Under calorie goal a good thing?

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lelaspeaks
lelaspeaks Posts: 163 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Okay - so maybe I'm dumb and don't understand how this is all supposed to work, but it always weirds me out on my newsfeed when someone posts that they’re under their calorie goal and everyone says “way to go!”, “nice job”, etc. and then when you look at them you realize that they’re under by a lot. Like 300-600 range. Now I would never say anything at all because that’s not my style, but I just want to confirm one tiny thing. Isn’t the goal to hit your calorie mark every day? Shouldn’t you be over by 10 calories instead of being under by 300?

I just upped my daily intake from 1,200 to 1,370 because I don’t want to plateau early, but if I can lose more weight faster by eating 800-1,000 calories, obviously I’d take that route. But that’s not how it works, right?

To the “big losers” out there – how much do you eat in a day? Can you give your height and SW stats too? I’m just trying to get some perspective. I seem to be lingering in this 8-11 pound loss range and I’m looking to lose 35! I want to see some progress, but I want to do it the right way.

Here’s mine:
Height: 5’7”
SW: 170
CW: 161
GW: 135

Thanks everyone!
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Replies

  • lelaspeaks
    lelaspeaks Posts: 163 Member
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    Bump
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    I don't think you need to hit the goal exactly each day, even 100 either side is fairly accurate and getting the average right over a week is probably sufficient.

    If you set a goal and then are consistently under it you may as well set the goal lower and hit it, surely !
  • lelaspeaks
    lelaspeaks Posts: 163 Member
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    But what you're saying is that ultimately I should hit within a certain range of my goal... be it + or -100. Not over and under by 300.
  • sportsforfun
    sportsforfun Posts: 353
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    I agree and always thought this was weird as well. It should have a " " completed their food and exercise diary and was within 50 calories of their goal. Sure would make a lot more sense with the way that this site is structured to lose weight.
  • brittany103
    brittany103 Posts: 96 Member
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    I have no idea to the right answer but I think it depends on the amount of exercise. There are days that I'm a few hundred under because I work out and don't eat back those calories.
  • kendrart
    kendrart Posts: 49 Member
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    I'm new here, and was confused by that as well! I'm glad you're asking. My first thought was that they worked out, and had earned calories. But then, you should be eating more to make up the difference, right?
  • c8linmarie
    c8linmarie Posts: 358 Member
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    Often times, when you see those big numbers of uneaten calories, it might be because they chose not to eat back all or some of their exercise calories. As long as they are not below their BMR, netting below 1200, or have a deficit of more than 1000 calories, it should be okay.
  • marbly
    marbly Posts: 103
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    IMHO, if you have a very low calorie diet (eg, 800 to 1000 or 300 to 500 per day), you'll lose weight faster. Impossible not to unless there's something seriously wrong somewhere.

    If you are on a healthy weight loss diet (eg, deficit of only 250 to 500 max), you'll lose weight slower.

    Which is a good thing? Well, which are you able to sustain on in the long term, which will allow you to not be so obsessed by every morsel of food you eat every day and which will minimise the risk of binging and gaining weight again over time?

    Again, my personal opinion, if you're in a hurry to lose weight because you have an important event to attend or you just feel so crap with yourself that you just WANT the weight gone, then by all means, go on the VLCD if you have the discipline to BUT if you do this, you should switch to a healthy weight loss diet which you can maintain over a long period of time immediately after you feel better or after the event.

    You should also know that on a VLCD, your weight loss will eventually slow down and when that happens, many dieters give up at the stage.

    It's all a mental game, really, at the end of the day.
  • megz85g
    megz85g Posts: 101 Member
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    i'm under my cals alot, but i eat my 1200 and choose not to eat my exercise cals so thats why technically i'm under
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
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    Here’s mine:
    Height: 5’7”
    SW: 170
    CW: 161
    GW: 135

    Thanks everyone!

    ME:
    Height: 5’7”
    CW: 122
    Calorie goal: 1650+ExerciseCalories

    If I can loose a pound a week with that...You should be able to loose with much much more...I ate 2,830 today so far and I'm not even worried about it....You're a tall girl and you need more energy to live...Your BMR (google it, and TDEE, and RMR) is much higher then 1200. Dear lord up your cals.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    But what you're saying is that ultimately I should hit within a certain range of my goal... be it + or -100. Not over and under by 300.

    yes, that's what I'm saying - if you've set your goal then try to hit it. Otherwise it isn't your goal !
  • Nimbkar
    Nimbkar Posts: 67 Member
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    IMHO, if you have a very low calorie diet (eg, 800 to 1000 or 300 to 500 per day), you'll lose weight faster. Impossible not to unless there's something seriously wrong somewhere.

    If you are on a healthy weight loss diet (eg, deficit of only 250 to 500 max), you'll lose weight slower.

    Which is a good thing? Well, which are you able to sustain on in the long term, which will allow you to not be so obsessed by every morsel of food you eat every day and which will minimise the risk of binging and gaining weight again over time?

    Again, my personal opinion, if you're in a hurry to lose weight because you have an important event to attend or you just feel so crap with yourself that you just WANT the weight gone, then by all means, go on the VLCD if you have the discipline to BUT if you do this, you should switch to a healthy weight loss diet which you can maintain over a long period of time immediately after you feel better or after the event.

