I calorie count. I had noticed in the past I *seem* to lose weight better if I vary my calories rather than stick to a set amount. In the past, my weight tends to stale out if I stick to my calories, however if I have a few days here and there that I go over (not by a crazy amount) but a few hundred, I get a whoosh weight loss a few days later.
My calories tend to be varied because rather than count my daily meals/calories, I have a range of on-plan foods/meals and simply choose from this list each day depending on what I feel like eating. The result is that I eat a ballpark of calories each day rather than a measured amount.
Last edited by belovedspirit; 08-22-2013 at 09:55 PM.
Yes! I would much rather eat less one day and more another. My days typically vary depending on exercise as well. The more exercise, the more I get to eat that day - sometimes that provides good incentive for days when I just don't feel like it.
It's very normal for us to experience inconsistent hunger from one day to the next. When I was overeating, I'd stuff my face one day and then hardly eat anything the next. When I started calorie counting, I tried to eat very consistently every day, but it just didn't work for me. When I started eating more intuitively, plus using intermittent fasting, some days I'd wake up famished and other days I didn't feel hungry till the afternoon.
I like to calorie average over the week. That way I can plan for a special occasion during the week. But I try not to eat over RMR on any day. The operative word is "try".
I do. I'm "suppose" to eat 2060 cal a day but I don't. Some days I have 500 calories left over, other days I have 20 and though not often, some days I go over by 100 or 2. It just depends on how hungry I am, what I'm craving, who I'm with (when I'm with the bf I have a much harder time staying under my goal...).
This is not a bad thing, in fact this is what "normal eaters" do quite naturally. If they over eat one day, they eat less the next day. I think of it as the holy grail of eating, being able to regulate.
I vary my calories daily. I have a maximum number of calories per day (1,500). I basically eat when I'm hungry, but I ensure that I don't exceed 1,500. So, some days I might eat 1,500, some days 1,200, some days 800. It all depends. On average, I'm in the 1,200-1,300 range...but I bounce up and down from day to day. I don't know if it helps my weight loss, but this approach makes sense for me. There's no point eating if I'm not hungry, and no point depriving myself if I am (well, within reason).
I just started to do this too. Instead of counting calories by the day I count them by the week. So instead of having 1600 a day to eat I have 11,200 a week. This give me a lot more flexibility with my meals. If I know I'm having a big dinner one day I'll just eat a bit less the day before and the day after.
I'm "eyeballing" my calories this time around so they definitely vary day by day depending on things like appetite, schedule, etc. And I seem to be losing weight just as well if not a little better than when I was super strict about it a couple of years ago.
It also feels better mentally too, I have to say. Last time I was way too rigid about it and ended up breaking down about 10 weeks into it sobbing, "I'm so TIRED of thinking about food and calories all the time!" I gave up shortly after that and gained back all of the weight I lost plus a few extra rebellious pounds because I just didn't give a flying whatever anymore.
anyone vary their calories daily?
