For those of you on 1200 cals and workout...

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SarahSloth342634
SarahSloth342634 Posts: 90 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
How do you do it! I've dropped 9lbs by calorie controlled diet with a lightly active lifestyle. I introduced workouts but feel like I'm more hungry which is causing me to stress about it. Is this long term or will I get used to workouts! Purpose right now being maintain weight and drop body fat.
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  • tedioustrainingap
    tedioustrainingap Posts: 78 Member
    edited June 2015
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    Are you eating your exercise calories back? On exercise days, I go from a 1200 allowance, to 1600 or so. I only eat half back, because mfp is particularly generous in swimming calorie burns but you probably do need to eat that extra sustenance, if you are exercising.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    The way MFP is designed....you get 1200 calories + the calories you earned from exercise.

    1200 is MFPs lowest default minimum. Sure, it's fine for senior ladies, or the extremely petite. But most women can eat more & still lose weight. The choice is yours.
  • SarahSloth342634
    SarahSloth342634 Posts: 90 Member
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    Thanks, I never plan to eat back excersise calories but like today, I had to add an extra 250 cals to my dinner because I was still hungry!
  • tedioustrainingap
    tedioustrainingap Posts: 78 Member
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    I've only just started but during my first week, I misunderstood that 1200 is the net I should aim for. My net had been as low as 500 some days (1200 - exercise calories). By the weekend, I was exhausted and pretty hungry! So, now I aim nearer to the 1200. I want to be healthy enough to swim :)
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    Your body will adjust as you go and get used to eating the smaller amount! My calorie limit is 1,200 (usually eat around 1,000 because I exercise off 200) and it did take a little while to adjust to, but now I get full off of even less and have to remind myself to eat more on some days. Make sure you are eating nutrient packed foods that will keep you feeling full for longer (like apples, protein shakes, veggies, etc.) That helps a lot! Try to consume smaller portions throughout the day to avoid a growling stomachs.

    I start my day with yogurt and coffee, have veggies and a lunch meat roll up around 1PM (lunch), fruit mid-day, sunflower seeds as an additional snack, protein shake or dinner, and a little caramel as "dessert" :)
  • paris458
    paris458 Posts: 231 Member
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    I am not more hungry but I feel weak and tired when I workout. I dont know if I should worry about weight loss more or eat more and worry about muscles at this point.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    sarahsloath wrote: »
    Thanks, I never plan to eat back excersise calories but like today, I had to add an extra 250 cals to my dinner because I was still hungry!

    Hunger is not a reliable indicator for proper nutrition. High water intake...full. High fiber intake.....full. Hormone levels....full. I intentionally eat back exercise calories because I want to lose fat....not muscle. Eating too little makes it hard for my body to support existing muscle.

    1200 is a minimum default.....so that number is not based on your height, weight, or age. If you eat 1200 and you exercise for 400.....that's like giving your body 800 calories for basic bodily function......heart, lungs, kidneys, etc. Your body will use existing muscle for fuel if it has to.

    Google skinny-fat. Only the scale looks good
  • sixxpoint
    sixxpoint Posts: 3,529 Member
    edited June 2015
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    Drastic calorie cuts can be counterproductive, potentially unhealthy, promote muscle loss and poor body composition. If MFP set your target at 1200-1400 cals/day, then you should seriously revisit those results. Try basing your calorie target off of TDEE instead (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). Plus or minus a safe 10-20% range to/from TDEE in order to bulk or cut. Include your bodyfat % in the measurements for more accurate results.

    Using this site on a computer can help you with the basic info:

    http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/
  • RebeccaD22
    RebeccaD22 Posts: 202 Member
    edited June 2015
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    TeaBea wrote: »
    Your body will use existing muscle for fuel if it has to.

    So, does your body burn muscle before fat? Why is this?
  • SarahSloth342634
    SarahSloth342634 Posts: 90 Member
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    Thank you sixxpoint, that's very interesting information :)
  • br3adman
    br3adman Posts: 284 Member
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    Well lots of plain yogurt a cup is 100 calories All types of berries for breakfast. You can do smoothies ect. Try for 4 ounces of lean protein at lunch and dinner with veggies. I'm usually hungry at night so I have a 50 cal string cheese or sardines. Also I try to burn 500-750 cal per day walking. That's 6000-9000 steps for me.
  • br3adman
    br3adman Posts: 284 Member
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    RebeccaD22 wrote: »
    TeaBea wrote: »
    Your body will use existing muscle for fuel if it has to.

