Do I need to eat some of my exercise calories or all 1200 of my calories
Replies
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kshama2001 wrote: »
still not 12001 -
Arguably the better a swimmer is, the lower the burn as they're more efficient than the average Joe.2
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heiliskrimsli wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »If I'm not hungry, I don't eat more. Doesn't matter if it's exercise calories or not, i don't feel an obligation to eat when not hungry just to meet an arbitrary number.
Just because you aren't hungry doesn't mean you don't need to fuel your body. Not meeting your calories and nutrients can lead to a higher rate of muscle loss, as well as a host of health concerns.
My doctor doesn't advise force feeding myself.
This is the second thread I've seen you describing what I consider "eating sufficient calories to fuel activity levels and within a moderate calorie deficit for long term, sustainable weight loss" as "force feeding" or "shoving food in my cake hole".
It seems like you may have some prior struggles with disordered eating - is that an accurate assessment? You have a very negative outlook toward food and the recommendation to eat back exercise calories. As I mentioned in another thread, no one is suggesting someone force themselves to eat to the point of discomfort - however, if a person finds themselves consistently under a calorie target including the exercise burns, and that person is an active person, they may want to look at the overall composition of their diet and try to incorporate some more calorie dense foods to help offset that big deficit. That is not a recommendation to shove junk food in one's mouth, as I'm sure you will misinterpret in my words. It is simply a comment that if someone finds themselves consistently under (or consistently over) a target - then it would be prudent to look at the targets themselves, the foods that are being eaten, and make sure that everything is aligned to the long term goal.15 -
kshama2001 wrote: »
We are of a similar weight and I get 630 calories an hour for Swimming laps, freestyle, light/moderate effort. Your 1200 calorie burn for 60 minutes of intense plus 30 minutes of moderate swimming does not seem out of the realm of possibility to me.
I only lake swim, and am limited to the summer. I eat 100% of my calories back. This does not impede my weight loss.
Definitely eat at least 50% of your swimming calories back.kshama2001 wrote: »
Intensity is relative.
But--she can either eat back 50% of the inflated value, or make the value a little bit more reasonable and eat back 100%--both are a means to the same end.0 -
heiliskrimsli wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »If I'm not hungry, I don't eat more. Doesn't matter if it's exercise calories or not, i don't feel an obligation to eat when not hungry just to meet an arbitrary number.
Just because you aren't hungry doesn't mean you don't need to fuel your body. Not meeting your calories and nutrients can lead to a higher rate of muscle loss, as well as a host of health concerns.
My doctor doesn't advise force feeding myself.
How many calories are you short? A tablespoon of peanut butter has 100 calories. An ounce of pecans has almost 200 calories. 200 calories of kale might require force feeding, but 200 calories of nuts sure doesn't.
Look, many of us need to lose weight because our hunger cues were off, which caused us to eat when we weren't hungry. This also goes the other way - we can be undereating and not feeling hungry.
If your weight loss is too fast for the amount of weight you have to lose, then you should eat more, hungry or not.7 -
nickiphillips1 wrote: »I am 201.5lbs and I need to lose 30 menopause lbs.
I am swimming competitively and have 1200 calories a day. I get an extra 1200 calories or so a day since I swim 60 - 90 minutes. I don't ever take all of those calories. Should I take some? I may take 100-300 extra calories those days. But should I try not too?
Here is what I eat during the day:
Breakfast (before swimming): fruit bar - 220 calories - 8 g protein - 33 g carbs
Snack (after swimming); smoothie - 310 calories - kale, fruit, p butter powder, tumeric, ginger, chia, flax seed, purple v8 (1/2 cup)
lunch: 1 cup quinoa, broccoli or veggie, pea protein and cashew milk or egg
dinner: 2-3 servings veggie and lean meat or fish
occasional snack: 2 cups whole grain popcorn
tons of water all day
maybe a cup of green tea
maybe a tbsp of olive oil
Try eating back 1/2 of your exercise calories for 4 weeks and see how much you have lost. If you are on target, keep doing it. I am a swimmer (leisurely, not competitive) and I eat back 75% of all exercise calories from both swimming and walking which works perfectly for me.
