost .4lbs which I don't want to continue. So I may have to add a little bit more next week.

Don't be sorry. Just stating some truths.

Best of luck to you.

I still am curious though...if what I logged is lower than usual should I try to eat more to get to where I should be? Whether what I logged yesterday was truly 1850 or 2300, it's lower than usual. So should I make sure I hit my numbers or just let the extra calories carry over?

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

But how far off could one tablespoon of peanut butter be? Would weighing be that much more specific?

Studies show that the average woman underestimates by more than 400 calories and even dieticians underestimate by more than 200. And since both groups were women that means their intended calorie goal is lower than yours, so the amount you're likely off is larger.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396160


That said, I don't think weighing is always necessary. I recommend it at least for awhile, until people get an idea of portion sizes, but if you don't want to weigh then just gauge by your actual results.

You guys are seriously making me rethink even counting anymore! If all my numbers are that far off then what's the point? I should just stick with this regiment which has been working without even logging, right?

maybe... how close to goal are you? Like I said 3 posts ago, trust yourself to make the right choices and eat when hungry.

i am past goal (still looking for my maintenance number i have been slowly dropping weight so needed to add more)

If you don't want to weigh I don't see any reason for you to start now.

Personally though I find "eat more" or "eat less" too vague, so I like weighing.

Do you think it's worth worrying about it ultimately if my weight has been largely staying constant though? I didn't know I could be up to about 600 calories off on any given day with what I have been eating.

If you're okay with not knowing your exact intake it's fine.

For me, I'm doing cutting/bulking cycles so it's more important for me to be as close to exact as possible.

As far as whether you should eat your extra calories, it depends. If you're regularly under-eating then you're going to continue to lose weight. But if some days you're over and some days you're under it'll all shake out in the wash.

dpr73

But how far off could one tablespoon of peanut butter be? Would weighing be that much more specific?

Studies show that the average woman underestimates by more than 400 calories and even dieticians underestimate by more than 200. And since both groups were women that means their intended calorie goal is lower than yours, so the amount you're likely off is larger.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396160


That said, I don't think weighing is always necessary. I recommend it at least for awhile, until people get an idea of portion sizes, but if you don't want to weigh then just gauge by your actual results.

You guys are seriously making me rethink even counting anymore! If all my numbers are that far off then what's the point? I should just stick with this regiment which has been working without even logging, right?

maybe... how close to goal are you? Like I said 3 posts ago, trust yourself to make the right choices and eat when hungry.

i am past goal (still looking for my maintenance number i have been slowly dropping weight so needed to add more)

If you don't want to weigh I don't see any reason for you to start now.

Personally though I find "eat more" or "eat less" too vague, so I like weighing.

Do you think it's worth worrying about it ultimately if my weight has been largely staying constant though? I didn't know I could be up to about 600 calories off on any given day with what I have been eating.

If you're okay with not knowing your exact intake it's fine.

For me, I'm doing cutting/bulking cycles so it's more important for me to be as close to exact as possible.

As far as whether you should eat your extra calories, it depends. If you're regularly under-eating then you're going to continue to lose weight. But if some days you're over and some days you're under it'll all shake out in the wash.

My weight loss has been slowing down which indicates to me that I'm getting near maintenance. I would like to go out on weekends occasionally, possibly going over my intake. Now that I know I am off in my logging, do you suggest I specifically cut stuff out to allow myself to go out? Or should I just go over my calories (within reason) on that day and go back to my regular intake the next day. I keep on worrying that I'll gain if I go over and don't make up for it somehow.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

But how far off could one tablespoon of peanut butter be? Would weighing be that much more specific?

Studies show that the average woman underestimates by more than 400 calories and even dieticians underestimate by more than 200. And since both groups were women that means their intended calorie goal is lower than yours, so the amount you're likely off is larger.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396160


That said, I don't think weighing is always necessary. I recommend it at least for awhile, until people get an idea of portion sizes, but if you don't want to weigh then just gauge by your actual results.

