Thoughts on deducting calories from the next day when going over daily limit?

Geocitiesuser
Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I think it should technically be okay, i went, unfortunately, 1000 cals over yesterday, so im basically fasting today (only going to eat 500ish cals) because i plan on removing those cals from todays limit. I don't know if it's mentally all that healthy, but I figure it will all balance out. How do you handle it when you have a calorie boo boo?

Replies

  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    edited March 2017
    Depends on the overage. If it's 1000 kcals then just forget it or reduce by 100 kcals over the next 10 days. This amounts less than one third of a pound of fat worst case. Only you can decide if this is worth it or not.

    What counts is the maintenance of a daily deficit. This is what pays off in the long run.

    What is more important is why you went over by 1000 kcals. Was this a special event? Was this due to emotional eating? Were you hungry after an intense workout? Ask yourself why, then ask why to that question until you get to the heart of the issue.
  • buffinlovin
    buffinlovin Posts: 100 Member
    I just log it and move on to the next day. I figure I'm not going to be perfect 100% of the time, so I aim to be perfect 95% of the time and give myself that 5% flexibility so I don't go insane with trying to stay on top of everything.
  • Geocitiesuser
    Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
    Thanks for the feedback all!
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    Its a day and you are either over or under. Your overall weight gain or loss will be the judge.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    If you are already eating at a deficit then you will eventually make them up anyway. When on maintenance that isn't quite true, but even then you will eventually reach the point where you cross out of your maintenance range and you start eating at a deficit again. It seems to me that it is better to just move on than to starve yourself to catch up.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    Most times I go over badly, I just don't want to eat the next day. Now, there is a correlation between going over one day and being a bit hungover the next for me (imagine that) so that also plays into not wanting to eat.

    Life happens. I might look at the week to see how bad it is but I just move on. Some times I can't close the following days diary as I'm under the minimum for that day.
  • jennypapage
    jennypapage Posts: 489 Member
    if it's a couple of hundred calories that i went over, then i take them off from the next day's goal. if it was more than 200, i would divide it in 2-3 days.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,052 Member
    Psychologically, I think it's an OK strategy to plan ahead for a special occasion by eating a little under goal for a few days beforehand, or fitting in an extra workout, or eating a bit lightly on other meals the day of a special event. Then the mini-splurge becomes a reward for working toward one's goal.

    Making up calories after an event? That seems more like punishment for eating, something we need to do, and seems a little iffy to me. Yeah, if one's less hungry the next day, it's fine to respond to that. But it's pretty easy to start setting oneself up for binge/restrict cycles by overeating, then undereating to compensate, then being ravenous and overeating again . . . .

    If you're losing a pound a week (500 calorie daily deficit), going over goal by 1000 calories is wiping out today's deficit and tomorrow's . . . a whole whopping 2 day delay in reaching ultimate goal weight. Not a big deal, as long as it's not a frequent thing. Ignore it & go on.
  • TheCupcakeCounter
    TheCupcakeCounter Posts: 606 Member
    I would spread the extra 1000 over a few days not just one. Just switch over to weekly tracking for the time being and let it even out that way.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    I wouldn't do anything to make up for it. Let's say, for example, you're trying to lose 1 lb per week, using MFP's recommendations. That means you're at a 500 Cal/day (3500 Cal/week) deficit. You meet your Cal goal every day but one, where you go over by 1000 Cals. That one day, assuming a 500 proposed daily deficit, only puts you over maintenance by 500 Cals. As such, instead of a 3500 Cal weekly deficit, you're at a 2500 Cal deficit for that week. As such, you can still expect to lose about 0.7 lb.

    If you're trying to lose 1/2 lb per week, you'll end up at a 750 Cal deficit for that week, so you could still expect to lose about 0.2 lb.

    In both cases, you can expect to lose weight - just not quite as much as you wanted.
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
    I use a daily average from the iPhone app. There are days where I want or need more than my 'allowance' and days where I'm less hungry. It's quite a common thing to do. I wouldn't try and reduce calories as drastically as you are suggesting in just one day.
  • lilawolf
    lilawolf Posts: 1,690 Member
    I just look at the weekly average. Some days I net ~1000 calories, others ~2500, but at the end of the week, I hit my goal. I try to always be on savings rather than credit though.
  • sarochka85
    sarochka85 Posts: 103 Member
    I always carry any extra over to the next day. I might be in the minority. I'm trying to cut from BMI 23 to BMI 21, though, so there's not too much room for error.
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 989 Member
    Every few days I check my weekly average. My aim is for that to be pretty much on target and, if it is, I'm happy. I eat out quite a bit so some days will be unavoidably higher than when I'm cooking for myself. I don't punish myself.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    If it were 100 calories or so, that would be fine, but 1000? No. Just move on and learn from what happened.
  • SarahxApple
    SarahxApple Posts: 166 Member
    Fasting the next day isn't a good idea (if you are not usually someone who practices fasting or IF). You could start treating your calorie goals as a weekly thing, if it helps? As others have said why did you go over? Me for instance I did a similar thing this week Weds night me and my bf ordered pizza, I had fizzy pop and chocolate too, I was over by 655 calories. So Thurs I made sure to keep under my calories and I went for a long run.

