Am I doing this right?

jrhodges20

Ok so first I was frusterated that I had plateued (sp) so soon. I have been at the same weight for over a week. Now I have lost inches and can see my body toning, and am vry happy with those results, I would like to see some change in my diet. Come to find out while I was staying under my allowance of 1490 a day, I was not apparently eating enough. I was then informed that I needed to eat back what I burned off. Well on and average I am burning anywhere between 500-600 calories a day. But I am finding it so hard to eat back what I burned off, that's a whole nother meal, and I am just not hungry! And yea I could go to Mcdonalds and get a big mac and bam be up there, but one I eat out too much still (after balancing my checkbook and looking at my finances) and too that isn't good for me.

So am I correct in that I need to eat back what I burn? And why can't I seem to eat that much? Any tips advice?
Thanks in advance.

carmen62

I am having the same trouble. I would also like to hear feedback.

sabrads

Hi,

You are supposed to eat back what you burn off - or at least the majority of it - I have the same issue sometimes when I exercise a lot and see a huge calorie goal to eat !

The good news is that you are seeing the inches drop off, this would mean that you have toned up your body - rather than a drop in weight you have converted some fat to muscle which is more dense and therefore takes up less room for the same weight.

I think that is one reason why you are supposed to eat back your calories so that you can build muscle and not just loose weight, if I remember my biochemistry right the body will use up the stores it has as needed and if you are not eating the correct foods then you can strip away good parts as well as bad parts i.e. you can loose muscle as well as fat stores. This is why a diet that complements your needs when loosing weight is important.

Also if you drop below a certain level of calories per day then you metabolism can slow down and you will find it difficult to loose weight. There is a post in one of the forums that cover these details.

Steve

ahhdebs

Just a little piece of info for you...muscle weighs heavy!
You say that you are not seeing any change on the scales although you do see your body changing....I say yes you are doing it right. Just carry on and the weight will eventually drop.
As for eating more than you feel you need, as long as you eat enough to keep your body fit and healthy, and you are not hungry, I think that should be OK. Im not an expert, but common sense says that when you are full..you STOP!