You guys are seriously making me rethink even counting anymore! If all my numbers are that far off then what's the point? I should just stick with this regiment which has been working without even logging, right?

maybe... how close to goal are you? Like I said 3 posts ago, trust yourself to make the right choices and eat when hungry.

i am past goal (still looking for my maintenance number i have been slowly dropping weight so needed to add more)

If you don't want to weigh I don't see any reason for you to start now.

Personally though I find "eat more" or "eat less" too vague, so I like weighing.

Do you think it's worth worrying about it ultimately if my weight has been largely staying constant though? I didn't know I could be up to about 600 calories off on any given day with what I have been eating.

If you're okay with not knowing your exact intake it's fine.

For me, I'm doing cutting/bulking cycles so it's more important for me to be as close to exact as possible.

As far as whether you should eat your extra calories, it depends. If you're regularly under-eating then you're going to continue to lose weight. But if some days you're over and some days you're under it'll all shake out in the wash.

My weight loss has been slowing down which indicates to me that I'm getting near maintenance. I would like to go out on weekends occasionally, possibly going over my intake. Now that I know I am off in my logging, do you suggest I specifically cut stuff out to allow myself to go out? Or should I just go over my calories (within reason) on that day and go back to my regular intake the next day. I keep on worrying that I'll gain if I go over and don't make up for it somehow.

I can tell you that since entering maintenance a year and a half ago I have gone over, sometimes way over, and haven't gained significantly.

The best strategy imo is to set a weight range for yourself. Mine is 123-128 lbs. So while I was trying to maintain, as long as my weight fell somewhere in there I didn't worry. If it started to creep up over that then I'd eat less for a couple of weeks until it went back down.

If you sweat every little fluctuation you'll drive yourself nuts. So that's my recommendation.

jackielou867

If it helps, I often go a little under and sometimes a little over for the day. For the week I am more often under than over, but I am not losing weight.
I weigh everything I eat at home, and take all my own food to work. I estimate as close as I can when I eat out, which is not often. so either I am missing logging something, or gaining muscle ( hopefully)

I really would not worry if a banana was small or medium, or a tomato weighed 100g or 140g, but I am really really careful if I am eating peanut butter, or nuts, or ice cream, or anything calorie dense, because a few extra grammes is a lot of calories.

I weigh peanut butter, on a spoon ( I zero the spoon on scales first) I found a serve is a tablespoon-level-but who can get a level tablespoon of peanut butter? If I weigh a heaped teaspoon, that is more like a serve.
Sometimes I test myself and estimate my food then weigh it. I am usually wrong, despite eating similar foods regularly. This is why I still weigh food, even on maintenance.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

If it helps, I often go a little under and sometimes a little over for the day. For the week I am more often under than over, but I am not losing weight.
I weigh everything I eat at home, and take all my own food to work. I estimate as close as I can when I eat out, which is not often. so either I am missing logging something, or gaining muscle ( hopefully)

I really would not worry if a banana was small or medium, or a tomato weighed 100g or 140g, but I am really really careful if I am eating peanut butter, or nuts, or ice cream, or anything calorie dense, because a few extra grammes is a lot of calories.

I weigh peanut butter, on a spoon ( I zero the spoon on scales first) I found a serve is a tablespoon-level-but who can get a level tablespoon of peanut butter? If I weigh a heaped teaspoon, that is more like a serve.
Sometimes I test myself and estimate my food then weigh it. I am usually wrong, despite eating similar foods regularly. This is why I still weigh food, even on maintenance.

Or the estimates you're using for TDEE or exercise calories are off. Or if it hasn't been very long, water weight fluctuations are hiding your losses.

themedalist

does not matter if you are cutting, bulking, or maintaining a food scale is essential….IMO

I disagree. I think it depends on the person and what their goals are. A food scale was probably my most effective tool in losing weight. It was part of the education process and helped me learn appropriate portion sizes. But now that I'm in maintenance for almost two years, I've ditched the food scale. Speaking just for myself, having a healthy relationship with food for the rest of my life includes not weighing every single morsel.

