how close fo you get to your calorie goal?

icimani
icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I always figure that my calorie goal is a goal to shoot for, not a hard and fast ceiling never to be overshot. I figure I'm doing well if I'm within 200 cals, either over or under. But I see some people beating up on themselves for going 25 cals over their goal.

How do you view your calorie goal?

Replies

  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    I only ever go over if I'm taking the weekend off calorie counting if I'm away or I'm saving up some calories for a big night out etc.. otherwise I am one that is always VERY closely under goal or with 0 calories left each day. I wouldn't beat myself up if I did go over but I don't need to, I just reduce how much of something I planned to eat and get it slightly under.
  • soonerman4life
    soonerman4life Posts: 8 Member
    I personally try to hit it pretty close. For example, if you're +200 for 7 days, that's 1400 cals over for the week which is significant. View your caloric intake weekly and monthly and not just daily. Consistency is the key.
  • sippiek
    sippiek Posts: 1
    Wow, Icimani, for losing 102 pounds, I'd say your way of doing things is working for you :) I think similar to your way of thinking only because I have to or I'd give up. :smile:
  • tdbad1
    tdbad1 Posts: 87 Member
    to be honest im one of those that feels guilty and can end a "diet" cause i think ive failed to adhere to my goals...i know, way to high strung and/or sensitive.

    this time around, i picked a higher caloric goal. Most of the time i have a hard time reaching 1200, with what im doing and feeling. So by "allowing" myself 1500, ive given myself "permission" to "slip" from time to time. I know, likely sounds like im wishy washy, but i figure if it works and it keeps me going, i can warp my mind a little,lol.
  • mysterycookie
    mysterycookie Posts: 21 Member
    As long as I'm under my TDEE, I'm pretty peachy. Usually I go over the mfp cals by a couple hundred knowing that I'll still be losing something.

    Since I'm close to my weight loss goal, I'm not really rushing it. For food stuff, my biggest priority is getting used to a healthy lifestyle I can maintain for the rest of my life. I can't eat 1200 calories a day forever.
  • mygrl4meee
    mygrl4meee Posts: 943 Member
    I want to be under my calorie goal but I don't sweat if I have days where I am slightly over. I tend to "borrow" calories that I had left over on some of my days where it is a challenge to stay under.
  • sarahisme18
    sarahisme18 Posts: 574 Member
    When I was eating 1200, I would be pretty upset if I went over even by a few calories. I always aimed to be 25-50 under. Boy, was that an awful way to be.

    My daily goal now is 1800, and I'm pretty close to that every day, sometimes just 30 calories or so over. Now that I know my TDEE and I'm just eating a slight deficit of that, I don't sweat it. Even on a day where I'm splurging, as long as I'm at least at or close to (either above or under) my TDEE, 2100.

    Ah, freedom! :)
  • lrcross
    lrcross Posts: 42
    My cal goal is between 2300 to 2500; many days I do not make it over 2000 cals! I struggle to get enough cals in.

    So when I REALLY work at reaching the high, I can be 25-50 cals off which I am pleased with; but when I am a 500-800 off PLUS I've burned like 1200-1500 that day, my body will hold on to weight (fat and water)... :ohwell:
  • slowturtle1
    slowturtle1 Posts: 284 Member
    to be honest im one of those that feels guilty and can end a "diet" cause i think ive failed to adhere to my goals...i know, way to high strung and/or sensitive.

    this time around, i picked a higher caloric goal. Most of the time i have a hard time reaching 1200, with what im doing and feeling. So by "allowing" myself 1500, ive given myself "permission" to "slip" from time to time. I know, likely sounds like im wishy washy, but i figure if it works and it keeps me going, i can warp my mind a little,lol.

    I think you've made a great decision--doesn't seem wishy-washy at all to me. For some of us, 1200 calories just isn't realistic and sets us up for failure. Like you, I quickly figured that out and started upping mine by 50-100 calories at a time over a few weeks. I've found 1500 to be a good number for me. I'm still losing, but I don't feel like I'm "dieting." If I eat a couple hundred less, I don't worry that I'm not eating enough, and if I go over a hundred or so I know I'm still under my TDEE, so it's not the end of the world. I tend to look at the weekly average anyway, so a day over here and there usually balances out with the days that I'm under.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    I never eat a single calorie over, and I try to eat no less than 100 calories under my goal, but sometimes I end up ~200 under.
  • flyyellowmoon
    flyyellowmoon Posts: 1
    starving college kid here. usually i wind up about 200-400 under :\ on saturdays, it can be as much as 1000 under because we're not served dinner on saturdays so i have things like soup mix. HOWEVER, there are definitely days where i'm +200-300 because of things like pizza, hahaha!
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
    I personally try to hit it pretty close. For example, if you're +200 for 7 days, that's 1400 cals over for the week which is significant. View your caloric intake weekly and monthly and not just daily. Consistency is the key.

    That's a good point.

