Sooo confused

cathyalmand

ok i posted a topic earlier about my daily calorie goal going up....it one place on my page it says my goal is 1330 on my goal for today it has 2000, which if i understand right its because of the all the cardio i did today.....sooooo am i hurting myself if i DONT eat all those calories? Cant i just kinda listen to my body and if i have a weak day with cardio and cant quite seem to get it then i know i need to bump up the caloric intake for the next day??? or am i totally confused??? Lord I have NEVER had to worry about calories....im begining not to like this word!!!! :laugh:

StacLegg

my recommended calories is 1200, I eat them, but I don't eat all my workout calories.... I figure that would be defeating the purpose to lose weight. So far its working for me, I am down 8.6 lbs in 2 weeks, ofcourse I know that is partly water weight, and my body is in complete shock!!! lol
Hope that helps!!
Stac

xarrium

I try and make sure that over a 3-day span I "break even"... which usually happens because I'm not hungry on workout days and insanely hungry on rest days. You aren't really doing yourself a big favour by not eating your exercise cals (over time you'll start feeling really sluggish, from my experience), but you shouldn't force yourself to eat. If you're not hungry, eat less, if you are hungry, eat more... that's what's worked for me.

amyfly

Listen to your body - eat when you are hungry. You should try to eat at least some of your exercise calories to refuel and so your weigh lose isn't due to burning muscle instead of fat but over all I think your body knows best and will tell you when to eat!

irchrismm

Ok in 30 days I have lost 16 lbs, and I am now losing about 2lbs a week. I eat my workout calories so my body doesn't consume muscle to help fuel it. I eat 5 meals a day (2 snacks + 3 full meals) I eat every 2 to 3 hours to keep my metabolism going. If you starve your body, yes you will lose weight, but as you go, your metabolism crashes, and the second you start eating again, you pack it right back on, and then some. Exercising does not mean you are pushing up your metabolism, if your body doesn't think it is getting the fuel you need. Instead, it will consume muscle to fuel your workout, which is counter productive. I take in a lot of extra protein, since I am trying to build muscle. Muscle burns more calories, so the more you build them, the higher your metabolic rate. (How much energy you burn just standing around) If your body knows that it is going to get fuel often, then it will start letting go of the reserves (fat). It all works together. If you want more out of your workout, then you need the quick fuel needed to get through it. So, the website already assumes based off of your goals you are going to workout, and in order to keep yourself down to 2lbs a week or so, then you need to eat your workout calories. We are not talking about going to Dunkin Donuts here. Eating the right portions, and healthy food choices will make sure you are getting the right calories. The problem is, we are impatient, and want to lose 20lbs a week, and have this belief if we workout hard and starve ourselves, we will lose weight faster. Yes, that may be true at first, but the second you get off the diet, your metabolism in pretty much dead, and you will gain it all right back. It's all been tried and tested, and I have seen that everyone who sticks to this (healthy diet + exercise) not only loses the weight, but keeps it off. This not "my opinion" there is tons of medical research behind what I am saying.