How do people not eat all of their allotted calories?

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  • Laurafoxx81
    Laurafoxx81 Posts: 95 Member
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    Well for a few days I've been eating about 700 cal...eating healthy food (fish, fruit veg etc ) and going the gym.. will this work? I don't need to really loose weight just have baby fat & need to tone up....
  • shannonmaines
    shannonmaines Posts: 14 Member
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    I used to be the same way...always eating all of my calories and it was frustrating. I recently realized I wasn't eating enough protein. I just started eating more and supplementing with shakes and not only feel full much longer and not needing to eat all of my calories but I've also been shedding weight much more quickly.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    I am guessing this is more of a mental thing than an "I'm hungry thing". I know for me I have a hard time leaving extra calories that day. I want to eat them even if I don't really need to.

    If that is the case for you then set your goal a little lower (you can set it manually in the goals section) so you create more of a deficit durring the week. Then on the weekend you can add in extra calories to spend on whatever you weekend extra calorie needs are.

    So for example, cut your daily goal by 100 calories. That would save you 500 calories M-F. On saturday you want to go out with friends for dinner and want to use the calories then. You can either mentally know you have and extra 600 (M-F calories and Sats as well), or if you want to see all the numbers working out right in MFP create a personal exercise entry called "saved up calories" and put it in your cardio diary for saturday. Don't forget your goal is 100 lower on sunday still too.
  • CrabNebula
    CrabNebula Posts: 1,119 Member
    edited April 2015
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    I had this problem at first, but then figured it would always be best to err on the side of being a good deal under than think I had extra calories available that I didn't. Now it is sort of a problem in maintenance to get myself out of the mindset, particularly when I am trying to build muscle and it is no longer tragic if I overeat within reason.
  • PeachyPlum
    PeachyPlum Posts: 1,243 Member
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    Laurafoxx81 wrote: »
    Well for a few days I've been eating about 700 cal...eating healthy food (fish, fruit veg etc ) and going the gym.. will this work? I don't need to really loose weight just have baby fat & need to tone up....

    No. This is against MFP guidelines and is extremely unhealthy.

    It will work to put you in the hospital, though.
  • SallyinIL
    SallyinIL Posts: 85 Member
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    lemonlionheart wrote: »
    If I want to save exercise calories for Friday night, I'll log the workout for Friday rather than today.

    Okay, that's just brilliant.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    PeachyPlum wrote: »
    Laurafoxx81 wrote: »
    Well for a few days I've been eating about 700 cal...eating healthy food (fish, fruit veg etc ) and going the gym.. will this work? I don't need to really loose weight just have baby fat & need to tone up....

    No. This is against MFP guidelines and is extremely unhealthy.

    It will work to put you in the hospital, though.

    x2 and you will find your hair falling out and your nails getting brittle and breaking.
  • Camo_xxx
    Camo_xxx Posts: 1,082 Member
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    How do people not eat all of their allotted calories?

    simple, I make my own decisions, MFP doesn't make them for me.

    Use MFP as a tool not an excuse
  • BABetter1
    BABetter1 Posts: 618 Member
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    TavistockToad wrote: »
    syedumairtelecom wrote: »
    I eat a lot of cal like snacks shakes choco but idk where does all my cl goes i have started lifting daily from 2 may be it will change a little i need to gain some any advice msg me .

    the what now?! :huh:

    LOL, punctuation is your friend.
  • tinascar2015
    tinascar2015 Posts: 413 Member
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    I eat filling foods, too. I could fit some of that lemon meringue pie that's in the fridge into today's diary, but I won't. It isn't filling, and very sugary foods make me sleepy. Pie also doesn't provide the level of nutrition that my normal 300-calorie breakfast does. There are days when I am under by 100-200 calories, even some days without exercise. I've become accustomed to eating when I really feel like it, and some days, I just don't. This is a thing I've been wanting for a long long time. My compulsions to eat have almost completely disappeared.
  • daw0518
    daw0518 Posts: 459 Member
    edited April 2015
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    I usually eat most of my allotted calories, because I'm the same way. I literally think "200 calories left? I could have _______ and _________ and still have 2 calories left!"

    Something that has helped me though is keeping busy and going to bed at a decent time, because I do most of my snacking at night. I also drink a ton of water & tea in the evenings since I'm often just bored & need something to do with my hands. Sometimes then I manage to go to bed without eating every single one of my calories. For example, last night I planned to spend my last 185 calories on a mini drumstick, but I got busy and ended up going to bed without it.
  • emilypink573
    emilypink573 Posts: 132 Member
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    Its definitely a mental thing. I have a hard time seeing that I have X amount of calories left in the day. I feel like i HAVE to eat them. Yesterday was one of those days and i basically just ignored my cravings and they actually went away. I normally look at my weekly intake and i normally am under so im not doing so bad.
  • beachhouse758
    beachhouse758 Posts: 371 Member
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    I am not saying don't eat if you are hungry. Or don't eat any chocolate.

