Not enough calories and working out
Missycvt
Posts: 422 Member
So my calorie goal is 1200. Today I exercised and a total of 557 calories burned. I had a turkey sandwich for lunch and tilapia with veggies for dinner. I don't do breakfast because of swing shift schedule. I'm not hungry anymore and I'm way under my deficit. I drank over 64oz of water today. I really am bored now and I just want to go back to the gym. Is this considered healthy and ok? Thoughts?
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Replies
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No. Eating only a turkey sandwich and tilapia with vegetables for the entire day is not healthy. Especially not with a high level of exercise.12
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I mean do I have to eat? I know many people will say just go to bed and plan better tomorrow but this is pretty much how my days will be planned. 2 meals. I don't get hungry for snacks. At this rate I should be losing weight without working out but I want to exercise! I happened to lose over 500 calories today. So 500 calorie deficit plus whatever mfp says for me as a goal of 1200. What do I do? I'm obsessing over it.0
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If you don't want to eat more food in bulk, up your calories by eating higher calorie foods but right now you're trying to justify a very low calorie intake with a very high calorie burn and no, that's not at all healthy.15
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Of course you need to eat.
If you can't eat bigger meals (add of portion of starchy carbs perhaps?) then choose higher calorie density meals, graze on some snacks, drink some calories....5 -
So as long as I'm at 1200 with working off 500 I'm ok?0
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So netting 700? No, you should be eating some of your exercise calories back. How big is your turkey sandwich and how much fish are you eating, because you can fit a hell of a lot of both in 1200 calories.4
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If it's just one day it's perfectly okay to let it go, but don't allow it to become a frequent occurrence. Your health will thank you if you fuel your body appropriately.4
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Just a small turkey sandwich which totaled about 400. 1 1/2 Tilapia filets with 1 1/2 cup veggies equaled to about 500. So with a few more veggies and string cheese I've eaten I'm at 1,000 now. I'm trying to think...is this with the exercise and the calories burned?0
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Just a small turkey sandwich which totaled about 400. 1 1/2 Tilapia filets with 1 1/2 cup veggies equaled to about 500. So with a few more veggies and string cheese I've eaten I'm at 1,000 now. I'm trying to think...is this with the exercise and the calories burned?
So you ate 1000. Burned 500. You're netting 500. That's way too low.2 -
So mfp doesn't already calculate this? Omg!
This is going to be hard! 0 -
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You haven't even eaten 1200 cals, which is your recommended intake before exercise. You should be eating at least some of your exercise calories on top of your recommended 12000
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What would be an ideal day? I understand weight loss is the 1200 calorie deficit and also burning 500 calories a day with exercise is how people lose weight. Am I wrong? What is the meal prep for this plan? Anyone?0
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Ok, so 1200 calories till has a deficit built in. you would lose weight eating that with no exercise. when you exercise, you should eat some of those calories back, or you are eating at too aggressive a deficit and will be doing yourself damage. MFP does work it out - see the 720 remaining? Though it can also over estimate calorie burns, so many people only eat half back.
BUT you should be eating 1200 MINIMUM + some of your exercise calories.6 -
What would be an ideal day? I understand weight loss is the 1200 calorie deficit and also burning 500 calories a day with exercise is how people lose weight. Am I wrong? What is the meal prep for this plan? Anyone?
1200 cals is probably the recommendation you've been given for choosing 2lbs a week loss. This is calculated to have a deficit in it already. You eat this much if you don't exercise. If you do extra exercise you add more calories.1 -
I agree with others that it isn't healthy. However, I wouldn't stress because if you are truly burning 500 exercise calories on a regular basis & don't have an underlying medical condition, your hunger will not stay dormant for very long! I burned about 650 cals running this morning & nothing could have kept me from breakfast. Humans expend energy...then our brain tells our stomach to eat!!4
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Alatariel75 wrote: »Ok, so 1200 calories till has a deficit built in. you would lose weight eating that with no exercise. when you exercise, you should eat some of those calories back, or you are eating at too aggressive a deficit and will be doing yourself damage. MFP does work it out - see the 720 remaining? Though it can also over estimate calorie burns, so many people only eat half back.
BUT you should be eating 1200 MINIMUM + some of your exercise calories.
