How do people not eat all of their allotted calories?
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ReeseG4350 wrote: »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.
mmk0 -
arditarose wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »
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?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.
Eat close to maintenance and lift? You can't be serious with 700 calories.
Why can't I be serious...I don't get that hungry and the food I eat has hardly any calories....I'm not going to force myself to eat to reach a target.. some days I do have 1200 cals if I'm hungry0 -
Laurafoxx81 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »
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?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.
Eat close to maintenance and lift? You can't be serious with 700 calories.
Why can't I be serious...I don't get that hungry and the food I eat has hardly any calories....I'm not going to force myself to eat to reach a target.. some days I do have 1200 cals if I'm hungry
how are you measuring yourself to be 19% bodyfat?0 -
TavistockToad wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »
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?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.
Eat close to maintenance and lift? You can't be serious with 700 calories.
Why can't I be serious...I don't get that hungry and the food I eat has hardly any calories....I'm not going to force myself to eat to reach a target.. some days I do have 1200 cals if I'm hungry
how are you measuring yourself to be 19% bodyfat?
The scales in the gym they measure weight hight bmi and body fat0 -
I am trying to re-train myself to eat when I'm hungry, and not eat when I am not hungry… I stay under my calorie goal either way. Even if it is just slightly under… I only eat my exercise calories if I am hungry. I'm trying to consciously not eat "just because". I'm avoiding empty calories, as they don't seem to fill me up anyway. Good luck on your journey!0
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Laurafoxx81 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »
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?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.
Eat close to maintenance and lift? You can't be serious with 700 calories.
Why can't I be serious...I don't get that hungry and the food I eat has hardly any calories....I'm not going to force myself to eat to reach a target.. some days I do have 1200 cals if I'm hungry
how are you measuring yourself to be 19% bodyfat?
The scales in the gym they measure weight hight bmi and body fat
They are typically not accurate.0 -
arditarose wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »
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?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.
Eat close to maintenance and lift? You can't be serious with 700 calories.
Why can't I be serious...I don't get that hungry and the food I eat has hardly any calories....I'm not going to force myself to eat to reach a target.. some days I do have 1200 cals if I'm hungry
how are you measuring yourself to be 19% bodyfat?
The scales in the gym they measure weight hight bmi and body fat
They are typically not accurate.
There accurate enough to use.0 -
soccerkon26 wrote: »The thing that bothers me, is that I always eat back ALL of my exercise calories; and if I don't exercise, I eat all of the calories originally allotted to me.
It's frustrating because I feel that I simply eat because I can. But I feel that often times I'm eating hundreds of calories of chocolate when I should cut it in half so I have a bigger deficit to spend on the weekend. I'd like to have a weekly deficit instead of doing what I usually do...eat right at my calorie goal for most of the week and then go over one or two days during the week.
Have you ever had this problem? Any tips are appreciated
Here's my take on it:
Do whatever will be SUSTAINABLE for you long term.
I have been able (except for when I wasn't *ON* MFP for a couple months..) to keep losing weight with an overall WEEKLY deficit. I typically DO go over on calories once or twice a week...sometimes even with exercise calories. \
For me, I'm working on making continuing changes I can stick to. I realize it is completely unrealistic for me to think I will just "quit" eating ice cream, candy, salty processed snacks etc. I could do it...but I'll be grumpy about it, feel deprived, obsess about them and eventually end up eating a whole frickin' BAG/PINT because I'm tired of not eating them.
So I'm doing things like: I don't have ice cream IN THE HOUSE. I substitute YoNanas most of the time. When nothing but Graeter's/Ben and Jerry's will do...I go out and get a single scoop. I don't feel like I've "given up" ice cream...but I'm not eating far too huge portions just because it's "there" close at hand.
If it is your desire to have your "cheat" day hit on the weekends, I don't really think it's bad to go under 200-300 calories one or two days to store up a surplus...ESPECIALLY if that surplus is exercise calories you "paid for".
If you find yourself hangry...GENUINELY hungry and not just eating because you can or you're bored...a lot, then maybe the better route is to eat the calories back during the week and tone the weekend excess down a bit.0 -
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.
Agreed. 700 is too low to go...period.0 -
arditarose wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »
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?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.
Eat close to maintenance and lift? You can't be serious with 700 calories.
Why can't I be serious...I don't get that hungry and the food I eat has hardly any calories....I'm not going to force myself to eat to reach a target.. some days I do have 1200 cals if I'm hungry
how are you measuring yourself to be 19% bodyfat?
