What is the aim?

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tracey19uk3470
tracey19uk3470 Posts: 7 Member
in Getting Started
What is the aim of the set calories per day? Is it to not exceed it? To be under or be exact?

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  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    To consistently hit it.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    To come close. I generally only eat back half my exercise calories, so my diary shows me consistently as a few hundred under, but I shoot for 'pre-exercise target plus 50%' and don't sweat if I'm 100 calories over or under.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
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    I attempt to hit protein and fat goals or higher, carbs land where they may. As for the calorie goals, try to get as close as possible, if I'm over a bit (or a lot) one day, be slightly under the others, so that the weekly total is as close as possible. Exercise: eat about 75% of those calories to ensure the exercise is fueled properly. Do NOT get into a blame and shame then give up cycle for days where it's over. Just keep on keeping on. It's a long game, not a quick one.
  • Tblackdogs
    Tblackdogs Posts: 324 Member
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    Marilyn0924 wrote: »
    aik633 wrote: »
    To not go over except very rarely. I try to stay a couple hundred under per day.

    No.
    The whole point of plugging in your info into MFP, is that it calculates a deficit based on what you want to lose weekly. Undereating means you're eating less than you should, and in many cases, is an unhealthy level that can cause multiple health issues in the long run.

    You should be aiming for the number MFP has given you.

    Well sometimes. I told MFP that I wanted to lose .5 a pound per week. When I eat a couple hundred calories under goal, I'm on pace to lose 1 pound a week. That's still a safe (though less conservative) plan. Also, if I eat a couple of hundred less than goal, then I could go over by a few hundred a couple of other days. I usually don't do that, but I'm still eating a healthy number of calories a day.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    Tblackdogs wrote: »
    Marilyn0924 wrote: »
    aik633 wrote: »
    To not go over except very rarely. I try to stay a couple hundred under per day.

    No.
    The whole point of plugging in your info into MFP, is that it calculates a deficit based on what you want to lose weekly. Undereating means you're eating less than you should, and in many cases, is an unhealthy level that can cause multiple health issues in the long run.

    You should be aiming for the number MFP has given you.

    Well sometimes. I told MFP that I wanted to lose .5 a pound per week. When I eat a couple hundred calories under goal, I'm on pace to lose 1 pound a week. That's still a safe (though less conservative) plan. Also, if I eat a couple of hundred less than goal, then I could go over by a few hundred a couple of other days. I usually don't do that, but I'm still eating a healthy number of calories a day.

    True. But the vast majority of people choose an aggressive goal. And very few newbies choose 0.5 lb per week.

    OP, the goal is to hit it. Realistically, you want it to average out during the week - some days a little over, some days a little under. And the more aggressive your goal, the more important it is NOT to undershoot too much.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    What is a goal?

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