went over calories by approx. 100:(

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cara4fit
cara4fit Posts: 111 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
This is the first time this has happened in WEEKS. Have I really undone my good work doing this just once? Usually I don't eat all my exercise calories back but this time I did and a bit more. Trying to calm down here:( I'm a post-menopausal woman, so I really can't afford to make too many diet mistakes...
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  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Don't stress!
    First of all - you've just made your calorie deficit slightly smaller, you aren't going to gain.
    And second - all the numbers we are working with are estimates, 100 cals isn't enough to lose sleep over.
  • almart007
    almart007 Posts: 71 Member
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    We have good days and some ok days and some bad days the secret is to have more good days than bad days. On those days tha ti go over i try to kick up physical activity and watch my cals closer.
  • Clarissia_Nicole
    Clarissia_Nicole Posts: 79 Member
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    One thing that has helped me MAJORLY in my weight loss is not stressing out over "messing up" and rather, continuing to move forward ;)
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    This is the first time this has happened in WEEKS. Have I really undone my good work doing this just once? Usually I don't eat all my exercise calories back but this time I did and a bit more. Trying to calm down here:( I'm a post-menopausal woman, so I really can't afford to make too many diet mistakes...

    Unbeknownst to you, your label info on calories is probably off by 100 or more each and every day.

    Your body will probably enjoy and use the extra food, especially if you worked out today.

    Also, it's goal to be reached, better to go 100 over than 200 below.
  • jazzalea
    jazzalea Posts: 412 Member
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    don't be surprised if you end up losing a little... sometimes your body needs that extra boost to reassure it'self that there isn't a famine going on and it's ok to loosen up on the fat stores..... don't make it a habit... cuz it quickly gets out of hand.... but it really does do you good to go over a little now and then :)
  • Minnesota_Mark
    Minnesota_Mark Posts: 8
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    I've done that a few times and ended up jogging in place for 20-30 mins to make it up before bed time. And then there is the time I just cheated and put the last thing I ate on tomorrow's food so I start out penalized tomorrow. Not sure how useful that is, but I've still lost a bit this year and am pretty much where I want to be.
    Good luck!
  • Spartan_Maker
    Spartan_Maker Posts: 683 Member
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    You'd have to go over by 100 calories for roughly 35 straight days to gain 1 lb. of fat.
  • phoenixgirl81
    phoenixgirl81 Posts: 309 Member
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    I know that panic feeling. I had it the first time the other day. I normally don't eat back my exercise calories, but the other day I did and I ended up over what I would normally eat and it felt like crap.

    Firstly, congratulations on acknowledging the source of your anxiety.

    With regards to your hard work being undone, the simple answer is no. MFP calculates your calories based on a deficit of around 300 cal less than what you burn by sitting around doing nothing all day (if you're on a sedentary setting like me - I'm sure it's around the same for other levels of activity) so even if you ate over your net calories by 100, you're still at around 200 cal less for the day than you needed so it's totally ok.

    Further, if you have been under or at your goal all week, as well as not eating back your exercise calories, you actually have a lot of "spare" calories more than what MFP has calculated for your desired loss. So in terms of the overall week, you're fine. You haven't undone it, even though it certainly feels like it right now.

    If it's really bothering you, could you go for a walk around the block? Could you do some squats or run on the spot for a few minutes, or something to let you log some cardio exercise to bring you back into a "green" net calorie count?

    Be kind to yourself. :)
  • Scrowder82
    Scrowder82 Posts: 4
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    It's ok... it happens. Just get back on it and keep on being positive and you will succeed. It's natural to fall of here and there. The most important thing is to get back on track. I think you will be fine :smile:
  • littlegreenapple
    littlegreenapple Posts: 13
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    I went over by 1400. I actually gained weight today.

    You still lost! That's a WIN.
  • aftergypsies
    aftergypsies Posts: 248 Member
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    I honestly wouldn't sweat it. I sometimes go over too and I usually end up losing lol. Unless you're over my a few thousand, you'll be okay! Hehe.
  • lilpoindexter
    lilpoindexter Posts: 1,122 Member
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    Whatever you do, don't let 100 measly calories derail you from your future work...100 calories in the large picture is nothing.
  • knb2000
    knb2000 Posts: 29 Member
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    There are days when I go over by a little and days that I am under by a little ( I would say not more than 300 calories either way). I try to make sure I am inline for the week and that has kept me continuously losing weight for 6 weeks.. :bigsmile:
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
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    Going over 100 calories is absolutely no big deal.

