Adding Up Calorie Balance?

MeredithLee11

In the past week or so, I've started making a spread sheet of my net calories and the leftover balance. Every day I add that day's balance to the last day's balance, and I keep adding them up. For example, if I had 100 calories left over one day and 100 calories left over the next day, I'd add them up to 200 leftover calories. If I had 100 left over the next day, I'd add it up to 300, etc. I do this so that on my days that I go over my goal, I can see if I still have an overall deficit.

Does anyone else do this or something similar?

bovbjerg

The MFP app for the iPhone does this automatically for you - under the "home" tab (bottom), click on the "weekly" tab (top) and it will show you when you're over, when you're under and the net calories under for the week so far. :happy:

RunHardBeStrong

Yes I do... I like to know what my defecit is every week

suzieqdiva

Does that really help? If so how?

I am new here so still trying to figure out Cal In & out... where it needs to be & what I can play with. Would love more insight.

CARNAT22

As you are meant to eat all of your daily calories I am not sure what the point would be of seeing your weekly overall defecit? You technically shouldn't have an overall defecit should you?

lloydrt

hmm, I dont think you can "carry over" calories from previous days, and use them on day where you go over your calories for the day. I would be hesitant to do that, .......again, I mean no harm, but back in the old days, when I tried to diet on my own, I used that same practice and never could understand why I was so fat and not losing weight, meanwhile, I was yo yo dieting, doing that same concept...........barely eating one day, only to pig out the next.......

Hope this helps, Id ask around, about saving "unused calories" ,.........Best wishes, Lloyd

MeredithLee11

As you are meant to eat all of your daily calories I am not sure what the point would be of seeing your weekly overall defecit? You technically shouldn't have an overall defecit should you?

I guess it's different for everyone. My goal is set to lose 1/2 a pound a week, so I can go under my goal and be fine. I actually make it a point to eat less than my goal calories.

jane77

The MFP app for the iPhone does this automatically for you - under the "home" tab (bottom), click on the "weekly" tab (top) and it will show you when you're over, when you're under and the net calories under for the week so far. :happy:

Hey thanks for the info I didn't know that. That gives me even more reason to add everything (sometimes don't when I know i'm good with the numbers for the day) Oh more numer I love it.

MeredithLee11

hmm, I dont think you can "carry over" calories from previous days, and use them on day where you go over your calories for the day. I would be hesitant to do that, .......again, I mean no harm, but back in the old days, when I tried to diet on my own, I used that same practice and never could understand why I was so fat and not losing weight, meanwhile, I was yo yo dieting, doing that same concept...........barely eating one day, only to pig out the next.......

Hope this helps, Id ask around, about saving "unused calories" ,.........Best wishes, Lloyd

Thanks Lloyd.
A couple years ago I lost about 30 pounds keeping track of my calories on my own on a spreadsheet and adding up deficits. I certainly wasn't pigging out every other day or starving myself, but I would cut back enough every day so I would have enough calories "saved up" by the end of the week so I could go out with friends guilt-free. Maybe it was all in my head.
I was kind of under the impression that since people say "a weekly calorie deficit of 3500 calories = losing 1 pound per week" that those calories could roll over day to day and even week to week.

RunHardBeStrong

I don't carry them over to use on other days. I also keep a written food diary as I don't always have time to log on here and therefore everything isn't always caluculated for me. To each his own as long as it works for you.

dengarrett

Take a look at my blog post about a related topic - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/dengarrett/view/my-mfp-math-73825

myofibril

hmm, I dont think you can "carry over" calories from previous days, and use them on day where you go over your calories for the day. I would be hesitant to do that, .......again, I mean no harm, but back in the old days, when I tried to diet on my own, I used that same practice and never could understand why I was so fat and not losing weight, meanwhile, I was yo yo dieting, doing that same concept...........barely eating one day, only to pig out the next.......

Hope this helps, Id ask around, about saving "unused calories" ,.........Best wishes, Lloyd

It's fine to carry over calories from one day to another. Really, your body isn't sensitive enough to sense a small change in caloires from one day to the next .In addition, your body doesn't take a stock take at the stroke of midnight for example and decide what to do with an excess or deficit of calories. It's more of a continuum. What you want to look at is your overall trend over a much longer period of time, for example an entire week.

What you want to do though is avoid the scenario where you are eating a small amount of calories over a long period of time and then because you feel so deprived bingeing like crazy on crappy, junk food for extended periods as well. If you do that welcome to fat storage city, population: you

Personally I use a much simpler method when dieting. I multiply my overall body weight by 10 and 12 to give myself a range.

