Need clarification on remaining calories to eat.

dougstevens

Okay, I understand that this question comes up a lot, but to honest I get a bit confused at times. So, I am asking clarification for the following example:

Its towards the end of the day. I have it in my head that its ideal to get your "Net Calories" to be around 1200. However, if I eat my remaining calories (653), my "Net Calories" will be closer to my daily "Goal" of 1490. So which is ideal, get the Net Calories to 1200 or up to my daily goal? (Also, follow up question, if a person is 290 calories under their goal, would that person risk going into "starvation mode?")

653 CALORIES REMAINING
Goal Food Exercise = Net
1490 1929 - 1092 837



Thanks in advance,
Doug

Rilke

Since you are a man, your minimum net should be about 1500, not 1200. And then, yes, you want to eat at least some of your exercise calories to get close to your daily goal.

dougstevens

Thanks Rilke

junipuni

Starvation mode is thrown around too much, IMO. Not that it doesn't happen but if this is a one day type of thing then your body is not going to go into starvation mode.

Your net is definitely too low, and I would venture to say that your goal is probably on the low side as well. That being said, I am not a doctor, nutritionist or anything like that but my goal is just about a 100 calories less than you and I am a 5'4" female with about 20 pounds to lose so it seems on the low side.

One thing to consider is how you've done the rest of the week. If you are consistently this low it is probably going to be a problem. If you went way over your calories yesterday, well, then maybe it's no big deal. Some people try and zig zag their calories so that at the end of the week their total calories are the same but their daily calories vary.

I do think that we need to fuel our bodies and give it enough energy but I'm also not a big fan of stuffing in a bunch of calories at the end of the day just to get them in just because I personally don't feel all that great doing that. For me - I plan the night before what I will be eating so that I have a good plan set out and I don't end up way over or under at the end of the day.

Good luck!