Stop Freaking Out About Going Over Calories

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Replies

  • steamingcoffee
    steamingcoffee Posts: 55 Member
    I definitely needed to see this tonight. Made me feel so much better!
  • txbutterfly69
    txbutterfly69 Posts: 115 Member
    You are right. You are doing "calorie cycling" without thinking about it and when you don't eat the same amount of calories weekly, you do see results.
  • allison0820
    allison0820 Posts: 323 Member
    OMG!!! Thanks for this!!! I just looked at mine and granted I have 2 more days to go.. but mine says I am 5278 Net Calories Under Weekly Goal! WOW
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
    Crud. I hope they add this to the website. I want to be less connected, not more, and will probably go off the grid and internet before I get data on my phone.
  • kats3boys
    kats3boys Posts: 61
    On the web, on laptop/ computer etc. Go to the top of the page where it says My home/ Food/ Exercise/reports/apps/community
    Click on Reports, click on nutrition and select how days you want to see the average of. It will then give you the same graph.
  • AMS44067
    AMS44067 Posts: 49
    I started January 2nd, and I never went over my daily calories. If I do it once, I will do it again. I want to lose "only" 10 pounds, and it is hard enough, since I am not really overweight. If I allow myself to slip I will never reach that goal.
    Once I decided to lose those 10 pounds I promised myself absolute discipline, and I stick to it, no matter what.

    I do not eat anywhere but at home (I am not working), everything is homemade. Once I reach my goal I will set myself another goal for losing maybe another 5 pounds or so, that's when I will allow myself to eat out once in a while, but nothing like fast food or big meals in a restaurant, but maybe a Subway or something like that.

    But I have to admit that I was never really overweight, the 10 pounds are the result of a medical problem I had earlier last year.

    I have been a Weight Watchers member years ago, but I only joined for my husband, because he would not have done it without me.
  • cubbies77
    cubbies77 Posts: 607 Member
    Yeah, the report on the website isn't as clear since you have to figure out the average manually, but it does give you a good idea of how much room you have by the end of the week. I am never, ever, ever over my weekly calories, even if I have a couple days where I'm over.
  • LoveAlwaysAlisa
    LoveAlwaysAlisa Posts: 111 Member
    EXACTLY....as long as you don't make a habit of going over it is fine! It will balance itself out ...no biggie. I have days where I'm under (like today by about 300) and days that I'm over. Plus with workouts it's really not something to panic about. :tongue:
  • brunetteavoxgirl
    brunetteavoxgirl Posts: 88 Member
    How do you get that option on the website? Do you need a iphone for it? I NEVER realized you could look at it week by week.

    It's the iPhone app. Although I think there is a droid app too.

    Damn it, as the last surviving blackberry user I'm foiled again!
    *last 2 surviving* I still have a blackberry. haha.
  • ashleab37
    ashleab37 Posts: 575 Member
    OMG!!! Thanks for this!!! I just looked at mine and granted I have 2 more days to go.. but mine says I am 5278 Net Calories Under Weekly Goal! WOW
    That does also include the two days to go - don't get yourself OVER excited - but yes it's good :)
  • Mighty_Rabite
    Mighty_Rabite Posts: 581 Member
    I regularly start and end each week with a +500 day (though that has varied anywhere from 500-1200) and I keep a running weekly log so I burn it off and then some through the week.

    I think an over day or two per week actually helps.
  • Wade406
    Wade406 Posts: 269 Member
    iPhone. Eye Phone. EYE PHONE!!!!! Great tool for MFP win!
  • Kadesha72
    Kadesha72 Posts: 109 Member
    Thanks so much for this!!! I was wondering if those calories sorta "rolled over" like AT&T minutes so you would have some leeway on another day of the week... awesome!
  • ashleab37
    ashleab37 Posts: 575 Member
    Thanks so much for this!!! I was wondering if those calories sorta "rolled over" like AT&T minutes so you would have some leeway on another day of the week... awesome!
    I ate nearly 3,000 yesterday - my target is 2,000. In fact I eat 3,000 nearly every Friday. But I only eat approx 1,500 a day on the weekends so it works well :)
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    I've been over every day this week... Why ? Because 3 weeks ago I broke my foot and now that it was confirmed via X-ray, I can't exercise and my body is just always craving food.
    You have three other fully functional limbs. Use them, vigorously. :) I got tons of exercise when I had a broken leg and was stuck in a huge plaster cast that immobilized my left ankle and knee.
  • MerlinWilliams
    MerlinWilliams Posts: 92 Member

    Upgrade to the latest model - the blackberry keytone, works much better than the raspberry keytone....