    Constantly being under is though, and THAT is what will mess up your progress more than anything.
  • cara4fit
    cara4fit Posts: 111 Member
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    Actually, I did work out a lot today, as I do most days of the week. Today I did 50 minutes of strength training at the gym, 20 minutes on the elliptical doing interval training(that part for the first time in a long time), 20 minutes doing my dance stretch exercises(some of these are pretty intense)and also, as part of my knee maintenance deal at home I do twice daily those exercises plus 2 stair drills. By that I mean doing 16 flights of stairs in my apartment building, 2 steps at a time, twice a day(hence the 2 stair drills). I do my home exercises every single day, I do my weight training 3x a week, Pilates practice 2-3x a week(which includes an hour-long class), and hoop dance practice at least a couple of times a week for 45 minutes to an hour(hoop dance for those who don't know it can be quite cardio so I count it as part of my cardio). If I can, I try to fit in a couple of elliptical sessions a week. Still, since I'm a post-menopausal woman of only 118 pounds and aiming to lose slowly the extra 8 pounds, I've usually kept my calories just below 1500 with this level of activity because I'm older. I'm afraid to eat more than this, hence the stress over eating over 1900 calories today!:(
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Actually, I did work out a lot today, as I do most days of the week. Today I did 50 minutes of strength training at the gym, 20 minutes on the elliptical doing interval training(that part for the first time in a long time), 20 minutes doing my dance stretch exercises(some of these are pretty intense)and also, as part of my knee maintenance deal at home I do twice daily those exercises plus 2 stair drills. By that I mean doing 16 flights of stairs in my apartment building, 2 steps at a time, twice a day(hence the 2 stair drills). I do my home exercises every single day, I do my weight training 3x a week, Pilates practice 2-3x a week(which includes an hour-long class), and hoop dance practice at least a couple of times a week for 45 minutes to an hour(hoop dance for those who don't know it can be quite cardio so I count it as part of my cardio). If I can, I try to fit in a couple of elliptical sessions a week. Still, since I'm a post-menopausal woman of only 118 pounds and aiming to lose slowly the extra 8 pounds, I've usually kept my calories just below 1500 with this level of activity because I'm older. I'm afraid to eat more than this, hence the stress over eating over 1900 calories today!:(

    Wow, great exercise routine.

    Wow, doesn't sound like eating correctly for the level of exercise.

    Older means slower metabolism, not because it just drops with age, but because muscle generally drops with age, and less muscle means slower metabolism.

    That being said, you don't therefore have to have a slower metabolism.

    I'd be more fearful under-eating for that much exercise could have you burning muscle actually. Maybe not what you happen to be working out, but somewhere.
    Unless you correctly are eating back exercise calories to maintain a reasonable deficit.

    Otherwise, great routine with lifting to maintain muscle mass.
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
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    100 calories over your MFP net goal is still under whatever you burned today due to the built in deficit. Right now my calories are set to 1700. If I ate 1800 calories, I'd still be at a 400 calorie deficit for today and it's only 10:30pm based on the number of calories I've burned today. And I didn't work out today, I worked at my desk job, swept our 4ft by 8ft balcony, and casually/slowly walked for about an hour total time broken up by car rides for some errands I ran.

    So if you worked out that much today and only ate 100 calories over, you are more than fine and didn't mess a single thing up.

    But one question, are you saying that you are netting 1500 calories on days you workout or you're eating 1500 calories on days you work out? Because if it's the latter, you are seriously underfeeding yourself.
  • cara4fit
    cara4fit Posts: 111 Member
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    Yes, I am eating about 1500 calories on workout days, and feel fine, not starving at all. Actually I went back and looked at my food intake yesterday, and saw that I had mistakenly entered something twice, which took me up to that approx. 100 calories over, which seemed awfully high at the time for me. I since went back and corrected it, and my intake was my usual 1500 or even a bit less. I've never been a big eater and never liked feeling full either, hence being very satisfied on as much as 1500 calories a day. It would take a serious pig-out(relatively speaking)to get my up to 2000 LOL, since I eat pretty cleanly and NEVER eat fast foods, and tend to prepare at least 90% of my meals if not more, pretty simply. I'm a small woman, only barely 5'5, with a very petite bone structure and a short waist, so any extra weight really shows on me, especially at my age, when even a pound or so will go right to my mid-section even though I didn't have that body type as a younger woman. As I mentioned, I am post-menopausal, and can't make mistakes with my diet very much at all.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    I went over by 1400. I actually gained weight today.

    You still lost! That's a WIN.

    Heh, I have had runs of days where I went over by thousands too, and although I temporarily gained weight, it soon dropped back again. I wish people would not get so hyper focussed on the little details and remember that there is a much larger, longer term picture. If you are eating below maintenance anyway, you are hardly going to gain weight going 100 calories over. I mean, seriously, 100 calories! You get that eating an apple. Things balance out in the end, unless you consistently eat over your maintenance calories for weeks at a time, and never get back on track.
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
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    I went over by 2,500. Here is my attack plan.
    1. Go to bed at bed time.
    2. Wake up tomorrow.
    3. Continue my life.

    Haha, love it.

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