How much deficit is too much?

tseecka

I'm trying to figure out where I'm at in terms of deficits and the like...I want to try to stay at least a little under my goal for each day, just because it helps me feel better about my willpower (I'm usually a "give an inch, take a mile" kind of girl). So far I don't think it'll be much of an issue, and I don't plan on being more than 100, 150cal under my limit for a day.

But then I am going to have some days like today, when I attended a fitness event that lost me 1055 cal (according to my HRM). That almost doubles my limit for the day, and while I don't want to just use it as an excuse to splurge, I also don't want to do any harm to my body or freak it out by having a 1000 calorie deficit. I beefed up my dinner a bit to make up for it, but I still have a 400cal deficit at the end of the day.

So how much deficit is okay, and how much is too much? And if you find yourself in a situation where you actually need to make up calories for your body's sake, what are some good foods/snacks to have that aren't going to skyrocket things like sodium or fats?

chatswithpets

And what about when you are just not that hungry...yet at the end of the day your calorie count is rather low. Should you eat, even though you aren't hungry?

Lift_hard_eat_big

Try 200-300kcal deficit/day for a few weeks. If you don't experience progress, try to up the deficit to 400-500

sarglava

On average a total of 1200 calories per day is enough to sustain healthy human function. That's "on average" meaning some days you can be under... some you can be over that limit. A lot of people do a type of diet where they do just that. They restrict every few days to less than 1200 then they go over 1200 other days. It supposedly keeps the body from becoming "bored" with a routine. I say just try your best to stay within the range your comfortable in.. Don't make those less than 1200 cals per day a habit and eat energy rich foods (not splurge foods) if you need to.

chikachic817

I would like to know as well. I finished my day with a 218 calories remaining due to a 600 calorie workout, and I'm unsure about whether having remaining calories at the end of the day would throw off my goal timeframe

lunaephiliac

in reference to the post above, that can be true for some, but i've found that the 1200 kcal/day limit, while not especially difficult to stick to, was putting my body into starvation mode. Just goes to show, it's important to try something, look at the results, and adjust.

saivenkat02

As long as the 'Net calorie intake' (i.e. subtracting exercise burnt calories from total calories intake) is above 1200, you should be fine. There are lot of days when I have 300-400 calories remaining to eat, but the amount of sodium/sugar/fat/carbs I have eaten have exhausted and so I don't eat anymore. I only try to mantain a 1200 calorie intake everyday while working out for 700-800 calories per day (which means I eat about 2400-2500 cals/day).

CuteEllais

I try to keep it within 200 calories. More than 500 and I find that the next day, I'm ready to eat my own arm off! Usually I grab some nuts or dried fruit or a bowl of cereal or yogurt. You earned them! Eat them!

sarscott

My daily goal is 1700 calories (I'm a big girl... that's why I'm here!) and lately I've only been hitting about 1200-1300 a day and am beginning to realize I need to be a lot closer to 1700 than I have been. I do not, however, eat back my exercise calories.

chatswithpets

Hmmmm....I think I need to be eating more.