What happens if I can't meet my calorie intake???

wallyshiraz

Hey guys, I am doing the P90X program, going into my 9th week on 9/20. I have lost 24lbs so far and I'm trying my best to get rid of this belly and back flab that I have left. I do a lot of cardio during the week which usually consists of an extra 300-400 calories burned on top of the 600(avg.) I burn w/ P90X. Now I'm supposed to take in about 2500 calories w/out exercise and then it always goes up depending on how much exercise I do for the day...Now sometimes I barely make the 2500 so what does that mean exactly? I need some help understanding this whole process...does that mean that I am burning more fat or am I hurting myself? plz help.

angiereid

OK, this will be long. Please read it if you are confused. Disclaimer: I am not a dietician or a doctor, just a successful loser and maintainer, who has consulted both doctors and dieticians.

Question #1:

Should I eat all my calories?

Yes. MFP is already figuring a deficit for you to lose weight. This deficit is based on what you need to eat based on your everyday activity, not counting exercise. In the end, it's all about "net calories" (you can view yours under reports)

Example: you need to eat 2,000 calories to maintain your current weight (random number)
MFP will tell you to eat 1,500 to lose one pound per week (500x7=3500=one pound loss).

Let's say you exercise, and burn 500 additional calories.
UH-OH, now you are at a 1,000 calorie a day deficit. You need 2,000 calories to maintian, are already restricted to 1500, so now your net calories are a 1,000 a day. This is starvation central. Your body, which is very good at keeping you alive, will store and save calories. You WILL stop losing weight. You WILL want to throw your scale out the window.

Eat your exercise calories. At least eat most of them.

Question #2:
I'm eating 1200 calories, I feel like crap and I'm not losing weight. What gives?

Answer:
Run, don't walk, to "tools" and use the BMR calculator. Please, please, please, eat at least your BMR calories every day. You might lose weight more slowly, but you will still lose, and you will not longer feel a sudden urge to fall over every time you do, well, anything.

Question #3:
I'm doing "everything right" and the scale won't move.

Answer #1: The scale is the devil. Step away from the scale. Buy a tape measure, notice how your clothes are (probably) fitting better. Muscle is more dense than fat, and takes up less space on your body. More muscle on your body will make the scale freeze or (gasp) move upward.

Answer #2: You're not being honest. In order for this to work, you must record every morsel of food that goes in your body. Also, if you ride a stationary bike for 30 minutes and barely break a sweat and can still chatter on your cell phone (OK, that's my personal gym pet peeve) then you're probably not working "vigorously". Don't overestimate your exercise calories. (this was a big mistake I made in the past.)

Answer #3: Your body might be re-adjusting. How you feel is the most important mark of progress. It's very easy to fixate on numbers, but feeling better really should be its own reward.

Question #4:
So, if I'm eating my exercise calories, what's the point of exercise?

Answer: (warning: extremely opinionated answer ahead)
You don't. You can lose weight through diet alone. But, then you will be skinny and flabby. Is a model skinnier than me? OH, YES! Is she healthier than me? probably NOT. She couldn't survive the hour-long spin class that I take three times a week. Trust me. Her skin is a mess, she smokes, and she looks like crap in person.

reneer0se

Question for you then:
What if I still need to eat "350" calories after my workout and all my food and its like 9pm at night...?? Am i still putting my self in starvation mode if I am not even that hungry?...and if so..what should I eat? (already reached my protein goal...:/)

wallyshiraz

Trust me. Her skin is a mess, she smokes, and she looks like crap in person.

LMAO

wallyshiraz

Question for you then:
What if I still need to eat "350" calories after my workout and all my food and its like 9pm at night...?? Am i still putting my self in starvation mode if I am not even that hungry?...and if so..what should I eat? (already reached my protein goal...:/)

Good question! that happens to me as well...that's mainly why I can't reach it actually...

wallyshiraz

I understand what your saying but I am losing a lot of weight and losing it faster than everyone else around me...am I over doing it? I don't want to end up super skinny being 6'3" weighing 173lbs...and I don't want to my body to eat my muscle tissue either...

reneer0se

yup! Thats my problem..maybe we need to eat double our calories at morning then...protien shakes, eggs, and carbs...maybe that will help...in order to keep the dinner low calories...(i like to do my salads with black beans at night...so its not so heavy and ruining my workouts...)

