When does the calories in and calories start and end ?

Options
webbiepost
webbiepost Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I always hear about calories in and calories out . But when does the 1200 calories a day officially start and end ? Is it from the time you wake up to when you sleep ? Or is it a 24 hour period ?

Replies

  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,789 Member
    edited November 2016
    Options
    Your calorie target on MFP is for a 24-hour period. Basically, you can't eat all those calories at 8AM (or whenever) and have a new set to eat again at 11AM (or whenever). When that 24-hour period begins and ends is up to you. People who work nights probably start theirs in the evening and end sometime the next morning; others who do intermittent fasting might start at 1PM and end at 9PM; still others start in the morning when they wake up and end at bedtime.

    You could also look at weekly or monthly calorie targets if you wanted to -- some people do that so they can balance days of heavier eating with days of lighter intake. The point is to generate a deficit over time, because your body gains or loses weight over time, rather than in any single day.
  • Karb_Kween
    Karb_Kween Posts: 2,681 Member
    Options
    I start by waking up and go from there
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,087 Member
    Options
    People in the past who did not tell time ( nor have Internet logging apps ;) ) managed to have a healthy weight - obviously their calorie Intake over time matched their calorie output.

    Logging and calorie counting are tools, means to an end - as long as you create a calorie deficit, however you count or record it, it will work.
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    Options
    Given that I don't take ambien any more so am not up making myself scrambled eggs while asleep, I just start tracking when I wake up and close the diary before I go to sleep.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,195 Member
    Options
    webbiepost wrote: »
    I always hear about calories in and calories out . But when does the 1200 calories a day officially start and end ? Is it from the time you wake up to when you sleep ? Or is it a 24 hour period ?

    24/7

    Physics doesn't stop when you sleep.

    That said, I track from when I wake up in the morning.
  • JinjoJoey
    JinjoJoey Posts: 106 Member
    Options
    I stay within my calories whenever I'm awake, regardless of how late I stay up or early I rise. At the end of the week, I'm either under, over or flat. My body doesn't care when I got those calories.
  • Wynterbourne
    Wynterbourne Posts: 2,222 Member
    Options
    I average my calories on a weekly basis. Gives me more wiggle room for the weekends that I happen to go out with friends. Your body doesn't watch the clock.
  • delicaterealms
    delicaterealms Posts: 27 Member
    Options
    i have a 12-hour eating window and fast for another 12 hours to equal 24 hours.
    6 am-6 pm (sometimes i'll finish at 10 pm)
    i've tried weekly calories but it's too much of a stretch for me.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
    Options
    For the purposes of MFP tracking, each day starts at midnight and ends the following midnight.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
    Options
    Just to blow your mind more: I have 10,500 calories a week. When and how I eat them during that week completely depends, day to day.
  • jennybearlv
    jennybearlv Posts: 1,519 Member
    Options
    These responses have been interesting. I think they show the best method is the one that works with your habits and lifestyle. I use a 24-hour period from 6 PM, when I eat dinner, to 6 PM the next day. Dinner is my largest meal of the day so starting then helps me plan better.

Categories