    IMO: Binge eating 1000 calories over = sign something isn't right in your tracking/eating habits
    An evening out/event/planned dinner that's over/wine or beer out = life
  • jelleigh
    jelleigh Posts: 743 Member
    I do the same thing you are doing. If I have a day where I go a little overboard, I'd rather have one really strict say instead of 4 moderately low days. Since i was doing 5:2 for awhile (which includes two 500 cal days) it's really easy for me to do a 500 cal day. But If you are going to feel really deprived and it makes you binge or something, then maybe the spread it out suggestion is better for you.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Psychologically, I think it's an OK strategy to plan ahead for a special occasion by eating a little under goal for a few days beforehand, or fitting in an extra workout, or eating a bit lightly on other meals the day of a special event. Then the mini-splurge becomes a reward for working toward one's goal.

    Making up calories after an event? That seems more like punishment for eating, something we need to do, and seems a little iffy to me. Yeah, if one's less hungry the next day, it's fine to respond to that. But it's pretty easy to start setting oneself up for binge/restrict cycles by overeating, then undereating to compensate, then being ravenous and overeating again . . . .

    If you're losing a pound a week (500 calorie daily deficit), going over goal by 1000 calories is wiping out today's deficit and tomorrow's . . . a whole whopping 2 day delay in reaching ultimate goal weight. Not a big deal, as long as it's not a frequent thing. Ignore it & go on.

    I was going to respond but this perfectly encompasses what I was going to say, so I will just quote for emphasis.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,551 Member
    In the grand scheme of things, as long as you're under for the week, you should be good.

    99% of the time, I stay under for the day on the days when I want to be in a deficit, but occasionally I'll go over one day and stay under the next. It usually has to do with the amount of exercise I'm doing.

    For example, this past week, I went over by about 300 calories on Tuesday. I also exercised lightly. But Wednesday I did quite a bit of exercise and was able to include Tuesday's 300 calories into Wednesday's total. All good. :)
  • JustDoIt987
    JustDoIt987 Posts: 120 Member
    I do it quite often especially after weekends and its quite easy as I am not that hungry the day after overeating anyway.
  • kpkitten
    kpkitten Posts: 164 Member
    I try to plan for any splurges, but if something came up unexpectedly (my family have a habit of changing evening meal plans with little warning) I'd reduce my calories over the next day or two to make up for it. But I can't see myself unexpectedly eating 1000 calories over, because I plan well enough that I wouldn't make choices to eat that much more than I need unless I'd already "compensated" by eating less in the days running up to it.
    As others have said, look at why you ate this much over. Can you plan better? Treat yourself occasionally so you don't get the urge to binge?
    If it makes you feel better, eat 100-200 calories less than your allotment over the next few days, but don't starve yourself and don't try to cut out all 1000 calories in one day.

    If you struggle to stick to your limit or "bank" calories even when you know in advance that you've got a "binge-risk" event (sorry, couldn't think of a better way to phrase that - a holiday, birthday, wedding etc.) then it might be better just to plan to eat at maintenance for those days. I'm going to eat at maintenance over the next 2 weeks, because it's Easter AND my sister's birthday. I'll probably be a little bit under most days so that the big event days themselves I don't mind if I'm a bit (or even a lot) over.
  • heiliskrimsli
    heiliskrimsli Posts: 735 Member
    If I have a huge day like that I usually take 200 off for five days and make up for it, unless it's one of those things where I actually don't feel hungry because of how much I ate. Sometimes I do this in advance because I'm planning for a big day.

    People do fast for 24 hours for all kind of reasons, religious and otherwise, so I don't see it as a huge problem if I do so occasionally. Personally the times I have done it it hasn't been a conscious battle against being hungry. If it was, I'd have eaten something.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    I would not eat only 500 calories to make up for 1 day over unless you truly are not hungry at all or feel sick.
    You don't have to think of it as 1000 calories over.
    First I would figure out what my maintenance calories are.
    Daily goal + 250 for .5 lb a week
    Daily goal + 500 for 1 lb
    Daily goal +750 for 1.5 lb
    Daily goal +1000 for 2 lb

    So if your goal is 1500+ 500 calories then your maintenance is 2000. You went 500 over maintenance.
    You might eat at 1200-1400 the next couple of days.
    You could add a little more exercise to your week as well.
    Or you could just log and move on eating normally. 500 extra calories will not doom you if every other day of the week you are eating at your goal.

Categories