How close to your calorie allowance do you get

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  • caradack1985
    caradack1985 Posts: 254 Member
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    I used to be a couple of hundred under, these days I eat closer to my allowance and sometimes over. I keep a log each week of the extra deficit so I know if I can go over on certain days
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
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    Like @Francl27 , I work off the weekly average.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,982 Member
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    abungay wrote: »
    I like to me under, mfp says I should eat 1200 a day and I try for about 1000, in case I do need a snack in the night I have room for it. But more times than not I actually go over, but I try really hard not to eat my exercise calories.

    This is not healthy. You should eat back a portion of your exercise calories. This is especially important if you are set at 1200. Chronic under eating is not good for you in the long run.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    My calorie goal is set to attempt to lose 0.5 lb per week. That was just a psychological trick to help me avoid the agony of going over an aggressive 2 lb per week goal. In prior months I was trying and succeeding at losing 2 lb per week by often netting daily -1000 calories to my goal. This week I've decided to increase my daily intake to the 1600-1700 range and that should put me netting often -900 calories to my goal. I'm beginning my glide path to maintenance with this.
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,982 Member
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    I try to stay within about 50 cals of my goal. Sometimes during the week I will stay 100-150 under if I know there are plans for the weekend that I want to save calories for.
  • frawley23
    frawley23 Posts: 31 Member
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    I give myself 20% leeway each day so I can be up to 360 calories over or under. It evens out over the week and as long as I'm within 450 calories (one day's deficit) of my overall week's calories I'm happy.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
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    I just thought I'd add to my post. This week i've been sick, just some make me do all the sleeping bug. When I'm ill I'm a lot less stringent and I'm currently sitting at about half my usual 500 calories per day deficit, it may be that by the end of the week there's no deficit at all (visiting a friend at the seaside this weekend, fish and chips will be happening!). And that's okay too. I'll get where I'm going eventually, the odd week here and there to live life a little is totally fine to me and of course fuelling the body when it's trying to fend off a virus is more important than losing 1lb.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    I usually hit it pretty close. I like to go over if it is ice cream and I like to go under if it is brussels sprouts.
  • aloranger7708
    aloranger7708 Posts: 422 Member
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    I never go over unless I'm having a treat day. Or on days where I go over I typically try to eat that much less the next day. Every day I aim to be under, though, and usually am by 5-50 calories.
  • heatherlcarey426
    heatherlcarey426 Posts: 28 Member
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    I am under throughout the week by around 200 and then over at the wkend by around 200-300. It balances out, just do my weigh on Fridays rather than Mondays!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I'm all over the place with my set calories, but i always leave a few hundred calories in the green because i don't eat 100% of my exercise calories back.
  • sarahthes
    sarahthes Posts: 3,252 Member
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    Sometimes I'm over, sometimes I'm under--by as much as 400-500 calories in either direction. My target is 1650 (net). I'm generally pretty close to my weekly goal, although slightly over.

    Actually, that might be why my loss has slowed lately... The upswings have gotten higher but the downswings haven't gotten correspondingly lower...
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited August 2016
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    My target calories are just over 1600/day, and I can't eat less than 1500/day without feeling miserable (unless I'm sick). So, I'm usually somewhere between 100 under and 200 over (which is still a 300 cal deficit) if I don't log any exercise. On special occasions, I'll eat close to maintenance (i.e. 500 cals "over") If I log exercise, I'm usually well under because I'll only eat some of it back. Yet I've been losing over a pound a week (7.5 pounds in just under a month) so I suspect I'm more active than the "lightly active" setting I chose. I don't log walking.
  • jennypapage
    jennypapage Posts: 489 Member
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    i try to be 200-150 under. i have noticed than when i reach the exact amount, or go a bit over even for one day, i don't lose weight or lose very little.these 200 i leave untouched make sure to take care of any mistakes on the food weighing part.
  • Sirick86
    Sirick86 Posts: 23 Member
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    Mine is 1500. I usually get around 1200-1600. Never over 1700 unless I go out and drink haha. Which is maybe once or twice a month.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    vesh17 wrote: »
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    In the beginning I would often be at my goal or about 100 calories over my goal and then add exercise. I did okay.
    Now I'm closer to a healthy weight and my calorie goal is 1200. I don't really want to eat below 1200. I can't exercise as much right now so I stick closer to that... so I try to get 1200 or just 50 over or under.

    I can't imagine eating 1200 calories per day...I'd be dying lol. You must be small.

    I know its size, sex, etc specific, but when I hear 1200 I'm just shocked. I eat 2200 and I feel ok, but below 2000 I'd be a mess.ha

    Yes I get by on less food and am not dying. It is not always easy to have a lower calorie goal. It takes some planning. It would be easy to eat much more- and that is how I gained weight. I am a 5'4" 150 lb sedentary 42 year old woman. If you were also you wouldn't need to eat as much. I try to look at the positive side like how much less I spend on food.
    I'm shocked sometimes when people complain they can't eat 1200 calories or people who say they get to eat more than 2000 calories but go over their goal.
  • FLBeachluvr
    FLBeachluvr Posts: 110 Member
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    Honestly most days I am under except on the weekends. On the weekends I do exercise more to make up for the extra calories. I'm losing about 1 lb. per week.
  • lmmilbert
    lmmilbert Posts: 15 Member
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    Lounmoun wrote: »
    vesh17 wrote: »
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    In the beginning I would often be at my goal or about 100 calories over my goal and then add exercise. I did okay.
    Now I'm closer to a healthy weight and my calorie goal is 1200. I don't really want to eat below 1200. I can't exercise as much right now so I stick closer to that... so I try to get 1200 or just 50 over or under.

    I can't imagine eating 1200 calories per day...I'd be dying lol. You must be small.

    I know its size, sex, etc specific, but when I hear 1200 I'm just shocked. I eat 2200 and I feel ok, but below 2000 I'd be a mess.ha

    Yes I get by on less food and am not dying. It is not always easy to have a lower calorie goal. It takes some planning. It would be easy to eat much more- and that is how I gained weight. I am a 5'4" 150 lb sedentary 42 year old woman. If you were also you wouldn't need to eat as much. I try to look at the positive side like how much less I spend on food.
    I'm shocked sometimes when people complain they can't eat 1200 calories or people who say they get to eat more than 2000 calories but go over their goal.

    I'm also 5'4 and 43 years old. I started out at 150 and have lost 6 pounds since Aug 1. However, my lowest intake is 1400 calories. On the days I work out (usually 4-5 days) I eat back all my exercise calories and have still managed to lose. Have you lost any weight with eating so little?
  • nickisa28
    nickisa28 Posts: 116 Member
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    Work out days I normally end up being 200-100 under exept on cheat days...I always workout on cheat days so I do feel as bad but eat all my calories back and may go over by about 20 at the most. Non workout days tend to see me eat all my allowance. The only days I've gone over by more than 50 was at celebrations. My sister in laws birthday-117 over and a barbecue at mine-127 over. They were non workout days though so if I'd just done a quick 20 minutes I would have been fine *mentally kicks myself*