"It's too hard to eat exercise calories back"

astroub

I use to have a huge problem eating my calories back. I would always think "if I eat those back what was the point" and "I wil gain the weight back!!!" After reading many articles and posts about this, I now realize how important it is for your body to get those calories/nutrients.... I was starving my body but, now can happily say I eat those calories back!! Within 1 week I had lost 2lbs from doing so because my body no longer had to hold onto what little I gave it before! Glad you posted this, because for people who are like I use to be I hope it helps them get on the right track! Good luck MFP peeps!

rubixcyoob

I got pregnant and lived alone, with no freezer and limited fridge space all in the same year (I lived in student halls).

So having a child who, himself, weighed 10lbs 8oz meant that from my child, placenta and water I gained over a stone/14lbs plus the normal 2 stone most gain in pregnancy, around 28lbs extra on top. So that's already 42lbs up in the space of 9 months.
Then with no freeer and a small, less than locker sized, fridge compartment my staples became sandwiches, pasta, noodles and unfortunately take aways.
So while I was not eating BIG meals, or a lot, when I did eat it was the wrong stuff and I just ballooned. I'm around 21lbs away from pre-pregnancy just now and I DO find it hard to eat all my calories because apart from 9 months where I did eat more, for obvious reasons and also eating the wrong stuff, I have always found it hard to eat a lot.

I didn't get fat by eating too much continously.

elliecolorado

Not EVERYONE is here because they ate too much. Some people are trying to lose baby weight some people have health conditions or medications that made them gain weight and then there are other reasons too.

I have never been a big fan of eating. I spent years hardly eating anything, eating once or twice a week, mostly due to the fact that I was doing way too many drugs. After spending years hardly ever eating once I stopped doing drugs I went from eating once or twice a week to eating once a day and started to gain weight. Then I started drinking pretty heavily and the only time I really ate was when I got the 'drunken munchies' so when I did eat it wasn't healthy, but it still wasn't a lot. With years of drug and alcohol abuse mixed with under eating, I did some serious damage to my metabolism. Eating more regularly and exercising has helped get my metabolism closer to 'normal', but I used to have a really hard time getting to my calorie goal without eating my exercise calories. I still have a hard time getting 1200 calories a lot of the time and still have days where I just am tired of eating and thinking about food, so I just don't eat. Sure I could get enough calories if I decided to go drink a 12 pack and eat some cheese fries, but when I stick to trying to eat healthy, it's hard to eat 'enough'.

Maybe some of the people saying it's too hard to eat their calories really are trying and there are other things going on that you aren't aware of. Maybe they are struggling to eat 'enough' without turning back to bad behaviors.

bmpal

True dat.

I've had days where I'm just not hungry, but most of the time I have to hold myself back from eating my young. I don't think they are in the database anyways.

BAHAHAHA! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

amyamadea

I find it hard because I do roller derby 2/3 times a week, for two hours a time. For those that don't know, simple roller skating can burn up to 600 calories an hour and roller derby is a HIIT workout, meaning it is possible to burn up to 1500 calories per training session dependant of course upon what we are working on. But I usually burn around 1000 each time.

Before starting MFP I found it very difficult to eat more than 1000 calories due to having a really messed up eating habit, working shifts and simply forgetting to eat, and while I've got the hang of eating more or less the 1430 stated in my plan, I simply do not have the appetite to force that extra 1000 calories into myself without feeling completely overfull, even if I try to spread it out over the day. I simply cannot eat a gigantic breakfast or a 1000 calorie lunch.

angelaclev

Well, just because you fat doesnt mean you over eat! I am bigger than every friend I have yet I eat WAY less than they do. I get so aggravated when I see people who think that just because you are fat means you eat alot. THAT ISNT TURE. When people sasy that it is hard to eat the extra calories then maybe they burnt more than 200 cal. when they exercised. Ever think of that.

funkyspunky871

Let's just take a moment and calm down people. This is a thread on the internet. Stop acting like your fighting to the death. The OP has a right to her opinion and her generalizations, and you do too of course. That doesn't mean you need to be acting like children and TYPING IN ALL CAPS AS IF SOMETHING REALLY OFFENDED YOU. Please get over it. :smokin:

Suzyder

For those of us who adhere to macronutrient ratios, it's not just about drinking juice or buttering bread. It is a challenge some days to fill those ratios correctly with clean food. Additionally, nutritious, fibrous, lean foods tend to have a lot of volume or provide a lot of satiation for few calories. Lastly, exercise is an appetite suppressant. I'm not surprised that some people find it challenging to eat several hundred calories of CLEAN food.

this.

jennysmission

Well my amount of calories is 1500 and on some days I burn 1100 calories at the gym that is a ALOT of stinking calorie to eat!! JS!

ahinescapron

It is hard for me, only because I exercise a lot some days. Some days I will burn 1500 calories and I am trying to eat more protein. So, the combination of the two relaly does in my appetite. I also have two small children, so I don't really have a lot of down time and sometimes don't remember to eat. Then, on the days when I don't exercise, I have trouble not going over. That is why I started tracking on a different site that averages it over the week instead of doing it day to day.