    So, does your body burn muscle before fat? Why is this?

    Your body burns carbs first. That's why if you exercise without lots of carbs on your stomach your body goes into fat reserves ands burns that.
  • Clarewho
    Clarewho Posts: 494 Member
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    br3adman wrote: »
    RebeccaD22 wrote: »
    TeaBea wrote: »
    Your body will use existing muscle for fuel if it has to.

    So, does your body burn muscle before fat? Why is this?

    Your body burns carbs first. That's why if you exercise without lots of carbs on your stomach your body goes into fat reserves ands burns that.

    That's interesting I didn't know that! So should we limit pre-gym carbs to burn more fat?
  • kmab1985
    kmab1985 Posts: 295 Member
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    I always eat my exercise calories! My target is 1200 but with exercise it goes up to about 1500 and I nearly always eat 1500 calories! Otherwise I get really hungry! Today was a good day though macro wise and I ate more protein too today,I felt energetic all day! Theres no way I could not eat my exercise calories as like previous post said it would be 1200 minus exercise calories which means youd only be eating around 900-1000 which I thought wasnt good for your health.
  • pumpkinpocalypse
    pumpkinpocalypse Posts: 104 Member
    edited June 2015
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    Not so long ago I'd eat 1200 calories (or less, accidentally...) net, then workout. I'd feel pretty damn hungry sometimes afterwards but I didn't feel like eating anymore either, I'm just like that. Not a big snack person.
    I just developped a habit of being hungry and it doesn't really affect/bother me anymore...you get used to it, if that's what you actually want to do. But eating more than 1200 on days you exercice is in no way a bad thing, and probably better for you as well. Your choice, I'm just sharing my experience. (Even though now that i'm trying out maintenance and eating more everyday, i feel way better in general. I believe for most people eating more will increase their performance when working out as well so that's also a plus ((can't say much, i always gave my 110% when i'm exercicing, with or without eating much. I'm already a case of hyperactivity haha)) )

    Edit : but if your goal is to build muscle more than losing weight (which comes first usually, but maybe you are at the end part of your weight loss?), you should seriously try eating more/enough, and have a lot of protein in your daily diet, so you can actually maintain your muscle mass and increase it. Not eating enough might cause you damage on that part. (even though i managed to get some nice muscle definition on 1300 cals, AND exercice, my progress shows much more faster now that I eat more. Food is fuel, as they say)
  • Toadstool_
    Toadstool_ Posts: 120 Member
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    I'm on a 1200 diet, and until recently haven't been exercising and feeling surprisingly full on 1200. Since exercising daily though, I've been so hungry! I've been letting myself have 1300 thinking im probably just being a pig, but after reading this, I may try out a little bit higher. Useful post! :)
  • North44
    North44 Posts: 359 Member
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    I'm on 1200 and I eat back all of my exercise calories for the most part which brings me up by 200 calories or more every day. If I don't exercise I eat over goal. I just can't seem to eat 1200; it's just not enough food for me. I've lost 11.5 pounds in 2 months and am only 4 pounds from goal so I'm very happy!
  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
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    RebeccaD22 wrote: »
    TeaBea wrote: »
    Your body will use existing muscle for fuel if it has to.

    So, does your body burn muscle before fat? Why is this?

    The body's preference for fuel is a complex mix that takes place between incoming fuel sources, sources on hand. Generally speaking, if in equal calorie deficits, the lower the body fat percentage of the individual, the more likely they'll burn muscle than fat.
  • VictorCalin
    VictorCalin Posts: 2 Member
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    Hi, I think it's not here the place to ask but I've just downloaded the app and I'm wondering why after I've added some exercises along with all my meals for today in the app the only thing showed are the meals. "1800 kcal + 0 exercises"
    I was expecting from this app to take into account the calories burned by exercises.
    If someone can explain me how it works, I would like to thank in advance.
    Victor
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited June 2015
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    VictorCalin wrote: »
    Hi, I think it's not here the place to ask but I've just downloaded the app and I'm wondering why after I've added some exercises along with all my meals for today in the app the only thing showed are the meals. "1800 kcal + 0 exercises"
    I was expecting from this app to take into account the calories burned by exercises.
    If someone can explain me how it works, I would like to thank in advance.
    Victor

    Did you LOG your exercise under cardiovascular? Cardiovascular is where the calorie estimates are (you can override these #'s). If you have an activity tracker synced to MFP that may add in additional calories too....activity (or exercise) but depending on the device you have to do a re-synch from time to time.

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