Sorry to ask so many questions! But I have one about calorie

irasonrisita
irasonrisita Posts: 101
edited September 23 in Food and Nutrition
Let's say my goal of calories per day was 1500, and i ate 1800.
If I eat 1200 the next day, will it make up for those extra calories?

Thanks,
Sorry I am asking so many questions, I am new and want to take advantage of this site as best as I can

Replies

  • rebrafe
    rebrafe Posts: 64
    I think the calories are for each separate day hon.
  • ksrn
    ksrn Posts: 6
    you're better off exercising on your 1800 calorie day!
  • Brady_
    Brady_ Posts: 108 Member
  • Phoenyxtears
    Phoenyxtears Posts: 173
    Some of my friends on here are doing calorie confusion, but I'm not sure if it's the best way to go about it. The 1500 is per day, and it won't go away if you eat 1200 tomorrow. Exercise so you can eat more.
  • tompetty
    tompetty Posts: 41 Member
    Ask, ask, ask away!

    ....I'd say try to get some extra excercise in on the day you overeat to burn off those extra calories. It's sort of like sleep-- if you get behind, you can't ever quite catch up. However, if you do have one off day, it would be good to work extra hard the next day, so while you may not be burning "those" exact calories, if you burn extra, it would be good.
    Ha. I doubt that was very helpful at all.
    Good luck! And congrats on joining-- people love to answer questions and a lot of them know what they're talking about way more than I do. :)
  • superjarrod1616
    superjarrod1616 Posts: 39 Member
    ThinK more consistency than total number for an week. That being said don't sweat one day too much!
  • Panda86
    Panda86 Posts: 873
    No, but it can be a good idea to "zigzag" your calories. Eat 1300 one day, then 1200, then 1400, then 1200, or whatever. It keeps your body guessing. But you do want to make sure you are left with enough of a deficit at the end of the week that you still lose weight.
  • Tipring
    Tipring Posts: 21 Member
    yeah, it's per day.
  • ObviousIndigo
    ObviousIndigo Posts: 382 Member
    some people do what is called calorie zigzagging. You take 1500 times it by 7 and then eat that many calories in a week ( plus any exercise calories) I don't do that. I think it is too confusing. But I have done where I will eat 1800 one day and eat less the next day or two. You need to do what works for you:)
  • lisawest
    lisawest Posts: 798 Member
    Theoretically it works out fine. There is a diet plan, called the Zig Zag Diet, that recommends you change up your calories each day so that each week you average the recommended amount. The problem for me is always in the execution. On Day 2 I am always STARVING!

    To put it in perspective, 300 calories is less than 10% of a pound. A pound is 3500 calories. I wouldn't stress it. Chalk it up to experience and start over tomorrow.

    HTH!
  • irasonrisita
    irasonrisita Posts: 101
    Start over tomorrow. That actually sounds really relieving.
    I DID exercise today, but I have been gaining weight recently since I started exercising. 10 POUNDS. BLEGH. So I want to eat about 1300 calories a day but I love food.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,409 Member
    In general, you can always "start over" - - you will have times when you:

    Forget what you ate
    Don't eat enough
    Eat too much
    Eat all sugary stuff (try not to do this one.....)
    Eat too healthy - like all veggies (do this one)
    Forget to weigh in on your "weigh" day
    Don't exercise for two straight weeks
    Forget to (or don't feel like) logging food
    Have a peice of cake and "go over" when you had done great all day


    .....and on and on. Losing weight is all about the long haul. It's about what you do 80% of the time. We aren't robots, we aren't perfect, and stuff happens. It's life!! Just get right back on track! You lose weight by eating SLIGHTLY less calories than you burn (ideally 500 calories or so). Over a long period of time.

    You only fail if you quit. :flowerforyou:
  • irasonrisita
    irasonrisita Posts: 101
    very inspirational
    i needed that :)
  • runningneo122
    runningneo122 Posts: 6,962 Member
    Take each day on it's own. Calorie/carb zigzagging is usually used to break a plateau. Exercise each day ... even a little bit. Work it up to at least 30 minutes at a time. It takes 20 minutes to really start burning fat. Eat most or all of your exercise cals and up the protein. Desired ratio is 1g protein for 20 cals in the meal. Protein keeps the insulin from spiking and crashing causing hunger pangs and usually you want carbs. Here's a couple things to read:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6832-eating-all-of-your-calories-bmr

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/777-why-is-starvation-mode-so-bad
  • freerange
    freerange Posts: 1,722 Member
    YES!!!!! It sure as heck does. Now it is better to be more consistent, but at the end of the week when you weigh it matters how many TOTAL calories you had that week. Let’s take this to the extreme. If you ate 3600 extra calories in one day, you would gain 1 pound, if you ate 3600 less calories the next day you would lose 1 lb,,,,,, I know, I know it’s over simplified and there are other things involved. But as long as you are near your goal for the day, and are at or under it for the week you will be fine.
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