Days where I am full and I still have calories to eat are the days I add more fat to something I am preparing or I treat myself to a glass of wine (200 calories for a 250 ml glass of red).
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nickiphillips1 wrote: »Thank you Faithful_Chosen. I like your explanation. I have made this change as a lifelong change in my diet, not a "diet" to lose weight for a short period of time.
Because of my MS, I am eating foods that reduce inflammation and flare-ups. I would rather eat healthy than take more meds. I would love to get off of some of my migraine medication as well (quinoa is great for migraines).
I have waited two years trying to lose weight and to no avail.
I used to be a highly competitive lake swimmer and go to nationals for swimming. I want to do that again and I realize that is only going to take time.
Although, I wish the weight would just drop away, I understand that that is not the healthy way to do it.
I am constantly thirsty (my meds give me dry mouth). I drink tons of water and know my weight fluctuates throughout the day from water weight.
I will add back 50% of the exercise calories it gives me with a balance of carbs and protein and fat.
Thank you all.
BTW, I have noticed some improvement with my swimming as well. That is a long road...
Particularly with MS, you shouldn't be underfueling. It's clear to me that you're already on an aggressive deficit (are you trying to lose 2 pounds a week)?
I'm glad you are going to eat more, and would suggest that you consider, if you are indeed eating at a rate that has you losing 2 pounds a week, to slow it down to a pound a week.
You have stated that you only want to lose 30 pounds. 2 pounds a week is more appropriate for people with larger amounts of weight to lose, and since you are looking to make a sustainable change, losing more slowly would be more in line with your goals.3 -
you are not burning 1200 calories in an hour.
I wouldn't be so sure. I couldn't burn 1200 calories in an hour swimming, but I'm not a competitive swimmer. To give an impression, Michael Phelps famously eats 12,500 calories a day to maintain his weight while training. Just for the sake of argument, supposing him to have a sedentary burn of 3000cal, that would mean he is burning around 9,500cal in a day's training. Full intensity competitive swimming burns a lot of calories, far more than that burned by an ordinary muppet like me, even if I give it my best.
My opinion is that OP is eating far too little to support her training and will be compromising the muscle development she needs to do well in her sport by trying to subsist on what, for me as an average size woman at the top of the "overweight" category, would be a sedentary deficit of 750 calories. OP, you need to look at ways of eating more other than "force feeding" yourself. It rarely comes down to that, it's a question of including more calorie dense foods, such as fat and carbs.2 -
WinoGelato wrote: »It seems like you may have some prior struggles with disordered eating - is that an accurate assessment?
It is not accurate at all.
As a kid I got a fairly typical refrain of "Clean your plate" from my mother, but that's hardly an eating disorder.You have a very negative outlook toward food and the recommendation to eat back exercise calories. As I mentioned in another thread, no one is suggesting someone force themselves to eat to the point of discomfort - however, if a person finds themselves consistently under a calorie target including the exercise burns, and that person is an active person, they may want to look at the overall composition of their diet and try to incorporate some more calorie dense foods to help offset that big deficit.
And if my performance is where I want it (which it is), and I'm not hungry, I don't eat for the sake of meeting an intake number alone. If I'm hungry, I eat more. If not, I don't. There are days I have a surplus, even. Race day celebration beers, the occasional barbecue or party. So I don't worry about hitting the line every day because on the longer timeline I will even out. Athletic performance is a big deal for me. I'm forever chasing a new PR or increasing the distance I run. That wouldn't happen if I were starving.That is not a recommendation to shove junk food in one's mouth, as I'm sure you will misinterpret in my words. It is simply a comment that if someone finds themselves consistently under (or consistently over) a target - then it would be prudent to look at the targets themselves, the foods that are being eaten, and make sure that everything is aligned to the long term goal.
