What do I do with leftover calories?

Bohbren

So I have been doing really well with my diet for a few weeks now. Lean steaks, chicken breasts, limited bread ect.. But i have been ending a lot of days with something like 1000 to 1500 calories left. I can say that before the diet on some days I would probably eat up to 4-5000 calories. I'm not starving or anything but do I NEED to try and get the calories in?

The calories leftover are from my I think.. 2200 calorie limit from this app.

I'm 6'4 235 pounds, what do you guys think?

Thanks,
Brendan

serindipte

Eat them. You don't have to go all lean everything. Your body needs fat. Carbs are fuel.

As a man, you should eat no less than 1500. As a man of your size? Eat all the calories, all 2200 of them. You will lose more healthily, you'll have more energy and it will be far more sustainable.

ETA: You risk losing excessive muscle by not fueling your body with enough calories. You want to keep that muscle!

Bohbren

2080* not 2200

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ashleyylo

That seems like a whooooole lot of leftover calories.

If you truly (ie if you've been logging accurately) have that many left over I think you should try to eat at least some of those leftovers, or "save" them for when you go to a special occasion or something and are bound to eat more.

Machka9

Let me get my head around the math ...

You're supposed to eat 2200 calories according to MFP ...
But you're ending up with 1000-1500 calories left over ...

So in other words, you're only eating 700-1200 calories ...
And you're a tall male who should not be going under 1500 calories a day.

Is that correct?

Bohbren

ashleyylo wrote: »

That seems like a whooooole lot of leftover calories.

If you truly (ie if you've been logging accurately) have that many left over I think you should try to eat at least some of those leftovers, or "save" them for when you go to a special occasion or something and are bound to eat more.

I know that it seems like a lot. I don't have the time in the day to eat "5 small meals a day" or even the 3. I generally have a lunch break at work and have a good sized dinner. So my main caloric intake is from dinner.

daniellockridge

Are you in the gym?

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serindipte

Add more butter, eat the bread, have the pasta. Your calorie setting by MFP is a "goal", you should strive to reach that to lose weight healthily.

Bohbren

daniellockridge wrote: »

Are you in the gym?

Yes. I work out 5 to 6 days a week. It's been a couple months now

daniellockridge

Bohbren wrote: »

daniellockridge wrote: »

Are you in the gym?

Yes. I work out 5 to 6 days a week. It's been a couple months now

I personally use a low cal shake before my workout then a shake with loaded cals after. I suggest myoplex protein shakes for post and pure protein before. The myoplex shake has 300cals and 42 grams of protein so I think it's great for a post and it keeps me from being hungry for a while after that as well as fills a calorie gap in my food diary.

EricaCraigie

Consistency !