Going over our Daily Calorie Goal is ok...

gottogetinshape
gottogetinshape Posts: 124 Member
in Food and Nutrition
It feels really good when you complete your food and exercise diary for the day and MFP posts a status saying "Blah blah completed her food and exercise diary for 05/14/2013 and was under her calorie goal" but, if we've all set our daily goals to include a deficit, or if you're one of the people who leave their calorie goals at the insane numbers that MFP sets them at (in my case this was 1200 a day) we really shouldn't be too hard on ourselves if we hit (or go a little over) our daily calorie goals, should we? Because even if we hit or go slightly over our calorie goal, we still have the calorie deficit built in to those goals. And it should be ok if you've been under by, say, 50 calories a day, to eat those extra calories on a special occasion, for example, don't you think? Does that all make sense?

Best wishes to all of you with your MFP challenges!

(Edited only to amend a typo)

Replies

  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
    If you know where you should be and you're staying within those goals, then you shouldn't feel bad at all. If you want the MFP kudos, go in and manually set your calorie goal to what you really expect to eat.
  • Bekahmardis
    Bekahmardis Posts: 602 Member
    I couldn't agree more! Your goal is a "target" to hit...aim for the center, but even if you're off by a few calories here or there (or in the case of my party on Saturday night! a few hundred?) you're still fine as long as you look at the LONG TERM effects! I usually look at a week at a time, not daily....
  • islandgirl76_
    islandgirl76_ Posts: 86 Member
    Love this!
  • spetermann190
    spetermann190 Posts: 289 Member
    I agree ... So I just don't log intake ... I use MFP for all the peer support and motivation ... I burn so many calories each day that i just confudent I am at a deficit ... Logging calories seems like a lot of hassle :/
  • gottogetinshape
    gottogetinshape Posts: 124 Member
    If you know where you should be and you're staying within those goals, then you shouldn't feel bad at all. If you want the MFP kudos, go in and manually set your calorie goal to what you really expect to eat.

    I changed my goal to my TDEE minus 20% so that's sorted but if I go over that a bit I feel really bad but it's silly because I'm still at a deficit it's just not as much as 20% today. Do you see what I mean? I think many of us are a bit hard on ourselves.
  • gottogetinshape
    gottogetinshape Posts: 124 Member
    Love this!

    Thanks! :)
  • princelukas777
    princelukas777 Posts: 36
    Totally! I find that it all averages out somehow in the end anyway so long as you're pretty much consistent throughout.

    Thanks for your thoughts and encouragement! =D
  • gottogetinshape
    gottogetinshape Posts: 124 Member
    I agree ... So I just don't log intake ... I use MFP for all the peer support and motivation ... I burn so many calories each day that i just confudent I am at a deficit ... Logging calories seems like a lot of hassle :/

    Thanks! :) I do log intake because I'm very much a beginner at all this (been here less than a month, had a bad relationship with food and exercise for 33 years). At some point I hope to be eating and exercising well enough that I don't need to log intake but, for the time being, I need to. :)
  • gottogetinshape
    gottogetinshape Posts: 124 Member
    I couldn't agree more! Your goal is a "target" to hit...aim for the center, but even if you're off by a few calories here or there (or in the case of my party on Saturday night! a few hundred?) you're still fine as long as you look at the LONG TERM effects! I usually look at a week at a time, not daily....

    I think you're right and it definitely helps me if I'm over on one day to remember that I was under on a couple of other days. Thanks! :)
  • gottogetinshape
    gottogetinshape Posts: 124 Member
    Totally! I find that it all averages out somehow in the end anyway so long as you're pretty much consistent throughout.

    Thanks for your thoughts and encouragement! =D

    Thank you for your thoughts too! Much appreciated. :)
  • leeroxboro
    leeroxboro Posts: 142 Member
    Hey, I just like the way it says something like if every day were like today, you'd weigh x pounds in 5 weeks...the x is usually less than I weigh now, even if I go over a little bit, so that reminds me that it's all good!!
  • gottogetinshape
    gottogetinshape Posts: 124 Member
    Hey, I just like the way it says something like if every day were like today, you'd weigh x pounds in 5 weeks...the x is usually less than I weigh now, even if I go over a little bit, so that reminds me that it's all good!!

    Yeah, I like it when it says that! :) It made me laugh when MFP told me once 'If every day is like today you would weigh...in 5 weeks' and it was the same weight I am now. Ha ha.
  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    Definitely, I often have to remind myself of this because sometimes I will try to leave a buffer of 100 calories or so under my goal, but that's not how it works! (:
  • gottogetinshape
    gottogetinshape Posts: 124 Member
    Definitely, I often have to remind myself of this because sometimes I will try to leave a buffer of 100 calories or so under my goal, but that's not how it works! (:

    Yeah, exactly! It's actually wrong, when you think about it, that MFP points out that you're under your calorie goal because it makes us all feel good when it says that and makes some of us feel bad when it doesn't. The key thing is to work out your TDEE and set your calorie goal with a defecit and then remember that deficit is there! And don't accept MFP's goal of 1200 (which it gave me) as that is wrong.
  • SunKissed1989
    SunKissed1989 Posts: 1,314 Member
    I've always thought this.
    If I go over my calories once in a while, I remind myself that I'm still at a deficit. Going over by about 50 calories for one day isn't going to make you gain a pound or anything.
  • gottogetinshape
    gottogetinshape Posts: 124 Member
    I've always thought this.
    If I go over my calories once in a while, I remind myself that I'm still at a deficit. Going over by about 50 calories for one day isn't going to make you gain a pound or anything.

    Exactly! I'm actually over by 82 for today and I expect I'll have at least a few more calories before the day is over but that's ok because I'll still be at a deficit and most days I do eat at a 20% deficit. :)
  • MayaSPapaya
    MayaSPapaya Posts: 735 Member
    This this this.
    I used to be afraid to go over my deficit by like 20 measly calories. Not anymore!
  • gottogetinshape
    gottogetinshape Posts: 124 Member
    This this this.
    I used to be afraid to go over my deficit by like 20 measly calories. Not anymore!

    :) Glad to hear it!

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