You did suggest that because I don't have a daily calorie minimum that I must meet every single day that I'm deprived by referencing Girl Scout cookies, no? All I have to say about that is that it's not deprivation to not have something that you don't actually want.0 -
kshama2001 wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »If I'm not hungry, I don't eat more. Doesn't matter if it's exercise calories or not, i don't feel an obligation to eat when not hungry just to meet an arbitrary number.
Just because you aren't hungry doesn't mean you don't need to fuel your body. Not meeting your calories and nutrients can lead to a higher rate of muscle loss, as well as a host of health concerns.
My doctor doesn't advise force feeding myself.
How many calories are you short? A tablespoon of peanut butter has 100 calories. An ounce of pecans has almost 200 calories. 200 calories of kale might require force feeding, but 200 calories of nuts sure doesn't.
Look, many of us need to lose weight because our hunger cues were off, which caused us to eat when we weren't hungry. This also goes the other way - we can be undereating and not feeling hungry.
If your weight loss is too fast for the amount of weight you have to lose, then you should eat more, hungry or not.
Short of what, exactly?
I don't have a daily minimum goal.0 -
@heiliskrimsli are you hijacking the thread o_O?4
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JaydedMiss wrote: »@heiliskrimsli are you hijacking the thread o_O?
I was called out directly by two different people, so no.0 -
heiliskrimsli wrote: »JaydedMiss wrote: »@heiliskrimsli are you hijacking the thread o_O?
I was called out directly by two different people, so no.
You are giving advice that is not the best for people who are new and are trying to figure this whole thing out. A lot of people burn themselves out because they start out with a very aggressive and unnecessary goal, and then they think it's too difficult and give up and they gain the weight back. Or, they keep going and end up at goal not liking their physique, because they burned more muscle than they would have with a more reasonable deficit and just end up a smaller version of their former, smooshy selves. Or they go so long at a large deficit that they end up in that place of metabolic adaptation that means they are going to have to maintain on a smaller number of calories than they would have if they had eaten at a more reasonable deficit.
People recommending maintaining a reasonable deficit are not force-feeding themselves or stuffing their faces to reach an "arbitrary" number. They are recommending an individual eat to fuel their body appropriately, with adequate nutrition, and adding in some treats if desired. They are genuinely trying to help others see that weight loss and maintenance do not need to be as difficult and miserable as some believe and that food is fuel, but you can also eat some for pleasure if so desired and still reach your goals.
OP - please eat some of your exercise calories to appropriately fuel your body. As some have mentioned, maybe start with 50% for 4-6 weeks to see how your weight loss goes, then adjust if necessary.
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heiliskrimsli wrote: »JaydedMiss wrote: »@heiliskrimsli are you hijacking the thread o_O?
I was called out directly by two different people, so no.
When you come into a thread, with an OP eating 1200 calories and swimming intensely for an hour plus cool down/warm up laps of another half hour and say there's no need to eat to refuel that if you're not hungry, you WILL be called out because it is not just questionable advice, it's DANGEROUS.
Sometimes there is absolutely reason to eat even if you don't think you're hungry. It's not meeting some "arbitrary" number (spoiler, no numbers are arbitrary with the maths around weight management), it's ensuring you remain in optimum health whilst meeting nutritional needs and fuelling activity.
Why you are so vehemently against people being told they can and should eat more is really quite odd.8 -
OP with only 30 lbs to lose you should be aiming to lose no more than 1 lb/week AND you should be eating back some of those exercise calories.
For what it's worth I'm 5'2 and lost about the same amount of weight eating between 1600-1800 cals and I'm now in maintenance with a TDEE of 2200.1 -
nickiphillips1 wrote: »I am 201.5lbs and I need to lose 30 menopause lbs.
I am swimming competitively and have 1200 calories a day. I get an extra 1200 calories or so a day since I swim 60 - 90 minutes. I don't ever take all of those calories. Should I take some? I may take 100-300 extra calories those days. But should I try not too?
