Going over calorie limit

[Richard22]

I'm on 1900 Cal's a day. If I go over one day do I just restart the following day or do I have to have less in the week to pay back ?? Your experience please ??

[Humblebee]

Hi Richard, I think it depends on why you are over and by how much. Also people can be very different. May I ask what made you eat over?

There have been times when I have gone over my calorie limit and I just ignore it. Life happens and when you're in it for the long run there will be ups and downs. I think of it as having the range, like on the NHS it says eat between 1600 - 2000 for me so I tend to eat 1700 a day and if I eat 2000 I try not to dwell. There's no point beating myself up. In the past I did eat less over the course of the week to make up for it and still lost weight. This only works in my case when it is a little bit less each day, because making yourself hungry can lead to further problems.Sometimes I plan for occasions like meals out by having a smaller lunch on that day. I find it easier to plan beforehand because my will power lasts better when the treat is coming, rather than when it's already been had.

[Richard22 in reply to Humblebee]

Thanks. It's the impulse to binge eat.

[Humblebee in reply to Richard22]

I am guilty of binge eating. Mine is linked to my mood and I am working on it but not 100% there yet. It's hard but we're here and we're trying. Perhaps trying to figure out what triggers it and how to stop it might help? I'm sure some other people in the community will have some handy tips for us.

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone in reply to Richard22]

The impulse to binge eat is often a result of not eating enough, or enough of the right stuff. 1900 is a generic figure for men. If you go to the NHS BMI calculator, it will give you a range within which you will lose weight. It may well be more than 1900

[Eryl Visitor in reply to Richard22]

Binge eating is often a result of eating sweet or other high carb food like white bread or fruit juice, as the resulting high insulin messes with your hormones so the satiety hormone is suppressed and you don't get the 'enough' signal until it's too late.

[Humblebee in reply to Eryl]

Thanks Eryl. This sounds like me. I did manage to sort it out for a while but then had a bad week and of course it comes back. I'm eating better again now so hopefully that will keep it at bay.

[storm51 in reply to Richard22]

I know the feeling! Someone told me to look at it like climbing a hill... sometimes you take a few steps back but instead of falling all d way back down, start climbing again & don’t beat yourself up about it ... we all have lapses - it’s life but don’t think of it as a fail - think of the hill & resume climbing... hope it goes well 👍

[Humblebee in reply to storm51]

Yes, you have to keep on keeping on! Lately when I start to think of myself as a failure I look at my total loss so far and that always cheers me up. It's the right kind of overall trend even if it isn't as much as I would like.

[Bibbityboo in reply to Humblebee]

Hi, how about instead of reducing calorie intake aim to increase your activity level for a few days?

[Humblebee in reply to Bibbityboo]

That's a very good point. Usually I tend to exercise quite a lot, about 5 days per week but I don't ever eat any more. Should I be eating more on days I exercise? I don't really tend to feel hungry after exercise apart from when I go swimming. I have been eating dinner after swimming to combat this but can't believe I haven't thought about this before.

[storm51 in reply to Humblebee]

That sounds right about swimming- my son is a competitive swimmer & eats like a horse , yet the days he plays basketball 🏀, he eats normally.. swimming burns a lot of calories & it’s good to eat after swimming as long as it’s healthy of course... 👍

[Humblebee in reply to storm51]

Swimming is so intense, I used to do it a long time ago and when I got back in the pool I did about two laps and had to take a break! Great exercise though, very easy on the joints. In the past I have let myself eat more thinking I 'deserve' it after exercise which is why I decided to not eat extra. Maybe though I'll allow myself more veggies and protein. As long as what I eat it still healthy food then it should be fine

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Bibbityboo]

Hi and welcome, Bibbityboo

I hope you'll follow the links that lucigret has provided for Richard22 and will also become an active member of our community.

Wishing you all the best

[Lemondrizzle1]

Hi Richard 22,

I have always thought of it as a calorie intake for a week divided by the seven days. There will always be days when you eat or need more or less calories so just try to average it out for the week. If you know for instance Sunday roast his going to be a high calorie day just have less each day to allow for it. Hope that helps.

[Richard22 in reply to Lemondrizzle1]

Thanks

[gman1961 Restart April 2024]

If you go over ,I would just draw a line under it and start again the next day.

If not then it's catch up and even less calories the next day if you try to adjust.

Good luck ,

Gary

[SofaJockey]

As a rule I'd start again the next day.

Though there might be times I'd eat a little less because I'd want to get ahead of a treat I'd know I'd be eating the following day.

The main thing is to see by your weight fluctuations whether it's working.

If it is, fantastic.

If not, try tinkering with quantity and types of food until it does. 😄

[lucigret]

Welcome back Richard22,

Some things on the forum will have changed since you were last here so I will give you the link to the pinned posts where you will find all the information you need to navigate the forum, which is best done using the full website and not the app,

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Participation is key to success and I would recommend that you at least join the Daily Diary and a Weigh In day of your choice.

As a peer to peer support group, we all benefit from encouragement and support from one another, so look forward to seeing you join in around the forum

If you haven’t already taken it, here is a link to a tour of the forum,

healthunlocked.com/?tour=true

Wishing you the best of luck on your weight loss journey

[Lytham 3 stone]

I think I would be tempted to try and make it up, but not beat myself up if I didn't manage it

Would you like to join us on our weigh in? Here's the link, I hope to see you there! x

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

[slipstick Maintainer 2st 7lbs]

Calorie counting is not a precise science. You can easily be 10-20% out in your counts because food calorie listings aren't guaranteed and people rarely accurately weigh everything that goes in their mouths. So even if you think you're exactly on your planned count in reality you can easily be 10% or more out, down or up.

In other words unless you're going vastly over the intended amount just forget about it. It will almost certainly even itself out over time.

[TheAwfulToad Visitor]

Take no notice. One of the many problems with calorie-counting is that it causes people to obsess over their food like this.

Your body has no calorie meter inside (such a thing is actually very difficult to implement, in engineering terms ... which maybe explains why your body doesn't have one). It doesn't know or care how many calories you consume in a 24-hour period. The only thing it can measure and control is instantaneous metabolic power. So if you focus on eating foods that don't provide useless power surges that your body must dispose of, you'll find your appetite is quite capable of ironing out occasional episodes of genuine "overeating".

Crudely speaking, that means avoiding sugar, or things that are quickly metabolised to sugar. Cookies, sweets, breakfast cereals, white bread, "low fat" foods, and almost anything that comes in a glass jar or a plastic packet are primary culprits. Avoid those.