The scales in the gym they measure weight hight bmi and body fat
They are typically not accurate.
Don't bother, @arditarose . You must have missed the closed Slendertone and Skinnymint threads.
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GBrady43068 wrote: »soccerkon26 wrote: »The thing that bothers me, is that I always eat back ALL of my exercise calories; and if I don't exercise, I eat all of the calories originally allotted to me.
It's frustrating because I feel that I simply eat because I can. But I feel that often times I'm eating hundreds of calories of chocolate when I should cut it in half so I have a bigger deficit to spend on the weekend. I'd like to have a weekly deficit instead of doing what I usually do...eat right at my calorie goal for most of the week and then go over one or two days during the week.
Have you ever had this problem? Any tips are appreciated
Here's my take on it:
Do whatever will be SUSTAINABLE for you long term.
I have been able (except for when I wasn't *ON* MFP for a couple months..) to keep losing weight with an overall WEEKLY deficit. I typically DO go over on calories once or twice a week...sometimes even with exercise calories. \
For me, I'm working on making continuing changes I can stick to. I realize it is completely unrealistic for me to think I will just "quit" eating ice cream, candy, salty processed snacks etc. I could do it...but I'll be grumpy about it, feel deprived, obsess about them and eventually end up eating a whole frickin' BAG/PINT because I'm tired of not eating them.
So I'm doing things like: I don't have ice cream IN THE HOUSE. I substitute YoNanas most of the time. When nothing but Graeter's/Ben and Jerry's will do...I go out and get a single scoop. I don't feel like I've "given up" ice cream...but I'm not eating far too huge portions just because it's "there" close at hand.
If it is your desire to have your "cheat" day hit on the weekends, I don't really think it's bad to go under 200-300 calories one or two days to store up a surplus...ESPECIALLY if that surplus is exercise calories you "paid for".
If you find yourself hangry...GENUINELY hungry and not just eating because you can or you're bored...a lot, then maybe the better route is to eat the calories back during the week and tone the weekend excess down a bit.
This is not exactly what we are talking about. The OP is saying she eats all of her calories, just because she is using a banana ice cream substitute (which by the way, how is that not giving up ice cream?), doesn't mean she won't eat her remaining 400 calories in banana mush instead of only 200.0 -
Laurafoxx81 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »
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?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.
Eat close to maintenance and lift? You can't be serious with 700 calories.
Why can't I be serious...I don't get that hungry and the food I eat has hardly any calories....I'm not going to force myself to eat to reach a target.. some days I do have 1200 cals if I'm hungry
how are you measuring yourself to be 19% bodyfat?
The scales in the gym they measure weight hight bmi and body fat
They are typically not accurate.
There accurate enough to use.
i'm presuming when you say 'baby fat' you mean stomach fat from having a baby? at 19% BF it would be mainly loose skin not fat.
also such a massive deficit at that low bodyfat is just encouraging your body to use muscle as fuel as you wouldnt have the fat reserves to burn.0 -
PeachyPlum wrote: »arditarose wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »
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?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.
Eat close to maintenance and lift? You can't be serious with 700 calories.
Why can't I be serious...I don't get that hungry and the food I eat has hardly any calories....I'm not going to force myself to eat to reach a target.. some days I do have 1200 cals if I'm hungry
how are you measuring yourself to be 19% bodyfat?
The scales in the gym they measure weight hight bmi and body fat
They are typically not accurate.
Don't bother, @arditarose . You must have missed the closed Slendertone and Skinnymint threads.
Oh! I saw the skinny mint thing but didn't read.0 -
If the issue is that you go over a day or two every week, I agree with those who say calculate how many calories you are willing to go over by and lower your deficit by that amount (divided by the number of days) on the other days.
I don't think there's anything wrong with eating your full allowance, though. I try to do that, although I don't force it if I'm just not hungry (since I know I'll eat more on other days). If I think exercise calories might be overcounted I reduce them (in fact I have a set amount I log for exercise and limit it to that), but on the whole I don't think it's great to try and undereat. I'm mostly trying to lose fat/recomp, and so I'd like to keep a pretty narrow deficit, especially since I work out pretty hard, to avoid losing muscle.
