Calorie goals...under and over questions..

nettasaura
nettasaura Posts: 173 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok...so if I was under my calorie goals all during the weekdays (which is when I exercise), sometimes a few hundred calories under.....and then I go over a bit on the weekend days when I am not exercising, it's not going to affect anything as long as overall I am still maintaining a deficit, correct?

We meal plan here so that we can afford to eat organic whole foods (family decision that was quite recent). I do not deviate from the meal plan for myself because I know that I am actually not just eating healthy, but eating less in general. Hubby and the boys eat more for their snacks because they are hungry man peoples, but still eat whole food items. Now that I've added in exercise, I am not quite meeting those calorie goals (usually anywhere from 50-200 calories under)....especially on the weekdays when I exercise. Is this ok at this point in time while I am still so big? I do have a whole person to lose. I don't want to NOT be eating enough. It's definitely much easier to hit or even go over my goal on the weekends because those are the days I don't exercise.

Replies

  • cllmetatrsld
    cllmetatrsld Posts: 58 Member
    Typically you want to hit 1200 minimum. It's really not healthy to eat anything less. If you exercise on top of that and don't eat back the calories...that's a little different. You really should eat them back but where you are just starting out it won't put you in a plateau right off....but it will eventually. It's a habit to get into because in the end that's what you'll need to be doing.
  • wildboar1
    wildboar1 Posts: 88
    In the long run, what really matters is your average daily caloric intake and deficit. So if you have 6 days eating 1200 kcals, and 1 day eating 2500 kcals, your average for a week is still really low.
  • cllmetatrsld
    cllmetatrsld Posts: 58 Member
    But going over on some days, so long as you don't go over your maintenance calorie number...I think is actually a good thing. THAT part, going over sometimes, helps keep plateaus away.
  • nettasaura
    nettasaura Posts: 173 Member
    I seem to be hitting about 1500 so I am definitely not too low. I'm eating back about 1/3 to 1/2 of my exercise calories on weekdays and only going over my cal goal on weekends when I don't exercise by about 100 odd calories. Sounds like I am doing ok for now.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Totally fine.
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