Eating all your calories, not exercise calories

lovediets

So a lot of you have been talking about eating your extra calories that you earned from exercising but what about just your regular calorie limit? Is it better to not eat all of those?

deadmittens

I don't know. I never eat all my calories. I'm allowed 1760 a day, but I usually eat a maximum of 1500 on a fat day lol.
I never eat my exercise calories either
BUT I do allow myself to cheat once in a while and have a bad dinner here and there. (no more than twice a week on spread out days)

If you don't allow yourself a cheat, you'll just end up binging anyway

theresaaugello

The reason that they give you a goal to reach in calories is bc that's how much you need for your body to function at the weight and height and amount of activity you do. When you alter what you are really supposed to eat by drastically cutting those calories your body can opt to hold on to what it has and you won't lose the weight at a desirable speed for you.

lovediets

I totally agree with you about cheating. I myself am setting myself up for a binge if I am too strict. Thanks for replying!

gabnmill

I believe those are calories that you are allotted based on hunger that you might have from working out or necessary food you might need to properly rebuild muscle. If you feel like you need them eat them, but if you're body tells you it isn't hungry then don't.

lovediets

That makes perfect sense. It just seems that some people on mfp lose so fast I thought maybe I should cut back some. Thanks!

lovediets

Thanks, that makes sense.

ladyhawk00

The calorie goal MFP provides you is just that - a GOAL, an amount to aim for and be as close as possible. Not a number to see how far you can stay under. MFP uses your information to calculate how much energy your body requires each day. From this maintenance amount, it creates a deficit that allows for your loss per week goal. When you eat under goal, you make that deficit larger, which is usually unhealthy and unsustainable. It does NOT necessarily lead to faster weight loss.

Eating under goal does not provide optimal nutrition, and keeps your metabolism from running at an optimal level.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/175241-a-personal-view-on-exercise-cals-and-underfeeding

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/231636-the-eating-when-you-re-not-hungry-dilemma

theresaaugello

I believe those are calories that you are allotted based on hunger that you might have from working out or necessary food you might need to properly rebuild muscle. If you feel like you need them eat them, but if you're body tells you it isn't hungry then don't.

The calories that it adds on isn't about hunger issues at all. It's the amount of calories that you've burned during a workout. The reason people say to eat them back, or atleast half is because you need them.

Calories=energy. If you don't give your body the energy to work correctly then you'll be running on fumes hungry or not hungry. Your body will then want to hold onto everything you're eating (because it's technically afraid you won't replenish it) and not want to use the food as a way to function properly.

sliceofsarah

If you want to lose weight faster then change your goals (but don't try for more than 2 lbs per week). Otherwise, you shouldn't be consistently eating under your net calories. If you lose weight too fast (by not eating enough) you are more likely to have trouble maintaining your weight loss, and if you go into starvation mode (by not eating enough), you won't be losing weight very much at all.

Remember it is not a race. It is a journey toward healthy living for life.

theresaaugello

The calorie goal MFP provides you is just that - a GOAL, an amount to aim for and be as close as possible. Not a number to see how far you can stay under. MFP uses your information to calculate how much energy your body requires each day. From this maintenance amount, it creates a deficit that allows for your loss per week goal. When you eat under goal, you make that deficit larger, which is usually unhealthy and unsustainable. It does NOT necessarily lead to faster weight loss.

Eating under goal does not provide optimal nutrition, and keeps your metabolism from running at an optimal level.

Thank you...you took the words right out of my mouth!

jeffrodgers1

So a lot of you have been talking about eating your extra calories that you earned from exercising but what about just your regular calorie limit? Is it better to not eat all of those?

Try to eat all of your calories, plus or minus a little. The calorie limit specified by MFP includes a 500 Calorie deficit.

While some leeway needs to exist, if you are extremely short on your calories, you run the risk of entering starvation mode... basically stalling your metabolism and preventing healthy weight loss.

seadog1

I usually shoot for all my plan calories and half my exercise calories. I think the goverment FDA or soemthing rules require accuracy on food labeling of only within 40 percent. Also studies have showen that fat people are nortorious for underestmating calories and over estimating the calories they get from exercise. I notice some cerals list a serving as 1/3 of a cup, who ever eats a 1/3 cup any thing. So I expect the food companies are erroring on underestimating the calories they want to sell to diet conscious people. Any way it seems to be working for me.

