What to do when you hit daily calorie limit?

sheahughes

I've been logging in to MFP for just under 105 days and I've been gaining/maintaining for that time. My goal is 65 kilos with mini goals at every 2 kilos from my current weight (I'm at 78-79 kilos). I'm 160cm tall and sedentary/lightly active.

My daily goal is 1400 calories which I set in conjunction with my PT.

My question is, if I reach my calorie limit (or 10% over) between say, 2pm & 5pm, should I shut myself off from the fridge/pantry for the rest of the night? Not eat dinner and just go about normal routine then bed?

At the moment I am consistently overeating by about 1000 calories. Mostly junk, and so I end up hungry and actually eat dinner then I'm way over. Any advice or tips?

coachfeliciad

I've been logging in to MFP for just under 105 days and I've been gaining/maintaining for that time. My goal is 65 kilos with mini goals at every 2 kilos from my current weight (I'm at 78-79 kilos). I'm 160cm tall and sedentary/lightly active.

My daily goal is 1400 calories which I set in conjunction with my PT.

My question is, if I reach my calorie limit (or 10% over) between say, 2pm & 5pm, should I shut myself off from the fridge/pantry for the rest of the night? Not eat dinner and just go about normal routine then bed?

At the moment I am consistently overeating by about 1000 calories. Mostly junk, and so I end up hungry and actually eat dinner then I'm way over. Any advice or tips?

Definitely don't need to go over your calories by more than 10% like you mentioned but if you're hitting your limit that early before bed then you might need to rethink the way you've got your calories spread out over the day. I like to do this and I recommend this to all my teammates: start off the day with the biggest meal and slowly shrink it by dinner time. I also like to get the carbs in during the day so that by dinner I'm eating nothing but protein and veggies. Now I'm not and have never been a late night snacked so I can't just say "don't do it" because I don't know anything about that kind of temptation but several of my teammates are prone to this. As long as they eat nutrient dense foods throughout the day it keeps them from raiding the fridge. But also don't deprive yourself. If you have a strong uncontrollable craving go for it. Be a strict dieter but don't be a restricted one. What I do when I get these cravings is I negotiate with myself. If I think it's just in my head then I down a glass of water or eat a piece of fruit (rather have an extra 100 in fruit calories than bad calories)and the craving usually goes away. If it doesn't, I make a deal with myself. I tell myself if I still have this craving by this time tomorrow or at the end of the week for example then I'll eat it but in moderation. I hope this helps you out some!

-Felicia

IllustratedxGirl

You definitely need to rethink how you spread out your calories. I've recently started logging my meals for the next day ahead of time so it's already planned out. I'm the kind of person who really like structure. This helps me meet my macros and know exactly what I am eating. Maybe a structure like this could help you!

abadvat

I've been logging in to MFP for just under 105 days and I've been gaining/maintaining for that time.
My goal is 65 kilos with mini goals at every 2 kilos from my current weight (I'm at 78-79 kilos). I'm 160cm tall and sedentary/lightly active.

confused - your goal is 65 and you are currently at 78/79 and you have been gaining and maintaining?! what's your goal?

Soccermavrick

Now your journal is not public, so I am going with a lot of assumptions here. Personally, I am someone who ate hideous and killed my calories too. What I learned is, did I really want to lose weight or not? We are often times our own worst enemy at the start justifying what got you to where you are.

So If so wanted to lose then I needed to start hitting my calorie counts, or darn close to it. Somedays I am better than others, but certainly have a plan now a days, and a bad lunch, means corrections later, (of course we are always entitled to a bad day once a month or so.) Sit down and try to plan out your meals throughout the day, for a week, into even amounts, trying to incorporate protein into every meal. (Protein supposedly helps keep you full feeling longer.) Since it sounds like you like to snack, incorporate a couple healthy snacks into your diet. If you cannot do it planning it out, then there is little chance that you can do it off the cuff. (Vending Machine and Quickie Marts do not stock a lot of healthy options.) So maybe that means looking at other meal options. While I do not believe in going to bed hungry, you should not be pigging out within a couple hours of bed.

Good luck!!!

brower47

I've been logging in to MFP for just under 105 days and I've been gaining/maintaining for that time.
My goal is 65 kilos with mini goals at every 2 kilos from my current weight (I'm at 78-79 kilos). I'm 160cm tall and sedentary/lightly active.

confused - your goal is 65 and you are currently at 78/79 and you have been gaining and maintaining?! what's your goal?

This. What you said seems very contradictory and confusing.

sheahughes

I've been logging in to MFP for just under 105 days and I've been gaining/maintaining for that time.
My goal is 65 kilos with mini goals at every 2 kilos from my current weight (I'm at 78-79 kilos). I'm 160cm tall and sedentary/lightly active.

confused - your goal is 65 and you are currently at 78/79 and you have been gaining and maintaining?! what's your goal?

