Lots of calories left for today,what do I do?

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  • katsmo
    katsmo Posts: 219 Member
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    This happens to me on occasion, when I've put in a lot of exercise for the day. Can you add some calorie-dense, yet still fairly healthy ingredients to your dinner? Avocado, peanut butter, Greek yogurt, etc.? Good luck, and hang in there.
  • rhall9058
    rhall9058 Posts: 270 Member
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    I've been having this problem too lately! I started dieting on 1200 calories about a week ago. At the beginning I was very hungry and had to control my urge to eat and wait until my next meal. Now I am barely hungry. I sit down with a sandwich and only eat half. Last night I had 500 calories left over after a dinner which I did not feel like eating. I had to force myself to have a midnight snack to get those extra 500 cals in! I'm not feeling ill from not eating, but worried that it will be bad for my wieght loss (also unhealthy since I could have had a day where I only ate 700 cals).

    So I'm in the same boat - assuming as long as we don't feel like fainting it's okay? Perhaps it's psychological and for the first time I have realised I don't have to finish my meal if I'm not hungry!

    Be careful, 1200 calories is pretty low,and should be a bare minimum assuming your weight is pretty low. If you cut 500 calories out of that,then your body might really think its starving. Maybe eat that midnight snack earlier in the day,but maybe for you,it doesnt matter,sounds like you are alreay at a pretty low weight. I try not to eat after 7pm,I feel like when I eat too late,it will just sit there on me all night.

    Eat 1 or 1 1/2 cup(s) of cottage cheese (or some other high protein food), right before you go to bed. It adds the calorie intake you need for fuel, but the protein breaks down slow enough that it keeps your metabolism from shutting down while you are sleeping. Trust me, you'll be starving for breakfast, but your body won't go into fasting mode while you are sleeping. It sounds counter intuitive, but it works. If I have cals to burn before I go to bed, it's always protein based food!!!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Either have a snack or eat more calories for dinner. If you don't want a lot more food, add some fat to it. Have a piece of bread with butter, or drizzle olive oil over your veggies. Add some nuts. Drink a protein shake.

    If you have more than 1700 calories left it's ridiculous to limit yourself to only 450.
  • wells0707
    wells0707 Posts: 251 Member
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    Don't eat. Having 1200 extra calories for one day isn't going to hurt anything.
  • andersonjo0306
    andersonjo0306 Posts: 304 Member
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    Don't eat if you're not hungry, but if you are, stick to something high in protein. And shoot, you'd even have room for a little treat if you really wanted.


    Thanks, but no treats for me, that's what got me to where I am now. The good thing is,I am not craving anything snack wise,or treat wise.

    I am sure you have heard it before but dont go into starvation mode. That does not necessarily mean you will be hungry but your body goes into a shock and starts to store food. Too I would suggest that if you want input you should open your food diary. It could be simply the addition of small meals being added every 3-4 hours. It is important to keep your metabolism reved.....

    Good luck on your journey
  • ravenchick
    ravenchick Posts: 345 Member
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    Throw a few healthy snacks into your day. Don't eat just because the calories are there. Maybe eat some nuts or something. They're high in calories.
  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member
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    Well,

    Some days I'll just leave 300-500 more remaining if I have no appetite.

    But 1,200 !?

    If I left that, sometimes the hunger catches up with me... like, a day later I'll be starving... and I'll binge.


    You can make your meals larger. Add more high calorie foods. No need to heavily restrict. Having treats didn't put you at the weight you are now, eating over your TDEE did.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    save it for superbowl sunday :happy:
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
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    Switch out your dinner to a higher calorie one. You can make a meal high calorie without having to add bulk to it. Add a sauce, or oil when cooking.. switch out something low cal that you use for a higher cal one... eat something like nuts which can pack a lot of calories for not a lot of bulk.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    it's not a huge deal to have days like that. especially at your weight. if you run that large a deficit day after day for weeks and weeks at a time, the consensus seems to be that you risk catabolizing muscle as well as fat. that's one of the reasons many will urge you to seek a more moderate deficit, even though you can burn 3 or 4 or 5 lbs per week with a higher caloric deficit.

