Sharing calories between days?

plasticserenity
plasticserenity Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone, I'm just seeking some advice.

I've just been busy planning out my meals for tomorrow. It all looks pretty tasty to me, I've made some healthy choices with lots of fruit and veg, but as it stands I'm still under my calorie budget for tomorrow (I'm at 1124/1230, though I may be burning around 100, 150 in exercise too). I find myself trying to plug in food that I don't really want to eat to take myself over the budget, or I'm even thinking about trying protein shakes to stop myself plugging more empty carbs into my diet, but then I thought of something.

I've been invited out to eat tonight and I've agreed to go. I plan on making the healthiest choices I can from the menu, but I've already accepted that I will definitely go over budget. I've made my peace with that as it doesn't happen too often!

I have been trying to make myself eat right up to my 1230 net calories every day so far, but I was wondering if I still need to do that if I know I've eaten more than my fill the day before? I must admit that MFP scares me a little bit when it tells me I'm eating too few calories in red letters at the bottom of the page! I really do want to keep my body working as healthily as possible, so I don't want to undereat but I also know I won't lose much weight if I overeat!

What do you guys think is a better tactic - treat every day as a fresh slate and stay within the budget every day, or do you think it's worthwhile to allow some flexibility from one day to the next?

Replies

  • fjcone
    fjcone Posts: 19
    My wife and I went to a movie last month. Turns out Nachos and Cheese is 800c. I had to move a few calories to the next day. Felt no guilt. Decided that as long as the week was all under the calorie limit all was good :)
  • Supertact
    Supertact Posts: 466 Member
    Sure you can, just think of it as a weekly thing.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Some people zig-zag calories on purpose.......sometimes to save calories for a sort of cheat day....and sometimes because that's just a normal part of their routine.

    As long as you have an overall deficit (think weekly) you shold be losing weight. MFP gives you the warning.....you are under, because too low (too often, too long) is not healthy.....and 1200 net is already as low as MFP will go....so don't worry about going over....you will just lose a little slower. Do what's sutainable (in the long run).

    Healthy additions......protein is always a good thing (MFP sets a low standard) ....healthy fats too .....if you're doing cardio (typically burns more calories than other activities).....you might use full fat salad dressing, roast veggies in olive oil, or add a scoop of peanut butter or a small handful of nuts to your menu.
  • MarkFraser142
    MarkFraser142 Posts: 10 Member
    In my opinion, I think that sharing calories between days is a huge mistake.

    One of the biggest problem with undereating is the psychological impact that it' can cause. Here's the thing, if you undereat to the point where you start to get really hungry - that is when you are liable to start making really, really bad eating decision. If you decide to eat a lot less than you initially budgeted for, it's VERY likely that you are going to end up getting hungry and splurging later on.

    The above scenario has happened to me plenty of times.

    The best thing you can do is just accept the fact that, no matter what your weight loss goals are, life moves on. You can't shun yourself from society forever. You need to go out for dinners, you need to go out to the movies, you need to go out for drinks - that's life.

    A couple of years ago I lost 100+ pounds through essentially shunning myself from society. All I did was go to work, eat right and work out. In the end, I was in the best shape of my life. I did all of htis in 6 months.

    Once the 6 months were over, I decided to 'get back to life'. My version of getting back to life involved getting back into old habits and sure enough I gained it all back (with interest).

    The best thing that you can do is go out for dinner, try to eat as healthy as you can, but go out to dinner and enjoy yourself. Wake up the next day, and do the same thing you had been doing prior. Accept the fact that you may not lose as much this week as you did last week but know that it was worth it because you went out and fun and move on.

    This approach is a lot better than putting yourself in the danger zone and potentially really screwing up your diet for good later on!
  • ell_v131
    ell_v131 Posts: 349 Member
    It works for me. Sometimes I go over, sometimes under, as long as at the end of the week I have the right average.

    Protein shakes are a good idea if so far you've been sticking to the MFP recommended Macros which are low.

    How tall are you, with how much to lose and why 1230 cals? I am 5'6 and I'm losing about a pound a week on 1600 + exercise calories. Large deficits are setting you up for failure, so unless you are female 5'0 I wouldn't recommend eating at 1200

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/310489-the-reason-why-starving-yourself-will-not-work
  • plasticserenity
    plasticserenity Posts: 8 Member
    How tall are you, with how much to lose and why 1230 cals? I am 5'6 and I'm losing about a pound a week on 1600 + exercise calories. Large deficits are setting you up for failure, so unless you are female 5'0 I wouldn't recommend eating at 1200

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/310489-the-reason-why-starving-yourself-will-not-work

    I'm also 5'6" and looking to lose maybe 8 to 10 lbs. I'm on 1230 solely because that's what MFP has told me - I've set it to a pound a week and I eat back my exercise calories. Upping to this figure (which is usually about 1400 after exercise) is actually a little strange to me, as before I educated myself as to what a healthy daily calorie intake was, I was eating MUCH less. I've actually gained 2lbs since increasing my intake but I'm hoping that's just my body trying to correct whatever imbalance I caused by not eating enough. So from now on I'm definitely trying to aim for 1230 as a MINIMUM, even if I don't always feel hungry enough!

