Anyone varies the calorie deficit day by day?

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hmg90
hmg90 Posts: 314 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Or do you all stay by a given deficit?

I'm 23, 5"9 and 147 lbs. Not looking to lose too much, just 15 lbs or so.

I've been trying to eat 1200 calories a day lately (it's set to 1100 for margin), I eat a lot of protein, vegetables with every meal, yet still it is sometimes so hard. I don't crave junk or anything, but after a long day, I come to my roomie who's having red wine and it's hard to skip it. Am a full time student plus intern as well, not so many other joys :)

Anyway, I always stay below 1800 cals. So technically I should lose weight anyway, right? I'm thinking it should be fine to go 1200 one day, 1600 the next, then 1300? I won't lose as fast as if I went 1200 a day, but surely I should lose in general?

Anyone else varying their calorie intake?

Replies

  • kisa88
    kisa88 Posts: 4 Member
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    Yes my calorie intake varies day to day, it depends on a lot of things like exercise and level of cravings lol. But I generally try to stay under 1700 calories per day.
  • toronto_j
    toronto_j Posts: 206 Member
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    Of course. There's no way it'll ever be exactly on the mark every single day. And if I splurge one day (like I had a burger and onion rings recently), I eat a bit lighter on the days around it.
  • tristaj90
    tristaj90 Posts: 330 Member
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    Mine tends to fluctuate unintentionally. Depends on the workouts I do. i generally stay between 1175-1300 calories daily with the exception of the weekends where I can eat upwards 1900 calories.. try not to do both saturday and sunday that way, just one.
    I never eat my exercise calories back so I tend to even out throughout the week with calories in vs calories out :D
  • LydiaZembower
    LydiaZembower Posts: 136 Member
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    I am going to keep my calories at 1200 but vary the amount of protein, carbs, and fat each day. My fat intake should be low no matter what but any fat I have will be purely the good kind.
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
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    I don't do it intentionally (as in, I don't plan to eat X calories on Mondays and Y calories on Tuesdays and so on), but I do find it a lot easier to look at more of a weekly net rather than a daily net. It's just a fact of life that we're not going to be able to eat the EXACT same calories every single day. I personally try to stay a smidge "under" on "normal" days (days I go to work with my lunch and snacks planned and packed, and come home to cook a balanced dinner, and get my workout in [on non-rest days]) so that I've got a bit of a cushion for the times when we pick up dinner or I have plans for drinks with friends or I can't get my activity in or whatever comes up.
  • SephiraRose
    SephiraRose Posts: 775 Member
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    I try to stay within my calorie goal.
  • TommyJensen1987
    TommyJensen1987 Posts: 95
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    I try very hard to stay under, but realistically I will go over from time to time - having a beer with a friend, going home to the parents (always involve moms cake for some reason), etc.

    As long as you end up going at a pace you can live with, being reasonably healthy at the same time who cares?
  • rya4eva
    rya4eva Posts: 18 Member
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    I vary mine intake because it is suppose to help with the metabolism!
  • sentaruu
    sentaruu Posts: 2,206 Member
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    varied intake most of the time.
  • kazzsjourney2goal
    kazzsjourney2goal Posts: 56 Member
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    I do vary mine quite systematically. My body seems to respond better to that then eating the same cals each day.

    :)
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
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    Yes, it's perfectly fine to do it that way. I use the weekly average in the app and concentrate on a weekly goal vs. a daily.

    Given your stats, you are already at a healthy weight and are working on getting leaner. In your case, it would be a more realistic goal to shoot for a slow weight loss goal of 1/2 lb per week. 1100 calories/day is too aggressive of a goal and you risk losing excessive lean mass. Even if you are sedentary, 1450 calories/day would be a more reasonable goal.

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