If you exceed cals one day should you have less the next?

Becky170467
Becky170467 Posts: 69 Member
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
I'm usually pretty near the mark of my 1200 cals per day, but yesterday I went over by 103. Should I reduce my total intake today to balance it out?

Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Nope ...my rule is not to eat anything by borrowing from the future but to always have a buffer zone of uneaten calories

    Why are you sticking to 1200 calories? That's low. Does it include your exercise calories?

    I'd have gone for a walk before I ate the extra 100 calories
  • Becky170467
    Becky170467 Posts: 69 Member
    I'm only 5 foot 1 & have a desk job, 1200 cals is what MFP allowed me when I put all the info in. It's definitely enough for me. I log exercise (1hr gym & 2hrs walking per week), but just put 1 cal because I don't want it adding additional calorie allowance.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Log it and move on.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Becky170467 wrote: »
    I'm only 5 foot 1 & have a desk job, 1200 cals is what MFP allowed me when I put all the info in. It's definitely enough for me. I log exercise (1hr gym & 2hrs walking per week), but just put 1 cal because I don't want it adding additional calorie allowance.

    MFP is NEAT ..you are supposed to eat back purposeful exercise

    But yeah as Lis says log and move on
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    Essentially, your normal calorie deficit is already doing that for you. You won't lose as quickly if you overeat, but you will lose weight. Whether or not you want to make up for a previous day is up to you.
  • Delilahhhhhh
    Delilahhhhhh Posts: 477 Member
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Log it and move on.
    This+


  • jellybaby84
    jellybaby84 Posts: 583 Member
    I would compensate the next day personally. You body doesn't know when a 24 hour period is so averaging out over a few days isn't a problem.
  • wishiwasarunner
    wishiwasarunner Posts: 202 Member
    If it had been 1000 calories then I would say you needed to adjust your next few days. But it was only 100 and you aren't even counting your exercise so you were not really over at all - move on
  • Arliah
    Arliah Posts: 266 Member
    Becky170467 wrote: »
    I'm usually pretty near the mark of my 1200 cals per day, but yesterday I went over by 103. Should I reduce my total intake today to balance it out?

    Ha, I was thinking the exact same last night. I had 160 calories worth of chips, but only 53 cals left for the day (I eat 1200 as well), so I was thinking about logging it today. But I don't eat back my exercise calories, and I am usually a bit under my 1200, so I decided to just let it go. I had already closed out my diary for the night, so I didn't log it yesterday. I think you'll be fine. Even with minor slip-ups like that, I am still losing a pound a week, so you shouldn't have any problems either.
  • flabassmcgee
    flabassmcgee Posts: 659 Member
    Depends on what my deficit for the week looks like. I went over by about 450 cals last night, but my deficit for the week is still good. My week starts on Monday, so I have two more days to make up any overages by cutting if need be.

    Agree with other posters. 1200 is low and aggressive to begin with. Not eating back your calories following this method is dangerous.

    You can eat more and continue to lose weight.
  • zomarose
    zomarose Posts: 9 Member
    100 extra calories is ok. It won't mess you up :) Keep moving!
  • Timorous_Beastie
    Timorous_Beastie Posts: 595 Member
    wishiwasarunner wrote: »
    If it had been 1000 calories then I would say you needed to adjust your next few days. But it was only 100 and you aren't even counting your exercise so you were not really over at all - move on


    This. 100 extra calories one day isn't going to make any noticeable difference in your progress. You're still under your maintenance.

    If you're set to lose one pound a week, that means your deficit is 500 calories per day. So if one day, you go 'over' by 103 calories, that one day, you have a 397 calorie deficit. Assuming every day except that one, you have that 500 calorie deficit, nstead of losing one pound per week, you'll be set to lose 0.97 pounds. We're talking a half an ounce difference.
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  • maddyk91
    maddyk91 Posts: 193 Member
    log and move on, as Lifting4Lis said. When it takes 3,500 calories to lose a pound, 103 calories will not make a difference in the grand scheme of things. Sure it will if you "overeat" every day of the week, but one day? Nah, bro.
  • jnv7594
    jnv7594 Posts: 983 Member
    edited February 2015
    You're already likely undereating considering you're not eating back exercise calories and only eating 1200 a day. Not sure why you'd want to eat even less. Going over by that much one day isn't going to make a difference. As others have said...just log it and carry on.
  • obscuremusicreference
    obscuremusicreference Posts: 1,320 Member
    jellybaby84 wrote: »
    I would compensate the next day personally. You body doesn't know when a 24 hour period is so averaging out over a few days isn't a problem.