    You should also know that on a VLCD, your weight loss will eventually slow down and when that happens, many dieters give up at the stage.

    It's all a mental game, really, at the end of the day.

    I agree.
  • KathyChampi
    KathyChampi Posts: 66 Member
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    I know I get confused also. If you look at mine it states that I am under by about 700 that's because I go to the gym after work. By the time I get out of the gym which is about 6:30 I am not hungry. I am not trying to starve myself by not eating and trying to lose weight at fast rate. I also want to do it in a healthy manner. It's so confusing when you close your diary for the day if you go a little over your intake what a difference when it states this is the weight you will be in five weeks of I go under it is much less. Don't know what to do so confused. The message board people say to go over but won't you gain weight?
  • jlr_12
    jlr_12 Posts: 170 Member
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    i'm under my cals alot, but i eat my 1200 and choose not to eat my exercise cals so thats why technically i'm under

    "Technically under"? You are under. You ate 1200 and burned off say 300. Your body only got 900 calories that day. They don't suggest to eat your exercise cals as a guideline...it's because that's what your body needs in order to maintain a healthy deficit.

    ps- Sorry if that came off as rude, I meant it to be helpful!

    To answer the OP...you've got the right way of thinking in my opinion. It's better to be 10 over than 300 under. I'm very rarely UNDER my calorie goal.
  • jlr_12
    jlr_12 Posts: 170 Member
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    I know I get confused also. If you look at mine it states that I am under by about 700 that's because I go to the gym after work. By the time I get out of the gym which is about 6:30 I am not hungry. I am not trying to starve myself by not eating and trying to lose weight at fast rate. I also want to do it in a healthy manner. It's so confusing when you close your diary for the day if you go a little over your intake what a difference when it states this is the weight you will be in five weeks of I go under it is much less. Don't know what to do so confused. The message board people say to go over but won't you gain weight?

    How could going over your calorie goal by a little possibly make you gain weight? The goals that MFP gives you has a deficit already built in, depending on how much you chose to lose a week when signing up. 1 lb loss per week would be a 500 calorie deficit per day. Going over by 10 calories would still give you a 480 calorie deficit. You never want your net at the end of the day to say anything below 1200...even better, you don't want it to say a number lower than your BMR. If you find you're not hungry after going to the gym, try to eat more during the day. Consistently being under your calorie goal (and that's INCLUDING exercise cals) will cause you to burn out and cause a stall in your weight loss. The only way you can GAIN weight is to eat above your TDEE (which you can find out through various online calculators..or use what MFP says would be your maintenance calories).
  • lelaspeaks
    lelaspeaks Posts: 163 Member
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    Hilarious update, but I consumed about 250 more calories than my daily goal and lost a half pound overnight? With excercise I was told to eat 1,550 and I ended up eating 1,800. I don't plan on doing that often, but I laugh because I I was expecting the scale to go up. Nope.

    My new plan is to make it at least 1,370 a day, and eat back enough exercise calories to make sure that I am not falling below the 1,200 net. That should ensure that I'm never in starvation mode. The hard thing for me is lack of food or calories NEVER make me feel tired. I have always had high energy and able to be physically active on very little. But being physically active at low calories levels is causing my weight loss to basically be non-existant. I'm taking a new approach. More fuel is good.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    It's generally not good to be under consistently, but some people (myself included) like to be under some days so the days they go over even out.
  • garnet1483
    garnet1483 Posts: 249 Member
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    This is why I don't comment on those statuses at all, nor have mine set to update with that. Your calorie goal is your goal based upon your own individual factors, and the idea is to come close to it, give or take. Now there are some people who burn 1K calories a day through rigorous exercise, and they often come in significantly under their goal. I think most of them are still trying to net a minimum of 1200 (or however many over that number), and that's the important thing.
  • amkelley
    amkelley Posts: 81
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    I tend to agree with you, overall. I mean- maybe people are saying good job and way to go for the person logging the whole day and completing their food log...not necessarily for staying under. I have told people good job for just completing their log- even when it doesnt say "and was under their daily goal." I mean SURE thats not what most people do but perhaps there are some that do. But I totally agree...when I see people under by 300 or more I'm like- Whhhhaaat?? However, maybe those are the people who choose not to eat their exercise calories back or who save calories for one big dinner or meal out with friends or something. Which brings me back to the fact that say good job on just logging is a great thing to do because let's face it- logging what you eat all day long is a big deal and takes a lot to keep up with!
  • muwchck
    muwchck Posts: 261 Member
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    I'm 5'4. Starting weight was 273, Current weight 254, and goal weight is 140. I've been losing an average of 1-2 pounds a week on what was MFP recommendation for me, but I was having to get in lots of exercise because I was still hungry all the time. So I did some research, and decided to up my calories from MFP's recommended 1520 up to 1933. According to fat2fitradio.com, that is what I will need for the rest of my life to reach my goal weight and maintain once I get there. Since I have upped my calories, I don't always hit my goal now, because I'm not used to having so many calories available to me. But I'm working on getting as close to my goal as I can. And some days, I can eat constantly, and still not hit my goal because of extra walking I'm doing for whatever reason.

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