Logging calories for the next day?
Natalie1825
Posts: 23 Member
Hi, just a quick question.
Sometimes I eat over my daily calorie goal, and lately it's been happening more often, though I'm trying to stop it. I haven't eaten above maintenance though. One trick I've tried is to log the extra calories for the next day, even if they aren't eaten close to midnight.
Do you think this will help in trying to balance out the extra calories for the weekly average? Will it hurt my weight loss in the long run?
Before anyone asks, my daily allowance is 1560. So I'm not on any crazy starvation diet. Sometimes I find it hard to resist those cookies though. =p
Thank you!
Sometimes I eat over my daily calorie goal, and lately it's been happening more often, though I'm trying to stop it. I haven't eaten above maintenance though. One trick I've tried is to log the extra calories for the next day, even if they aren't eaten close to midnight.
Do you think this will help in trying to balance out the extra calories for the weekly average? Will it hurt my weight loss in the long run?
Before anyone asks, my daily allowance is 1560. So I'm not on any crazy starvation diet. Sometimes I find it hard to resist those cookies though. =p
Thank you!
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Replies
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This is my suggestion and others will have better ideas. I would keep each day separate. Otherwise you are kind of punishing yourself the next day. What does work is to look at a weekly average. During a seven day period some days you might go over and somedays you might go under. Work it out so that you go under more days than you go over. I hope that that makes sense.0
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I don't see a problem with that at all. I do the 5:2 diet which basically gives you a calorie limit for the whole week. So on two of the days I eat a lot less (about 25% of a normal day) and the other 5 eat normally. I have managed a slow but steady weight loss of nearly 2 stones over 18 months. Try it....you can always stop again if it's not working for you on a psychological level. Good luck.0
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I thought about doing it that way sometimes but I could tell I was going to set myself up. Kind of like with exercise, if I were to put off finishing a goal to the next day, the procrastinating would stack against me. So what's working for me now is logging only when I have the food with me or after I eat it while trying to keep the calories and macros in check. At the end of the day, I generally have some extra left and that works perfectly because I do better if I have a small evening snack before bed. Depending on the calories left, I could have just a couple string cheese or a servings of nuts, etc. But like I said, that's mostly because I know where my weakness is so I try to stay ahead of the procrastination temptation.0
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I would log it when you actually eat it. If you think of your log as a database, which it is, how is the data useful to you when you're creating errant entries?
Today you realize that you put 300 of yesterday's calories onto today's numbers, but when you go back weeks or months later to look at patterns and figure out what works for you and what doesn't, you won't recall. Then your data is useless in terms of using it to make better decisions going forward.0 -
I log by the day but balance my calories for the week. I go over some days and under others. The phone app has a nice "Nutrition" option that tracks nutrients on a daily and weekly basis to keep me in check.0
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keep the calories for each day - your body processes what you put in it right away, not the next day. Keeping consistent day in and day out will keep you on track! of course there will be slip ups and cheat meals but it's not a good idea to carry calories over to the next day and eat less0
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If I did that, it would leave me no calories for Saturday.0
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Hi, just a quick question.
Sometimes I eat over my daily calorie goal, and lately it's been happening more often, though I'm trying to stop it. I haven't eaten above maintenance though. One trick I've tried is to log the extra calories for the next day, even if they aren't eaten close to midnight.
Do you think this will help in trying to balance out the extra calories for the weekly average? Will it hurt my weight loss in the long run?
Before anyone asks, my daily allowance is 1560. So I'm not on any crazy starvation diet. Sometimes I find it hard to resist those cookies though. =p
Thank you!0 -
I don't think logging calories for the next day is a good idea. It's kind of like carrying over a balance on your credit card. Eventually, you "pay" too much. When I run out of calories, I face two choices... quit eating or exercise.0
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I could see this working well for some people and badly for others.
It's a mental trick basically and if doing it makes you eat less the next day then it is working.
On the other hand if you end up viewing it as... I can eat more because I'll just put those calories on the next day, it will have the opposite of its intended effect. There's really no way for anyone here to know which way it will work for you.