    take the time to read about this tradeoff now. then decide. if you preserve muscle now and burn fat at a slower rate, you'll have less work to do when you reach your goal weight and need to add muscle. this is why lots of folks add strength training to their regimen long before they reach their goal weight... it's easier to preserve what you have, than have to re-build it from scratch.

    i've seen some of these effects myself and i started at a weight near yours, mostly only doing cardio.
    ^ Excellent advice from start to finish. Agree 100%

    [ETA:] Ignore the advice in some posts referencing "starvation mode" - it's probably the most misunderstood/misused term in these forums. Metabolic adaptation/slowdown certainly does exist, but takes a lot longer than one day and does not result in your body "storing food".

    Also, you don't "rev your metabolism" by eating multiple small meals per day:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/820577-meal-frequency-rev-up-that-furnace-lol
  • morf13
    morf13 Posts: 151 Member
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    Thanks for the responses everybody,some really helpful info
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
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    Don't eat if you're not hungry, but if you are, stick to something high in protein. And shoot, you'd even have room for a little treat if you really wanted.


    Thanks, but no treats for me, that's what got me to where I am now. The good thing is,I am not craving anything snack wise,or treat wise.

    I am sure you have heard it before but dont go into starvation mode. That does not necessarily mean you will be hungry but your body goes into a shock and starts to store food. Too I would suggest that if you want input you should open your food diary. It could be simply the addition of small meals being added every 3-4 hours. It is important to keep your metabolism reved.....

    Good luck on your journey

    He won't go into starvation mode... nothing like that happens unless you go without food for 72 hours. Your metabolism doesn't need to be reved.

    The advice on eating every few hours is great so you don't over eat or get too hungry.
  • HorizontallyImpaired
    HorizontallyImpaired Posts: 58
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    my personal opinion - listen to your body - if your full dont stuff yourself..
    if your hungry eat..
    one day of being under calories is fine.
    If it is a ongoing trend - then I would talk to your PCP.
  • Pixi_Rex
    Pixi_Rex Posts: 1,676 Member
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    Eat more calorie dense food...

    When I have a really low day (and it happens some days) I just have a healthy snack - PB, nuts, other nut butters etc. Sometimes I even add some chocolate milk to my day.

    You need to be eating or you will not lose weight - well you will in the beginning. I have never had a day where I ended up with over 1000 calories extra. EVER. I have had 300 - 500 but thats rare.

    Are you calculating your calories burned correctly? are you weighing and measuring what you are putting in your mouth and counting those calories correcting? 1200 Calories extra is an awful lot to have left over.
  • pwnderosa
    pwnderosa Posts: 280 Member
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    Can't speak for anybody but myself,but I feel as if I am a recovering drug addict,and food is the drug. I have to stay away from anything that is like a 'snack', 'treat'. I have to be ALL-IN, abd steer clear of any treats or snacks. My reward every day is knowing that I am under my calorie count,and when i weigh in, seeing the results on the scale

    This seems like a bit of an unhealthy perspective, I think the end goal should be to figure out how to find balance with the right amount of treats and snacks that you can enjoy but won't destroy your health/weight loss efforts. Could be different for you but many have seen big success this way. Good luck! :-)
  • aelunyu
    aelunyu Posts: 486 Member
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    what about banking them? maybe you'll want something extra during the week? you might have a day where you're extra hungry?



    Can I do that? My goal everyday is to stay at 2430 or less. That's what I have been able to do so far,and I dont have any cravings or hunger issues

    "banking" them is a great tool! try to think of net calorie deficit as a moving target. you can think "i am in a 3500 combined deficit for 7 days" or " i am in a 500 deficit, everyday for seven days". Thats still 3500 under in a week. The results will be similar, given your hormones and stuff are ok, and you're not a diabetic.

    if you're not hungry, or not at least struggling a little bit with cravings, and still maintaining weight loss, that's always going to be the best, but I wouldn't do something like save 5 days in the bank then have a 8k calorie day. That wipes out any chance for success. However if you're under by 400 today and you decide to eat 200 over tomorrow, you're still doing good!

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