eating healthy but going over calorie goal.. is this okay?

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  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    okay a calorie is not a calorie
    there are good calories like from lean protein, fruits,veggies nuts ect....
    then there are empty calories like from fats oils, ect...

    Its not as important how much you eat, its more important what you eat, there are foods that actually help you lose weight by actually speeding up your metabolism and curbing your hunger

    please stop...

    yeah all oils have zero benefits, and please what are these magical metabolism boosting foods that would actually have any significant effect on weight loss?
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    I'd say up your calories to 1500, you'll still lose weight, and will give you some more "room" to not be so hungry. Works for me! :)

    Oh and KUDOS to you for eating cleaner - it will make all the difference. Calories matter yes, but the QUALITY of those calories IS very important - though many will try to tell you otherwise.

    are you saying 2 diets of identical macros and cals, that one that was "clean" would lose more weight vs one made up of "unclean" foods?

    yes that is what she is saying not all calories are created equal

    please substantiate your claim then
  • BamaGurl47
    BamaGurl47 Posts: 45
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    i appreciate everyones comments .. it has been helpful..I have been over my calorie intake by 100 calories last few days .. I guess its best i up my calorie intake to 1500 instead so i dont find it a struggle and not feel so guilty ... I think the idea of eating protiens like 1oz of beef jerky is a good idea I will definatly add that to my diet ..
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
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    If you take in more calories than you expend, then no it doesn't matter if they're 'clean' foods or twinkies - you will not lose weight.

    However, since you are ~200lbs and only have a goal of 1200, I'm guessing you told MFP that you wanted to lose two pounds a week and therefore already have a 1000 calorie deficit per day below what it would take to maintain your weight. So if you are "over" goal by 100 calories, you still have a 900 calorie deficit per day and will still lose weight.

    I would change your goal to 1-1.5lbs per week and then meet it.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    If you take in more calories than you expend, then no it doesn't matter if they're 'clean' foods or twinkies - you will not lose weight.

    However, since you are ~200lbs and only have a goal of 1200, I'm guessing you told MFP that you wanted to lose two pounds a week and therefore already have a 1000 calorie deficit per day below what it would take to maintain your weight. So if you are "over" goal by 100 calories, you still have a 900 calorie deficit per day and will still lose weight.

    I would change your goal to 1-1.5lbs per week and then meet it.

    minimum!

    I would think TDEE or maintenance cals would be close to 3000 than 2200.
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
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    If you take in more calories than you expend, then no it doesn't matter if they're 'clean' foods or twinkies - you will not lose weight.

    However, since you are ~200lbs and only have a goal of 1200, I'm guessing you told MFP that you wanted to lose two pounds a week and therefore already have a 1000 calorie deficit per day below what it would take to maintain your weight. So if you are "over" goal by 100 calories, you still have a 900 calorie deficit per day and will still lose weight.

    I would change your goal to 1-1.5lbs per week and then meet it.

    minimum!

    I would think TDEE or maintenance cals would be close to 3000 than 2200.

    I dunno, I used the BMR calculator on this site and unless she's super tall, a 202 lb 44 year old woman comes up with a BMR of about 1600 (another site calculated it at 1640) - so if she's sedentary or lightly active that comes out right around 2000-2200 for maintenance. If she's been yo-yo dieting for a long time she may have slowed her metabolism a tad.