    You don't compensate the next day on 1200.

    OP, I eat 1200 + half of exercise calories. Aside from the fact that you have a deficit of several hundred calories like Timorous pointed out, if you didn't eat your exercise calories for the week, you weren't even "over" at 1303.
  • jnv7594
    jnv7594 Posts: 983 Member
    obscuremusicreference wrote: »
    jellybaby84 wrote: »
    I would compensate the next day personally. You body doesn't know when a 24 hour period is so averaging out over a few days isn't a problem.

    You don't compensate the next day on 1200.

    OP, I eat 1200 + half of exercise calories. Aside from the fact that you have a deficit of several hundred calories like Timorous pointed out, if you didn't eat your exercise calories for the week, you weren't even "over" at 1303.

    Exactly.

  • CapnVillainBLK
    CapnVillainBLK Posts: 157 Member
    100 calories is really nothing to worry about.
  • davis978
    davis978 Posts: 103 Member
    100 calories is not even worth thinking about. It's what you do over the long run that matters.

    Also, you say 1200 is enough for you, and that could be the case, but it's not enough for most people, even those who are 5'1". Have you calculated your BMR?

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    You will lose weight eating 1200. You will also lose lots of lean body mass. Please do yourself a favor and do some research. A slower loss is more effective for most people.

    Also, if you aren't weighing your food you are probably eating more than you think.
  • palwithme
    palwithme Posts: 860 Member
    If I eat past my calories after I close my diary I always log it for the next day. It helps me stay in check the next day.
  • TasnimEz
    TasnimEz Posts: 280 Member
    When I compensate by eating less the next day I tend to eat too much the day after that, so it doesn't work for me. I think you should just log it and keep going as planned the next day.
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  • SwankyTomato
    SwankyTomato Posts: 442 Member
    I am frequently over. I just log it and move on.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    edited February 2015
    Meh.

    Let's put this in perspective : if you ate 103 over your quota, every day, for more than a month, it might... just might be ... close to... almost ... maybe ... a single pound difference... maybe ... if you did it *every day* for a month straight.

    Does /34-ish of a pound bother you that much? Not me.

    If it were 1500 over in a day, I'd be making adjustments to BOTH compensate for the overage AND raise my calorie quota so I won't be hungry enough to binge like that again in the future but the occasional low overage is just random noise in the signal chain of non linear weight loss. Up and down here and there, right?

  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    for just 100 I wouldn't. If I really blow it one day, then the next day I eat less and work out as hard as I can.
  • ruggedshutter
    ruggedshutter Posts: 389 Member
    I think everyone should run MFP goals for maintenance and what their weight loss goal that they want to achieve. This would give you your calorie range and still lose weight. It's not the end of the world to go into this range, you just won't lose as fast.
  • chele402
    chele402 Posts: 128 Member
    SergeantSausage wrote: »
    Meh.

    Let's put this in perspective : if you ate 103 over your quota, every day, for more than a month, it might... just might be ... close to... almost ... maybe ... a single pound difference... maybe ... if you did it *every day* for a month straight.

    Does /34-ish of a pound bother you that much? Not me.

    If it were 1500 over in a day, I'd be making adjustments to BOTH compensate for the overage AND raise my calorie quota so I won't be hungry enough to binge like that again in the future but the occasional low overage is just random noise in the signal chain of non linear weight loss. Up and down here and there, right?

    That's pretty much how I look at it too. I try to keep my weekly average at my goal and I've been losing consistently.

    here are days when I'm satisfied with less and days I want to splurge. Life happens...
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    I eat a bit less the next day and add the extra calories in. My calories are nearing maintainance though.

    Anyway, you're not eating your exercise calories back, which you should be. I'm sure you have made up for these and other extra calories with exercise.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    If you're set for a 1 pound per week loss and eat 100 calories over your goal ... you had a 400 calorie deficit.

    If you're set for a 2 pound per week loss and eat 100 calories over your goal ... you had a 900 calorie deficit.

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