    But forcing yourself to eat hundreds of calories worth of chocolate when you are trying to lose weight is not conducive to health & fitness goals.

    The MFP calories are a daily allowance based on the weekly average deficit that you must have in order to lose weight. Force feeding yourself empty calories is not going to get you there any faster.
    If you are consistently under calories *and* you need more fuel, then try adding nutritious, calorie-dense food like nuts, seeds, cheese, avocado, olive oil etc..
    If you are not as hungry during the week and you feel fine energy wise, you don't HAVE to add 200 calories worth of chocolate daily -- use them for your weekend mealsif you usually eat more on the weekends.

    Remember, it is the total number of calories (averaged out) that matter. That way, if you are under your goal during the week and then go over your MFP calories on the weekend, you will still be on track.

    Now, I am not saying try to exist on 100 calories a day and then binge on the weekends. That's not it at all.
    But can use moderation; also know that you can be flexible with your daily calories as long as it is balanced out over the week.
  • beachhouse758
    beachhouse758 Posts: 371 Member
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    Laurafoxx81 wrote: »
    Well for a few days I've been eating about 700 cal...eating healthy food (fish, fruit veg etc ) and going the gym.. will this work? I don't need to really loose weight just have baby fat & need to tone up....

    No, even toddlers need more calories than that. Seriously.

    Also, you can't turn baby fat into toned muscle. That's not going to work either.

  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    I am this person. I see the number. I eat up to that number. I recently had to lower my calories, because I wasn't leaving anything on the table and once the weekend hit, BAM-there went my little weekly deficit.

    Even when I was eating up toward maintenance, I would always eat ALL THE CALORIES.
  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,323 Member
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    On my exercise days i have to force myself to eat all those calories but on my two rest days...its easy to eat 1200 cals a day. so...who knows.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    urloved33 wrote: »
    On my exercise days i have to force myself to eat all those calories but on my two rest days...its easy to eat 1200 cals a day. so...who knows.

    Well...1200 is a little different. I would hope you'd eat all of them.
  • Laurafoxx81
    Laurafoxx81 Posts: 95 Member
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    beachhouse758 wrote: »
    Laurafoxx81 wrote: »
    Well for a few days I've been eating about 700 cal...eating healthy food (fish, fruit veg etc ) and going the gym.. will this work? I don't need to really loose weight just have baby fat & need to tone up....

    No, even toddlers need more calories than that. Seriously.

    Also, you can't turn baby fat into toned muscle. That's not going to work either.
    Well what would you suggest then? I'm 5'3 ...not exactly fat I'm just over 9 half stone.. I have healthy bmi & 19% body fat?
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Laurafoxx81 wrote: »
    beachhouse758 wrote: »
    Laurafoxx81 wrote: »
    Well for a few days I've been eating about 700 cal...eating healthy food (fish, fruit veg etc ) and going the gym.. will this work? I don't need to really loose weight just have baby fat & need to tone up....

    No, even toddlers need more calories than that. Seriously.

    Also, you can't turn baby fat into toned muscle. That's not going to work either.
    Well what would you suggest then? I'm 5'3 ...not exactly fat I'm just over 9 half stone.. I have healthy bmi & 19% body fat?

    Eat close to maintenance and lift? You can't be serious with 700 calories.
  • ReeseG4350
    ReeseG4350 Posts: 146 Member
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    First of all, I try not to obsess about food. Somewhere between eating to live and living to eat, there is this plumb bubble of choosing foods you really enjoy to sustain a healthy life.

    I know I have food 'weaknesses' so I try to avoid them. I know I have certain times of the day - between meals - when I am likely to want to munch. (For me, a handful of mini-carrots or a double herbal tea are always a good stop gap measure between a six thirty breakfast and a one o'clock lunch.

    Quite honestly, I cannot understand the complex series of manipulations some people here go through to 'pretend' they are not 'violating' some secret code of conduct. I don't usually eat 'over' my MFP calorie goal. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I do really a lot! And that goal includes exercise calories, too. Say I start with a 1,200 calorie 'bank'. I run four miles in the morning so my calorie bank is up to 1,750. Then, after work, I go work in my yard for two or three hours gardening or helping build a concrete wall or prepping and/or pouring a concrete slab or whatever. This gives me another 1,000 to 1,500 calories in my bank for a whopping 3,250 calorie bank for one day! No way I'm going to be eating that much food in one day no matter how hard I try. I'd be lucky to put be able to put away 1,500! A surplus? BFD. The next day starts a new day. If I overeat 50 or a hundred or two hundred calories one day - I'm not going to suffer panic attacks over it. The next day starts a new day.

    But there have been occasions when I may have that bank of 2,000 calories but only eat about my original 1,200. When I close out my intake for the day, MFP tells me "You're likely not eating enough"! REALLY?? Well, the next day starts a new day. But those calories are no longer on the 'pitch' as it were.
    .
    The next day is a new day, a new life, a new chance to change your world for the better.

    Trying to bargain with yourself over a handful of calories is sort of like making a deal with the devil.

    No matter how hard you try... you lose.

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