shauna121211

Ugh I totally agree! It actually drives me insane!!! Someone who has tons of weight to lose saying, "I just can't eat more than 800 calories, I'm not hungry blah blah blah..." how did you get so overweight in the first place?! I've ranted about this in my head a million times, so that you for posting it! hehe

Kel3369

HI!
I find it a struggle when I have 1400 calories a day then I exercise and burn off at least 300 to 500 calories then I read that I have at least 1700 calories available to eat back which sounds like nothing right? But I am eating very healthy now. I never used to eat huge quantities of food but what I did eat was so high calorie I was eating over 3,000 per day! Now I have more food than ever. I don't starve at all. I had a plate of food this evening that was so heavy with food. I had 2 servings of chicken which was 200 calories, a cup of broccoli was only 40 calories and a cup of carrots was about 65 calories. I also had 2 slices of tomato chopped up which was like 8 calories. I had a 90 calorie 8oz glass of fat free milk, and I had a small baked potato with 1 tsp of parkay margarine and together I think that was around 180 calories and all together the meal was under 500 calories. Do you know how much food that is? lol I made myself eat all of it and I still have 400 calories left so I am eating a cup of chopped apples, another glass of milk and a sugar free fudgecicle as snacks later tonight. I am stuffing all this food just to meet the minimum 1400 calorie goal. It really can be hard if you are eating low calorie foods. I don't want to eat what I used to eat and change the portions. I felt so bad on that food. I feel amazing after giving up sugar, salt, and caffeine. I have only lost 11 pounds so far, but that is during my first 2 weeks of my new eating habits so I am happy but I am very worried about the plateau and the starving yourself I see people talking about so much here. I asked my registered dietician what to do and she said to eat 1400 calories and exercise to lose weight. She doesn't want me to eat back exercise calories until I have reached my goal weight. She also gave me specific amounts of fat, carbs, protein, fiber and salt she wants me to eat daily. I do understand how hard and confusing all of this can be as I am going through it too.

Megan2Project

I don't know why it annoys you if it doesn't affect you.

I "got fat" by eating large amounts of unhealthy foods. Now I am eating healthier foods that fill me up faster than those old foods. When I have those unhealthy foods now I crave more, so I just try to avoid them and keep my sugars in check.

Besides, I'm still big, and if you saw me at a restaurant trying to eat my exercise calories back by downing a burger, fries and and shake, I'd probably be judged for not ordering a salad... You know why, its because you're judging without knowing everything. Sure some people probably aren't eating enough, and if its just a couple hundred calories then its not a big deal either way, but if I'm not hungry at the end of the day I'm not going to force feed myself, that cannot be healthy, physically or psychologically...

ivikatasha

I used to eat one meal a day most days, before I started losing weight. That is how I gained so much, not really from over eating, but just eating terrible food all at once and not being active at all.

Now I actually eat good foods, with 3 meals a day with snacks. So yeah, I have trouble eating all my calories some days, because I am simply not hungry. I am not going to go downstairs stick a spoon in a jar of peanut butter and eat it. If I am not hungry, I am not hungry. Simple as that. If I tried to eat all my exercise calories back I would just end up making myself sick and feel miserable.

martini83

Im not fat cos i ate too much im fat cos i would starve myself till dinner then binge eat, and what i was eating was absolute crap, so yes i find it very hard to eat my 1200 calories let alone any more.

shauna121211

People are getting so offended by this because they fit in that category and now they are "eating healthy" and can't handle eating that much. If you can't handle netting 1200, you are NOT eating healthy and you are not eating enough and you really need to do some research as to what eating healthy really means. In case you didn't realize it, fat is part of a healthy diet! And if you are eating your recommended amount of healthy fat found in food like nuts and avocados, you would have no trouble meeting your net goals. Eating just vegetables and plain chicken day in and day out is not healthy and you are missing out on a lot of nutrients that your body needs! You should also be incorporating dairy which is typically not low in calories. One glass of low fat milk is 120ish calories in itself!

I think on an open forum we are allowed to express our concerns and frustrations for things that bother us. It affects us in the way that we have to see people complaining about having to eat all the time! There is just no way that you are simply too full to eat 1200 calories per day plus exercise calories - I think it's just absurd and mostly a psychological thing. You aren't getting to eat the crap that you used to eat, so now you don't want to eat at all. Sigh. I think this mentality is a recipe for disaster and failure.

Megan2Project

Lol, that just sounds like more judgement.

You're ASSuming way too much...

Like I said, YES some people are not being healthy about it... But some ARE, and who are you to tell them they aren't?

Jesung

Real healthy food is more filling than fast food which most people ate in abundance to gain weight.
You do have a point though. If you don't have time to eat all your exercise calories, then eat junk food to make up for it or don't exercise so damn much.