Eating under your calories

thelastnightingale
thelastnightingale Posts: 725 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
If you eat under your calories, do you tend to eat them back the next day, or do you just shrug it off and start the next day with a clean slate?

I've been suffering from sleep issues during lockdown (I have some major personal stresses in my life, so it's not exactly unsurprising) and this means sometimes I don't get enough sleep at night and crash out during the day. If that involves skipping a meal through being asleep, I don't always wake up hungry.

It hasn't happened often enough to warrant concern, but my calorie allowance is on the low side anyway (due to being short and sedentary) so I want to address it before it becomes a thing. I'm torn between the two options:
  1. Catch up with brought forward calories the next day so it averages out over the two days. There might be some strange daily fluctuations, but it will all resolve itself by the end of the week.
  2. Don't catch up with brought forward calories, otherwise my body will get even more confused and expect more calories the next day and that will make sticking to my plan even harder.

Interested in opinions! :)

Replies

  • harper16
    harper16 Posts: 2,564 Member
    I think it would depend on how much under.
  • thelastnightingale
    thelastnightingale Posts: 725 Member
    @harper16 I'm only on 1,200 calories, so for me, accidentally skipping a meal takes me under 1,000 calories.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    In a deficit I usually calorie cycle with low, medium and high days so I end up eating them back. I don't like to underfuel so if I happen to be losing too fast I make sure I fix it.

    As long as your net over the week is reasonable.
  • Hanibanani2020
    Hanibanani2020 Posts: 523 Member
    I was 700-800 cals for five days due to being ill and as soon as I was well enough I ate extra cals for a few days to up my week average. At that low I would definitely.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,168 Member
    thelastnightingale wrote: »
    If you eat under your calories, do you tend to eat them back the next day, or do you just shrug it off and start the next day with a clean slate?

    I've been suffering from sleep issues during lockdown (I have some major personal stresses in my life, so it's not exactly unsurprising) and this means sometimes I don't get enough sleep at night and crash out during the day. If that involves skipping a meal through being asleep, I don't always wake up hungry.

    It hasn't happened often enough to warrant concern, but my calorie allowance is on the low side anyway (due to being short and sedentary) so I want to address it before it becomes a thing. I'm torn between the two options:
    1. Catch up with brought forward calories the next day so it averages out over the two days. There might be some strange daily fluctuations, but it will all resolve itself by the end of the week.
    2. Don't catch up with brought forward calories, otherwise my body will get even more confused and expect more calories the next day and that will make sticking to my plan even harder.

    Interested in opinions! :)

    It's a bad plan to eat under one's calorie goal frequently, especially with a very low goal like 1200 in the first place. This is a special case of something I think should be a general rule: That it's a bad plan to lose weight extremely fast, if one has a meaningful amount of weight to lose, because sustainability is important.

    Occasionally (rare), it's not a big deal to eat under goal calories.

    Other than that, either eating them the next day, or later in the week, or never, are all reasonable options.

    There is no general physiological thing that your "body will get even more confused and expect more calories the next day and that will make sticking to (your) plan even harder". Physiologically, bodies don't get confused by that sort of thing (sometimes minds do), so there's no science behind that worry.

    If you find that eating more calories on one day spikes your appetite in some way, then maybe there's an issue, but it's a issue with personal habits and preferences. You have the power to decide what to do about it.

    Best wishes!
  • thelastnightingale
    thelastnightingale Posts: 725 Member
    Thanks for all the comments - appreciate them all. :)

    I think I'm going to keep some favourite snacks on hand that I can eat to force me up to 1,200 calories for when I'm having a bad sleep day and too groggy to cook, and if I really can't face it, I'll aim to eat back the calories over the next few days. @glassyo's comment of 'let no calorie go to waste' really tickled me, and I guess I agree with that sentiment after all. Leave no calorie behind!

    @AnnPT77 is right of course - it's a mind thing rather than a physical thing - I'm just aware that I have had a tendency to binge eat in the past and I worry about putting myself in a situation where I feel more inclined to revert to old unhealthy habits. In the past, I could have eaten 2,500 calories on one day (which is way too much for my height, even if maintaining) and I've worked really hard to regulate my appetite so I feel satisfied at a lower allowance.

    It seems the easiest option is to try harder to eat up to my allowance on the day itself as much as I can (oh, I know - first world problems), so even if I have to catch up the next day, it isn't a huge increase, and so doesn't spike my appetite. I'm happy 1,200 calories is the right number for me, and I will make more of an effort to make sure it is really 1,200 calories on average and doesn't dip below this number.

    I'm debating and learning all the time on this journey!
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 989 Member
    I was also on 1200 a day (I'm short - now, in maintenance, my cals are 1340) and although I'd average 1200, there were definitely odd days when I was under by enough that MFP wouldn't let me close my diary and days when I was well and truly over because I'd been with family or out with friends. If I was very under, I'd eat some nuts or a babybel (or two) to get myself over the threshold. They are something I always have at home.

    These weren't daily or even weekly occurrences though, so I didn't let either worry me. However, what I found very helpful was the weekly view page on the app, where you can see your average for the week. Even now, I use that to check that I'm on track. If I was under 1200, I'd have a little bit more over the next few days, to get my average back to 1200.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,278 Member
    Yes the view weekly calories is a very handy thing.

    I would just aim to have my calories at an average of 1200. Some days lower, some higher is fine within that.

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