Question about going over your calories

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chadam1015
chadam1015 Posts: 58 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I first want to say sorry if this has been asked 900 times. Here goes, If I go over my calories one day can I cut out that many calories the next day or over a few days in order to lose 1 pound at the end of the week? Example if I go over Monday by 200 calories can I cut 33 calories everyday in order to still lose 1 pound? Thanks for any help given in this area!

Replies

  • Newfiedan
    Newfiedan Posts: 1,517 Member
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    yes, so long as it is one day during the week it will not hurt if you go over a small amount, so long as you burn 3500 more than you are eating then you will shed a pound for the week.
  • alison2429
    alison2429 Posts: 236 Member
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    Hi
    You can do it but the site re-boots every 24 hours so you can't carry forward any unused cals or deduct any that you went over. You could do it by writing it down on a good old fashioned piece of paper!!!

    Hope that helps!
  • leomom72
    leomom72 Posts: 1,797 Member
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    i don't see why not, but i really wouldn't..it is ok to go over sometimes..but you should really watch out for " starvation mode " i dont know how long it takes, but if i was going to do a make up thing, i would take 1 hit the next day, instead of stretching it out..that way the body goes thru it once, instead of multiple times of missing some food..best of luck, and im sure your answers will vary ;)
  • aeckels616
    aeckels616 Posts: 210 Member
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    People have varying opinions about this. I say yes. It's not like your body knows, "Oh, it's 12:01am, can't burn off that pizza I ate yesterday." Actually, doing a weekly average with some days over and some days under seems to help me a lot. Same idea as zig-zagging calorie intake.
  • KellyBurton1
    KellyBurton1 Posts: 529 Member
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    Dont worry about going over. I zig zag all the time. My more busier days I go over and other days I stay under or on the mark. If Im hungry I eat something resonable. You need to fool your body! :flowerforyou:
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    You can, but there's no need to. Going over by 200 calories one day isn't going to affect your weight loss in a negative way. If you're eating healthy foods and are exercising a little bump in your calories is actually good. It keeps your metabolism from slowing down because it tells your body that you aren't going to starve, even though you're eating at a calorie deficit. It's better to be a little over your calories than it is to be under.
  • ambivalence11
    ambivalence11 Posts: 93 Member
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    It's not so simple. Weight loss isn't simply calories in calories out. I wish it was, since that would make it so much more simple. I am losing closer to 2lbs a week though I am eating to lose 1lb a week. I eat as few carbs as I can and try to eat a lot of protein. 50% carbs 25% protein 25% fat. Even if I don't hit the gym for a whole week I am still losing it! If I go over by more than 200 calories (and I do on average once a week) I just say, well, tomorrow will be better, and it still comes off. Don't worry about it so much. Just take each day for what it is.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    I generally disagree with this method. My philosophy is treat each day separate. if you go over 1 day, don't start mixing up other days to get to your goals. Your body won't do that, so neither should you.

    It's a slippery slope when you start doing things like "banking" calories. Especially if you're talking about more than 24 hour periods between those times.

    Look, nobody ever ruined themselves with 1 bad day, but many have ruined themselves by letting 1 bad day mentally effect them. Trying to keep track of calorie deficits from prior days in the week can make this start to feel very daunting, it's as much mental as it is physical. I like to follow the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid). The more complex you make this, the easier it is to screw something up.
  • Sezmo83
    Sezmo83 Posts: 331 Member
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    I personally wouldn't worry about being 200 calories over on one day but then I have days where I'm slightly under and days where I'm slightly over, it tends to even itself out over the course of the week.

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