    In looking back through there are some days where I've gone over but on average I've been some under, so I guess I'm good. It's good to look back over a period of time - gives you a different perspective. And you can see from a different perspective if things are working for you.
  • Jkmumma
    Jkmumma Posts: 254
    Ball park figure, there to encourage accountability and awareness. Double the goal is bad, half the goal is bad. Shoot for the number, and as long as I can hit the broad side of the calorie barn, I'm good. MFP already figures in a calorie deficit, I have play room. I'm normally under though.
  • dena789
    dena789 Posts: 165 Member
    Right now, I'm looking at that calorie goal number as a ceiling and I try to never go below 1200. This has been working for me so far. I have had a few days where I was over my goal number anywhere from 100 to 500 but those days are fewer than the days I am under. My daily goal has been dropping as I have lost weight. When I first started, it was 1490 and now its down to 1420 so, when I go back to look at my first couple of month's dairies, there seems to be many days that are over the goal amount but its only because the goal that MFP set has been reducing slightly to reflect the weight I've lost. I have adapted too so that I don't feel the need for as many calories now as I did say back in July.
  • 1yoyoKAT
    1yoyoKAT Posts: 206 Member
    I actually pay more attention to my nutrients and use the calorie goal as a stabilizer. I want to get in my protein and fiber in a healthy way, watch my sodium and drink my water. I don't really trust myself (yet) around binge-inducing foods and I am a very goal driven person, so I stay under my calorie goal.
  • LennyInFlorida
    LennyInFlorida Posts: 202
    I love calculating down to the exact number lol.

    If I don't I somehow feel I shorted myself or went over--I know that not to be the case. However, I've kept off over 100lbs for over 4 years now and when I try to just average things out without calculations I always seem to go over and weight creeps back on...

    So I will calculate down to the gram, I typically finish a day off with almond butter which is easy to calculate on a scale.
  • waistfinder
    waistfinder Posts: 27 Member
    I put more faith in my "average weekly" bar in the graphics section. I can have crazy days because of nightshift work.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I typically aim to be within 100-150 calories, over or under.

    I'm in maintenance now, so I don't have the wiggle room of a calorie deficit. If I was eating 500 below maintenance, going over by 200-300 is no biggie, because I'd still have a 200-300 calorie deficit. Doing that every day, I'd still lose a half pound a week. Doing that now, at maintenance, I'd gain a half pound a week. No biggie once in a while, but every day for a year would be 25 pounds.
  • xSakura
    xSakura Posts: 288 Member
    During my 70+ days on here, I've not gone over my recommended calorie amount :smile: I try to aim for 1200 - 1300, and I never eat back my exercise calories.

    I've had a rough few weeks though, so my appetite hasn't been the best and I've only been getting to around 1000cal.. But I'm getting there slowly. The joys of heartbreak, eh?
  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member
    I personally try to hit it pretty close. For example, if you're +200 for 7 days, that's 1400 cals over for the week which is significant. View your caloric intake weekly and monthly and not just daily. Consistency is the key.

    That's a good point.

    In looking back through there are some days where I've gone over but on average I've been some under, so I guess I'm good. It's good to look back over a period of time - gives you a different perspective. And you can see from a different perspective if things are working for you.

    Uh huh. If you're going 200 over one day, and 100 under 2 days after.... you're making up for the over days. You said you have under and over days -- it's fine.

    Is your way working? (you see weight loss)

    I honestly feel guilty when I see any calories remaining, and it shows red.... but I know that's ridiculous. I try to tell myself that if I eat over 200 one day, that just means I need to leave 20-30 remaining each day for the rest of the week , and that would solve it. then 200 doesn't sound like so much!

    After knowing my TDEE.... (2,100- 2,200 ) It's easier to go over a bit, knowing I am still at a deficit for my body.
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
    I try to eat at least the "sedentary life style want to lose 1/2 a pound a week" target goal MFP sets for me. And then try to go over for at least half my activity calories. So I would say I do pretty good on calories I eat, by my standards. (remember, I was overweight? so being at a healthy weight and maintaining is pretty darn outstanding)

    I don't beat myself up over it. I am not underweight by any chart or how I feel. I have to push pretty hard to not work at a desk 8-10 hours a day and remember to get up and move or stand every hour. I beat myself up more over lack of physical activity than I do calories.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    I think the relaxed +/- approach is definitely the way to go. Unless you become inordinately OCD about measuring every single thing you eat, never eat out, or at a friends place, then every item you log is going to be an estimate. And that's OK.

    I'm happy if I'm in or around 100 cals of the target.
  • Keiko385
    Keiko385 Posts: 514 Member
    I try to keep my intake under goal, but I dont stress over it if I go over. I tend to look at the week overall. I keep a simple spreadsheet thats shows what I am suppose to eat, actual consumed minus the exercise calories. It was kind of an eye opener at first as I found the reports on MFP confusing and misleading.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I look at the weekly net calorie goal... I try and be within 200 of that, but as long as I know I am eating mainly good stuff, I don't worry too much. That being said, I am in maintenance, so I would be more bothered if i Went over if I was trying to lose.
  • Joanne_Moniz
    Joanne_Moniz Posts: 347 Member
    I don't pay much attention to calories. A calorie is NOT a calorie. Done right, everything falls into place and the calories, are a moot point
  • onyxgirl17
    onyxgirl17 Posts: 1,722 Member
    by the end of the week... a couple hundred within my alloted deficit.
  • FitFabFlirty92
    FitFabFlirty92 Posts: 384 Member
    I've always tried to get within 50 calories under OR over. If I do that, I'm perfectly satisfied with my day and consider myself on target. If I get full and I'm 100 calories under, I don't stress it because I could easily have underestimated the calories in something I ate earlier in the day. So I try to get as close as possible, but if I don't quite make it or I'm a little bit over, I don't beat myself up about it. :)
  • nannabannana
    nannabannana Posts: 780
    Not too worried anymore . Have been at goal for a few months. I g to the gym 3-4 days a week for strength and cardio mix. Been in the hospital 4 times in the lat month not for eating too little. lol try to stay around 1800 calories give or take. Do not go over on non exercise days.

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