If you have calories left to eat at the end of a day
 

do you try and fit them in somehow or use them as bonus calories the next day, or just not use them at all?

I try to get close to my calorie goal. If i am low one day I do not eat at night to get them in. I do not eat after 7pm. I might eat a few extra one day if I came in really low the day before. Think about what you ate and how you can add healthy calories thru the day. I eat almonds when that happens to get a 170 calories and some good fat and fiber.

Born
I eat from the time I get up until I go to bed to get the required amounts of the four basic food groups in. If I don't have enough calories in I try to eat something else to get them close to where I want them to be. Remember it is calories in and calories out. I plan my meals the night before so usually have everything right where it should be.

Well, it depends. I always figure those days I'm not very hungry will be balanced by days I go a little over. If I'm dramatically under (like 1000 when I mean to hit 1600) I would eat a snack.

I was just about to post this same question! Are you in my head? *suspicious*
I'm about 200 under, and it's 10pm. I'm not hungry (I could eat, though, but I know I'm not actually hungry) so I think I'll just leave things as they are. I did have a bad day Sunday, though, and leaving out those 200 calories would make up for that, at least partially.

I plan meals/snacks the day before so I don't ever have calories left at the end of the day. If I did hit the end of the day with calories left over I'd either use them, or not (as I felt). Adding them to another day might be dangerous, for me at least. :)

If I was hungry, or even snacky, I'd eat them.

If I was drastically under where I wanted to be, too, I'd eat them.

If it was close-ish and I didn't really need/really want them, I'd let them go. Wouldn't use them the next day, though.

Same as mandalinn82...

One exception though on high exercise days I don't always eat to my calorie target, (My Target changes based on Activity) as long as I feel I've had decent calories on that day (usually 1500+) I sometimes just let it go.

When I want to bump up my calories but I'm not hungry but I feel I NEED them then I eat something like PB or Nuts.

I never have any left over.:)

You know this is a funny question.. since I just delt with it yesterday!

I was trying to stay around 1200 calories for a bit when I got serious a few weeks ago, I was barely hitting that mark and although I didn't feel hungry (I chose lots of low cal healthy foods), my head started feeling like it was kinda messed up.. so I upped my cals to 1600 a day. I try to get there but because of my food choices I rarely do! Yesterday I found after dinner I had not even hit 900, and I had eaten all day long! I did have some extra calories last night to bring me up over 1200.. they weren't the best choices, but at that point I just wanted to be over the 1200 mark for the day.

As long as I hit 1200 I don't push to get any more in.

I would always have extra stuff at dinner and then a bigger dessert if I had the calories left over. That's why this time I am trying not to count calories.

I guess if it was after 8 pm I'd have to let it go :(

and then CURSE myself for a fool for letting it slide LOL and never make that mistake again ;)

It depends. First of all, for the most part, I don't worry about WHEN I eat. In fact my dietician WANTS me to eat a snack around 9:00 or 10:00 each evening to help keep blood sugar more level throughout the night. Also some nights I go to the gym before I have supper. Those nights I don't get home until 7:30 or 8:00. Then I make/eat supper.

I try to look at how many calories I have left for the day just before I make supper. If I have quite a few I might add a serving of healthy carbs (either brown rice or fruit) or else I might add some pine nuts or walnuts to whatever I am making. UNLESS I am having salmon....then i have a bigger piece of salmon...I LOVE IT!!!

If for whatever reason I am way under (200 calories or more) I will have a little bigger evening snack.

One thing I DON'T do is bank my calories from day to day. If I go over (knock on wood this has only happened twice since January) I put more time in at the gym. If I am under I don't save them for another day. I occasionaly will east a lighter breakfat and lunch if we are going out someplace and I am unable to find nutrition information for the place we are going online.

SORRY...that got kind of long

Another question. Wouldn't not eating the calories be the same as changing your weight loss goal? ei: the less calories I eat the more I will lose? Only not changing the goal, the results would just be above what the goal was set for?

( I hope that makes sense )

For me it has never been as simple as "calories in, calories out." So I don't think it means you are changing your goal if you don't eat them. Some days your body burns fewer calories than others and you won't feel as hungry. If you just eat anyway, you still burned fewer calories. At least that's how I think about it.

Some days I am really snacky and go over by 100, so I think in the long run it all averages out.