calorie overage!

karisbear

How often do u go over, do u often find it all adds up so quickly before dinner? Maybe i had a bad couple of days...

krissykross

I don't go over very often. I like to plan the next day in advance so I know what to eat and I'm less likely to go over.

sleepytexan

I go over -- by a lot -- and intentionally, once a week. Occasionally otherwise I might go over by 100 or fewer calories. Not a big deal.

Not sure how much you're allowing yourself, but my base calories are 1400. If I don't exercise I have a hard time sticking to that. Usually I do exercise 6 days a week, and on my rest day I eat extra; use it as a spike day.

blessings.

Raf702

I only go over when I have a cheat meal, which is like 1x a week or 1x every other week. The best way to look at it, is don't eat an excess of 3,500 cals(1lb) a week. On top of your maintenance calories already consumed, and you won't gain a pound.

Mama_CAEI

I go over most days, and that includes the extra 300 I add back for breastfeeding. But the weight has still been coming off, so I'm doing something right! I try not to go over by more than 100-200 per day.

BrewerGeorge

I don't stress if I'm within plus-or-minus 100 on a given day. I have a 900 Cal/day deficit built in, so maybe I only lose 1.9 lbs this week instead of 2.0 lbs. No biggie.

txmike64

You have to plan your meals, you can enter them in advance that morning, so you know what it will work out to be calorie wise. Then make adjustments. It would be helpful if you told us what your diet consisted of, as there are likely alternatives. Instead of turkey sausage, I went to Boca soy burgers with egg white for breakfast (70 calories - substantial protein without the cholesterol and they grow on you).... 1/4th of the calories of a maple sausage patty, and 1/2 of the turkey.... Overall my breakfasts are under 125 calories they used to be 450 when I started. And I'm just as full.

txmike64

But George....as I lost weight my calorie deficit started shrinking rapidly.....losing about 10-20 calories of margin a week.

Pebble321

I think planning is the key here. I enter my meals the night before so I can see how much room I have for snacks. I enter everything I think I'll eat - and if I'm not sure I'll put in 500 or so quick add cals for dinner so they are already allocated.
This way I don't find myself way over or under at the end of the day. If things change during the day, it also makes it easy to drop out a few items from snacks or change to a lower-cal dinner so it still balances out.
Having said that, I don't think being over or under by 50 - 100 cals is the end of the world. Unless you are on maintenance you are still going to have a calorie deficit even if you are over a bit.

BrewerGeorge

But George....as I lost weight my calorie deficit started shrinking rapidly.....losing about 10-20 calories of margin a week.

No, your deficit should stay the same as it's based completely on how many pound/week you enter as a goal. Your BMR does shrink as you lose weight though, so you get to eat less because your deficit stays the same.

adross3

Eating clean is a problem for me. I never go over anymore. I have trouble eating all my cals. Yesterday I ate 6X and had to eat a bigmac, 6pc and small fries just to catch up, and I was still short 300 cals.

sugarbone

I've only gone over once or twice in the last 2 months, and it was due to eating things before I planned them and thinking "I just don't care today!". Normally I find it very difficult to go over because the idea of logging something putting me in the red is painful, I just don't do it!

hrobinson416

But George....as I lost weight my calorie deficit started shrinking rapidly.....losing about 10-20 calories of margin a week.

No, your deficit should stay the same as it's based completely on how many pound/week you enter as a goal. Your BMR does shrink as you lose weight though, so you get to eat less because your deficit stays the same.

But isnt your current weight figured in - which would change how many calories you can eat? So if you lose a bunch of weight, shouldnt you redo your settings? Genuinely curious

BrewerGeorge

But George....as I lost weight my calorie deficit started shrinking rapidly.....losing about 10-20 calories of margin a week.

No, your deficit should stay the same as it's based completely on how many pound/week you enter as a goal. Your BMR does shrink as you lose weight though, so you get to eat less because your deficit stays the same.

But isnt your current weight figured in - which would change how many calories you can eat? So if you lose a bunch of weight, shouldnt you redo your settings? Genuinely curious

Sure it is. I redo mine every ten pounds like it recommends. Weight and activity level setting determine your BMR. So for me as an example, it's about 2500 right now. That's what I could eat and neither gain nor lose. I'm set at 2 lbs/week which requires about 900 Cal/day deficit. That means MFP shows me I have 1610 Cal to eat every day (neglecting exercise). My original point was that even if I go 100 over, I still have an 800 Cal/day deficit that day (900 scheduled - 100 overage). If I do that every single day of a week, it changes my weight loss by less than 4 ounces for the week.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

ehh..it's infrequent but i figure that so long as I make my average intake a deficit/maintenance then the occasional overage won't have much of an impact. in fact, it can have mental/metabolic benefits that are worth it