Some people may get overweight because they don't listen to hunger/satiety signs, but I suspect lots are like me and just don't have a good natural sense of when they are really hungry vs. just would enjoy eating, so I find it easier to rely on external cues like having a schedule and eating regular meals and amounts (I did this until late in my 20s and was never overweight and later maintained pretty effortlessly for 5 years doing the same--it's trying to eat based on hunger and going away from more scheduled eating that kills me). I do attempt not to be eating tons of extra calories in sweets though (unless it's a special occasion and I planned for it), so if I have lots of calories left I'll try to add in more meat and veggies and potatoes or the like. If I'm not hungry for that I figure I'm not hungry and will make it up the next day or so. (This does not mean that I avoid sweets--I see nothing wrong with a regular serving of ice cream as part of my calories if I otherwise eat a diet based on nutrient dense foods.)0 -
I think the reason most people don't eat back all the exercise calories is that MFP overestimate calorie burns, so if you eat all the calories, you could end up wiping your deficit.
This is why I don't eat back ALL of my exercise calories typically. My usual formula is MFP or machine estimate * .66 = what I log for the burn. I know many go as low as *.5 but since I'm still seeing results, I'm not ready to do that. If I see my loss slow way down and I'm still eating within range and have a long way to go to my final weight goal, I'll probably change that number to .6, .55, .5 to make sure I'm still getting my deficit for the week.
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I work a very stressful job with 16 hour days. I used to emotionally eat just to eat. Now on some days I would prefer sleep to food, so I do miss a few meals. I can stand to miss a few at this point.0
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OP, if you're trying to save some extra calories, try to keep yourself busy.
On the weekends, I have no problem staying way under my goal (and have to remind myself to eat enough) because I'm busy doing housework, yardwork, playing with the dogs, etc... Even if I'm starting to feel hungry, it's just like "Oh, I'm hungry. I'll take care of that when I'm done here."
On the weekdays I almost always eat all my calories. I get bored at work at the first hint of hunger I'm digging into my lunch.
If I remember right you're in school, so it's hard to stay busy when you need to be studying (and so tempting to snack while you study) but do what you can. Maybe go study somewhere where food isn't available or allowed, like the library or computer lab.0 -
I tend to eat lighter at breakfast and lunch to leave some cals for dinner. Then, since I'm eating a heavier dinner I'm pretty full at the end of the day so I may have another 50-100 calories (usually in ghirardelli dark squares) and then I'm generally under a bit at the end. Exercise calories definitely help me to have a bigger dinner or an extra snack during the day also, but I don't usually eat them all back. I usually do 200 at breakfast, 300 ish at lunch, a couple of 100 cal snacks and then 400-600 at dinner. Plus my chocolate and coffee creamer. On workout days I'll often have chocolate milk or a protein drink. This of course all falls apart on Saturday nights but I'm okay with it because I work out and because I've usually spread out enough of a deficit that it doesn't matter. Anyway, that's how I do it. But also - if you do eat every one of your calories, that's ok too. That's how the system is meant to work.0
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TavistockToad wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »
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?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.
Eat close to maintenance and lift? You can't be serious with 700 calories.
Why can't I be serious...I don't get that hungry and the food I eat has hardly any calories....I'm not going to force myself to eat to reach a target.. some days I do have 1200 cals if I'm hungry
how are you measuring yourself to be 19% bodyfat?
The scales in the gym they measure weight hight bmi and body fat
They are typically not accurate.
There accurate enough to use.
i'm presuming when you say 'baby fat' you mean stomach fat from having a baby? at 19% BF it would be mainly loose skin not fat.
also such a massive deficit at that low bodyfat is just encouraging your body to use muscle as fuel as you wouldnt have the fat reserves to burn.
Yeah that's exactly what I mean.. how do you get rid.. I don't eat 700 cal everyday btw it's just odd occasions.... but I'll usually eat less than 1500 everyday0 -
arditarose wrote: »PeachyPlum wrote: »arditarose wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »TavistockToad wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »arditarose wrote: »Laurafoxx81 wrote: »
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?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.
Eat close to maintenance and lift? You can't be serious with 700 calories.
Why can't I be serious...I don't get that hungry and the food I eat has hardly any calories....I'm not going to force myself to eat to reach a target.. some days I do have 1200 cals if I'm hungry
how are you measuring yourself to be 19% bodyfat?
The scales in the gym they measure weight hight bmi and body fat
They are typically not accurate.
Don't bother, @arditarose . You must have missed the closed Slendertone and Skinnymint threads.
Oh! I saw the skinny mint thing but didn't read.
She just got more and more irate and abusive because people were telling her it didn't work. Thread got closed shortly after she started calling people stupid fatties and assuming MFP must be mostly Americans because of how stupid we are to think detox tea doesn't work.
It was the highlight of my day.0
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