so what if I go over my daily goal!

SexyHealthyFit175
SexyHealthyFit175 Posts: 64 Member
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
AS long as I am in a deficit I should be losing right??

I am set up to lose 1 lb per week, so as long as Im not exceeding my 500 calorie deficit (when I go over) I should still be losing right????

My thing is I've been here almost 85 days. Majority days I go over by 100-250 calories per day. I'm way within my calorie deficit so why do I not lose or barely lose when I should be at least losing 1/2 lb per week or more??? Are my numbers not set up correctly? Does it matter what I eat as long as there is a deficit?

No, I am not sharing my diary b/c I do have personal notes in there, but can you offer me any advice in the meantime?

Thanks!
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Replies

  • BrittanieGo
    BrittanieGo Posts: 60 Member
    edited February 2015
    You probably don't have a deficit. Are you weighing and measuring everything?
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    If I'm not losing then common sense tells me I'm not eating at a deficit and/or not logging my food correctly.
  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
    279to149 wrote: »
    You probably don't have a deficit. Are you weighing and measuring everything?

    This and maybe your MFP calorie suggestion is wrong. Hard to say without knowing more.
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    You might get better help if you gave us some stats
    Age
    Weight
    Height
    Calorie target

    Do you know for sure if you are in deficit? Are you losing weight? Do you weigh your food?

    I would imagine, at best your progress would be slower. At worst you are eating at maintenance, or surplus.
    Are you gaining weight?
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    There are plenty of ways to under estimate the calories in food. Your portion sizes may be to big. Even if you weigh your food, there can be significant differences between the number of calories the food had in the lab and what is actually on your plate. You might even be eating something without logging it and not realizing you are doing it. You may also be over estimating your daily calorie burn. With such a small deficit, these things could easily add up to being equal to or greater than your planned deficit.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    Are you weighing your food? If not, you're probably consuming more calories than you think.
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
    Do you eat back your exercise calories and where do these numbers come from? MFP is notoriously high on exercise calories so eating all of them back ruins your deficit and you're all of a sudden in maintenance.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    edited February 2015
    SexyHealthyFit175 wrote: »
    My thing is I've been here almost 85 days. Majority days I go over by 100-250 calories per day. I'm way within my calorie deficit
    Thanks!

    Huh??? You are over or are not?
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    The numbers are just an estimate, so you could have a lower maintenance number than is being estimated or, and this is really common, be underestimating what you are eating. It can be tricky at first to pick the correct entries off MFP even if you log. Also, if you add back exercise calories, that is another estimate.

    My problem with 250 calorie deficits (which is what I'm currently aiming for) is that they are narrow enough that errors or misestimates can so easily wipe out the whole deficit. The basic answer, however, is that whatever the reason you aren't at a deficit, so lowering the calories some should work, whether that's from lowering the goal, tightening up the logging, or sticking closer to the current goal.

    One disclaimer, however, is that I don't know what you currently weigh and am assuming that you do have weight to lose.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    I think she means she has a defecit of 350-400 rather than 500 most days

    I think you're not logging accurately and are eating at maintenance ..check out the sticky thread calorie counting 101 at the top of this board
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    I think she means she has a defecit of 350-400 rather than 500 most days

    I think you're not logging accurately and are eating at maintenance ..check out the sticky thread calorie counting 101 at the top of this board

    Gotcha
    OP, can you open your diary?
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    SexyHealthyFit175 wrote: »
    AS long as I am in a deficit I should be losing right??

    I am set up to lose 1 lb per week, so as long as Im not exceeding my 500 calorie deficit (when I go over) I should still be losing right????

    My thing is I've been here almost 85 days. Majority days I go over by 100-250 calories per day. I'm way within my calorie deficit so why do I not lose or barely lose when I should be at least losing 1/2 lb per week or more??? Are my numbers not set up correctly? Does it matter what I eat as long as there is a deficit?

    No, I am not sharing my diary b/c I do have personal notes in there, but can you offer me any advice in the meantime?

    Thanks!

    Do you weigh your food? It is possible you are eating more than you think you are if you don't.

    Also, I totally get the not wanting an open diary thing. I don't even open mine to friends. As someone who still struggles with binges (like medically defined) and "recovered" (I use the term loosely since I still have urges but just act on them) bulimic, having an open diary raises my anxiety about it too much.
  • SexyHealthyFit175
    SexyHealthyFit175 Posts: 64 Member
    christinev297 wrote: »
    If I'm not losing then common sense tells me I'm not eating at a deficit and/or not logging my food correctly.

    I weigh and log everything. My 100 to 200 calories over each day are my chips or chocolate treat. I do eat a combined 5 fruits/veggies each day. No soda, no fast foods and I am set to eat 1760 per day but I eat at the most 1960. I'm 236 lbs so there's no way I'm not eating at least a 300 cal deficit being this weight you know
  • SexyHealthyFit175
    SexyHealthyFit175 Posts: 64 Member
    Laurend224 wrote: »
    You might get better help if you gave us some stats
    Age
    Weight
    Height
    Calorie target

    Do you know for sure if you are in deficit? Are you losing weight? Do you weigh your food?