    The Blackberry Ketone? ;)
  • RenewedRunner
    RenewedRunner Posts: 423 Member
    Question about the phone app: at the bottom of the weekly calculation, it says

    3095 net calories under weekly goal

    What does this mean? I eat my calories. Is this outlining my deficit (ie, I need 3500 calories to lose a pound, I have cut out 3000 thus far this week)?
  • ashleab37
    ashleab37 Posts: 575 Member
    Question about the phone app: at the bottom of the weekly calculation, it says

    3095 net calories under weekly goal

    What does this mean? I eat my calories. Is this outlining my deficit (ie, I need 3500 calories to lose a pound, I have cut out 3000 thus far this week)?
    Nope - that's what you have left for the weekend.
  • RenewedRunner
    RenewedRunner Posts: 423 Member
    Ooh thanks! I couldn't figure out what the data were telling me!
  • AlongCame_Molly
    AlongCame_Molly Posts: 2,835 Member
    i need this reminder - - so thanks!

    Yep! This!
  • erinxo13
    erinxo13 Posts: 892 Member
    THIS
    omg.
    THIS
    THIS
    THIS.
  • TheEffort
    TheEffort Posts: 1,028 Member
    glad to see some helpful tips to consider when tracking calories. :happy:

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  • erinsueburns
    erinsueburns Posts: 865 Member
    Thanks for this reminder... It is so easy to get caught up in the calorie counting and always keeping it under... It doesn't help that the calories you go over on scream at you in bright red

    Right? Whenever I'm over by 1 - 100, I think it should be yellow instead. I was over by 3 one day (THREE), so I did a few jumping jacks to get rid of it. ;)

    Honestly, I think it should be yellow through the entire range of your deficit up to the maintenance line. And maybe even going the opposite direction too. So that it would be red up till you get to a BMR, yellow from there, then a percentage green slot around the target, then as you go over back up to yellow and then red for over tdee. I think that would also likely prevent some of these, "I'm eating my twelve hundred calories and exercising to burn 600, now what am I doing wrong?" situations.

    But then, obviously, I also think it ought to factor in BMR too...
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
    i think i love you. i'm always under, but sometimes the junk craving and the not excercising fall on the same day and i feel like i can't have my treat coz i don't have enough calories...
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    On the MFP app, it's easy to track your weekly calories. As you can see, I went over two days this week, but I was under the other days. I'm full and don't want to eat anymore today, but I still have 1700 calories left because I was under by a few hundred on the other days.

    Bottom line: you haven't "ruined it" if you go over one or two days per week because you will likely make up for it on the other days. Your body doesn't magically put weight on overnight. Daily tracking is just to help keep you in-line. If you had a huge bank of calories on Monday, you'd probably run out by Thursday. ;) It's much easier to think in terms of "2000 calories per day".
    Think of it this way: if your goal is 1440 per day, it doesn't mean you need to consume exactly one calorie per minute, every minute of every day. You haven't ruined everything if you ate 70 calories one hour and 50 the next. Obviously if you're eating all the week's calories in one sitting and then fasting all week you're probably gonna have a bad time. But as long as you aren't bouncing your intake to such extremes that you are always feeling either starving or stuffed, you're probably close enough for your body to deal with it properly.
  • cubbies77
    cubbies77 Posts: 607 Member
    Thanks so much for this!!! I was wondering if those calories sorta "rolled over" like AT&T minutes so you would have some leeway on another day of the week... awesome!

    Yup. Your body doesn't recognize the day ending at midnight. It's the week that's important. You just can't roll over from week to week constantly. At some point, you do have to balance it out. You can't save up a bunch of calories and then eat 10,000 extra some week. ;)
  • cubbies77
    cubbies77 Posts: 607 Member
    By the way, I'm the original poster. I deactivated that account by accident when I tried to change my username. :-P
  • Pickypeggy
    Pickypeggy Posts: 33
    Ok, I always have calories left at the end of the week approximately 2000 averaged so why am I not loosing.
  • cubbies77
    cubbies77 Posts: 607 Member
    You have 2000 leftover at the end of the week? That means you aren't eating enough. Try to stay close to your goal unless you're sick and can't eat much.
  • brit_ks_89
    brit_ks_89 Posts: 433 Member
    Ok, I always have calories left at the end of the week approximately 2000 averaged so why am I not loosing.

    CAUSE YOU ARE NOT EATING ENOUGH!!!!!!!!

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