This is one of those "learn your cat" things. Over time and data, you will find there are times you can shoot lower numbers and head out the door. If I knew Neko was on her way up (and stalling without feeding for 15 minutes and retesting would tell me that), and I left a little higher carb food, I knew Neko was good for several hours, if I needed to go out. Plus I had an autofeeder, and I could load it up with higher carb food for each hour while I was gone. But no way at the beginning would I feel that confident. It took quite a few cycles with low preshots when I could monitor and gather data before I'd feel confident leaving. Each cycle in FD is a do-over. Try something and see what happens. If you don't like it, try something different next time. Now you've learned what happens when you skip. It can take quite a few cycles for the depot to get back, so sleep well tonight.
Follow the guidelines as long as you want. Then if you decide somethings not working, you can change it. And feel free to post questions here and ask if people think about your proposed changes.