Okay thank you Alatariel. I will focus on this part. This is where I was confused. I'm not sure why I found it to be confusing.0 -
livingleanlivingclean wrote: »What would be an ideal day? I understand weight loss is the 1200 calorie deficit and also burning 500 calories a day with exercise is how people lose weight. Am I wrong? What is the meal prep for this plan? Anyone?
1200 cals is probably the recommendation you've been given for choosing 2lbs a week loss. This is calculated to have a deficit in it already. You eat this much if you don't exercise. If you do extra exercise you add more calories.
Thank you livinglean! This makes a lot of sense to add more calories when I workout or eat half back. Awesome. I will plan accordingly now. So what is anyone's ideal day as far as with this plan? Any suggestions for meals that will balance out with calorie burn and deficit?0 -
livingleanlivingclean wrote: »What would be an ideal day? I understand weight loss is the 1200 calorie deficit and also burning 500 calories a day with exercise is how people lose weight. Am I wrong? What is the meal prep for this plan? Anyone?
1200 cals is probably the recommendation you've been given for choosing 2lbs a week loss. This is calculated to have a deficit in it already. You eat this much if you don't exercise. If you do extra exercise you add more calories.
Thank you livinglean! This makes a lot of sense to add more calories when I workout or eat half back. Awesome. I will plan accordingly now. So what is anyone's ideal day as far as with this plan? Any suggestions for meals that will balance out with calorie burn and deficit?
I tend to plan and prep a week at a time - I eat the same thing every day just because it's easy. My food fits my preferences for foods and meal frequency and timing. I would plan meals/drinks for 1200 cals, then have an extra snack (or protein based smoothie) planned for exercise days.
If you only want 2 meals that's fine, but work out what combos will suit you in terms of volume, and calories. Sufficient protein and fat is important - perhaps start with these macros first then fill the rest of your cals with whatever you like.1 -
Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich - 500 to 750 cals depending on quantities.
Burger and small fries.
My point is, that people gravitate towards traditional "I'm on a diet" type foods. This is not a requirement. You can lose weight eating a variety of foods and even those that others may consider "junk food".
I'm a fan of chocolate - I eat it most days but I still hit me Calories (and I also monitor my macros and also hit those).
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livingleanlivingclean wrote: »livingleanlivingclean wrote: »What would be an ideal day? I understand weight loss is the 1200 calorie deficit and also burning 500 calories a day with exercise is how people lose weight. Am I wrong? What is the meal prep for this plan? Anyone?
1200 cals is probably the recommendation you've been given for choosing 2lbs a week loss. This is calculated to have a deficit in it already. You eat this much if you don't exercise. If you do extra exercise you add more calories.
Thank you livinglean! This makes a lot of sense to add more calories when I workout or eat half back. Awesome. I will plan accordingly now. So what is anyone's ideal day as far as with this plan? Any suggestions for meals that will balance out with calorie burn and deficit?
I tend to plan and prep a week at a time - I eat the same thing every day just because it's easy. My food fits my preferences for foods and meal frequency and timing. I would plan meals/drinks for 1200 cals, then have an extra snack (or protein based smoothie) planned for exercise days.
If you only want 2 meals that's fine, but work out what combos will suit you in terms of volume, and calories. Sufficient protein and fat is important - perhaps start with these macros first then fill the rest of your cals with whatever you like.
Again, thank you for your kind, helpful reply! I will do some research on meal prep and even maybe get a food scale to make sure I am logging everything correctly. I may be underestimating even?1 -
StealthHealth wrote: »Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich - 500 to 750 cals depending on quantities.
Burger and small fries.
My point is, that people gravitate towards traditional "I'm on a diet" type foods. This is not a requirement. You can lose weight eating a variety of foods and even those that others may consider "junk food".
I'm a fan of chocolate - I eat it most days but I still hit me Calories (and I also monitor my macros and also hit those).
So I'm not going to bed yet because of my schedule...it is possible that I may get hungry before bedtime. If I do have some peanut butter or whatever, it should be ok before bedtime right? Especially since I'm still under deficit?1 -
livingleanlivingclean wrote: »livingleanlivingclean wrote: »What would be an ideal day? I understand weight loss is the 1200 calorie deficit and also burning 500 calories a day with exercise is how people lose weight. Am I wrong? What is the meal prep for this plan? Anyone?
1200 cals is probably the recommendation you've been given for choosing 2lbs a week loss. This is calculated to have a deficit in it already. You eat this much if you don't exercise. If you do extra exercise you add more calories.
