When counting calories, should you make it a priority to use all of your calories? Or is there a certain number that's ok to leave at the end of the day? I'm trying to get all of my facts straight before i start counting tomorrow!
My target calorie number to lose 1.5 lbs per week according to the app I use (LoseIt) is 1195. If at the end I the week I am close to that number as a daily average, I am happy, which means some days I eat less, some days I eat more, but it averages in the end to around 1200 daily calories.
You may try to pick a calorie range, say 1300 to 1500 calories, instead of one set number.
I try to hit it but I let myself fall short more frequently than I go over. I naturally find myself hungrier at some points in the month and my appetite virtually non existant at other points so I let this dictate how much I eat.
I don't think you need to be obsessive about hitting the exact number. It's ok to eat 100 calories less or go over by 50, but as mentioned above you probably want to aim for being under your number more often than you're over it. I'm at 1200 calories per day, but there are days when it's 9 or 10pm and I've only eaten 1050 calories or 1100 calories but I'm completely full and don't feel like eating anything more (these are usually days when I've eaten a ton of fibre and/or a huge volume or veggies). I see no reason to force myself to eat more just to reach 1200 if I'm genuinely feeling full and satisfied and if all the calories I ate that day were full of nutrients. On the flip side, there are occasionally days when I eat 1300 calories, and it's not a huge deal for me. I might do an extra 30 minutes at the gym to compensate for the extra 100 calories or I might just let it live, depending on how much time I have. Just make sure that you don't go dramatically under your daily number, because that could screw with your metabolism or even put your body into starvation mode, which will hinder your weigh loss more than help it. I think if you fall under your number by 100 that's ok, as long as you're not feeling super hungry, but you don't want to go under by like 300 or 400, as that would be dangerous.
I don't think there's any serious need to use all of them if you don't feel like it. Some days I have 100 left over, some days I have as few as 35. Sometimes, if I find i didn't plan my day right and end up starving later in the evening- I just eat a smaller, healthier, lower-calorie version of whatever it is I want. Most of the time it doesn't make a big enough dent to even show up on the scale.
I, too, also find that if I didn't plan right and I REALLY want something that's a little high- I just exercise an extra 30-40 minutes. It depends on how much time I have, too, and how many calories whatever it is I ate was.
Unless you're going drastically under on purpose, or drastically over, I really wouldn't worry about it. Just pay attention to what your body is telling you, and what the scale is telling you.
For me calorie counting is what works because there is a little more wiggle room...I aim for a min of 1400 and absolute max of 2000....my cravings vary from day to day depending on TOM, exercise for that day, what I'm doing that day, etc. I would give up if I had to hit exactly 1400 cals every day.
A range (mine is 1200-1500) works well for me. I do try to get up to at least 1200 each day, though I don't always make it. The 1500 high end leaves room for those days when I eat more calorie-dense foods (nuts, etc.) or am feeling particularly hungry. I only allow myself to eat over 1500 on special occasions (holidays, etc.), and on those few special occasion days my limit is 2000. Over the past 92 days (including the first week I was calorie counting when I ate more like 1500-1700), my daily intake averages to 1280. That's a little lower than where I'd ideally like to be, but close enough. If you start with a range and keep track of your average, you'll easily be able to see where you need to make changes and/or if you'd prefer a specific target number rather than a range.
I keep mine in a range as well, rather than a set number. If I am wanting to average, say, 1400 a day...then I stay in a 1300-1500 range. Some days I am not that hungry or I am busy and it is on the lower end...other days I am pmsing or I want a glass of wine, so it is closer to 1500. At the end of the week, it averages out to my target without being so rigid...much more liveable.
A range of calories may be easier and more flexible for you. Some days we will eat more or less than other days, let your body start letting you know what it needs. My way of keeping track is a weekly average to hit 1200. Then I watch my monthly average to see if I am staying on track. I don't average more than this though because it can get too elusive to see where the trouble may be during stalls.
I decided not to let a high calorie day be a reason to quit or start over. Some days just will be high, that is a reality. Another thing that I do is count binges. Yep, every single calorie. That has been the greatest change for me and a real reality check.
Do you guys aim for a certain deficit? According to fitday, I need to have a deficit of about 1,000 calories per day to lose 2 lbs per week. So they have my baseline metabolism plus my activity metabolism minus the food calories should be about 1,000.
Does that make sense?
My resting metabolism is about 2,045 cals per day. If I walk or run I burn another 1-200 calories. This means I shoot to eat about 1,200 calories a day (total calories burned 2,200 minus goal deficit of 1,000 = 1,200 to eat) to lose 2 lbs a week.
I do a range of calories: 1200 to 1600. Some days I go over to 1800, some days it's a struggle to get up to 1000. I toss in something healthy to make up the difference on a low day and make sure ot get my exercise in on a high day.
I aim for a 1000 deficit per day. Some days I only get to 500 or so. I try my best not to worry about that, because it's just a number and as long as the inches slowly peel away in a healthy, sustainable manner I'm alright.
Should you use all your calories?
