How many calories do you try to have remaining?

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13

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  • _EndGame_
    _EndGame_ Posts: 770 Member
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    I usually have maybe 100 - 300 left sometimes, especially on high exercise days.

    The bigger my weekly calorie deficit, the more weight I lose.

    Simple mathematics.
  • j6o4
    j6o4 Posts: 871 Member
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    i always ended up having around 700-1200 remaining but i also excersise 1000 calories a day.. however i've hit a plateau and haven't lost anything for about 2-3 weeks i'm hoping for now its just water retention and not anything else lol.

    What?!
  • Babeskeez
    Babeskeez Posts: 606 Member
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    depends on the day and the week. This week has been a crap shoot so I was under today. If I have normal weeks, I eat all of my calories.
  • biogradfitness
    biogradfitness Posts: 4 Member
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    I think that also depends what goal you have yourself set for.

    For example, I have my goal set for to lose 1lb / week. However, I looked up the values to lose 2lbs/ wk and .5lbs/wk. I always eat enough to meet the 2lbs / wk goal, and if I go over, I try to keep it under the .5/bs/wk goal.

    My goal is to get this into my daily life, especially since some days I might want to eat less, or more, and let it average out at the end of the week. I'm still working on this.

    I also reduce the amount of calories MFP says I burn during exercise since I feel like I never burn the amount it says. (Which, I suppose is the same as not eating back all of your workout calories) That only gets me closer to eating my recommended calories for 2lbs/wk some days though when my overall goal I track is 1lb/wk
  • CinthyN
    CinthyN Posts: 64 Member
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    My goal is to loose 2lbs a week. Based on my height and current weight, MFP calculates I have to consume up to 1310 calories a day. So I ensure I eat to that or a lil bit more. I exercise religiously, 6 times a week but the nature of my work is sedentery. So I've made a conscious decision to not eat my exercise calories, but ensure I eat the required calories daily. I clock in exercise calories between 750 - 850 per workout on average.

    It was worked for me these past 3-4 weeks, loosing a steady 2 lbs every week.

    I guess it's different for individuals :)
  • ddoeren84
    ddoeren84 Posts: 30
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    I don't really have a goal of how many calories I have left but its usually within a couple hundred.
  • birdiecs
    birdiecs Posts: 237 Member
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    Either 0 or over, I do TDEE minus small deficit so I don't worry about going over.
  • laele75
    laele75 Posts: 283 Member
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    I have a lot of weight to lose and have it set to lose only one pound a week, so I have a large amount of calories. On my rest days, I easily come within a hundred calories of goal. On exercise days, I will dip into a few of my exercise calories, but usually are about 300 under.

    That still has me averaging 1700- 2000 calories. When I am closer to goal and get less calories, I will eat back my exercise calories more.
  • lvnh
    lvnh Posts: 60 Member
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    It varies for me. I'm still training myself to eat back my exercise calories.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
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    I like to look at the weekly average. I want my average to at least be right around goal (up to 200 over or under), but I prefer to try and meet it. :drinker:
  • Bioc
    Bioc Posts: 96
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    I like to go over by 1 calorie...

    -Like-
  • lancashiregirl
    lancashiregirl Posts: 11
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    I agree. 100 cals is a good number. I was peckish. The other night so I sat down with a few king prawns! If you save 150 or so you could have a piece of toast with butter! It's best to save some over in case the munchies come and then you can be in control
  • jnieferstutz
    jnieferstutz Posts: 8 Member
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    i find it hard just to get over 1200 each day its even harder when i exercise too. by the end of the day i am full but still have about 200 left on some occasions i am spot on but most days i am not eating enough. i eat 5 times a day but all my portions are small. should i put more on my plate?

    Wow, such an alien concept to me. I struggle to not exceed my 1450 but I'm usually hungry, so I'm rarely under and if so then by less than 100. If I exercise then I'm ravenous!
  • astartig
    astartig Posts: 549 Member
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    I plan to eat the 1200 calories but I am often 1 or two hundred under or over. (seems like under more often than over) It's not intentional.. it's just my weird timing for eating. I have a tendency to put off eating over doing other things and that throws everything off timing wise.
  • glin23
    glin23 Posts: 460 Member
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    200. Between the inaccuracy of Nutrition facts and production variation, and my own eating habits, I'd rather leave little to chance.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    It's a goal, I try to reach it.

    Would you give up on your goal weight with the same % miss?
  • mowu
    mowu Posts: 245 Member
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    I aim for somewhere around +/-50 calories (goal is TDEE - about 500 to 700 calories)........except on days with workouts where I usually aim at 200-250 calories below to compensate for what I would have burned just lounging about instead of working out and creating a buffer deficit for when I don't log in the weekends and allow myself to eat at or more than TDEE (Even if I had just sat on the couch I would have burned around 100 calories /hour).
  • BeccaBollons
    BeccaBollons Posts: 652 Member
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    I must admit Iike to see a green calorie number everyday, but I like it best when its less than 10. My goal is to get all the macros into the red though. I eat 1880 cals a day, so I don't sweat it too much if I'm over or under by say 200 or so :)
  • spamantha57
    spamantha57 Posts: 674 Member
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    I use my "calorie counting" on my food diary a little different than most. My main goal is to exercise, and I goal myself to burn 500 calories a day from exercise, though I usually end up doing 300-400/ day. I have my NET at 1,025 so that I eat usually 1,200- 1,500, and like to eat pretty much all my calories back, if I can at least stay under 1 calorie, I'm fine with that. :) Rarely do I have 100 calories leftover.
  • mayonie1
    mayonie1 Posts: 296 Member
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    Im mostly short of 100-200 calories, its days when I exercise and cant figure out what to eat anymore.

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