So for example, I weigh about 185lbs (I say about because I haven't stepped on the scales in about 3 weeks as it is redundant information for me. Long story....) 185lbs x 10 = 1850. 185lbs x 12 = 2,200.

This give me a range between 1,850 calories to 2,200 calories. I eat anywhere between that range on a given day and know I will lose weight just fine if I stick between those two numbers. No stress, no worry about eating back exercise calories or not, blah, blah, blah. On my exercise days I will eat at the higher end of range if I want. Sometime I do, sometimes I don't. Depends on how I am feeling at the time. It allows me a lot of flexibility and saves on the headaches tablets....

MeredithLee11

hmm, I dont think you can "carry over" calories from previous days, and use them on day where you go over your calories for the day. I would be hesitant to do that, .......again, I mean no harm, but back in the old days, when I tried to diet on my own, I used that same practice and never could understand why I was so fat and not losing weight, meanwhile, I was yo yo dieting, doing that same concept...........barely eating one day, only to pig out the next.......

Hope this helps, Id ask around, about saving "unused calories" ,.........Best wishes, Lloyd

It's fine to carry over calories from one day to another. Really, your body isn't sensitive enough to sense a small change in caloires from one day to the next .In addition, your body doesn't take a stock take at the stroke of midnight for example and decide what to do with an excess or deficit of calories. It's more of a continuum. What you want to look at is your overall trend over a much longer period of time, for example an entire week.

What you want to do though is avoid the scenario where you are eating a small amount of calories over a long period of time and then because you feel so deprived bingeing like crazy on crappy, junk food for extended periods as well. If you do that welcome to fat storage city, population: you

Personally I use a much simpler method when dieting. I multiply my overall body weight by 10 and 12 to give myself a range.

So for example, I weigh about 185lbs (I say about because I haven't stepped on the scales in about 3 weeks as it is redundant information for me. Long story....) 185lbs x 10 = 1850. 185lbs x 12 = 2,200.

This give me a range between 1,850 calories to 2,200 calories. I eat anywhere between that range on a given day and know I will lose weight just fine if I stick between those two numbers. No stress, no worry about eating back exercise calories or not, blah, blah, blah. On my exercise days I will eat at the higher end of range if I want. Sometime I do, sometimes I don't. Depends on how I am feeling at the time. It allows me a lot of flexibility and saves on the headaches tablets....

Thanks. That seems like a reasonable strategy. I absolutely agree with you that bouncing between starving and binging is NOT the way to go. I love food too much to starve myself, and I've never been one for binging 'cause it hurts too much the next day.

RunHardBeStrong

hmm, I dont think you can "carry over" calories from previous days, and use them on day where you go over your calories for the day. I would be hesitant to do that, .......again, I mean no harm, but back in the old days, when I tried to diet on my own, I used that same practice and never could understand why I was so fat and not losing weight, meanwhile, I was yo yo dieting, doing that same concept...........barely eating one day, only to pig out the next.......

Hope this helps, Id ask around, about saving "unused calories" ,.........Best wishes, Lloyd

It's fine to carry over calories from one day to another. Really, your body isn't sensitive enough to sense a small change in caloires from one day to the next .In addition, your body doesn't take a stock take at the stroke of midnight for example and decide what to do with an excess or deficit of calories. It's more of a continuum. What you want to look at is your overall trend over a much longer period of time, for example an entire week.

What you want to do though is avoid the scenario where you are eating a small amount of calories over a long period of time and then because you feel so deprived bingeing like crazy on crappy, junk food for extended periods as well. If you do that welcome to fat storage city, population: you

Personally I use a much simpler method when dieting. I multiply my overall body weight by 10 and 12 to give myself a range.

So for example, I weigh about 185lbs (I say about because I haven't stepped on the scales in about 3 weeks as it is redundant information for me. Long story....) 185lbs x 10 = 1850. 185lbs x 12 = 2,200.

This give me a range between 1,850 calories to 2,200 calories. I eat anywhere between that range on a given day and know I will lose weight just fine if I stick between those two numbers. No stress, no worry about eating back exercise calories or not, blah, blah, blah. On my exercise days I will eat at the higher end of range if I want. Sometime I do, sometimes I don't. Depends on how I am feeling at the time. It allows me a lot of flexibility and saves on the headaches tablets....

Glad to see this post! Thanks. I to mutiplied my weight by 10 and that is where I stay around. So much easier. I have lost 80 lbs in a year using this method. So I think it is working! As well as keeping track of my weekly defecit.....