48-hour total calorie burn

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favabean1982
favabean1982 Posts: 28 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So, I’m starting to make the shift towards tracking/counting calories weekly as opposed to daily and was curious-yesterday, for example, I had a big meal and today I know I’ll be eating less as I know I won’t be that hungry as the day goes on.

If I use this 48 hours as a test/example, if my calories burned (between my usual workouts and my deficit today) are greater than the calories I consumed, will I be OK in terms of weight maintenance/loss? I know you need to be in a deficit to lose weight, I just wasn’t sure how everyone felt about daily calories as opposed to multiple days or a week. Simply put, since I went over my calorie burn number yesterday (I do use a WHOOP strap), am I in trouble or am I OK if I look at it from a multi-day or week perspective?

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  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,365 Member
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    Your body doesn't track food in 24 hour increments, so you will be fine. Just make sure you are in a deficit for what ever time period you want to track and you will lose weight.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    What do you mean by "OK"? There are lots of people here who track towards a weekly number rather than a daily number. You may see greater day-to-day fluctuations if you're eating more calories some days of the week, but you would still pay attention to your overall trend (just as you would if you were tracking daily).
  • favabean1982
    favabean1982 Posts: 28 Member
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    Thank you-when I say, “OK”, I’m referring to not gaining weight, be it a small or excessive amount :-)
  • spyro88
    spyro88 Posts: 472 Member
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    I don't think it makes much difference as long as you have an overall deficit
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,969 Member
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    spyro88 wrote: »
    I don't think it makes much difference as long as you have an overall deficit

    This.


    fava, don't be too attached to that exact number on the scale, give yourself a range. If you stay in a consistent deficit over TIME you will lose weight in a downward TREND. Day to day fluctuations are just that.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    favabean1982 wrote: »
    Thank you-when I say, “OK”, I’m referring to not gaining weight, be it a small or excessive amount :-)

    Your daily weight is going to depend on a variety of factors, some of which are completely outside your control.

    You WILL have times when you gain a small amount of weight. Nobody has advice that can prevent that because our bodies are complex systems that are influenced by many factors. This is why so many people here advise paying attention to longer term trends and not judging day to day.

    If you have days when you eat more food than other days, it becomes more likely that you will see fluctuations because you're varying the amount of food in your body, carbohydrates, fluid, waste, and sodium more than someone who is consistently eating the same amount each day. This isn't a reason not to vary your calories and focus on a weekly goal. It's more like a reason to focus on longer term trends.

  • favabean1982
    favabean1982 Posts: 28 Member
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    I know-I definitely understand the daily fluctuations in terms of carbs/sodium/fluid/waste as well :-)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    favabean1982 wrote: »
    I know-I definitely understand the daily fluctuations in terms of carbs/sodium/fluid/waste as well :-)

    Then how can you be concerned about gaining a small amount of weight?
  • favabean1982
    favabean1982 Posts: 28 Member
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    I suppose I’m just curious-although I understand those daily fluctuations for all the reasons listed above, I was more so curious about true calorie contributions to true weight gain :-)
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,981 Member
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    favabean1982 wrote: »
    I suppose I’m just curious-although I understand those daily fluctuations for all the reasons listed above, I was more so curious about true calorie contributions to true weight gain :-)

    I obviously don't know you IRL, and I could be way off base, but I have the impression from reading several of your threads that you are inclined to over think these things. It's fine to have intellectual curiosity or be a numbers geek, but the impression I'm getting is of someone wasting a lot of mental and emotional energy in pursuit of perfection or nail things down hard and fast that don't need to be nailed down for practical success. If I'm off base about what's going on with you, I'm sorry. In any case, best wishes.

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