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

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  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
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    distinctlybeautiful wrote: »
    ... 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...
    In 245 days I have only eaten to my goal a handful of times. For me it is a maximum and and I try to leave a few hundred calories to account for things I may have forgotten.
  • daniwilford
    daniwilford Posts: 1,030 Member
    edited January 2016
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    For some goals I try for the green and some red. For example, I try to keep my sodium number green so my goal there is to keep it under the 2300 mg. max. but for my protein, I want that to go red everyday so 90 grams is my min. With calories I use 1200 as a daily min, and my maximum varies with the aim of a weekly deficit. I have my fit bit dashboard daily deficit goal set higher than my mfp deficit goal and that helps me hit the sweet spot for weight loss that is in a range and not at an exact number.
  • starwhisperer6
    starwhisperer6 Posts: 402 Member
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    jeepinshawn wrote: »
    distinctlybeautiful wrote: »
    ... 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...
    In 245 days I have only eaten to my goal a handful of times. For me it is a maximum and and I try to leave a few hundred calories to account for things I may have forgotten.

    This, and because I am at work most of the time I don't use a scale. I figure (and my rate of loss seems to prove it) that those calories can make up for the guestimates I make about my calories.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,022 Member
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    I try to stay under my goal. Although lately I have been thinking that I should be trying harder to reach my goal even if I go over by a few calories. I agree with others though. The red numbers are discouraging. As if you did something bad. And I do eat back about half of my calories burned if I am hungry so that is usually how I stay under my goal.
  • toe1226
    toe1226 Posts: 249 Member
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    VintageFeline wrote: »
    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.


    I agree- the backpatting for eating under is a negative aspect of the system. There has been research/advocacy for fitness trackers and fitbits to have an alert to say "you're overdoing it!" - but then there is a reverse backlash taht this would just motivate people more to get to that point! ohhhh the psychology of it all. Bottom line, I don't like that red stuff but I know it is all arbitrary.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    I eat them all including 100% of my exercise calories. I lost at the rate I wanted to and am maintaining with no problems.
  • ZombieSlayer
    ZombieSlayer Posts: 369 Member
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    +/- 50 cals, I'm happy.
  • melonaulait
    melonaulait Posts: 769 Member
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    Right now my goal is 1500, but I always eat somewhere between 1300-1800. This week is kind of a test week though, next week I may aim for less than a 1800 no exercise max...

    I find I'm the happiest when the 3 of my meals are 400-something calories each. I'll have to work that + snacks into a smaller calorie goal somehow. I'm also walking and doing an exercise program now so I'll have some extra calories here and there to play with, too.
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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    I've said it before and I'll say it again.

    The "winner" is the person who can eat the most delicious food and still meet his/her goals.
  • abatonfan
    abatonfan Posts: 1,120 Member
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    I have my goal set to maintenance, and I manually create my calorie deficit by leaving 100-500 calories left over at the end of the day. I hate those red numbers with a passion, and I don't feel super bad if I have to eat more than what I wanted to (while staying within my maintenance calories) because of treating a low blood sugar.
  • level3tjg
    level3tjg Posts: 21 Member
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    I try to stay under but as close to my goal as possible. If I go over... I hit my bike up until I burn those calories back off.
  • alisfitgoal
    alisfitgoal Posts: 32 Member
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    I try to hit my calorie goal every day (1300), but I don't count exercise calories and don't eat extra for exercise. This means for a sedentary day I am still on track to lose weight, but if I exercise, it's a bonus deficit.
  • missblondi2u
    missblondi2u Posts: 851 Member
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    I've actually been letting myself eat over goal because my rate of loss after 6 months is still higher than expected. I have a 1 lb/week goal, but have consistently lost 1.5 lbs/week, even with eating all my fitbit calories. #notcomplaining
  • sabulaboys4
    sabulaboys4 Posts: 160 Member
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    I see the set calorie goal as something to try not to reach so most days I am under by a considerable sum and am happy with my losses. Some days I go over but not very many and when I go over it is usually considerable ( pizza weakness). I stay under mostly because I'm sure I don't log correctly.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
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    jandw122912 wrote: »
    I try to stay within 50 calories of my goal (up or down). I don't want to leave 150 calories sitting there! But I don't really worry if I have like 23 calories left...

    This is what i do too.
  • brigitukas00
    brigitukas00 Posts: 12 Member
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    I never weigh food , estimate everything , always eat more then mfp suggests and am losing weigh , so far 7.7 pounds in less then 3 weeks :)
  • elaineamj
    elaineamj Posts: 347 Member
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    juggernaut1974 wrote: »
    I've said it before and I'll say it again.

    The "winner" is the person who can eat the most delicious food and still meet his/her goals.

    LOVE it!

    It's been more manageable for me since i started eating back half my exercise calories. I want to get more accurate so I can feel confident in my numbers and eat all I'm allowed to. Right now, my 1200 calories is a little tight - I can pretty much only have 1 snack a day (and not always either). That said, I'm not hungry and eating lots of yummy food, so it's good :)

  • MommyL2015
    MommyL2015 Posts: 1,411 Member
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    It's why I did away with the friend feed thing and keep everything private. I had some friends on there who only would eat 700-800 calories a day and it drove me nuts, meanwhile I had people commenting on me when I would go over by even just 20 or 30 calories, "Oh, tomorrow's a new day!" Like 20 calories is even a thing or that my numbers are exactly accurate to the calorie. If I am within 100 calories one way or the other, it's all good but I do like to eat all of them. I got sick of seeing the cheers for people way under 1000 calories, like what they were doing was great or something.

    I decided after my break at Christmastime it would just be me, myself and I doing my own thing and not worrying about what other people are doing or worrying about them worrying about what I'm doing.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    distinctlybeautiful wrote: »
    ... 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...

    When I logged and was actively trying to lose weight I tried to hit my goals, give or take...because the last time I checked, a goal was something to strive for.

    I think people who try to stay under don't know what they're actually doing and how this tool works...I'm often surprised at the number of people who literally have zero clue how this thing actually works.
  • level3tjg
    level3tjg Posts: 21 Member
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    Yeah... I eat under and have lost 36 lbs in less than 3 months. I guess I don't know how this tool works. Thankfully guys like you are here to tell me.

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