Too many calories left at day's end.

Tashry

My big problem is that when I focus on really watching what I eat, I eat TOO well and some days I am left with far too many calories at the end of the day that I have not consumed. I want to be healthy, not starve myself, but I have a hard time getting through to myself that I don't have to eat low fat/fat free, reduced calorie everything.I tend to live off egg white omlettes and chicken and salad. I am working on it, but its a work in progress. - Whole grains are your friend! A treat now and then is okay! Carbs are not your enemy!
Call it a lousy excuse, but between working 40-50 hours a week, raising 2 kids, helping my husband run our home business (on top of my own full time job), I am not left with much time or energy, at the end of the day. What little I have I use on a workout in the evening 4 nights a week. I don't always have the time to plan my meals and see exactly what kind of calories to expect that day.
So my question is this: At the end of the day, once I have logged all my meals and realize it's 10:00pm and I still have 1000 calories remaining, what should I do? If I eat, I would be consuming food late in the evening which is a bad idea, but if I don't I am starving my body for calories.
I know as time goes on I will get better at this, I will know roughly what I am consuming throughout the day without having to wait to get online at the end of the day. (And no, I can't get online during the daytime to log what I have eaten so far...work says no no to using the internet for personal use.) In the meantime, what would you do? Do you eat, or do you not?

xraychick77

you wont starve yourself for not eating ALL the calories you've set. if you feel full and are not hungry, then dont worry about it. I too have this problem, since i try to eat very well. but of course i am trying to bulk muscle on, not lose weight. i dont feel hungry, and actually feel too full to eat all i am supposed to. 1600 cals. i should be eating 1800, but unless i eat junk i wont meet that. but hey, dont worry about it. the less cals, the more weight you'll lose.

mamawildbear

Don't not eat just because it's the end of the day. I'm a firm believer that it only matters how many calories you consume, not when you eat them. I'd eat them. Sometimes I've got 200 cal left and I don't worry about it but you've got 1000 left? That's huge. For me, if I work out a lot (which I'm trying to do) if I don't get enough calories I start falling asleep around 2pm and can't make it through the day.

Try peanut butter on toast - that's one of my favs. Bananas are nice. Actually, if I had 1000 cal left I think I'd end the day with some ice cream. With hot fudge. No lie. What an opportunity for guilt free yumminess.

Tashry

Thanks.
I'm not concerned about eating ALL the calories set, but being 1000 under the 750 deficit already set for me seems excessive. Especially since it's happening frequently. Seems the only days I am hitting up close to my mark are the days I allow myself something really naughty. Otherwise I am down at around 800 calories a day which is not okay.
Again, I am working on it...I'm just finding it tough to find balance.

Tashry

Thanks mamawildbear - that helps. I am trying so hard to get past the guilt of eating "naughty" foods. Finding some middle ground is tougher than I thought. I get a little obsessed with watching everything I eat and not allowing natural, wholesome foods like whole grains and such. I'm trying to teach myself that ice cream is okay so long as I keep myself under my calorie target.

NoAdditives

I find it's easiest to plan your meals in advance. I like to plan my meals the night before so that I can know what I can eat. I factor in my exercise because I have a good idea of what I'll burn and how many more calories I have to eat. It's easy for me because I eat pretty much the same things every day, the only that really changes is my dinner. This helps me to stay within my calorie limit without going over and also helps to ensure I eat all my exercise calories.

jamie1888

You don't have to eat anything naughty to add some calories to your meals! I can't view your diary, but I'm guessing you aren't getting enough healthy fats in your diet. Your body needs fat to function properly and to process the other foods you eat. They are called EFA's for a reason: ESSENTIAL fatty acids.

Add some olive oil to your salad dressings or over your steamed veggies, toss in some avocado in those salads and egg whites. (Eating a yolk or 2 with your eggs is actually good for you! All the good nutrients are in the yolk!) Snack on raw almonds or spread some almond or peanut butter (natural butters where the only ingredient is the nut) on the celery sticks.

Are you eating any fruit? Those are good carbs. Be sure you are getting enough fiber in your diet. Don't be afraid of whole grains or beans. If you are trying to eat really low carb, then it's even more important to eat the fats! Your body needs the fats to process all the protein you eat.

And yes, being under 1000 calories for the day is NOT a good thing!! You aren't giving your body the energy it needs to function on a daily basis let alone exercise! If you are eating like this often, you might be losing weight; but, guess what? You are losing muscle mass, not just fat. So, you might actually weigh less, but you are changing your body composition to be composed of less muscle and more body fat.

Eat girl!

ldybugg

Its tough sometimes to get the balance right. Im going back to school and i refuse to eat the crap that they have so i'll go without. Plus I have to drive to all across town to different campuses. What I do is keep lots of snacks in the car. Almonds, wheat crips, beef jerky, granola bars, ect. That way I always have healthy stuff with me. So if you try something like that it can boost your totals up a little bit.