This. What you said seems very contradictory and confusing.

That's really not that hard to understand - my ultimate goal is 65kg BUT with the way I have been eating/exercising, I am currently at 78/79kg and maintaining that weight - when I really got back into logging I was a couple kilos under hence the 'gaining/maintaining'. I started logging again because I knew I was eating over my daily limit and needed to see how bad it was - it's bad. Especially when TTOTM rolls around - sweet stuff galore.

I'm not a morning person, and typically only have an hour from the time I'm out of bed to the time I have to be at work - that doesn't leave a lot of room for cooking a meal. I'm also terrible at meal plans because I choose the day's meals based on what I feel like. I've never stuck to a meal plan for more than a couple of days because I simply don't feel like eating what I've planned (even if it sounded good at the start of the plan).

Yes - I want to lose weight. That is my goal. I was down to 62kg in 2011 but completely lost it 2012 after a bad break up and have since gained back to the 78kg mark.

I wear a fitbit 24/7 and I average 7000 steps a day between working in the classroom and then in the office. Apart from the weekly PT session, I'm not getting any other exercise at the moment which will be changing after work this afternoon.

Thanks for the responses so far.

Rayman79

OK so based on what you've said so far, you seem to be a night time eater, and a bit of an emotional eater too.

I'd suggest the following:

1. Have a good look at your intake and your weight since you started logging. You should see your average intake and how this correlated with your weight change (assuming you are logging accurately - most people don't). Then adjust your intake accordingly. If you are consistently going 1000 cals a day over your plan then you are not planning enough, or your plan is too difficult to stick to (or a combination of both most likely).

2. Work out when you are most hungry, what type of foods you WANT to make you feel content, and make them work into your diet. For example, if you often feel hungry at night, load a good proportion of your cals to that time of day, allow some fat and carbs so you can have something sweet at night, etc. Remember meal timing is not that important assuming you are eating the right amount of calories, and have a decent macronutrient profile.

So, putting it in to practice. Here are some things to think about:
Get more organised to start with. Plan your meals, even if its just breakfast and lunch to start with. Make them lighter in calories than you have been. Cook once or twice a week in bigger quantities if needed.
If you are not naturally a morning eater, then don't eat breakfast. Feel free to eat when your body is naturally hungry rather than forcing food in at certain times.
Are you a snacker? Pre-pack low cal snacks to help avoid temptation.
Pre-log and try to stick to this as closely as possible.

I hope that helps.

ana3067

1400 is probably still too low for you. Around 5'2", 175lbs, let's estimate that you sleep/lay down on average 8 hours a day and walk around/stand an average of an hour a day, the rest of your time spent sitting. Based on two calculators your maintenance is estimated at around 2163-2292 calories. Create a 20% deficit from this, and you get an estimated calorie suggestion of 1730-1830.

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html
http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

So this would be you if you were totally sedentary (unless bed-ridden, no one will not get in at least an hour of walking and standing just from daily things like showering, cooking, walking to/from different rooms/buildings etc).

If you're finding that you reach your cal limit halfway into the day, then re-evaluate how much you are eating at every meal. I really don't understand how people have this problem though. If you know that in general you will eat 5 times a day, then divide your calorie intake by 5 and consume that much (give or take) at each meal. I simply write that number down into my meal title, so that I know to stay around 525 calories at each of my 4 meals, or at least for breakfast and lunch. I don't really care too much about this for the evening. Or you could set up 2-3 meals in your diary and change the titles to be time ranges; meal 1 for 7am to 2pm, meal 2 for 3pm to 10pm, and then allow yourself to eat half your day's calories in meal 1 and the rest in meal 2 (again adding in the calorie number into the meal title if you think this will help you stay on track). If you did this, while eating at a more realistic deficit for yourself, and are still hungry, then you probably need to monitor your macronutrients more closely. If you eat a very high-carb diet you'll likely feel very hungry and will likely over-eat. Now, that doesn't mean you need to eat low-carb. I eat about 40-45% of my calories from carbs. But if I have 500 calories worth of carbs for breakfast, only a few incidental grams of fat and protein with it, I will be hungry within a few hours. If I eat roughly half my calories from carbs and the rest from fat and protein, I'm good for up to 6 hours if need be.

ETA if you're working out with a personal trainer, then your PT is giving you a generic calorie amount which is not at all based on your stats. This is not a PT I'd work with or pay for his/her services. Your PT should know better.

AquaticQuests

My current MFP setting is 1410

I cannot eat little portions spread out over the course of the day! Just doesn't work for me!
I also like to have a good big dinner!

So to remain within my calories what I do is cut out lunch most times! Have a good breakfast (lots of bread eg 5 slices or more) and a good supper! With throwing in exercise that generally works!