I couldn't do it because it would mess up my spreadsheets and charts.0 -
sounds like a never ending payday loan.
Not only are you cheating yourself your diary isn't accurate...just stop going over your goal. Self control.0 -
I log it when I eat it. If I see I am going over I try to get a little extra exercise in to make up my overage.0
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I roughly plan out each day either the evening before or first thing, and then make minor adjustments as I put my meals together.
I know some people focus on weekly logging, but for me this is a matter of living my life every day, so I want to know that I'm hitting my targets as often as I can. It's a bit like weighing myself every day, or making sure I get exercise every day. It's just something I do, and doing it every day gives me a sense of achievement.
BTW. If you want that cookie, it's taking you over your calories AND you're still hitting your weight loss/gain/maintain targets, why not just add some more calories to play with and add it in as a daily snack?0 -
I log by the day. I also like to plan my meals for the week so I consider my total calorie and macros goals for the day when I plan them. Then I map them out in MFP for the week. If something comes up and I want to eat something else, then I go make edits for that day only. This helps me not overeat or miss my mark on macros, specifically. Otherwise, I'd be eating whatever whenever I'm ready and then realize at the end of the day that I ate a whole lot of carbs and not enough protein. (I'm weightlifting and trying to shed fat, so keeping macros and calories in check is very important to me).0
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I noticed there is a lot of confusion about the whole IIFYM concept, but instead of adding calories for the treats, which are usually carb-heavy, make it fit your macros.
Say if you're macros are 100g protein, 20g fat, and 120g carbs (just throwing random numbers out). Make most of what you eat throughout the day focused of meeting the protein and fat goals. If by the end of the day, you still have 30g of carbs left and you REALLY want a cookie or two, instead of eating brown rice, sweet potato or whatever else "clean" that you would normally eat, indulge in said cookie(s). But don't overindulge. If two cookies will get you precisely 30g of carbs, only eat 2, and not any more. That's the key in IIFYM.
Yesterday I ate 2 swiss rolls and the chocolate+peanut butter Special K protein bar as some of my snacks. Both carb-heavy but at the end of the day I still came in under my 197g of alloted carbs.0 -
A lot of great advice here. The general consensus seems to be that in the long run it's not a good idea. Especially true since, as one user stated, this method doesn't allow for figuring out patterns with regards to calories consumed vs. actual weight loss. I'm not planning to make this a daily thing, or even weekly, but there are certainly times where that one treat will put me over my calorie goals.
Guess it would be better to ditch the idea then. =p
Thank you so much everyone! I really appreciate it. Good luck in all your fitness goals!:bigsmile:0 -
Work to your weekly calories rather than daily. The weight loss will be the same.
Can you find some lower calorie alternatives to cookies?0 -
If it works for you mentally, then no problem. I used to do that, to ensure I was within my overall weekly goal.
Now I log cals on the day they are eaten, so I can keep my macros etc accurate - Also sometimes it helps to see when you actually did over eat or under eat. If I overeat one day I do try to compensate a little the next day.
Also, I find by logging only on the day its is eaten, its easier to see how much overboard you are going & I am more likely to stop the munching. If you carry on eating but log it under other days, you don't see the true total for that day & might think its OK just to carry on a while longer.0 -
I used to do this all the time, but it eventually meant that I had no idea how many calories I was having every day and was feeling like a failure when I'd actually done great. There were some days I couldn't eat, too. And there were times when it became an excuse to eat more than I needed and I actually gained weight while counting calories and feeling guilty/deprived all the time. This method can work, but if it results in weight gain I would suggest forgetting the previous day and just sticking to your normal deficit for that day.0
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I thought about doing that in the beginning. But then I realised I was cheating myself.
If I eat it and I log it on the same day and goes into the red. I am learning the lesson.
If I log it the next day, am I making myself accountable? Nope, I'd just go over that day too and then it would carry to the next and then the next.
I like to see the red, then I know I need to do better, and I HAVE learnt the lesson and now I'm barely ever in the red these days
Good luck with whatever you choose!0
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