How many cal's do you leave at the end of the day?

VictoryGarden
VictoryGarden Posts: 194 Member
edited November 29 in Health and Weight Loss
So, is there a guideline for how many cal's you leave "unused" at the end of the day? Do you eat right up to your limit, or ????

So for instance, I just reset myself to sedentary (I'm not quite sedentary, and not quite light active, so trying to find my sweet spot). Set at 2 lbs loss/week as I am just getting started (again, sigh). I have an allotment of 1380/day. I try to always get at least 1200. Do I need to find more food to round that out so that it's closer to 1380?

How many do you all usually leave on a typical day?
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Replies

  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    I try to bring it to zero, unless I 'm banking calories.
  • BuffyBourbon
    BuffyBourbon Posts: 126 Member
    I'm far from an expert, but i'll answer! I have a daily allotment of 1490, and I do my best to be within 100 of that every day. If it's bedtime and i'm only at 1300 i'll grab a bite before bed, otherwise i'm likely to wake up in the night and want more than a bite!
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 5,184 Member
    I always try to at least eat my food calorie allotment. If I have exercise calories I usually eat at least 50-75% of those but I will eat them all if I feel really hungry and if I don't quite get 50% of them I don't worry about it, but if I don't eat at least 1200 (my goal is 1300) I will eat a snack at night even if I'm not hungry.
  • dolliesdaughter
    dolliesdaughter Posts: 544 Member
    A big fat goose egg.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    Depends on whether I've met my nutrition goals and how hungry I am. I like to be within 10% for the week.
  • murp4069
    murp4069 Posts: 494 Member
    It depends on the day for me. I try to stay as close as possible to my 1350 MFP goal. If I have extra earned calories from exercise, I'll eat 50% of them them back if I am hungry and won't if I am not hungry. Typically after my dinner and exercise at the end of the night I am not hungry and so long as I am over 1200 I don't get too concerned with eating anything to bring my calories up closer to my goal. I never force myself to eat if I am not hungry, but I never deprive myself if I am hungry, particularly if I have more than enough calories at the end of the day for a snack.
  • mike_acton
    mike_acton Posts: 6 Member
    All of them. And I eat 100% of the extra calories from my Fitbit. If I don't though, I don't sweat it. NBD. Lost 80lb+ doing that, so fine for me. YMMV.
  • AskTracyAnnK28
    AskTracyAnnK28 Posts: 2,817 Member
    I bank about 40-50 a day and have those extra calories on the weekend - or on an evening when I go out.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    edited February 2016
    I follow a weekly goal but at the end of the week my average is within 50 calories of my goal. This includes all exercise calories.
  • CassidyScaglione
    CassidyScaglione Posts: 673 Member
    all of it, obviously, otherwise what's the point of having it set that high? I've finished under a couple of times when i've been feeling ill, but other than that...
  • MamaMc3
    MamaMc3 Posts: 213 Member
    It depends on the day, but I eat as close to my calories as I can. I eat exercise calories if I am hungry, but otherwise I don't. Typically, though, I am hungrier on exercise days.
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
    I guess the answer depend son how accurate you log. For instance I don't log the table spoon of butter I use when cooking eggs in the morning. I try to leave 300 or so calorie son there everyday, Im no longer eating at much of a deficit. The hardest part for me is that I do some pretty good workout in the evening after kiddos have gone ot bed so I end up with 600-800 calories to try and do something with.
  • kirstenb13
    kirstenb13 Posts: 181 Member
    I agree that accurate logging is a big part in deciding how close you should get to that number. I eat usually within 100 cal of my goal including all my fitbit calories but I log very accurately/generously and so I'm still losing weight faster than projected.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    You bet I'm eating my calories, unless I'm really not hungry or it's 50 calories or something and I don't want anything for those calories.
  • Suzanne106
    Suzanne106 Posts: 149 Member
    I eat them all and enjoy every bite :smile:
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    edited February 2016
    Within a hundred - over or under. I'm not OC about this - it works. Exercise, I tend to leave a larger deficit unless I feel I need to feed more for future days.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    I eat every single one of them. I might have a really busy day or two or three for work and have calories left over during the week and I get to bank those on weekend. I never try to approach it in the sense that I will under eat my calories for the day so I can indulge, but it is nice after a long week.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    I do weekly not daily

    But I aim to eat around 1500 over my weekly allowance which is made up of MFP set to sedentary + Fitbit adjustments which incorporate specific workouts measured by HRM and experience

    I do this in order to stay in my maintenance range as ongoing tracking has proved that all the numbers are under estimating for me over time
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    For now I'm not trying to reach my calorie target of 2300 per day. I walk a mile in the morning and get 149 calories added to my food. I get to the end of my dinner and and have 50% of my daily target remaining. Oh, please no.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    None, if I can help it. The deficit is already built in
  • samchez0
    samchez0 Posts: 364 Member
    Some days 0, some days over, some days 300. Depends on what I ate and whether I worked out.
  • Cynsonya
    Cynsonya Posts: 668 Member
    Depends on my "food mood" that day. Somedays I'm not hungry and have no cravings and leave up to 400. Other days I want to eat all the food, lol. On those days I eat every single one plus some of my exercise calories. It all seems to balance out in the end for a 2-3 pound a week weight loss. I have a lot to lose. A whole lot. So I can get away with it.
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
    i always eat all my calories otherwise i wake up hungry.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    All of them.
  • peachyfuzzle
    peachyfuzzle Posts: 1,122 Member
    edited February 2016
    I leave a BUNCH on the table during the weekdays. I have about 2500 to eat each day that I'm not at the gym (well over 3000 on gym weekdays), but try not to go over 2000 Monday - Friday, and will generally try not to go much over 1700.

    I bank them for the weekends, and also have a gym day one weekend day as well so that I don't have to worry too much about logging extraordinarily accurately Saturday - Sunday.

    My log is extremely accurate Monday - Friday, but usually just a rough outline to make sure I'm not going too overboard on the other days. If I hit my mark, I'll be right around the 7000cal deficit for the week overall.
  • BurnWithBarn2015
    BurnWithBarn2015 Posts: 1,026 Member
    As close as i can..why should i underfeed ( deny important nutrition to ) my body on purpose?


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  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    I go by weekly calories, so I typically bank 100 per day, and use them for a calorie heavy day. So, essentially, I leave close to no calories left uneaten by week's end.
  • debsdoingthis
    debsdoingthis Posts: 454 Member
    CassidyScaglione wrote: »
    all of it, obviously, otherwise what's the point of having it set that high? I've finished under a couple of times when i've been feeling ill, but other than that...
    What do you mean by set that high? Depending on starting weight, 1380 could be very low.

  • Bbeliever215
    Bbeliever215 Posts: 234 Member
    Prior to fitbit I would eat most of my exercise calories back, usually leaving about 100-200 left most days. However, with my fitbit adjustments I tend to leave a lot more as I just don't feel hungry by bedtime. There are times when it's over 500 calories left. I am not sure how accurate but hey. Also since I do get lazy with weighing some foods, I figure it makes up for any errors. I have my mfp set to sedentary as well.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    williams969 wrote: »
    I go by weekly calories, so I typically bank 100 per day, and use them for a calorie heavy day. So, essentially, I leave close to no calories left uneaten by week's end.

    This.
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