Is it ok to go over your calorie intake??

Go4Me2
Go4Me2 Posts: 34 Member
I had a big lunch and I only have like 64 calories left for tonight. I'm not hungry right now but may be later on and I really don't want to go over but....

Replies

  • bclarke1990
    bclarke1990 Posts: 287 Member
    Weight loss is calories in vs calories out. I'm sure you can answer your own question :). Have a smaller dinner with mostly vegetables and just get back on track tomorrow/
  • mandipandi75
    mandipandi75 Posts: 6,035 Member
    If you want to offset your lunch, you can... exercise. :)
  • whitesmokes
    whitesmokes Posts: 12 Member
    Exercise would be a good way to get some of that budget back. Go for a walk and keep your dinner light. Tomorrow is another chance to try.
  • eep223
    eep223 Posts: 624 Member
    I usually look at my weekly total. I don't sweat it if I go over for the day, but I try to make it up over the next couple of days, whether that be through smaller meals or more exercise. If you find yourself in this position frequently, you definitely need to add more exercise (to me, that's so much easier than cutting more calories!).
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    You could exercise some, eat up to maintenance today, shave off some calories over the next few days to balance out the overage (many folks look at weekly calorie totals), or just log the rest of your day normally and start over tomorrow.
  • FGTisme
    FGTisme Posts: 87 Member
    I would eat dinner, even if it means going over your calories for the day. You can always make it up over the next few days, like others have said. I personally would not want to risk getting too hungry tonight/tomorrow morning, resulting in a big overage binge.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    If your dinner calories are still less than your maintenance calories.....you still made progress. OR maybe you are under your calories for the week. Don't let one slip side track you. Under goal for the day (or week) it still progress.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    You're not going to get arrested by the calorie police for going over. ;)

    So you go over today. It just means your weekly deficit is smaller than expected and you may lose less than anticipated. But you'll still lose - Science tells us so. :)

    As long as you don't make a habit of it, it's fine. The odd day of being over calories is really a drop in the bucket, to be honest.
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    If I'm hungry and at or near calories when trying to lose weight I typically get on my bike for 50 min or go for a run then eat so my advice is go workout then eat something good
  • Go4Me2
    Go4Me2 Posts: 34 Member
    I went over by 300 and sum calories. Too late to walk
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Eat dinner, then cut back a little each of the next few days. Otherwise there could a very small (less than 1 lb) impact on your loss this week.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    Or eat dinner, and don't cut back on any other days (I don't like "punishing" myself like that). Even if you ate at maintenance today, you would delay reaching your final goal by a day.

    In the grand scheme of things, a significant amount of weight isn't gained or lost because of a single day, but by the accumulation of hundreds of days. Patterns of overeating are bad and will derail weight loss. A few isolated days of overeating won't. The whole population doesn't become obese because of Thanksgiving, even if almost everyone eats well above maintenance that day.

    So is this an isolated day, or one point of a pattern? It's impossible for us to know that - we lack any other data points. If it is a pattern, we can talk about ways to break out of that pattern. If it's an isolated day, there's no problem, just get back on track tomorrow.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    I sometimes go over. Don't worry about it. Just take a breath and you'll figure out what's right for you. It's a process and trying to take stress out of the situation will help a lot. Good luck!
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    It's up to you. You can overeat or stick to the goal. Either way is fine. Personally, I'd have my dinner, as I'd have learned my lesson when I saw the 64.

    Overeating is going to happen for the rest of your life, so it's good to put some thought into how you want to deal with it. Right now, you can ignore it and just keep losing. But when we are done losing weight, we have three choices:

    1. Never, ever overeat.
    2. Overeat, ignore it, gain weight.
    3. Overeat, then cut back or work out more to undo any weight gain.

    One day won't generally make a big difference, but overeating...it's something we should get used to dealing with while we lose. IMO. :)
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    As I was losing, sometimes things would come up, and on those days I would choose to eat at maintenance. Like let's say Thanksgiving, Christmas, or just a day that I was particularly hungry or wanted a treat. There is nothing wrong with eating at maintenance once in a while, or even over, on occasion.
  • Go4Me2
    Go4Me2 Posts: 34 Member
    I only gained half a pound
  • blankiefinder
    blankiefinder Posts: 3,599 Member
    Go4Me2 wrote: »
    I only gained half a pound

    So you ate 1750 calories over maintenance? Or you are retaining water from excess sodium, or you still have food in your system, or it's a normal fluctuation...
  • Go4Me2
    Go4Me2 Posts: 34 Member
    I dunno. I log in on Tuesdays.
  • lifeandleaves
    lifeandleaves Posts: 97 Member
    Don't beat yourself up about it. Life is not only about staying under your calorie goal. Just eat dinner and get back on the wagon tomorrow. Even if you go a bit over your goal, you will.still probably operate at a deficit. When you "complete" your diary it will show.you your projected weight and if you don't go way overboard it will probably still predict weight loss.
  • lemonychild
    lemonychild Posts: 654 Member
    you're not going to gain anything with 300 extra cals. 1 pound = 3500 .. seriously NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL
  • lemonychild
    lemonychild Posts: 654 Member
    not the mention that 1500 at 100 lbs to lose is TOO LOW
  • burdett124
    burdett124 Posts: 13 Member
    Go4Me2 wrote: »
    I had a big lunch and I only have like 64 calories left for tonight. I'm not hungry right now but may be later on and I really don't want to go over but....

    You can just go over your limit for the day and make sure to burn it off. When I'm losing weight I typically go to my calorie limit or just right under it, and make sure to burn around 200 calories on the treadmill. This way I'm eating enough not to kick my body into starvation mode but I'm still under my limit.
  • KT_3009
    KT_3009 Posts: 1,042 Member
    Everyone on here will go over there recommended deficit calories at least once. It will teach you how to pre-plan meals or just eat healthier or smaller portions. Don't stress about one day where you didn't even go over by much! Work on the tomorrow's and just add in some exercise through the week! Best of luck :)
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