Mangoose

It's 10:23am here, I just burned 770 calories running, and MFP is saying I need to consume 2600 calories. It just feels like so much! I could probably eat that much before lunch if it was junk food, but I'm struggling to think of foods that are healthy and get me to that number without constantly eating for the next 12 hours!

Shawna_831

I have my days where if I eat dinner I will go over on calories for the day. Its best to go over with a sensible meal than to go to bed hungry and wake up at 3am starving so you grab something quick. I've also been under a lot on calories. If you ate all your meals for the day and you're not hungry....don't worry. As long as you are not starving yourself then you will be ok. Your body is not going to shut down from a day or 2 of lack of calories. I work for a weight loss doctor and she says eat like royalty.

Morning- eat like a King

Lunch- eat like a Prince

Dinner- eat like a Pauper

Beth720

yup! Thats my problem..maybe we need to eat double our calories at morning then...protien shakes, eggs, and carbs...maybe that will help...in order to keep the dinner low calories...(i like to do my salads with black beans at night...so its not so heavy and ruining my workouts...)

Yep. Most things I've read have said that if you are working out/training in the evening, you should eat your biggest meal at breakfast and taper down as the day goes on.

Wtbyerdoc

I have a bodybugg which is supposed to be extremely accurate. It will help you see what you are actually burning during the day and exercise which I was astounded to see is less than any website actually estimates. The elliptical is usually overestimating by as much as 50% and I do not hold the hand rales although I do have a hard time with intensity on it. The treadmill is also overestimates but not by as much and the bike forget it I may as well be taking a walk with the dog. A spinning class for an hour is around 400 vs when I run outside I get close to 600. Given this I still feel that when I eat just a 500 calorie deficit based on this I do not lose a pound a week There is much more to weight loss than calories in/calories out or this would be a much easier process!!

wallyshiraz

yup! Thats my problem..maybe we need to eat double our calories at morning then...protien shakes, eggs, and carbs...maybe that will help...in order to keep the dinner low calories...(i like to do my salads with black beans at night...so its not so heavy and ruining my workouts...)

good stuff, that's what I have been doing and it seems to work. I take in like 2000 calories, on a good day, before 4pm between breakfast, snack, lunch, snack....then dinner I try to keep it at 300 calories and it will be after I had a hard workout so my body is still burning afterwards.

I'm just wondering what's going on because, believe it or not, I am losing about a half a pound a day pretty much. I don't want to become skeletor.

caryn2010

TAGGED!

A lot of good points in this stream of replies.
Tagging so I can come back & read again after I've had breakfast & not feeling so scatterbrained.
:laugh:

fitterpam

The best way to get all your calories is to plan ahead. Just because you work out in the evening, doesn't mean you should be eating all your calories you burn after your exercise. If you know you're going to have an extra 500 calories from exercise in the evening, add another 200 calories to your breakfast, another 200 to your lunch and 100 as a post-workout recovery. Your body will process the calories more efficiently than having to process 500 calories post workout (big glob of food going in all at once). It's like drinking water consistently throughout the day vs. gulping 2L at the end of the day.

mlbss

So here is my problem. For the past 6 months I have been weight training hard and doing cardio. I am what they call skinny fat for body type. I have always maintained lots of body fat. I have done diets and training to try to burn the fat and cant shake it. Most of the time I go into training thinking I need to be in a calorie defecit to loose the fat. In the past 6 months I have probably only reached my calorie intake a couple of times. Is this why my weight doesn't change much? Am I burning muscle instead of fat? Is my body storing the fat because of the calorie defecit? Whats more important, to get the calorie intake that I need for exercise or to eat clean and not reach my calorie intake? So if my calorie intake is 2700 daily due to physical activity I should hit that even if I cant eat that clean all the time? Is this why I am maintaining so much body fat? Sorry for all the questions but I need help. Thanks!!!