    I would imagine, at best your progress would be slower. At worst you are eating at maintenance, or surplus.
    Are you gaining weight?



    I'm not gaining, no. Just losing about .5 lbs every 2 weeks of that.

    I'm 5'6
    236 lbs
    Female
    I am allowed 1760 per day but will up up to 1960
  • SexyHealthyFit175
    SexyHealthyFit175 Posts: 64 Member
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    SexyHealthyFit175 wrote: »
    My thing is I've been here almost 85 days. Majority days I go over by 100-250 calories per day. I'm way within my calorie deficit
    Thanks!

    Huh??? You are over or are not?

    If you can read...yes, but I'm still within my 500 cal deficit. Thanks! I'm not exceeding the 500 I'm still within it. :)
  • JM1481
    JM1481 Posts: 88 Member
    Try sticking to the number you've been given instead of going over and see what that does for you. 1760 is a good daily amount, you should be able to get all you need in there as well as snacks. The other option would be to be more aggressive with your goal and go to 2lbs per week. This would not be too aggressive for your stats either.

    I know you want to continue eating what you are eating, but it's not working for you. Time to adjust. Good luck!
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    SexyHealthyFit175 wrote: »
    Laurend224 wrote: »
    You might get better help if you gave us some stats
    Age
    Weight
    Height
    Calorie target

    Do you know for sure if you are in deficit? Are you losing weight? Do you weigh your food?

    I would imagine, at best your progress would be slower. At worst you are eating at maintenance, or surplus.
    Are you gaining weight?



    I'm not gaining, no. Just losing about .5 lbs every 2 weeks of that.

    I'm 5'6
    236 lbs
    Female
    I am allowed 1760 per day but will up up to 1960

    Well, if you want to lose more quickly, you are going to have to create more of a deficit. If you are happy at .5 lbs every two weeks, continue eating as you are.

    It's entirely up to you. That would be too slow for me.
  • danielle122281
    danielle122281 Posts: 3 Member
    I weigh in the ballpark as you and to lose 2 lbs a week MFP recommends eating 1360 calories per day. Your target of 1760 or 1960 calories sounds high. I think you need to recheck your settings.
  • hortensehildegarde
    hortensehildegarde Posts: 592 Member
    a
    SexyHealthyFit175 wrote: »
    christinev297 wrote: »
    If I'm not losing then common sense tells me I'm not eating at a deficit and/or not logging my food correctly.

    I weigh and log everything. My 100 to 200 calories over each day are my chips or chocolate treat. I do eat a combined 5 fruits/veggies each day. No soda, no fast foods and I am set to eat 1760 per day but I eat at the most 1960. I'm 236 lbs so there's no way I'm not eating at least a 300 cal deficit being this weight you know

    sure there is a way, you could just have a relatively slow metabolism so the averages used in the MFP calculation are not accurate for you.

    Or you could have your activity level set too high if you are not set at sedentary (which if I remember my stats from back then it sounds like you might be set at sedentary).

    Just eat less every day and see if that helps? Or walk an extra mile every day.

    Also not sure if you responded to this part but just in case you missed it, if you are 100% sure you are weighing everything correctly double check the accuracy of the log entries you are using.

    For example, make sure to weigh all meat raw and if you don't make sure to find as close to accurate cooked entry as possible.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
    SexyHealthyFit175 wrote: »
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    SexyHealthyFit175 wrote: »
    My thing is I've been here almost 85 days. Majority days I go over by 100-250 calories per day. I'm way within my calorie deficit
    Thanks!

    Huh??? You are over or are not?

    If you can read...yes, but I'm still within my 500 cal deficit. Thanks! I'm not exceeding the 500 I'm still within it. :)

    Your OP made no sense to me, either and I have excellent reading skills.

    You might be in a deficit, you're not at a 500 calorie deficit, so you aren't going to lose as much as projected. If you're logging accurately, you should be losing about .5 pounds a week - but that's an average, not a guaranteed number.

    I'd stop going over my calorie intake, if you want to see real progress.

    If you want to continue down the path you're on, continue to do what you're doing. It's your party.
  • bainsworth1a
    bainsworth1a Posts: 313 Member
    using myself as an example. My MFP calorie goal daily is 1280 calories to lose 2 lbs a week. I almost never hit that number exactly and I don't beat myself up over it but I track what i eat every day and try to be as honest as I can be with weighing and measuring. If I stay under 1500 calories on a day I am still happy with myself and I still lose but slower than 2 lbs a week. when I save my diary at the end of the day mfp even tells me if I continue to eat at the daily calorie level I entered i can expect to weigh 5 lbs less in 5 weeks. One day I was way over on calories like 2400 and it told me I would weigh 5 lbs more in 5 weeks if I ate that many calories every day.
    I am also fairly sedentary so I do not mess with exercise calories burned


    what does mfp say about what you are logging in your diary?
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,347 Member
    I think what OP is saying is that she is still under maintenance, though is eating more than her calorie goal so has a smaller deficit.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    SexyHealthyFit175 wrote: »
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    SexyHealthyFit175 wrote: »
    My thing is I've been here almost 85 days. Majority days I go over by 100-250 calories per day. I'm way within my calorie deficit
    Thanks!

