Calorie Equilibrium

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priyul1000
priyul1000 Posts: 13 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone!

Recently, I decided, just for fun, to calculate my entire months calorie consumption. I did so by first calculating what my total should be (1800cals X 25days = 45000cals) and then adding up my total intake per day from the 1st of November till today. Shockingly, due to it being the holiday season I guess, I had consumed an excess of 7000 calories! (Total = 52000!)

So I thought to myself, if I had started to consume around 250-300 below my caloric requirement (1800) every day for a month, I would be around 7500-9000 calories under range. So this is what I plan on doing to even it out, but my question is, does this make sense and will it work?

So starting from tomorrow till around Christmas time, I will eat around 1400-1500 cals per day (300 below my required) to reach -7000. Will this work?

All answers and responses are greatly appreciated!

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Have you actually gained weight?
  • priyul1000
    priyul1000 Posts: 13 Member
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    jemhh wrote: »
    Have you actually gained weight?

    This is what I am going to check tomorrow morning, as I haven't consulted my scale for about two weeks.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    priyul1000 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    Have you actually gained weight?

    This is what I am going to check tomorrow morning, as I haven't consulted my scale for about two weeks.

    That would be key. Keep in mind that calculators and formulas are estimators in that they give you a starting point for your TDEE but it's not uncommon for them to be off. Wait until you re-weigh to come up with your next calorie goal.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,750 Member
    edited November 2016
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    You're talking about increasing your deficit in order to "make up" for a period when you ate more than you intended. I'm not sure what the point of this would be, except as some kind of penance for a perceived sin, in which case I feel a few Hail Marys or your preferred equivalent would probably work better.

    You cannot start from where you were a month ago. You can only start where you are today. Your deficit should be chosen based on your body weight and health considerations, not on the idea that you've somehow fallen behind where you "should be" and need to catch up.

    As Sufjan Stevens would say, nothing can be changed, the past is still the past, a bridge to nowhere. Or as your average preteen girl would have it:

    The past is in the past. Let it go.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,022 Member
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    priyul1000 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    Have you actually gained weight?

    This is what I am going to check tomorrow morning, as I haven't consulted my scale for about two weeks.

    Actually, you have a great opportunity to figure out your actual TDEE here, since you've done the hard part (adding up nearly a full month's calorie intake). Just add 3500 calories for every pound lost during that period (i.e., since Nov. 1), or subtract 3500 calories for every pound gained, and divide by 24 or 25 (not sure whether you included today's calories -- anyway, however many days you included when totalling calories consumed). That's your TDEE. Use that to set your daily calorie goal.

    I definitely would not try to "even out" a full month of consuming more than you intended by setting an extra deep deficit for the next month.

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