If I'm short on calories should I let them go or eat to them

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WehttamThims
WehttamThims Posts: 57 Member
in Getting Started

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Part of me says let them go so in 5 weeks I'll be less but another part of me remembers a trainer telling me if you don't eat to your calories your body will think its starving and start holding on to resources and I'll not see any weight reduction.

Is it true the more I exercise the higher my metabolism will go?

As I was out running I was thinking, 'If I run this amount then I'll get to eat more'. Ignore the faulty thinking there because that's not what I'm going for. But it seemed like, I'm exercising more and then need to ear more (if that's true) so why am I exercising (other than the many other benefits)? Is it that my metabolism gets faster and I'll process food faster?

One last thing, is there an app or page that allows you to type in your macros and it suggests what to eat. Given my deficiency I now have to go figure out what fits into that correctly and thought there must be an app for this (or I must create one)

Thank you



Replies

  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,028 Member
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    Mandy72M wrote: »
    I eat 1300 calories per day and I'm not starving myself. I don't eat exercise calories back either and I exercise every day. You should only eat when your hungry, over eating is what probably brought you here in the first place so why force yourself to eat more?

    Yeah, I'd be dropping WAY too much weight a week if I followed this advice.
  • WehttamThims
    WehttamThims Posts: 57 Member
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    kimny72 wrote: »
    WehttamThims wrote: »
    MFP gives you your calorie goal expecting you to eat back at least some of those exercise calories. If you routinely fall short, you want to try to eat more to fuel your workouts and so you don't lose weight too fast. But every once and awhile it's fine. You can let them go and kind of hold them in the bank if you need them at all for the rest of the week.

    Under eating over a long period of time can hurt your metabolism eventually, but starvation mode on a day to day basis isn't a thing.

    And I exercise so I have more calories to eat all the time, nothing wrong with that :blush:

    Awesome, thank you! I've not really ate them back though I'm going to have something in a little bit because I'm going to lift weights tomorrow.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    Your calorie goal is 2281, you should be eating 2281 or near enough it.
  • WehttamThims
    WehttamThims Posts: 57 Member
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    apullum wrote: »
    It's unclear to me how much of your remaining calories were exercise calories vs. just being under what MFP normally sets for you. However, your profile says you're male. In that case, 1340 is undereating even without factoring in the very large number of calories you have remaining. The recommended minimum for men is 1500 calories/day, not counting exercise.

    941 is a LOT of calories to have left over, especially if you're working out a lot. That's about as much as I burn on an 11 or 12 mile run (and I'm a very small woman, so I almost certainly don't burn as much as you do). You need to eat enough fuel your workouts properly. I would probably feel sick if I had that many calories left and didn't eat them back.

    1641 is what was calculated out to be and now that I think about it, I didn't lessen anything out in order to loose weight. But I am running and doing some lifting every other day. I've not been as consistent as I have in the past with exercise so I'm trying to get back into a routine.

    thank you
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    1 time, and you feel fine, Let it ride.

    It becomes a habit, Check your logging, check your eating, eat it back.
  • Mandy72M
    Mandy72M Posts: 20 Member
    edited March 2018
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    TavistockToad wrote: »
    Mandy72M wrote: »
    I eat 1300 calories per day and I'm not starving myself. I don't eat exercise calories back either and I exercise every day. You should only eat when your hungry, over eating is what probably brought you here in the first place so why force yourself to eat more?

    If you're small, old and not very active then 1300 cals may be adequate... otherwise, it's just under eating which is unhealthy.

    I'm 5ft 2 so yes I am small but I'm certainly not starving myself, either way if you're not hungry then why would you force yourself to eat more? However if you are male then it's certainly too low.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    Mandy72M wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    Mandy72M wrote: »
    I eat 1300 calories per day and I'm not starving myself. I don't eat exercise calories back either and I exercise every day. You should only eat when your hungry, over eating is what probably brought you here in the first place so why force yourself to eat more?

    If you're small, old and not very active then 1300 cals may be adequate... otherwise, it's just under eating which is unhealthy.

    I'm 5ft 2 so yes I am small but I'm certainly not starving myself, either way if you're not hungry then why would you force yourself to eat more? However if you are male then it's certainly too low.

    Because people who become overweight often have lost the ability to understand their natural hunger signals. Because sometimes when people are excited about losing weight, they subconsciously ignore real hunger signals. And because your body needs a specific amount of fuel to do all the important stuff it needs to do like beat your heart and repair your damaged cells and grow your hair etc. If you routinely under eat, regardless of whether you feel hungry or not, some of that stuff will not get done.

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