OP, I wouldn't hesitate to vary your food intake day to day based on your activity. Figure out what measurement tools you will use to determine if you are maintaining (bathroom scale? tape measure? clothes?) and use those to guide any adjustments to your food intake or exercise habits as needed.

Best Wishes!

kelly_e_montana

I would just bank them for the weekends so I could enjoy some appetizers and beer after work on Friday.

nxd10

I don't eat them if I'm not hungry UNLESS I'm under 500 calories or more. Then I make an effort to eat something of some nutritional value to bring me up.

I am usually hungry the next day and will definitely eat extra calories as long as I'm under for the week.

kelly_e_montana

first off...

I'm not sure how many grams "1 medium banana" is. I'd recommend using gram weight. You may already be eating more than you think. Until you're legitimately weighing your food, you're not gonna know how much you're eating anyway.

I don't weigh. I measure out cups and tbsps. But why would I weigh a banana? I feel like that's more worrying then necessary. How many more calories can a normal sized banana be? Possibly 50? Same goes with apples...don't get why id fuss.

I don't weigh anything. I was a compulsive calorie counter and restricter/binger for years. I just eat til I am full. I know not everyone can do that and calorie counting is a great tool to teach you what's a normal amount of food to consume for your goals. Calories counting is a tool but it's good to learn visual portion sizes for when you don't have access to a scale. When I weigh, I usually find I was dead on or counted slightly more than I really had. Learn to be able to go out to eat and/or live a normal, balanced life. I've been counting calories since 2nd grade so I'm pretty good at it.

Edit: My mom taught me about calories in 2nd grade and counted them for me. I started in grade school when I was old enough. It's sad.

dpr73

But how far off could one tablespoon of peanut butter be? Would weighing be that much more specific?

Studies show that the average woman underestimates by more than 400 calories and even dieticians underestimate by more than 200. And since both groups were women that means their intended calorie goal is lower than yours, so the amount you're likely off is larger.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396160


That said, I don't think weighing is always necessary. I recommend it at least for awhile, until people get an idea of portion sizes, but if you don't want to weigh then just gauge by your actual results.

You guys are seriously making me rethink even counting anymore! If all my numbers are that far off then what's the point? I should just stick with this regiment which has been working without even logging, right?

maybe... how close to goal are you? Like I said 3 posts ago, trust yourself to make the right choices and eat when hungry.

i am past goal (still looking for my maintenance number i have been slowly dropping weight so needed to add more)

If you don't want to weigh I don't see any reason for you to start now.

Personally though I find "eat more" or "eat less" too vague, so I like weighing.

Do you think it's worth worrying about it ultimately if my weight has been largely staying constant though? I didn't know I could be up to about 600 calories off on any given day with what I have been eating.

If you're okay with not knowing your exact intake it's fine.

For me, I'm doing cutting/bulking cycles so it's more important for me to be as close to exact as possible.

As far as whether you should eat your extra calories, it depends. If you're regularly under-eating then you're going to continue to lose weight. But if some days you're over and some days you're under it'll all shake out in the wash.

My weight loss has been slowing down which indicates to me that I'm getting near maintenance. I would like to go out on weekends occasionally, possibly going over my intake. Now that I know I am off in my logging, do you suggest I specifically cut stuff out to allow myself to go out? Or should I just go over my calories (within reason) on that day and go back to my regular intake the next day. I keep on worrying that I'll gain if I go over and don't make up for it somehow.

I can tell you that since entering maintenance a year and a half ago I have gone over, sometimes way over, and haven't gained significantly.

The best strategy imo is to set a weight range for yourself. Mine is 123-128 lbs. So while I was trying to maintain, as long as my weight fell somewhere in there I didn't worry. If it started to creep up over that then I'd eat less for a couple of weeks until it went back down.