    Either way, setting a smaller goal and increasing calories is a good idea.
  • moxleymama6
    moxleymama6 Posts: 537 Member
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    Workout more to "earn" your snacks!
  • Espressocycle
    Espressocycle Posts: 2,245 Member
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    You will be a fat person with a very healthy diet. You will feel better and probably be healthier, but you won't lose weight.
  • fatty2fabby
    fatty2fabby Posts: 415 Member
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    are you sure you're hungry and not just thirsty?
  • subela
    subela Posts: 76
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    I upped my calories for the same reason to 1450. Instead of losing 1lb of week, I'm losing on average 1.25/wk. Listen to your body, you are doing this for the long haul, so better to eat more and be satisfied and eat good nutritious foods. I think 1200 calories is hard to managed, especially when you are new to this as it is most likely more than half of what you were eating before. I also eat most of my exercise calories.
    I have always been one of those "health food nuts" and ate a very healthy diet, but became more sedentary with age and ate more than my body required, yes, and gained weight. MFP keeps me accountable.
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    As far as 'health' is concerned, yes it's better to be eating healthier foods. But as far as weight loss is concerned, a calorie is a calorie. You could probably change your weightloss goals and let MFP give you a little bit higher calorie goal each day and still lose weight. I'm currently 144 and have mine set to 1 lb per week and MFP has me on the 1200 calorie goal (I normally eat more b/c usually I exercise to earn extra calories). 1200 seems pretty low for someone who's currently at 200 lbs (not that I know a whole lot about it, just saying it seems that way from my current perspective). Plus remember if you are exercising you probably need to eat at least some of those exercise calories back. That's the way MFP is set up anyway. Sometimes I have a hard time trying to eat 'all' of my exercise calories but I make an effort to eat at least half of them.

    Anyway, kudos to you for eating healthier choices. Technically yes you can gain weight eating even healthy foods if you eat too much (calorie-wise) but for you personally at 202 lbs even if you go over your 1200 you are probably still going to be losing weight, as long as it's not 'too' over. Play around with your settings here on MFP like people suggested (maybe changing your weekly weightloss goal a bit) to see if the new calorie goal makes more sense to you, and remember if you exercise you can earn some extra calories on top of your daily goal. For me personally, exercising to earn extras is awesome b/c 1) I'm not going to be snacking *while* I'm exercising 2) I'm usually not hungry for awhile right after exercising so 3) it's actually easier to stay close to my goals if I exercise to earn extras, b/c then I get to eat more but yet there's a small chunk of the day that I'm not craving a snack *right then*. :-)
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
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    If I were the OP I would be confused as hell right now. Yes, you're going to be fat! No, you will still lose. You should probably eat more anyway! Some foods are baaaad. Calories are all that matter. A random "Gret job!" thrown in there. Sheesh!
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
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    If I were the OP I would be confused as hell right now. Yes, you're going to be fat! No, you will still lose. You should probably eat more anyway! Some foods are baaaad. Calories are all that matter. A random "Gret job!" thrown in there. Sheesh!

    Well, I showed my work...
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
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    How MUCH over are you eating daily? You will only lose weight at a deficit, no matter what foods you stuff in your mouth.

    Yup!
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,887 Member
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    1200 is not enough for most people and, as long as you are under maintenance calories, you'll still lose weight. You should be proud of the fact that you're giving your body good quality food/fuel!
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
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    If I were the OP I would be confused as hell right now. Yes, you're going to be fat! No, you will still lose. You should probably eat more anyway! Some foods are baaaad. Calories are all that matter. A random "Gret job!" thrown in there. Sheesh!

    Well, I showed my work...

    Ha!. There were some very good answers in all of that. I hope she was able to sort them out. :smile:
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    How MUCH over are you eating daily? You will only lose weight at a deficit, no matter what foods you stuff in your mouth.

    this. if you eat more calories than you burn off you will put weight on, regardless of what you are eating.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    are you exercising? If you're exercising and only eating 1200 period, than you should be hungry and you should be fine going over. If you aren't exerciseing and going over . . . well that depends on how much you are going over and what your true bmr happens to be. You will only lose in a balanced deficit.
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
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    A) clean calories and unclean calories are the same for weight loss

    B) why are you eating 1200 cals when you're 200lbs according to your sig?

    C) you will still lose weight not because you're going "over" with healthy calories but because you are still in a caloric deficit


    ^ Unfortunately this is true! Too many calories is too many calories, the body doesn't discriminate. You have to create that calorie deficit in order to lose the weight. 1200 calories is very low, you may want to up it a bit. Or if you are not exercising start!...you'll earn more calories!

    BTW- love the bunny, too cute! I had bunny for 9 years, he just passed a couple of weeks ago :(

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