    Thank you everybody for your input, it was interesting to see what people think. As it happens it was never an issue anyway - the place where we went to eat was one of those wonderful places that lists the calories on the menu! So I didn't really go far over budget and still had a very tasty meal.

    I've invested in some protein shake as from what I gather, it seems that it can only be a good idea, and also a good way to make sure I'm keeping my calories intake up in a reasonably healthy way. So I won't be undercutting my calorie budget for today :)

    Thanks again everyone!
  • 10manda86
    10manda86 Posts: 229 Member
    i find if i eat over my calories i put on say 2lb... then spend the next 3 days eating at intake (1400 + exercise= 1800-2000) and I've been losing 1lb a week on average...
    I eat things people deem unhealthy- pizza, and ice-cream... and i eat it within my daily allowance. I find that by giving myself the foods that I want and watching calorie intake I am learning life long lessons on how much I can eat without gaining a lot of weight! in my eyes a diet that doesn't allow me to have an ice-cream with my son or go out for dinner with my family isn't a life long lifestyle change, but learning how to manage these treats so that I dont turn into an oompa loompa is goal and creating a sustainable lifestyle not diet!
  • Cal28
    Cal28 Posts: 514 Member
    The 5:2 diet is two days fast and 5 days 'normal'. Lots of people cycle calories &/or have 'cheat' days. It's fine as long as you're at a general deficit over the week.
  • loupammac
    loupammac Posts: 194 Member
    I have this dilemma often when I go out with friends or partake in birthday cake. If I've been invited out as opposed to my boyfriend and I being lazy and not cooking, then I have no problems using a little bit of tomorrow's calories if need be. I try and make the best choices I can given the menu. If I can't find anything I'll suggest a different venue to friends but generally I find something that's appetising and not too calorie laden. If I'm being lazy about cooking dinner though, no dice. Today it was my coworker's birthday and we had birthday cake. I had a small slice and joined in the festivities. I don't feel guilty at all and won't use any extra calories from tomorrow for it.
  • skyfall91
    skyfall91 Posts: 74
    I do if I eat late at night as then I dont get hungry til 1-2pm if it was a big snack/mini meal late at night. Im trying to make sure Im on target for the week so daily I try not to worry too much, but I dont like seeing im over my goal for the day so I sometimes move calories to the next day
  • ell_v131
    ell_v131 Posts: 349 Member
    How tall are you, with how much to lose and why 1230 cals? I am 5'6 and I'm losing about a pound a week on 1600 + exercise calories. Large deficits are setting you up for failure, so unless you are female 5'0 I wouldn't recommend eating at 1200

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/310489-the-reason-why-starving-yourself-will-not-work

    I'm also 5'6" and looking to lose maybe 8 to 10 lbs. I'm on 1230 solely because that's what MFP has told me - I've set it to a pound a week and I eat back my exercise calories. Upping to this figure (which is usually about 1400 after exercise) is actually a little strange to me, as before I educated myself as to what a healthy daily calorie intake was, I was eating MUCH less. I've actually gained 2lbs since increasing my intake but I'm hoping that's just my body trying to correct whatever imbalance I caused by not eating enough. So from now on I'm definitely trying to aim for 1230 as a MINIMUM, even if I don't always feel hungry enough!

    Thank you everybody for your input, it was interesting to see what people think. As it happens it was never an issue anyway - the place where we went to eat was one of those wonderful places that lists the calories on the menu! So I didn't really go far over budget and still had a very tasty meal.

    I've invested in some protein shake as from what I gather, it seems that it can only be a good idea, and also a good way to make sure I'm keeping my calories intake up in a reasonably healthy way. So I won't be undercutting my calorie budget for today :)

    Thanks again everyone!

    I am glad you got out of the low calories, it's very difficult finding out what's right for you when you start out, I remember vividly.

    With 8-10 pounds to lose it may be very difficult to lose a pound a week, at least that's what a lot of members here say. So to protect their muscle mass (because you just don't have much fat for the body to tap into), they shoot for 0.5 pound a week. It gives them more to eat and it makes transition to maintenance easier. I plan to do this when I get 10 pounds away from my goal.

    As for the 2 pounds up, you're right not to worry. When you up your calories, your body usually replenishes it's glycogen stores. Glycogen stores retain water, so you do weigh more but you haven't gained fat. This will likely happen with your next increase too, but don't worry, it's just plain ol' water :)

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