so i METICULOUSLY count calories. my daily limit is 1200. today i had 1246, and i feel like i went over and didnt have a good day. am i being too black and white here? whats the "line". if you go over by 10 calories, is that a bad day? what about 100? wheres the line for you?

Umm I don't think you went into the deep end.

Oh and to answer the question, for myself, I guess if I get up around 100 over then I may smack myself but not too hard. Now if I get 250, 300 or more over then I get a little more upset but thankfully that doesn't happen often.

yeah i dont consider days like this a "bad" day, or like i went off plan, but i do wish id stayed at or under 1200. i was curious if the rest of you have a number of calories where you cut yourself slack, or a number where you consider it a "bad" day.

I think you may set yourself up for failure by being so strict. A range is helpful - maybe you could do 1200-1400 and shoot for 12. But if you stay in that range, you should certainly continue losing.

Don't be too hard on yourself.

totally. i want to make it clear that im not like bummed over this, but i do feel like i went "over". i was just wondering if other girls shoot for a "range" or what number above their range/limit makes them feel like they had a bad day.

My range is 1300-1500 these days

I have calorie counted for a long time (fitday and then daily plate) and always did the range - not zigzagging per say, but I definitely did not always hit the target. It looks to me like you are doing wonderfully - I know you don't want to get complacent - stay vigilant, but perhaps build in a little leeway to your plan.

My range is 1700 - 1900, and I don't stress if I head towards the 2000 mark once in a while.

I work on the theory that as long as I'm losing (no matter how slowly) I'm happy with my intake. I want to max out the calories I allow myself to give me room to manoeuvre when I hit maintenance. I love my food too much to restrict drastically, and I find that I break out and go over if I'm too tight.

My range is 1500-1700 calories per day. It looks like most here have a 200 calorie "cushion" for lack of a better word hehe.

You know, I work out hard in the summer, so I am not strict at all. I mean, I know when I am going crazy eating out too much or scarfing too many homemade goodies. It shows on the scale and the way my clothes fit. I just look at it as, maybe I will really not limit myself at all today, and I can make up for it the rest of the week if I am little out of control one day. It is never anything I can't handle or rein in within a couple of weeks at the most.

As I've mentioned before, I aim for an average target over a week. Some tools, like FitDay, allow you to see this value for any timeframe you want to choose.

It's unrealistic to try to eat EXACTLY some number of calories every day. Ups and downs are normal, and calorie values are just estimates anyway.

When I'm tracking, I allow about a 30 calorie variation above or below my AVERAGE target, over 7 days. I try to avoid big swings, though, on a daily basis.

Jay

I'm with everyone else, I stick between a range and I do some zigzagging. But if ever I am hungry and need more calories then I will exercise to make it up.

It can as simple as(for my weight) running around the yard playing tag with the local kids (your it) 15 min 120 cal, 10 min jog 96 cal, walking while shopping ::yeah:: 30 min 96 cal, 30 min after dinner walk at a steady pace 196 cal.

I try never to believe it was a "bad day."

This is my dieting philosophy exactly, except my range is 1800 - 2000. I smack myself a little when I get to 2100 and I know that I could've controlled some of my mindless cravings, but usually I'm at 1900, which makes me happy.

Warning, numbers geek answer ahead...

I keep a running 30 day average of my calorie deficit which is calculated by my calories eaten and exercise type and amount. I keep that average about 1167 (theoretically losing a pound every 3 days).

So I don't specifically plan how many calories I eat on any given day as long as the average stays in that range. When I check back in history I find my range appears to be 1100-2100 with average a litte over 1500.