Counting Calories question

amyamon14

I just started getting serious about counting my calories on a daily basis and have some questions.. If anyone could answer them I would appreciate it! My calorie goal is 1600, I set it at this because before I started eating less I was getting over 2000 calories a day... with 1400 calories I still feel hungry, so I am comfortable with 1600. I figure I can go down lower when I get use to the 1600.

My fitness pal counts your calories and subtracts it from your daily goal.. when you exercise it adds "allowed" calories back on, so it is like I can eat more for that day. I don't understand if I should still stick to the 1600 calorie goal in total for the day.. or if I should eat more and use those extra allowed calories? I feel like I shouldn't.

I dont know if anyone has ever heard of emeals... they send you a weekly menu for dinners that week with recipes and a grocery shopping list.. and you can choose the types of meals you get.. like low fat.. I would like to try something like this because I dont know how to make low fat, low calorie meals... emeals costs... does anyone know of a site like this that is cheap or free?

JakeBrownVB

you should be factoring your exercise into your daily calorie goals on a weekly basis.. not a daily. So if you didnt go gym you might be say 1400 calories.. but with gym 3 times a week you might be 1600 calories. Dont eat less on rest days and more on exercise days as this is counter productive to your recovery, this is assuming you are working out and lifting.

eblakes93

Personally, I choose not to eat "diet food" or low-fat foods. If I did that or did a weight loss system meal plan I wouldn't be able to get enough calories and would be hungry all the time. Low fat foods are also often high in sugar to replace the flavor lost from the fat. Fat is a necessary part of our diet. You just need to have it in a range that is healthy for you, like any other thing you would eat.

I eat what I want, when I want it - I just log everything I eat an am honest about it with myself. I eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains and proteins, but I also eat butter and cheese and white bread and ice cream. Yesterday I had an entire small movie popcorn with butter and went over my MFP alloted numbers - I'm not beating myself up about it, I enjoyed the movie and the popcorn, and I just won't eat like that today.