Here is what I eat during the day:
Breakfast (before swimming): fruit bar - 220 calories - 8 g protein - 33 g carbs
Snack (after swimming); smoothie - 310 calories - kale, fruit, p butter powder, tumeric, ginger, chia, flax seed, purple v8 (1/2 cup)
lunch: 1 cup quinoa, broccoli or veggie, pea protein and cashew milk or egg
dinner: 2-3 servings veggie and lean meat or fish
occasional snack: 2 cups whole grain popcorn
tons of water all day
maybe a cup of green tea
maybe a tbsp of olive oil
First, you probably are not burning 1200 calories from swimming. How long have you been eating like this? Are you losing? If so, at what rate? I think your diet sounds good, but I'd want to know if you have lost weight like this. If not, then your calculations are off somewhere.1 -
VintageFeline wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »JaydedMiss wrote: »@heiliskrimsli are you hijacking the thread o_O?
I was called out directly by two different people, so no.
When you come into a thread, with an OP eating 1200 calories and swimming intensely for an hour plus cool down/warm up laps of another half hour and say there's no need to eat to refuel that if you're not hungry, you WILL be called out because it is not just questionable advice, it's DANGEROUS.
Sometimes there is absolutely reason to eat even if you don't think you're hungry. It's not meeting some "arbitrary" number (spoiler, no numbers are arbitrary with the maths around weight management), it's ensuring you remain in optimum health whilst meeting nutritional needs and fuelling activity.
Why you are so vehemently against people being told they can and should eat more is really quite odd.
To add to this, the OP has a chronic medical condition that throws another monkey wrench into the works.
As another person with chronic medical conditions, I can't emphasize enough how important it is for those of us dieting while managing chronic illness to be mindful of not triggering a flare by doing anything too drastic.4 -
fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »nickiphillips1 wrote: »I am 201.5lbs and I need to lose 30 menopause lbs.
I am swimming competitively and have 1200 calories a day. I get an extra 1200 calories or so a day since I swim 60 - 90 minutes. I don't ever take all of those calories. Should I take some? I may take 100-300 extra calories those days. But should I try not too?
Here is what I eat during the day:
Breakfast (before swimming): fruit bar - 220 calories - 8 g protein - 33 g carbs
Snack (after swimming); smoothie - 310 calories - kale, fruit, p butter powder, tumeric, ginger, chia, flax seed, purple v8 (1/2 cup)
lunch: 1 cup quinoa, broccoli or veggie, pea protein and cashew milk or egg
dinner: 2-3 servings veggie and lean meat or fish
occasional snack: 2 cups whole grain popcorn
tons of water all day
maybe a cup of green tea
maybe a tbsp of olive oil
First, you probably are not burning 1200 calories from swimming. How long have you been eating like this? Are you losing? If so, at what rate? I think your diet sounds good, but I'd want to know if you have lost weight like this. If not, then your calculations are off somewhere.
While the OP is likely not burning 1200 calories swimming, she:
1. Only has 30 pounds to lose, putting her goal weight at 170-ish
2. Which means she's tall
3. Which means that a caloric intake of 1200 is an aggressive goal of 2 pounds a week which is too fast a rate of loss for only 30 pounds
4. Has Multiple Sclerosis, and needs to be mindful of not overstressing her body and triggering a flare4 -
Nothing personal but how do people over weight think they got overweight - if they weren't 'force feeding ' ? Then the ate high cal foods - you don't have to eat huge portions to get fat you simply eat too many calories
Confuses me once in calorie restricting they say I can't force myself to eat ????
If your over weight to start with you can eat more , personally I know once in the zone we can get scared if eating more incase we over eat.
As said you don't have to eat huge amounts of food to up your calories otherwise I'd never been fat as I dont eat large portions as ibs d I ate high calories foods hence I got fat
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They are genuinely trying to help others see that weight loss and maintenance do not need to be as difficult and miserable as some believe and that food is fuel, but you can also eat some for pleasure if so desired and still reach your goals.
I didn't suggest anyone should be miserable. On the contrary, all I have said is that not everyone who eats less than you think they should is miserable.0
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