DancingFox

The calorie goal MFP provides you is just that - a GOAL, an amount to aim for and be as close as possible. Not a number to see how far you can stay under. MFP uses your information to calculate how much energy your body requires each day. From this maintenance amount, it creates a deficit that allows for your loss per week goal. When you eat under goal, you make that deficit larger, which is usually unhealthy and unsustainable. It does NOT necessarily lead to faster weight loss.

Eating under goal does not provide optimal nutrition, and keeps your metabolism from running at an optimal level.

Listen to her. She knows what she's talking about and says it perfectly.

hush7hush

I disagree.
I don't have a cheat meal or a cheat day.
And I don't binge.
You just need some self-control.

theresaaugello

I disagree.
I don't have a cheat meal or a cheat day.
And I don't binge.
You just need some self-control.

I that really something to disagree about? One meal won't effect your weight loss at all actually. It's good to enjoy something every once in a while. I had a cheat meal every 10 lbs that I lost. It gave me something to look forward to.

gertrude13

guys, eating ALL your calories (including the exercise calories) is a must for me. hahaha, once i was just like you, eating way under my calorie goal, well, i did lose weight, but one month into that habit made my weight loss stop. i tried eating less and working out more but my scale didn't change. i searched and they called that "starvation mode" and they said i had to eat over my calorie goal for 3-4 days. after that i gained 4 pounds (YES 4 WHOLE POUNDS) and then after that i ate within the goal and the scale began losing the weight again hahaha

i don't want you to go through the same thing i did, haha i wasted so much time anyway goodluck to all of us!

suzypoozie

It's kind of a weird way to keep me motivated to work out, but knowing I will be allotted more calories and more food helps push me to work out on days that I might otherwise be too lazy to do so.

Jenscan

I'll be really honest with you guys, I am struggling with this. Ladyhawk is right but subliminally this is difficult.

My goal is 1290 (used to be 1310). Since I am a perfectionist and attack all things in life with a "failure is not an option" mindset, I have a very difficult time using all of them up. I unfortunately HAVE gone over a couple times in the last month by 5-100 calories or so. It bothers me. And a few days I did come dangerously close to 1290 net because I was very hungry, but kept myself under. I do try to eat half my exercise calories back. We won't even talk about my sodium and fat tracking. It's evil. Evil. Evil. I don't ever want to go out to eat anymore because I don't want to see sodium red. Talk about a sad state of things.

So, my perfectionism and stupidity is going to cost me. I tend to leave a cushion of around 100 calories at the end of each day. As a PP mentioned, and I believe it, FOR ME: I'm too fat and too dumb to count things properly and I need a cushion (so, not only am I running a 3500 weekly auto-deficit, I now have a >700 - 1000 on top of that). For now, I'm ok; but I imagine soon I'll hit a plateau and refuse to go over goal. Or if I do, I'll gain. And I'll be crying over how much of a failure I was after all. Telling me this is a journey, that no one is perfect, that we have to take a step back before we can take one forward is lost on me because to me, either I passed the test or I failed. I think along linear paths, black/white, analysis. I am never easy on myself.

Obviously this is about more than weight loss for me. It's about changing a basic truth about myself, that I am relentless when it comes to perfection and control. (I don't know why I'm fat, when I'm a perfectionist. That is yet to be seen). Yes, we should have high expectations of ourselves and have lofty goals. But when it comes to harming oneself just because she doesn't want to be less than perfect..that in itself is a huge problem. And it sets oneself up for failure, heartache, and stress.

Net-net. Listen to Ladyhawk. I'm trying; but it's harder than meets the eye sometimes. We all have our demons.

ladyhawk00

I'll be really honest with you guys, I am struggling with this. Ladyhawk is right but subliminally this is difficult.

My goal is 1290 (used to be 1310). Since I am a perfectionist and attack all things in life with a "failure is not an option" mindset, I have a very difficult time using all of them up. I unfortunately HAVE gone over a couple times in the last month by 5-100 calories or so. It bothers me. And a few days I did come dangerously close to 1290 net because I was very hungry, but kept myself under. I do try to eat half my exercise calories back. We won't even talk about my sodium and fat tracking. It's evil. Evil. Evil. I don't ever want to go out to eat anymore because I don't want to see sodium red. Talk about a sad state of things.

