end of the day and you got 180 cals left...

If I'm hungry I'll eat something like nuts, if not I just don't eat them.

Quest Bar, V8 Juice, Fat Free Milk

or a combination of the above

Ithlilian86 wrote: »

This is my current issue as well, but I have more than 200 calories left at the end of the day. How is eating ice cream not counter productive?

1. Did you eat primarily nutrient dense foods with your other calories? If so, there's nothing wrong with finishing off your day with a treat.
2. Because MFP is set up with a reasonable calorie deficit based on your goals and under achieving that goal, significantly, over time, can lead to loss of lean body mass and other undesirable outcomes. Now, shorting by 200 once in a while is likely not going to have a huge impact but there is a reason to try to hit your goal, not come in consistently under.
3. Because it tastes good.

I'd take a quick look at my micros. If everything is in order then I'm going for a scoop of ice cream or my cadbury mini eggs. Those are my usual evening snacks. If I'm drastically short on a certain micro then I'll pick something to give me a boost there.

Last night I mashed up avocado, added some lemon juice and ate it with a serving of pretzel thins. In the past, I've hoarded calories but that doesn't work for me as I end up going way overboard on the binge day.

String cheese,apple,plum,pickle,applesauce,yogurt,or sardine in olive oil if I'm really hungry and need protein. Usually I eat 1200 calories but burn 800-1000 so I usually have 600 or more left daily that I don't eat.

Ithlilian86 wrote: »

This is my current issue as well, but I have more than 200 calories left at the end of the day. How is eating ice cream not counter productive?

Why would eating ice cream within your calorie goals be counterproductive?

It might not be the best choice, if the day was low on other nutrients that won't be found in the ice cream, but if that's the case better planning is the issue, not having ice cream (although I might choose to use my extra calories on something else instead).

What strikes me as potentially counterproductive is being well below your calorie goal regularly, unless you have a much higher calorie goal than most women here get. If you are routinely eating, I dunno, 1000 calories, that's not only going to be a problem in terms of getting in everything you need (including things like adequate fat), but it's likely to result in you lacking energy over time or blowing it in a spectacular way or feeling frustrated with the way you are eating and giving up.

It's somewhat common when people first start to be super energized about changing your diet and trying something new and for some of us that results in feeling like you are perfectly satisfied on even really low calories. That happened to me when I first started when I was shocked to see I was doing 900 or so on some days. But this is not sustainable, and my suspicion is that most people will do better educating themselves on how to meet a more sustainable level of calories while they are still enjoying themselves and feeling okay on the lower number, by making sure you don't have weird hangups such that you think lower is always better and veggies without adding oil or salads without higher cal things like cheese or olives, etc. must be better, to work toward a diet that is balanced and meets your overall needs and has room for some extras (like ice cream) when you start wanting to incorporate them.

I don't think everyone cares about sweets, but I do think it's the rare person who won't want to be able to have the occasional (or even regular, in a moderate amount) lower nutrient/higher calorie item in their diet, whether it be wine or cheese or ice cream or who knows.

martyqueen52 wrote: »

cottage cheese for me. Usually get a cup of fat free CC, a few packets of Splenda, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Mix it all up and it's a sweet treat.

Or if you want zesty. Just add in hot sauce, and pepper instead..... or some salsa.

The zesty doesn't but they sweet part sounds good! I am going to try that!

asappoeun wrote: »

What would be more important, hitting caloric goals, or staying within reach of your protein,fats,carbs number??

I just was thinking the same thing! Macros are calories.

Plus labels aren't super accurate anyways which is why I weigh everything.