    Huh??? You are over or are not?

    If you can read...yes, but I'm still within my 500 cal deficit. Thanks! I'm not exceeding the 500 I'm still within it. :)

    My reading is fine, thank you. This statement is very unclear.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    SexyHealthyFit175 wrote: »
    christinev297 wrote: »
    If I'm not losing then common sense tells me I'm not eating at a deficit and/or not logging my food correctly.

    I weigh and log everything. My 100 to 200 calories over each day are my chips or chocolate treat. I do eat a combined 5 fruits/veggies each day. No soda, no fast foods and I am set to eat 1760 per day but I eat at the most 1960. I'm 236 lbs so there's no way I'm not eating at least a 300 cal deficit being this weight you know

    Your 'treats' should be fitting into your calorie goal while maintaining your deficit.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    That might not be much of a deficit, even if you are logging perfectly. (In fact, either it's not much of a deficit OR you aren't logging perfectly, because a deficit simply refers to how much you are below your own personal maintenance level and you seem to be about 125 below maintenance.)

    First, TDEEs are going to vary by person--some people are going to be below the calculator estimates and some above them. If you are below the estimate MFP uses, that's a bummer, but totally possible.

    Second, the most accurate calculator is the one that includes body fat percentage, and the others often overestimate calories for maintenance if you are overweight, since fat doesn't really require much in the way of extra calories--it's lean mass that does.

    I don't know your age (but it doesn't matter too much), but putting in 35 and then 45% for BF%, I get a maintenance of about 1973 for sedentary and 2261 for exercise 3x/week.

    That suggests to me that your deficit could be lower than 1 lb/week before going over and then going over could easily kick it down enough to be about a quarter lb/week, as you said, especially given that logging is always somewhat imprecise.

    The fact is that you have results that indicate that you are just barely eating below maintenance whether it's because you are eating more than you think or that your maintenance is simply less than you calculated (or than MFP calculated).
  • peleroja
    peleroja Posts: 3,979 Member
    It's not an exact method, just the best estimates that are practical. Food labels aren't always 100% accurate, your energy expenditure can change a bit day-to-day, and not everyone's body is EXACTLY the same and some people might not burn calories exactly in line with the formula (which is just a tool of estimation, after all, based on your height/weight/age/activity level.) You have a very narrow deficit, so these factors are easily enough to slow your loss from the predicted a bit (and it's still pretty darn close given you are going over.)

    If you want to lose faster, you need to exercise more and/or eat fewer calories.
  • mom2ava07
    mom2ava07 Posts: 186 Member
    Well if you are losing, even if not as quickly as you would like, it seems you should either lower your calories or be happy with a slower loss. Despite your size, that sounds like quite a bit of daily calories to be losing more than a half pound every week or two.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I think what OP is saying is that she is still under maintenance, though is eating more than her calorie goal so has a smaller deficit.

    Yeah, that's how I'm reading it. Sometimes it's hard to articulate what you mean in writing. I'm hopeless at it lol
  • Khukhullatus
    Khukhullatus Posts: 361 Member
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    SexyHealthyFit175 wrote: »
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    SexyHealthyFit175 wrote: »
    My thing is I've been here almost 85 days. Majority days I go over by 100-250 calories per day. I'm way within my calorie deficit
    Thanks!

    Huh??? You are over or are not?

    If you can read...yes, but I'm still within my 500 cal deficit. Thanks! I'm not exceeding the 500 I'm still within it. :)

    My reading is fine, thank you. This statement is very unclear.

    Agreed, there are much better ways to have said it.
  • bennettinfinity
    bennettinfinity Posts: 865 Member
    SexyHealthyFit175 wrote: »
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    SexyHealthyFit175 wrote: »
    My thing is I've been here almost 85 days. Majority days I go over by 100-250 calories per day. I'm way within my calorie deficit
    Thanks!

    Huh??? You are over or are not?

    If you can read...yes, but I'm still within my 500 cal deficit. Thanks! I'm not exceeding the 500 I'm still within it. :)

    Too far into it... you're cutting it too fine - small estimate errors aggregated over the week are wiping out your deficit. Bear in mind that every food and exercise entry is an estimate. Even packaged foods can vary from the totals listed on the label.

    Whatever the number of calories you think you're eating, the actual number is bigger or you'd still be losing. You'll need to cut back your calories or add some exercise to get back into a deficit - it's all trial and error - you'll figure it out.
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