Under Calorie Goal

It is very important to eat your calories and get your exercise adequately...I tend to not make my calorie goal....Today I didn't make my calorie goal, but I did go extremely high over my fat intake. I had two burgers on wheat bread. Oh my GOd....59% fat! That was my diet tonight. I feel guilty, but I still didn't meet the goal. I did exercise for 30 minutes hard, but I did low impact walking and cleaning today. I lost 2 more pounds....Should I be worried? Any advice?


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Replies

  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    If you're feeling guilt because you ate, there is cause for concern. Consider seeing a therapist.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    If you're feeling guilt because you ate, there is cause for concern. Consider seeing a therapist.

    this.. you're feeling guilty about eating below a calorie goal that's already been lowered enough to lose weight.
  • tedsmama
    tedsmama Posts: 178 Member
    No need to feel guilty for going over on your fat intake for one day, but need to shoot for getting closer to your calorie goal every day. Maybe try pre-logging your meals so you can play with the numbers and spread your calories out throughout the day and balance your macros a little bit better? I log at night in bed for the next day.....might be worth a try! Good luck!
  • I am quite active so my exercise often creates huge deficits. I end up trying to eat a snack before bed to make up some extra calories. Should I be trying to eat more? or is a deficit from exercise ok if I meet my daily food goal? I don't want to start losing muscle mass! Logging in the night before to try and spread the calories evenly might be a good plan.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    If you're feeling guilt because you ate, there is cause for concern.

    This. Really, there's no reason to make this a matter for guilt. It's just about doing what works and makes you happy.

    As for your question--it's not that big a deal to be low once in a while. If you are having trouble making your goal regularly and it's an aggressive goal (like 1200), then it's important to figure out what's going on that's making it so difficult to make the goal. Are you logging correctly? Feeling guilt about eating lots of foods?

    As for 59% fat, the bigger issue is whether you are getting an overall balanced diet. Low carb people (I'm assuming you aren't low carb if you are eating burgers, but as an example) intentionally eat more fat, as it's needed if you cut carbs, for example. On individual days I sometimes eat higher in some macros than usual. But more significantly, if you are just starting I'd get your calories down and a sense of how you are eating and how it's working for you before worrying about the macros. After a little bit of time you can see (a) if you want to modify your macros for nutrition purposes (for example, get more protein), or (b) aren't feeling satisfied and want to play around with the macros for that reason. But for most people macros (and especially not getting lots of fat) are not going to matter for weight loss.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    With 100+ lbs to lose, it' isn't going to hurt too bad if you are under your goal, but you should be trying to hit your goal most of the time. Also, think of fats and proteins like minimums. There is nothing wrong with high protein or high fat diet, especially since fats and proteins are essential. Additionally, higher fat and higher protein diets have a lot of satiety, which makes weight loss easier since you won't feel starved.

    But i agree on the feeling guilty part. If that is persistent, you should see a therapist.