Having trouble eating my calories for the day

LoveLiveLift

Does anyone else have a problem with eating the recommended calories for the day? I'm supposed to be eating 1,500. I worked out today and burned 260 calories and I still have 860 calories left. Does anyone else have the same problem? Any suggestions?

Jess0218

Does anyone else have a problem with eating the recommended calories for the day? I'm supposed to be eating 1,500. I worked out today and burned 260 calories and I still have 860 calories left. Does anyone else have the same problem? Any suggestions?

I am def bumpin this...I have the same problem!

spammyanna

I almost always have this problem, I'm just not hungry enough to eat all of them.

holi0602

Are you eating the calories that you earn by exercising? I only eat the calories I am given in a day. I can never eat the the extra calories that are added because of exercising. Too much to eat. Idk if this helps. lol

gooberr4

are you trying to eat back your exercise calories or not?

but anyway...try to eat small healthy snacks throughout the day. (almonds, apples, oranges, bananas, etc).

just try not to be under 1200 calories.

InMyJeans

Yes. Eat what you can. Don't eat because the calorie counter tells you to eat. If it says 1500 you can plan that way but if you exercise youre going to most always be in the negative as far as calories left. I tried eating all my calories because the counter said I had them left and I should eat but I was eating when I didn't even want anything. Which defeated the whole purpose of why Im using this site....which is to lose weight.

Zerita1

I wish I had that problem, my daily calorie intake is 1230 but I'm over that everyday. On the days I work out I usually burn anywhere from 250-700 calories depending on if I do strength training or one hour of cycling.

skinimin

I do and I don't. If I eat healthy and exercise I do, my net can end up as low as 360 cals!! Even when I eat a lot of pasta or bread, if I exercise my net cals shoot way down but I'm soooo not hungry at all! Mind you I run and can burn 500 calories in 50 minutes with ease. If you're very concerned look up healthy high calorie foods, avocados are a good one. They are worth about 260 calories for one and even though they are high in fat it is good fat and if you are exercising you should be eating them!! Try getting a nutrition book and looking up some healthy high calorie foods.

dia77

I had the same problem so I decided to bank them. Is kind of the WW philosophy , whatever gets accumulated by the end of the week ,I use on Sunday. Not neceserily going nuts but , lets say - indulge..... works for me.....

Natalie511

Gee I wish I had that problem...lol
But there are days when I don't reach my calories...I don't worry too much about them if they come one or two times a week...now if I am on the 3rd day and my calories are not reaching my goal then I correct it by drinking a smoothie, or a protein drink. it goes down fast and it is like 200 calories per drink...now I have taken my calories down to 1200 a day...so any less than that and I am not doing so well...and I start getting tired and cranky...

absolament

Every person is different. But it's a good idea not to be too far under your calorie goal (200-300 is a good measure). You need to have fuel for your body to build muscle. During the first week and a half of using MFP my body wasn't very hungry so I ate less, but I lost too much weight. I know it's bad on my body so I started eating closer to my recommended goal. But I don't eat back all my calories. My stomach can only stretch so much, so I try to keep my daily intake around 1350, but I also don't burn more than 300 calories in a day. My eating varies from 200 less to 100 more but the scale shows I'm on track. It'll take a couple of weeks of paying close attention to your body, but in time you'll find the right balance for you.

LoveLiveLift

are you trying to eat back your exercise calories or not?

but anyway...try to eat small healthy snacks throughout the day. (almonds, apples, oranges, bananas, etc).

just try not to be under 1200 calories.

This is my first day on here and I was surprised that I ate so little. My intake right now is close to 1000 calories and I haven't eaten back any of my exercise calories. Thanks for the advice. I will try to incorporate snacks into my day.

spacecase76

as long as I am at 1200 MOST days of the week, I try not to worry about it too much. I have a hard time to, I also forget to eat.

Not everyone on this site is here because they eat too much, some of us just eat fast food a lot and sat on our butts all the time.

It would take a long period of time under 1200 a day to send your body into the dreaded "starvation mode", one or 2 days a week isn't the end of the world....

gooberr4

are you trying to eat back your exercise calories or not?

but anyway...try to eat small healthy snacks throughout the day. (almonds, apples, oranges, bananas, etc).

just try not to be under 1200 calories.

This is my first day on here and I was surprised that I ate so little. My intake right now is close to 1000 calories and I haven't eaten back any of my exercise calories. Thanks for the advice. I will try to incorporate snacks into my day.

i was the same way when i first started. you'll see after a while there will be days you'll eat almost all of your calories.
im usually between 1000 and 1200 and i only eat back my exercise calories if i'm hungry or I go out to dinner.
your welcome and good luck!

dia77

I had the same problem at start. Now I bank them. Kind of the WW philosophy- whatever gets accumulated by the end of the week - just indulge.....
I don't go under my target per day and that works for me.

menchi

I get like that too! After a nice big workout, my brain seems to be so pleased with itself that it doesn't think much about eating. Whereas if I don't exercise, I seem to need to fill up the happiness meter with food. It does make meeting the goals a bit complicated.

This is what I've figured out works for me. Those calories can be used to get some healthy fats. One night I had about 800 Cal left and all I wanted was to munch on a box of strawberries and drink tea after working out. So I cut up some carrots in addition to go with some almond butter I've been wanting to try but never had the calories left to do it (one little squeeze packet = 200Cal!). So I ended up polishing off all that and some yogurt to get about 600 Cal. I try to stay pretty close to the net goal (i.e. I eat the burned calories) to make sure I'm not starving myself. My target net Cals is 1350. Last week when I burned an extra 700, I ate the whole 2000 Cal back (which STILL leaves me with a 500 Cal deficit)-- and I still lost a pound when I weighed in this week. Eat your exercise calories.

mrskern06

I usually don't have a problem eating all my calories and more. Especially on the days that I am JUST HUNGRY! When I exercise I burn anywhere from 200-800 calories with my Wii. I actually stalled because I wasn't eating my exercise calories or at least 1200 NET calories a day. Every now and then I will have a day when I eat 800-1000 net cals, but I don't do that very often. I also take a cheat day at least 3-4 times a month.

Welcome to MFP and Good Luck~

amysambora

I struggled with this when I bumped my calories up from 1200 to 1500 Do you plan your diary ahead of time? This really helped me. I usually did it the night before, or sometimes that morning. Plan out three meals and two snacks (or whatever configuration works for you - mine was usually four small meals and one snack), then you just follow your plan. It takes a little more time initially but it's so much easier in the long run.