Thank you livinglean! This makes a lot of sense to add more calories when I workout or eat half back. Awesome. I will plan accordingly now. So what is anyone's ideal day as far as with this plan? Any suggestions for meals that will balance out with calorie burn and deficit?
I tend to plan and prep a week at a time - I eat the same thing every day just because it's easy. My food fits my preferences for foods and meal frequency and timing. I would plan meals/drinks for 1200 cals, then have an extra snack (or protein based smoothie) planned for exercise days.
If you only want 2 meals that's fine, but work out what combos will suit you in terms of volume, and calories. Sufficient protein and fat is important - perhaps start with these macros first then fill the rest of your cals with whatever you like.
Again, thank you for your kind, helpful reply! I will do some research on meal prep and even maybe get a food scale to make sure I am logging everything correctly. I may be underestimating even?
Definitely get a scale - it takes guess work out of the equation. If you have a more accurate idea of intake, you can make better adjustments if needed.5 -
StealthHealth wrote: »Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich - 500 to 750 cals depending on quantities.
Burger and small fries.
My point is, that people gravitate towards traditional "I'm on a diet" type foods. This is not a requirement. You can lose weight eating a variety of foods and even those that others may consider "junk food".
I'm a fan of chocolate - I eat it most days but I still hit me Calories (and I also monitor my macros and also hit those).
So I'm not going to bed yet because of my schedule...it is possible that I may get hungry before bedtime. If I do have some peanut butter or whatever, it should be ok before bedtime right? Especially since I'm still under deficit?
Definitely. Eat when you like, it makes no difference3 -
livingleanlivingclean wrote: »StealthHealth wrote: »Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich - 500 to 750 cals depending on quantities.
Burger and small fries.
My point is, that people gravitate towards traditional "I'm on a diet" type foods. This is not a requirement. You can lose weight eating a variety of foods and even those that others may consider "junk food".
I'm a fan of chocolate - I eat it most days but I still hit me Calories (and I also monitor my macros and also hit those).
So I'm not going to bed yet because of my schedule...it is possible that I may get hungry before bedtime. If I do have some peanut butter or whatever, it should be ok before bedtime right? Especially since I'm still under deficit?
Definitely. Eat when you like, it makes no difference
Thank very much! Add as friend? Very helpful.
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The 1200 daily goal already puts you at a deficit to lose weight. So if you burn more calories off, you get to eat more. You should have eaten 1700 calories today. Hope that makes sense.
I lost 85 lbs doing it that way.
Good luck!3 -
The 1200 daily goal already puts you at a deficit to lose weight. So if you burn more calories off, you get to eat more. You should have eaten 1700 calories today. Hope that makes sense.
I lost 85 lbs doing it that way.
Good luck!
Thank you for clarifying this! Wow! Great loss! I will definitely follow.1 -
StealthHealth wrote: »Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich - 500 to 750 cals depending on quantities.
Burger and small fries.
My point is, that people gravitate towards traditional "I'm on a diet" type foods. This is not a requirement. You can lose weight eating a variety of foods and even those that others may consider "junk food".
I'm a fan of chocolate - I eat it most days but I still hit me Calories (and I also monitor my macros and also hit those).
So I'm not going to bed yet because of my schedule...it is possible that I may get hungry before bedtime. If I do have some peanut butter or whatever, it should be ok before bedtime right? Especially since I'm still under deficit?
As per @livingleanlivingclean 's comment - meal timings make no difference and eating late at night is not a problem (unless it stops you from sleeping). So, whether you get hungry or not* between now and bed I'd ensure that you eat you base calories and about half of your exercise cals**
* hunger or lack of is not a very good indicator of whether you need food or not for those that are starting a new diet or changing their eating patterns. Whilst it is a good skill to be able to listen to your body and respond correctly it can be difficult and misleading at times.
** most people recommend only eating back half exercise cals because estimated exercise burns from gym equipment are notoriously overenthusiastic. How much of your exercise cals to eat is a little bit of a trial and error type thing but eat half is a reasonable starting point.1 -
That Smart Coffee looks pretty dumb to me. I wouldn't recommend any product like this - they are always useless: the people who use them lose weight by calorific deficit alone.
Edited to add @ht280470 your loss was due to your hard work. Don't diminish your achievement by ascribing it to the coffee.1
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