Is this stupid?

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JasmineDiver22
JasmineDiver22 Posts: 148 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I been all over the place with calories.
One day I eat over my calories, then the next day I eat under my calories to make up for the day before so it basically evens out daily. Is this stupid?
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Replies

  • JasmineDiver22
    JasmineDiver22 Posts: 148 Member
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    No no no. I don't binge. I'm usually over like 100-300 cals.
  • JasmineDiver22
    JasmineDiver22 Posts: 148 Member
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    Still less calories I was intaking before I started dieting. I was probably eating 3k+ a day!!
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
    edited September 2017
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    Do you know what your maintenance calories are?

    My point being - my maintenance calories are ~2300. My daily goal is 1860. If I eat over my daily goal by 100-300 calories (like your example), I'm still not over my maintenance calories. No need to eat under the next day. I'll lose slower, but I'm still in deficit.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    edited September 2017
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    In some ways, yes. In some ways, no.

    On the "yes" side... mentality. If you find yourself slipping into a "I screwed up yesterday so now I have to fix it today" approach, that's probably not going to do you any favors in the log run. Beating yourself up today because of what happened yesterday/over the weekend/whenever else can be a slippery slope. This may or may not be the case for you, but it's worth being aware of.

    On the "no" side... it's really just math. If you can be a little more strict on some days in order to have more leeway on others, then go for it. As long as you are in a deficit over time, you should see progress.
  • JasmineDiver22
    JasmineDiver22 Posts: 148 Member
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    my cals are 1510 for me wanting to lose 2 pounds a week. But I think realistically I'm probably only losing .5. It's only been 3 weeks and the scale hasn't moved. Which, yes, because I just started. But frustrating.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
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    JasmineDiver22 wrote: »
    No no no. I don't binge. I'm usually over like 100-300 cals.

    That's really not that much variance day to day. I find it easier to have a goal range and average by week rather than try and hit a strict daily goal. That way I can build in splurge days eating out, too. Just because MFP defaults to a daily goal doesn't mean it's the only way to go.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    If it's an eating pattern that feels easier ans more pleasant to you, then no it's not stupid. It's a perfectly viable strategy. Now, if it's fueled by "lower calorie days as punishment for overeating" type of thinking, then you're treading dangerous grounds and setting yourself up for an unhealthy dieting mentality.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
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    Also, just because the app "lets" you select two pounds a week doesn't mean that's the best option to shoot for. If you're making healthy changes that you can stick to, you're on the right path. Work your way up to a bigger deficit, but don't let yourself think that you're only succeeding if you're losing 2 pounds a week. I spent years gaining this weight - even a month without gaining is an improvement.
  • StarvingDiva
    StarvingDiva Posts: 1,107 Member
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    I tend to shoot for a weekly goal more so, I don't worry on the daily, some days I feel ravenous and want to eat a lot other days not so much so I feel like it all evens out at the end of the week. I never worry about a couple hundred calories.
  • jlhflex
    jlhflex Posts: 107 Member
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    Its not stupid. Thats called "banking calories". It can be useful if done right. You still need to get your nutrients every day. You have to learn to find the balance in it. Its pretty difficult to do bc people think that it means eating less one day and then eating whatever you want on the weekend. Do this multiply your daily calorie goals by seven to establish your maximum weekly calorie intake. As long as your not exceeding that,then you are safe. If you are gaining weight in the form of fat, then you may have to adjust your daily caloric intake by 200, then so on and so on. This is a hard thing to follow properly. Just watch your body and how it responds. Everyone is different.
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,344 Member
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    Nope I do this as well, I knew I was going to go out drinking last week, so the day before I banked a couple hundred calories. Makes the drinking better and guilt free.
  • GemstoneofHeart
    GemstoneofHeart Posts: 865 Member
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    I would say most of my days are like this. It works for me and allows me to still enjoy the foods I love
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    If your calories average out to your goal over the week it is not a problem to eat different amounts each day. If you are really struggling to stick to your calorie goal then you might need to think about if it is best for you.
    Are you going over some days because your goal is too aggressive?
    I see you are going for losing 2 lbs a week. Maybe dial back to 1 lb which would give you 500 more calories per day or choose 1.5 lbs a week and get 250 more a day than you do now. Weight loss is a long term thing so you want a deficit you can sustain consistently.
    If you are not losing after several weeks at what you think is a deficit really look at the accuracy of your logging. Are you logging everything you consume? Use a food scale. Check that the database entries you use are correct. Use the recipe builder for homemade foods.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited September 2017
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    It sounds like you are just doing a variation of calorie cycling. Staying in calorie deficit at the end of the week is what matters.

    If you are stalled out, then I would double/triple check my diary entries/logging efforts, exercise calories eaten back if you are eating some/all back.

    Also weight loss is not linear, there will be weeks when you lose less or nothing and the next week you could do a significant drop, a lot of this can be due to female hormones and the up and and down in calories (lower carbs/sodium one day to higher the next, etc..), how well you are staying hydrated, any added stress to the body from activities/exercise (many things play a role in what you see weight wise on the scale)...

    In the end its the method that works for you and gets you the results according to the rate of loss you should be expecting.
  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
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    What if you reversed the days? Would you eat more tomorrow if undershoot your target today? If you say no, then why not?

    For me, with a target of 1 pound per week, if I overshoot by 300, I just log it and don't sweat the small variations. I'm in control.
  • sheepingly
    sheepingly Posts: 237 Member
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    you over eat becuase you are cutting too much on the other days. Follow what mfp tells you and exercise...eat back some of your exercise calories.

    When you're eating don't do the newbie thing and eat salads only or things that don't have enough volume. Lots of greens and lean meats like turkey/chicken...
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    The scale doesn't lie and it will tell on you if you are eating too many calories. You just have to decide how dedicated you are and how fast you want to reach your goal. And yes the magic pills on TV are so much easier than this.

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