Do you actually hold yourself to your caloric goal, or ...

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distinctlybeautiful
distinctlybeautiful Posts: 1,041 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
... do you just consider it a maximum that you try not to exceed?

I'm not looking for advice! I'm just super curious because based on my newsfeed it seems like people are super excited about not reaching their goals. But the deficit should already be factored into the goal...
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  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,121 Member
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    My maximum calories include the calories MFP gives me for existing + my exercise calories.

    I aim to be relatively close to, but not over, my maximum calories.
  • CoffeeNCardio
    CoffeeNCardio Posts: 1,847 Member
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    I eat what mfp gives me, and what my fitbit adds to that. Some people find that eating under the mfp calorie goal is the only way they lose weight. It's probably not that they aren't set to the right goal, and more likely that they are logging inaccurately so they need the buffer of not meeting that number, but as long as they are maintaining weight loss and not feeling deprived, good on them. I'm excited when I'm under goal, and upset when I'm over. I try not to concern myself much with the in between scenarios.
  • paulandrachelk
    paulandrachelk Posts: 280 Member
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    Yes
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    I eat every delicious calorie I can, and then some.
  • kissedbythesunshine
    kissedbythesunshine Posts: 416 Member
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    I eat every one of my allowed calories lol.
  • QueenofHearts023
    QueenofHearts023 Posts: 421 Member
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    I noticed that I tend to go by my appetite. My goal is 1370, and I exercise daily on top of that so about 1670 total that I should eat. If I'm hungry enough I eat all of them. When I'm not that hungry I just eat the minimum 1200.
  • afatpersonwholikesfood
    afatpersonwholikesfood Posts: 577 Member
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    I consider my estimated maintenance to be my absolute maximum. I eat more on days that I need to eat more. I'm generally under my goal (MFP + Fitbit) by quite a bit, though. It's not that I think I can only lose weight on less; I know my TDEE must not be too far from what Fitbit calculates. I just eat what I need to eat to feel satisfied that day. I have days where there are a lot of fruits and veggies creating volume, and I'm not going to eat a few tbsp of peanut butter for no reason other than "YOU MUST EAT YOUR GOAL OR ELSE." I know when I don't eat enough. Your body likes to let you know!
  • srecupid
    srecupid Posts: 660 Member
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    I aim for close but not over. That being said if I have 119 left and want something at 120 I'm eating it
  • mcg899
    mcg899 Posts: 17 Member
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    I do not pay attention to what myfitnesspal has set for me. I go on macronutientcalculator.com enter my weight, height and goals and it lets me know how many calories I should be taking in and how much protein carbs and fats. I am always more focused on staying within my caloric goal but hitting my macronutrients (aka carbs fats and protein) :)
  • erinc5
    erinc5 Posts: 329 Member
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    I am set up to lose 1 lb per week, which is 1400 per day sedentary for me. Lately I have been under my calorie goal by 300 calories or so per day once I add in Fitbit calories, and actually eating around 1300 or so. I am only 10 lbs away from my first goal of "normal" BMI and am anxious to get there, so I like being under. Once I reach normal BMI in 10 lbs I will probably set my goal to .5 lbs per week and eat all my calories.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    People seem to really hate those red numbers! And there's a lot of back patting when someone closes with calories left. I actually think it's a bit of a flaw and encourages under-eating.

    Personally, I eat every last morsel allowed and generally a little bit more. Weekly average is usually anything from spot on to 50 calories per day over.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    are you kidding, i eat all my calories.

    id eat all yours too, if i could.

    LOLOLOL
  • oolou
    oolou Posts: 765 Member
    edited January 2016
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    I aim for close to the goal and if I am under by a couple hundred, it tends to get banked and put forward/back to another day when I go/went over my goal. As long as it all balances out in the end, I'm happy.

    The number turning red is discouraging, and may be it would be better if there was an amber zone for the first 50 cals over and under, with red also being used if someone goes far under too?
  • mrtastybutt
    mrtastybutt Posts: 87 Member
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    I try to reach my goal as close as possible. If I go over a bit it doesn't phase me because I know that overall I'll still be in a deficit.
  • makaryan11
    makaryan11 Posts: 40 Member
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    I go over by 15-60 almost every day, it doesn't bother me c since I know I could eat more but I didn't, still hungry some days, as long as I am honest with myself and been losing 1.5 lb every week
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
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    oolou wrote: »
    I aim for close to the goal and if I am under by a couple hundred, it tends to get banked and put forward/back to another day when I go/went over my goal. As long as it all balances out in the end, I'm happy.

    The number turning red is discouraging, and may be it would be better if there was an amber zone for the first 50 cals over and under, with red also being used if someone goes far under too?

    That's not a bad idea (the color thing).

    I try to be 100-200 below my goal (which includes fitbit adjustments) and then I eat those extras on Saturdays. So, I eat to my goal as a weekly average. I don't have a very active feed; especially since the whole annoying "like" thing was implemented. Despite the fact that has been around for a while now, it still annoys me. It's actually made me far, far less active on my feed. I almost never look at it. But I digress.

    I do see people in the forums post about always trying to be under their goal, and it seems to be like they are excited about it (or desperate because they "always" eat under their goal and aren't losing weight - usually a logging issue). I think a lot of people don't really understand how their goal relates to their deficit and maintenance calories.
  • cbelc2
    cbelc2 Posts: 762 Member
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    I try hard not to use my exercise calories. I stick with my goal. If I should go over by a few, I work on not stressing over it.
  • kettiecat
    kettiecat Posts: 159 Member
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    I eat over my base goal of 1200 but I don't always eat my exercise calories back, mostly because I'm not hungry and don't trust those are the actual calories burned.
  • Azurite27
    Azurite27 Posts: 554 Member
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    I try to be just under my goal unless I'm saving a couple calories for a special occasion. If I'm just not hungry one day I'll make up for it by overeating another day. I think most people just don't understand how to lose healthy. I was one of these at first but learned from my mistakes. If I see this on my friends feeds I try to correct their misunderstanding and if they continue to eat at an unhealthy level I unfortunately usually have to remove them as I can't support that behavior.
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
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    cbelc2 wrote: »
    I try hard not to use my exercise calories. I stick with my goal. If I should go over by a few, I work on not stressing over it.

    But, your goal includes those calories. So, you're eating under your MFP goal.

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