Carry calories over from one day to the next?

Linemanwife76
Linemanwife76 Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
Yesterday, I was in the negative on my calories (I attended an unplanned spin class). I am normally very good about eating my calories back.....but again...I was in the negative, yesterday. Should I eat at least some of those back, today? I have been losing slowly, as planned (7.3 lbs. in 3 weeks), all while eating most calories back. I just don't want to mess up this week. Please help. :)

PS....I didn't begin to use MFP until after my first week weigh in...which is why lbs. lost is off. :)

Replies

  • sbjmorgan
    sbjmorgan Posts: 158 Member
    It doesn't really work like that. I mean, eating over today's calories isn't going to kill you or anything, and if you're hungry and sore you definitely should get some more protein in, but your metabolism isn't still reaping the benefits of spin class today to the point that you can eat the "remaining calories." Sorry!
  • tafrace
    tafrace Posts: 6 Member
    Start every day new. Keep up the good work.
  • sbjmorgan
    sbjmorgan Posts: 158 Member
    Also, if you go into your weigh-in tab on a computer and scroll to the bottom I think there's a link to put in a previous date's entry. Add in a new date backdated with your original weight to get an accurate count :)
  • MizSaz
    MizSaz Posts: 445 Member
    Some people do weekly plans, but if you are doing daily counts, remain consistent. One day is not going to wreck you.
  • Linemanwife76
    Linemanwife76 Posts: 4
    Thank you. I am not going to eat ALL of the calories back...just asking if I should eat some of them back. What I have been doing is working....and I want to learn how to account for days that I may do an extra hour of exercise. Yesterday, I did an hour of personal training and an our of spin class...which led to my deficit in calories. This hasn't happened since I started MFP...so I was just wondering if it was okay to eat SOME of the calories back. :) Thank you for all of the feedback!
  • kaitimae
    kaitimae Posts: 727 Member
    I've done this before - but only when I had significant differences, which it seems you do. I wouldn't eat ALL of them back. But if I do hard exercise one day, I'm usually super hungry the next day. So I would at least eat a few back - maybe 100-200. Even that many calories may help balance things back out, and a couple hundred calories extra isn't going to derail your great success!
  • DrMAvDPhD
    DrMAvDPhD Posts: 2,097 Member
    I try to hit a weekly goal more than a daily goal. Hasn't hindered my progress and allows me the flexibility to eat what I want, when I want.
  • christy_frank
    christy_frank Posts: 680 Member
    Not unless you feel that you are STARVING and your calories 'allowance' for today and water is not enough then yes. Listen to your body.
  • mzjessicaxo
    mzjessicaxo Posts: 330 Member
    Start every day new. Keep up the good work.

    This is the way to be :)
  • alasin1derland
    alasin1derland Posts: 575 Member
    A lot of successful people on MFP count the calories weekly instead of daily. Its built into the phone app. They eat less calories through the week to "save up" calories for the weekend. Or if they have a big event coming up they will save calories for that. Someone on here even built an excel spreadsheet that he shared with everyone to be able to watch weekly instead of daily.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    If you under eat one day,then yes, you can over eat another. Your body doesn't work on a 24hr clock, so you don't have to either.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    If you'd like to, go ahead. Let's say you were 500 under one day but 500 over the next day, that would just even out as if you were on target both days. Now, if you don't WANT to eat them back, don't worry about it, but many people do things like the 5:2 diet where they have a huge deficit on two non consecutive days a week and eat around maintenance the other five days or how weight watchers allows for some weekly points to be used on days you want to splurge and eat that dessert or second serving of something.

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