Yup, another question about meetin' them calorie goals..

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muskratface
muskratface Posts: 32 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So here's the deal, I've always heard that diet should be paired with exercise so that when calorie intake goes down, workouts can keep the metabolism a-burnin'. And this is my question, if I go under my 1,200 calorie goal by 300 or so, is it really that bad? I spend at least 35 minutes doing cardio just about every day, and in my little brain, it seems logical that the exercise should keep me burning cals, even if I'm eating a bit less than my body supposedly likes. I'm down three pounds in this first week, so I spose I could take that to mean that I'm doing something right, but I'm lookin' for some outside wisdom. Thanks!

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  • muskratface
    muskratface Posts: 32 Member
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    So here's the deal, I've always heard that diet should be paired with exercise so that when calorie intake goes down, workouts can keep the metabolism a-burnin'. And this is my question, if I go under my 1,200 calorie goal by 300 or so, is it really that bad? I spend at least 35 minutes doing cardio just about every day, and in my little brain, it seems logical that the exercise should keep me burning cals, even if I'm eating a bit less than my body supposedly likes. I'm down three pounds in this first week, so I spose I could take that to mean that I'm doing something right, but I'm lookin' for some outside wisdom. Thanks!
  • PedalHound
    PedalHound Posts: 1,625 Member
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    noooooo!! Eat your exercise calories and don't go below 1200 net calories. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9614-newbies-please-read-me

    You'll lose weight up front which is mostly water. If you continue to feed your body too little it will take the hint and stop burning its ever-dwindling resources. Not what you want. Eat darlin', and the fat will come off. :wink:
  • jamster
    jamster Posts: 38
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    Yeah, I'm actually on a 1100 calorie diet. My trainer tells me that I can safely go down to 1000 ONLY because my resting calorie number is around 1250..which is how much your body normally burns off when you are in a "resting period", doing nothing. So my body only actually NEEDS around 950 to survive for the day. However you should NEVER go above 1000cals over what you burn in the day. Which means, in my case..I'm taking in 1100 cals, burn 1250 at resting, but with my excercise routine, I end up burning around 2000 a day. So I can't go below 1000 cals eating wise. Does this make ANY sense?! It's just a safe way to stick around 1200 for the average person because it's what is recommended. If you need more input you should probably see someone that can tell you everything about your own body. Please let me know if you need any more help explaining. :/ Good luck! :)
  • muskratface
    muskratface Posts: 32 Member
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    So, I've read through a post or two and it looks like I'm sounding like a broken record all over again. I really am trying to eat my cals, and I'll definitely start working a little harder at it. I'm learning to enjoy spending the calories I've saved up at the end of the day. But heck, I've never been on a diet and felt guilty for not eating ENOUGH.
  • titadks
    titadks Posts: 10
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    I find it hard to to eat only 1200 calories a day, the good thing is that I've been burning from 500-1000 calories a day so I take full advantage of replacing those calories. The worst thing is that I dont eat junk food I dont drink sodas or other sweet drinks...except for coffee & I dont like desserts, all of my calories are from mostly whole wheats, vegetables or proteins, I would be way too hungry other wise...what kind of foods do you eat to stay full?

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