If you sweat every little fluctuation you'll drive yourself nuts. So that's my recommendation.

Just curious how you "cut back" did you just cut out a usual snack that you'd have or do you simply not go out doing too much extra stuff?

dpr73

I have the exact opposite problem. Without weighing peanut butter, I stack as much as will fit. I probably eat an additional 200 calories in one fell swoop. I don't that with everything. So, I can easily wind up 1,000 calories over. Easy. But, it doesn't sound like you have the deep rooted psychological issues I have with loving food so much that my own brain lies to me about what I'm doing. The scale provides the reality of the situation. 32g of PB is 32g. That's it. I cannot deceive my scale. That's why most of us need it, to be honest. Yes, I weigh my bananas, but do you know why. A med banana I think is 105. But, often, I weigh a banana and it's only 80 calories. So, that gives me more to eat. Instead of the 105, it's only 80. Now, I can eat more food.

You don't seem to have this problem, so maybe you're cool with trying not logging and see how it goes.

I honestly might try just going by how I feel. I know I have an understanding of what satisfies me and I don't really have a big problem with eating at all. So maybe it shouldn't e stressing myself out so much with the calories?

SLLRunner

I have the exact opposite problem. Without weighing peanut butter, I stack as much as will fit. I probably eat an additional 200 calories in one fell swoop. I don't that with everything. So, I can easily wind up 1,000 calories over. Easy. But, it doesn't sound like you have the deep rooted psychological issues I have with loving food so much that my own brain lies to me about what I'm doing. The scale provides the reality of the situation. 32g of PB is 32g. That's it. I cannot deceive my scale. That's why most of us need it, to be honest. Yes, I weigh my bananas, but do you know why. A med banana I think is 105. But, often, I weigh a banana and it's only 80 calories. So, that gives me more to eat. Instead of the 105, it's only 80. Now, I can eat more food.

You don't seem to have this problem, so maybe you're cool with trying not logging and see how it goes.

I honestly might try just going by how I feel. I know I have an understanding of what satisfies me and I don't really have a big problem with eating at all. So maybe it shouldn't e stressing myself out so much with the calories?

Some people can eat intuitively, even after they've lost weight, and you might be one of them. My eyes are usually bigger than the actual serving so a food scale works best for me.

Those freaking scales! :bigsmile:

dpr73

I have the exact opposite problem. Without weighing peanut butter, I stack as much as will fit. I probably eat an additional 200 calories in one fell swoop. I don't that with everything. So, I can easily wind up 1,000 calories over. Easy. But, it doesn't sound like you have the deep rooted psychological issues I have with loving food so much that my own brain lies to me about what I'm doing. The scale provides the reality of the situation. 32g of PB is 32g. That's it. I cannot deceive my scale. That's why most of us need it, to be honest. Yes, I weigh my bananas, but do you know why. A med banana I think is 105. But, often, I weigh a banana and it's only 80 calories. So, that gives me more to eat. Instead of the 105, it's only 80. Now, I can eat more food.

You don't seem to have this problem, so maybe you're cool with trying not logging and see how it goes.

I honestly might try just going by how I feel. I know I have an understanding of what satisfies me and I don't really have a big problem with eating at all. So maybe it shouldn't e stressing myself out so much with the calories?

Some people can eat intuitively, even after they've lost weight, and you might be one of them. My eyes are usually bigger than the actual serving so a food scale works best for me.