If i'm hungry during course of day ill have a snack!

Drinking lots of water during the day also helps control urge to eat!

Whatever works for you to stay within your limit will work! Some may just do a coffee in morning and have early lunch then supper! For some, they not big on supper! Whatever works!

With time your stomach and body adjust to the new regime and hunger is no longer an issue!

Exercise is for me very helpful in meeting my daily/ weekly targets and general wellness and muscle tone!

icrushit

The biggest change you can make right now is what you are eating. Replace some of the carbs you eat with foods richer in protein and fat, and start swapping out the junk food for better options. I would focus on this before worrying about your intake, but of course after you do this, looking at your intake is next, and seeing if its both sustainable and fit for purpose.

Of course all this assumes what you are eating is the problem, if there are non-physical reasons for your overeating, you shall need to tackle those too before you can hope to get a handle on controlling your weight.

Hope this helps, and if you're gaining all the time, I would even suggest changing your goal to maintaining your weight for a few weeks while you make these changes, and then when you're on top of these changes and in a good place, then look to adjust things a little for weight loss.

stuffinmuffin

So, putting it in to practice. Here are some things to think about:
Get more organised to start with. Plan your meals, even if its just breakfast and lunch to start with. Make them lighter in calories than you have been. Cook once or twice a week in bigger quantities if needed.
If you are not naturally a morning eater, then don't eat breakfast. Feel free to eat when your body is naturally hungry rather than forcing food in at certain times.
Are you a snacker? Pre-pack low cal snacks to help avoid temptation.
Pre-log and try to stick to this as closely as possible.

^^^^^ This!!!

It's all about learning to plan and accomadate for your goals. If I hit my calorie target for the day I stop eating. Simple as. However to allow some leeway I do work to weekly calories rather than daily which can make life easier for special ocassions, meals out etc.

sheahughes

Thank you ladies and gents, I've certainly got a lot to think about.

Regarding the PT - luckily I'm not paying, it's a free service provided by one of the local gold mines. However, you are right, they are most definitely probably generic calories as he rattled off what he consumes each day (1200 with 10% either way) and then suggested that 1300-1400 would probably be more suitable for me. No questions asked. I must say in his defense, I am getting stronger and fitter so he is improving my fitness at least (like I can now do 40 burpees instead of wanting to die with 10, same with push ups etc)

I will re-evaluate my calories, I know that between 1600 and 1800 per day was working for me back when I lost the weight originally but I've since listened to the advice of people who know best.

I generally don't eat breakfast and every professional who I have ever told that too has given me what for - but I honestly consume more on the days that I eat breakfast (ie - before 9am) than on days when I don't consume anything until 10 or 11am.

I will make my diary public so you guys can check out this weeks calories - I've been hit and miss with keeping everything logged but have been logging every day this week so far.

At work, I spend at least 6 hours as a combination of walking/sitting, then it would be about 4-5 hours of sitting at home and between 6-9 hours sleep.

nosebag1212

you should try intermittent fasting, you fast for most of the day and onsume all your calories in a small window so you can push that to the end of the day and eat large satisfying meals e.g. only eat between 4 and 10 pm, then you don't have to go to bed hungry

_Zardoz_

I've been logging in to MFP for just under 105 days and I've been gaining/maintaining for that time. My goal is 65 kilos with mini goals at every 2 kilos from my current weight (I'm at 78-79 kilos). I'm 160cm tall and sedentary/lightly active.

My daily goal is 1400 calories which I set in conjunction with my PT.

My question is, if I reach my calorie limit (or 10% over) between say, 2pm & 5pm, should I shut myself off from the fridge/pantry for the rest of the night? Not eat dinner and just go about normal routine then bed?

At the moment I am consistently overeating by about 1000 calories. Mostly junk, and so I end up hungry and actually eat dinner then I'm way over. Any advice or tips?

Are you eating your exercise calories back? Personally and from experience the majority of personal trainers are pretty clueless about proper nutrition and just seem to cling onto every food myth possible.

I'd suggest taking a step back have a look at the link below and set your goals up using that advice with the exercise you do you'll probably find you'll have more calories anyway. Obviously if you've been here 105 days and not lost weight something is up so go back to the basics

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=guide+to+sexypants&page=1#posts-1836159

N>B Just had a quick look at your diary. I'd start with dumping the protein balls your using 600 calories on those a lot of days and even without those your getting plenty of Protein. 250 calories a shot with 7g of protein is a lot of calories for very little advantage. A bagel is 250 cal with 9g of protein! . Also I'd question the accuracy of some of your entries. Theres another link that will give you great logging advice

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide

GatorDeb1

I log everything that I'm going to eat in a particular day the day before. Then I just spread it out throughout the day.