Have I messed up?

annibelz247

So basically I started my lifestyle change last week and am eating 1200 calories a day and exercising at least 60 minutes at least 3 times a,week although I am trying to increase this to 6 times a week. At the weekend on both days I ate around 1000 extra calories though and today I have eaten around 400 extra calories. Have I completely ruined my diet? Or is it okay if I try not to do it often. I know that I wont,always be able to stay within 1200 calories a day so if I do have some days,where I eat a little more is,it okay, will I still lose weight? Im around 5"5 at,around 161lbs. Thanks

ladyraven68

So basically I started my lifestyle change last week and am eating 1200 calories a day and exercising at least 60 minutes at least 3 times a,week although I am trying to increase this to 6 times a week. At the weekend on both days I ate around 1000 extra calories though and today I have eaten around 400 extra calories. Have I completely ruined my diet? Or is it okay if I try not to do it often. I know that I wont,always be able to stay within 1200 calories a day so if I do have some days,where I eat a little more is,it okay, will I still lose weight? Im around 5"5 at,around 161lbs. Thanks

Are you eating jusy 1200, or netting 1200? (i.e 1200 + exercise calories)

cberridge1987

There are days when I also go over, but, I do try to keep them to a minimum, at the end of the day, the only person you are cheating is yourself. In theory, provided you are still exercising, and only ocassionally going over your calories, you will still lose weight, it may just be at a slower rate than you expect. There are people on here that have 'cheat days' and there are others that do not stick religiously to their calories etc. Really, it's finding what works for you, and how committed you are to your weight loss (I feel like committed was the wrong word.. I don't want to imply that people who have cheat days etc are less committed, I just couldn't think of a better word!!)

BeckyLH

If you go 400 over you will still lose weight, just not as quickly, I would imagine at around 2200 you will maintain. Exercise counteracts your calories but I never knock it off my total intake to get my 1200, I find if I do I just maintain.

annibelz247

Thanks guys, I'm normally eating 1200 calories although some days I eat back some exercise calories too although normally not all of them.

kls13la

Honestly, if you've only been doing this for a week, and you've already gone over your allotted calories by 1000 on two days and by 400 on one day, you may need to reconsider your plan.

Did you go over because you were hungry? If so, you may need to actually increase your calories to ensure your body is getting the nutrients it needs. 1200 calories a day isn't much (I'm actually your height and in the 130s and there is no way I could survive on 1200 calories a day -- I'm eating at least 1500 a day, usually more, and still losing at a steady rate.)

GauchoMark

using some basic assumptions, it looks like your BMR is somewhere around 1565 calories and your TDEE is around 1878 without exercise. So, 4 days at 1200 calories, 2 days at 2200 calories, and 1 day at 1600 calories averages out to 1543 calories/day. Even without the exercise, you are at a deficit of (1878-1543) 335 per day. I'd say if you add in the exercise, you would be around a 500 calories/day deficit which is good enough for 1 lb/week.

All that said, it sounds like you are trying to do too much all at once. Set a reasonable goal, learn how to meet it, and then make it happen. 1200 calories/day is too low for you (as you can already see) and exercising 6 days a week might not be sustainable either.

Realize that this is a long term commitment and things aren't going to change overnight.

mama2beau

kudos on this sound advice!!!

regarding post:
Honestly, if you've only been doing this for a week, and you've already gone over your allotted calories by 1000 on two days and by 400 on one day, you may need to reconsider your plan.

Did you go over because you were hungry? If so, you may need to actually increase your calories to ensure your body is getting the nutrients it needs. 1200 calories a day isn't much (I'm actually your height and in the 130s and there is no way I could survive on 1200 calories a day -- I'm eating at least 1500 a day, usually more, and still losing at a steady rate.)