going over 1200

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graceinbreath
graceinbreath Posts: 49 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
does anyone else who is supposed to eat 1200 find that they go over a little sometimes? What is the max i can do this and still achieve weight loss? Some days I do fine and only eat my 1200 but I have gone over as much as 100 calories or even 200 sometimes. I am averaging 300 over for my total net at the end of the week. I need to work on not going over at all but i was just wondering how other people deal with this....

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  • Candy_monster
    Candy_monster Posts: 59
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    Hey,

    I do this quite a lot, I even sometimes don't record it :O
    But i'd say that if it's just by 100-200 a day usually then you should be fine, I'v been managing to lose still, although only by a pound a week and not 2 like mfp predicted.

    I guess it depends on how fast you want to achieve your goal :) I dont think 300 a week is a huge amount to go over, especially as your on the 1200 limit :)

    Good luck!
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,143 Member
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    I go over all the time....still losing weight. That's really the determiner there. If you are still losing, don't worry about it. The 1200 isn't a magic number...its just a guide. :)
  • graceinbreath
    graceinbreath Posts: 49 Member
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    thanks so much! it's good to think of 1200 more as a guide than a magic number!!! you are right!
  • AmyFett
    AmyFett Posts: 1,607 Member
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    I'm set for 1400 and never go over. In fact, I have a hard time even making it TO 1400 with the exercise I've been doing. Yesterday I even had a mcdouble and a brownie, small brownie, but still... and I didn't go over. The more you burn, the more you can technically eat.

    Edit: also I thought 1200 was really low, so I upped it a bit, so that I wouldn't go over.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    You can go to a site like: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ and figure out your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). This is how many calories your body burns in a day and it's the number of calories you'd need to maintain your current weight. As long as you eat any amount of calories below your TDEE you should still lose weight, just more slowly.
  • findusfaithful18
    findusfaithful18 Posts: 16 Member
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    I'm new to MFP, but if I understand correctly what they're doing, it's fine to go a little over the calorie limit they set.

    Basically you need to have a 500-calorie deficit each day in order to lose one pound in a week - whether that's through eating less or exercising more, you need to cut back 500 calories per day. MFP estimates how many calories you consume now based on your weight, height, and activity level of your lifestyle. Then they subtract 500 calories, and this is the limit they set for you. That's why when you exercise and burn more calories you can eat back those calories - because you still will have cut 500 calories out. Obviously if you don't eat them back, you will lose more weight because you'll have a negative of more than 500 calories. So because MFP has already calculated in those 500 calories, you are fine to go a little over the limit they set for you; you just might not lose a full pound each week. Also, as mentioned before, 1200 is not a magic number. I work as a Starbucks barista so I'm on my feet for 8 hours a day - there's no way I could live on only 1200! But for someone who is sedentary most of the day, they don't need as many calories. That's why MFP customizes it to your lifestyle.

    Again, I'm new, but I think I've understood this correctly. If anybody understands it differently, let me know :)
  • sgall123
    sgall123 Posts: 133 Member
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    I've been on here about 7 weeks now & from experimenting I've found if I eat 1200-1350 I'll lose weight however if I go over I maintain which I suppose is also good to know... I'm 5"5 & 158lbs... Play around with calories & see what works for you

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