Seesaa

having the same problem now adays it is kind of an odd problem to have really lol at least for me. just listen to your body and pay attention to your weight if it's not working for ya, try to schedule your food out more. kinda works for me.

amandarusco

Maybe you could add a protein shake to your lunch or have a peanut butter sandwhich for snack.

KickassYas

just a suggestion cheese... its a positive filler. might cut the calories while helping with calcium and other vitamins if you get the organic kind. make it a mid day snack so your body can properly digest it.

CUNKNNK

Being a little short on calories is a good problem to have. Being a lot short (as it seems you often are) is a bad problem because your body will go into starvation mode and burn muscle while retaining fat.

Since you are so busy, find some healthy calorie filled snacks you enjoy and eat them on the go:
-Cheese Sticks
-Granola Bars
-Nuts


ALSO: Don't concern yourself with eating after a certain time. That is a myth. It is a fact that it makes no difference what time of day you eat. It all boils down to calories in vs. calories out. Multiple scientific studies have concluded so. It does not matter what time of day you eat. It is what and how much you eat and how much physical activity you do during the whole day that determines whether you gain, lose, or maintain your weight. No matter when you eat, it is only if you overeat that your body will store extra calories as fat.

The only way eating at night could be a problem is if you ONLY ate at night and skipped breakfast and/or lunch. Even then it isn't anything to do with the time of day, just the lack of balance throughout the day that could cause your metabolism to slow considerably and could eventually lead to weight gain. If you have 1000 calories left at 10 PM, you should probably not eat 1000 calories during one sitting. I would suggest maybe shooting for 500-700 calories at a time tops. But don't worry about time of day!

jamie1888

Yes, it's tough with a busy life to plan and prepare healthy meals. Let's face it, it's time consuming! Why do you think I'm awake right now instead of in my nice warm bed? I'm preparing mine and my husband's food for tomorrow. You have to make time to fuel your body! You aren't doing your family any favors by wearing yourself down. Yes, you have a lot going on at home. But, I assure you, if you were fueling your body better, you would have more energy to tackle your day. And when it comes down to it, the goal here should be to BE HEALTHY; NOT JUST WEIGH LESS!

Edit to add:
Yay! Finally getting to bed now! Sleep/rest is essential for good health too!
And to answer your question, which I failed to do.... if you are hungry at night, then eat!

Pebble321

I think you've already identified the key issues here - being used to eating "low cal" all the time, and not planning ahead.
So, now you know what the issues are, how can you try to change them?

There are some great ideas here about adding extra healthy cals in during the day, so go for it and add just a little more each time. You don't have to go overboard, or make huge changes but you can add a bit of cheese, avocado, olive oil, egg yolks to them meals you are having - which will bump up your calories and give you some good fats or extra good stuff like calcium. Or snack on a banana or wholegrain peanut butter sandwich or cheese and crackers or almonds.

The other issue is planning. This is a tricky one because planning takes time, but the reality is that it also saves you time once you have done it.
Could you schedule in half an hour on the weekend to plan your dinners for the week? I find that if I do this and shop for just what I need that I save money and my week is much easier - no more wondering what is for dinner when I get home from work, and no over/under calorie surprises at the end of the day.

I'm also trying to enter as much as I can into MFP ahead of time. I have the advantage of having a half hour bus ride to and from work each day, so this is useful time to catch up with what I've done today and what I'm doing tomorrow, but maybe you could do this during a lunch break. Scribble it on paper if you don't have access to MFP when you are at work (I use the iPhone app and love the portability).

It sounds like you have a really busy life, but in order to keep up with all this activity, you need to take out just a little bit of time for you. You have to stay healthy to be there for your work and family, sacrificing your health will not help in the long term!

Good luck

karak20

I'm curious as too, how many you should have left at the end of the day.. After I put in all my meals/snacks, and add my exercise I have 1601 left at the end of the day. I'm not gaining or losing weight. It kinda sucks that I'm not losing. I'm a housekeeper, so for exercise I add light moderate cleaning, and I count the number of hours I actually cleaned and put that in. Then after work I go to the gym and burn more. I always try to have atleast 1,000 left at the end of the day.

Totals - 1,299 Calories
Your Daily Goal - 2,900 Calories
Remaining - 1,601 Calories

KokomoJoe

I find if I don't bring enough to eat during the day I end up with a big supper like tonights. I didn't plan on a 600 plus calorie dinner but it worked out that way because I was starved when I got home. That being said I still have 295 left for the day even with this big dinner.

skye15

I am having the same problem too! I usually burn about 500 calories in exercise so that puts me at around 900 cal deficit. Honestly I eat as much as I can, but I am just not hungry enough to eat 900 calories. I usually eat about 1100 cal which I know is bad, but I don't really have the appetite. I figure as long as I eat when I am hungry and satisfied I will be alright! I try to sneak some high caloric foods too (avocados, olive oil, cheesecake!)