So, my perfectionism and stupidity is going to cost me. I tend to leave a cushion of around 100 calories at the end of each day. As a PP mentioned, and I believe it, FOR ME: I'm too fat and too dumb to count things properly and I need a cushion (so, not only am I running a 3500 weekly auto-deficit, I now have a >700 - 1000 on top of that). For now, I'm ok; but I imagine soon I'll hit a plateau and refuse to go over goal. Or if I do, I'll gain. And I'll be crying over how much of a failure I was after all. Telling me this is a journey, that no one is perfect, that we have to take a step back before we can take one forward is lost on me because to me, either I passed the test or I failed. I think along linear paths, black/white, analysis. I am never easy on myself.

Obviously this is about more than weight loss for me. It's about changing a basic truth about myself, that I am relentless when it comes to perfection and control. (I don't know why I'm fat, when I'm a perfectionist. That is yet to be seen). Yes, we should have high expectations of ourselves and have lofty goals. But when it comes to harming oneself just because she doesn't want to be less than perfect..that in itself is a huge problem. And it sets oneself up for failure, heartache, and stress.

Net-net. Listen to Ladyhawk. I'm trying; but it's harder than meets the eye sometimes. We all have our demons.

I know it all too well. I went through years of eating disorders and simple stubborness and perfectionism and OCD to get to this point. Where am I now?

I still struggle. There's still a voice in the back of my head. But, I've worked on changing my perceptions and finding new ways to direct those attempts at perfection. Whereas years ago I WOULD have seen the goals as something to see how much "better" I could do -- now I see them as "how close can I get?" Almost like Price Is Right. When I'm within 100 of goal (either OVER or under), I win.

It IS a learning process, to go from viewing food as the enemy to learning how to use it to my advantage. It took a long time, but now (most of the time) I can view it as fuel to make my body run at an optimal level

---

AND as something to enjoy when it's appropriate, without guilt or shame or failure. It's a great place to be.

But it can be a long road to get there, I know. Sooooo worth it, though. :flowerforyou:

hush7hush

I disagree.
I don't have a cheat meal or a cheat day.
And I don't binge.
You just need some self-control.

I that really something to disagree about? One meal won't effect your weight loss at all actually. It's good to enjoy something every once in a while. I had a cheat meal every 10 lbs that I lost. It gave me something to look forward to.

I was disagreeing to people saying that you WILL binge if you don't cheat.

gabnmill

Actually hunger is directly related to how many calories you ingest. Yes MFP gives you numbers based on your information namely workouts that you do. Your brain is essentially running the same system inside of your body. A hunger pang is one of the few ways that your body has to tell you that it needs more fuel or that it is "running on fumes" as you said.

gabnmill

I believe those are calories that you are allotted based on hunger that you might have from working out or necessary food you might need to properly rebuild muscle. If you feel like you need them eat them, but if you're body tells you it isn't hungry then don't.

The calories that it adds on isn't about hunger issues at all. It's the amount of calories that you've burned during a workout. The reason people say to eat them back, or atleast half is because you need them.

Calories=energy. If you don't give your body the energy to work correctly then you'll be running on fumes hungry or not hungry. Your body will then want to hold onto everything you're eating (because it's technically afraid you won't replenish it) and not want to use the food as a way to function properly.

Actually hunger is directly related to how many calories you ingest. Yes MFP gives you numbers based on your information namely workouts that you do. Your brain is essentially running the same system inside of your body. A hunger pang is one of the ways that your body has to tell you that it needs more fuel or that it is "running on fumes" as you said.

There is no better way to know that you are not eating enough than your own body and the "hungry feeling is one of the primary ways provided by your brain. If you reach the calorie goal that they set for you before your extra calories from working out are added you certainly will not enter starvation mode. It takes more than not eating your MFP workout calories for your body to feel it is starving. As I said before it's calories you might need for you're body to rebuild itself after working hard but if you're in tune with your own body, and it wants more feed it. If not...don't.