Those freaking scales! :bigsmile:

I think I have the control to eat intuitively so I'll try that. But I'll still log on MFP what I eat just so I know what I have from week to week. That way, if I do gain I can say "well I probably underestimated the peanut butter" or "Probably go for less cheese intake next week...etc" but I won't pay as much attention to the number seeing as I am not weighing everything.

missabeez

I have the exact opposite problem. Without weighing peanut butter, I stack as much as will fit. I probably eat an additional 200 calories in one fell swoop. I don't that with everything. So, I can easily wind up 1,000 calories over. Easy. But, it doesn't sound like you have the deep rooted psychological issues I have with loving food so much that my own brain lies to me about what I'm doing. The scale provides the reality of the situation. 32g of PB is 32g. That's it. I cannot deceive my scale. That's why most of us need it, to be honest. Yes, I weigh my bananas, but do you know why. A med banana I think is 105. But, often, I weigh a banana and it's only 80 calories. So, that gives me more to eat. Instead of the 105, it's only 80. Now, I can eat more food.

You don't seem to have this problem, so maybe you're cool with trying not logging and see how it goes.

I honestly might try just going by how I feel. I know I have an understanding of what satisfies me and I don't really have a big problem with eating at all. So maybe it shouldn't e stressing myself out so much with the calories?

Some people can eat intuitively, even after they've lost weight, and you might be one of them. My eyes are usually bigger than the actual serving so a food scale works best for me.

Those freaking scales! :bigsmile:

I think I have the control to eat intuitively so I'll try that. But I'll still log on MFP what I eat just so I know what I have from week to week. That way, if I do gain I can say "well I probably underestimated the peanut butter" or "Probably go for less cheese intake next week...etc" but I won't pay as much attention to the number seeing as I am not weighing everything.

Just going to chime in that those freaking scales are only $20 or so, it's not going to break your bank, lol.

I'd say that when you use your measuring cups and spoons, don't fill them all the way up to account for possible error.
Don't sweat it if you have succeeded in your weight loss. It sounds almost like you are concerned that you don't actually know what your actual maintenance number is...so once you stop losing weight you won't know without the food scale. But you will have a pretty good approximation +/-200 cals I would say.

Like you said, try eating intuitively and keep an eye on how your clothes fit, your energy levels, and your gym performance. Log for a few weeks at a time to make sure that you are on track.

Congrats on getting to maintenance! I'm still 50lbs away.

meganjcallaghan

But how far off could one tablespoon of peanut butter be? Would weighing be that much more specific?

If my memory is correct 30g of peanut butter is 190 calories... thats about 1 tbs. So yea, 1 tbs can easily turn into 2 (cause I love peanut butter)

Whoa...what brand of peanut butter do you eat? All the ones i've had are 90 - 100 cal for a tablespoon. I've not seen anything close to 190.

32 grams of peanut butter is generally around 190 calories which, sadly, does not measure out to 2 tablespoons but less. Oh, the importance of a food scale for accuracy.

it must be the brand you're using. Mine is listed on the label is 30 grams or 1 tbsp....the Kraft All Natural (no salt no sugar) comes in at 90 calories and the bulk no salt no sugar crunchy peanut butter i get at my local grocery store is also listed as 30 grams or 1 tbsp per serving and is 100 calories.

dpr73

But how far off could one tablespoon of peanut butter be? Would weighing be that much more specific?

If my memory is correct 30g of peanut butter is 190 calories... thats about 1 tbs. So yea, 1 tbs can easily turn into 2 (cause I love peanut butter)

Whoa...what brand of peanut butter do you eat? All the ones i've had are 90 - 100 cal for a tablespoon. I've not seen anything close to 190.

32 grams of peanut butter is generally around 190 calories which, sadly, does not measure out to 2 tablespoons but less. Oh, the importance of a food scale for accuracy.

it must be the brand you're using. Mine is listed on the label is 30 grams or 1 tbsp....the Kraft All Natural (no salt no sugar) comes in at 90 calories and the bulk no salt no sugar crunchy peanut butter i get at my local grocery store is also listed as 30 grams or 1 tbsp per serving and is 100 calories.

Same here...mine is 32g for 1tbsp. Maybe it is just his brand...I was wondering why 30g would be usually 190 calories and a label could get by listing it 100 calories less.