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Calories left over

stableserenityblog
stableserenityblog Posts: 1 Member
edited November 2024 in Getting Started
I am new to this community and I was wondering if the leftover calories are calories that go towards weight loss at the end of each week? An example is if I have 500 cal leftover will I lose one on a week? I am on a 1200 calorie diet. Eating Whole Foods.

Replies

  • gully098
    gully098 Posts: 8 Member
    edited January 2018
    Hi, If I understand what you are asking, then sadly, no...you have to eat them or loose them. You can't bank them. If you need extra calories, you will need to exercise to add to the daily total.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    Try to get as close to your goal as you can. 1200 is the bare minimum calories set for a sedentary woman to get enough vital nutrition into their diet while losing weight. A day too low here and there isn't a big deal, but eating less than that often can lead to nutrition deficiencies and things like brittle nails or hair loss. You don't want to go too low and end up with an unhealthy result.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    stableserenityblog wrote: »
    I am new to this community and I was wondering if the leftover calories are calories that go towards weight loss at the end of each week? An example is if I have 500 cal leftover will I lose one on a week? I am on a 1200 calorie diet. Eating Whole Foods.

    Your calorie target of 1200 is your deficit...it isn't maintenance...the calculator calculated your calorie target based on what you said you wanted to lose and your activity level...that's what these calculators do. At 1200 calories, you already have a deficit that likely exceeds 500 calories from maintenance...you shouldn't be leaving calories on the table, particularly with what is already a very low calorie intake.

    Also, the word "goal" is right there next to your calorie target...
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    gully098 wrote: »
    Hi, Sadly, no...you have to eat them or loose them. You can't bank them. If you need extra calories, you will need to exercise to add to the daily total.

    Banking calories is fine. There's no setup in the MFP system for it, but a lot of us look at the weekly calorie goal instead of the daily calorie goal. As long as you eat them sometime it all evens out over time.
  • gully098
    gully098 Posts: 8 Member
    diannethegeek wrote: »
    gully098 wrote: »
    Hi, Sadly, no...you have to eat them or loose them. You can't bank them. If you need extra calories, you will need to exercise to add to the daily total.

    Banking calories is fine. There's no setup in the MFP system for it, but a lot of us look at the weekly calorie goal instead of the daily calorie goal. As long as you eat them sometime it all evens out over time.

    Interesting...I wasn't aware we could do that. Thanks for the tip.
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    gully098 wrote: »
    diannethegeek wrote: »
    gully098 wrote: »
    Hi, Sadly, no...you have to eat them or loose them. You can't bank them. If you need extra calories, you will need to exercise to add to the daily total.

    Banking calories is fine. There's no setup in the MFP system for it, but a lot of us look at the weekly calorie goal instead of the daily calorie goal. As long as you eat them sometime it all evens out over time.

    Interesting...I wasn't aware we could do that. Thanks for the tip.

    Your body doesn't "reset" when the clock hits midnight. Balancing calories by the week can make it easier to plan for having a few extra calories for social events, holidays, and such. There is even a graph in the mobile app that will show you your weekly average intake.
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