Calorie intake?

DarinF4

I hope this isn't a dumb question. I'm definitely trying to eat better, but my question is, if I have a bad day or a bad meal, as long as I'm still under my calorie goal isn't that ok? I'm new to this. I'm thinking along the lines of weight watchers I guess. You can eat whatever you want but as long as you stay under your points then you are fine. Is it the same as that, just with calories? Thanks!

YaredPadilla

Good question....not dumb at all... Unfortunately, i do not know the answer

bwilso19

Its okay but I would try to over compensate for the bad meal with more exercise and more wholesome food....keep up the good work

YaredPadilla

my thing too, is if i work out more i'm allowed to eat more... somebody explain that. now i know that is going to sound flat out ridiculous to some. but i'm not sure. this whole diet thing confuses me at times. H E L P!!!!

jjotto

I think for sure the main thing is to follow the calorie budget, so yes I think its still OK just maybe not the best. Or at least that's how its seems to be working for me.

kassied09

I do the same thing..if I work out I can eat more. haha...Idk why I chose to eat those calories some days, but I figure I am under my goal so its okay? Idk.

bluefox9er

not a dumb question at all. I'm not a nutritionalist by any means, but i personally do NOT believe all calories are equal. If I had 300 calories left for the day, i could eat 300 calories of a McDonalds apple pie or 300 calories of yoghurt with fruit pieces..you can tell which set of calories might be better in nutritional terms.

By the same token, nuts are supposed to be super good for you, but just a fistful of them could easily take up your ENTIRE calorie intake for one day.

I guess balance and moderation is the boring and rather unscientific answer :-)

dlovesjimma

Staying at your calorie goal is important, filling yourself on nutrient rich food is also important, but the occasional not good for you but oh so delicious meal where you still stay at or under your calorie goal is A-OK. Just remember that the more you focus on the actual nutrients you are ingesting the better you will feel - and I don't mean weight gain or loss, you will feel better, mentally and physically.

mail704m

What you eat is as important as how much you eat. But if you eat 20 out of 21 meals a week like a saint, celebrate in number 21!

jweidner33

Keep it simple. Eat less calories than you burn. The health benefits of losing weight will outweigh the bad foods you eat. Worry about tweaking your diet when you are closer to your goal. I feel one of the biggest motivation killers is over complicating the process. Just my 1.5 cents.

dez_yaoichan

while you can eat anything and still lose, some foods do affect how you look as you lose. really the best thing is to eat "clean" (something i cant stand and refuse to do- it's not something i could keep up for more then a few months, im not going to even bother) but for me- just finding healthier types of foods im already eating, and just watching my sizes, is what works best for me. you have to find what works for you.

indpls2002

my thing too, is if i work out more i'm allowed to eat more... somebody explain that. now i know that is going to sound flat out ridiculous to some. but i'm not sure. this whole diet thing confuses me at times. H E L P!!!!

It works differently with everyone, but I personally have found that eating back my exercise calories is NO GOOD! As long as your calorie intake doesn't go below 1300 for the day after you work out, you are good. You need that deficit to lose weight. If you are eating 1700 calories a day (used to be eating 2000 for example), you need 500 calorie deficit a day to lose 1 pound a week (3500 calories weekly total), right? Well, you only have a 300 deficit there. You are now at 1700 and work out, you lose 200 calories that way, but you eat those 200 back? You are still only at a 300 deficit. Nothing is being done. But say you work out and lose 200 calories, and don't eat them back, you have lost your average of 500 a day.

Your body needs atleast 1250-1300 just to BARELY maintain and not go into starvation mode. So if you go hard core work out mode and burn 900 calories (which now puts you at 800 for the day) you want to eat back at least 500 of that so your body doesn't' think it's starving? Make sense?

xinahay123

it is not the end of the world, but just try to make better choices the next day. Under nourishment, like eating your days calories in m&ms, will lead to over eating eventually, because your body will be hungry trying to get it's needs met. Make sense. So try to eat clean most of the time, and when you have an off day, just get back on track.

When you exercise you use energy (calories). When you just exist you use a certain number of calories. It is not healthy metabolically to be under a certain amount of calories per day. So MFP calculates your claories using a formula to reach your basic caloric needs to maintain your current weight, and then substracting the correct amount to reach your weight loss goals, 1 lb per week or 2 lbs per week. This is not taking into account exercise. So when you exercise you use more energy and therefore require more calories to keep your body's "engine" (metablolism) burning. That is why MFP adds in the exercise calories. I hope that helped!

Let's do this!!

xinahay123

my thing too, is if i work out more i'm allowed to eat more... somebody explain that. now i know that is going to sound flat out ridiculous to some. but i'm not sure. this whole diet thing confuses me at times. H E L P!!!!

It works differently with everyone, but I personally have found that eating back my exercise calories is NO GOOD! As long as your calorie intake doesn't go below 1300 for the day after you work out, you are good. You need that deficit to lose weight. If you are eating 1700 calories a day (used to be eating 2000 for example), you need 500 calorie deficit a day to lose 1 pound a week (3500 calories weekly total), right? Well, you only have a 300 deficit there. You are now at 1700 and work out, you lose 200 calories that way, but you eat those 200 back? You are still only at a 300 deficit. Nothing is being done. But say you work out and lose 200 calories, and don't eat them back, you have lost your average of 500 a day.

Your body needs atleast 1250-1300 just to BARELY maintain and not go into starvation mode. So if you go hard core work out mode and burn 900 calories (which now puts you at 800 for the day) you want to eat back at least 500 of that so your body doesn't' think it's starving? Make sense?

Well said!! I have to eat back my exercise calories or I stop loosing, but I exercise intensely, and my net claories would be like 700 calories if I didn't. The beauty of tracking your habits is that you get to figure you our, what works for you, and what doesn't!

StuffyStuff

I wouldnt let it happen too often. Look at it like this...With bad foods you usually rack up alot of calories with very little food, then u end up hungry because you have very quickly reached your limit, whereas with healthy foods you can eat nearly twice as much and still stay under your calories. Plus its not JUST about calories...eating 1200 calories of high fat artery clogging, high sodium and sugar foods can still cause Health issues. Its okay to splurge sometimes....but I think in time once we make eating healthy a part of our lifestyles and find healthy alternatives to the foods we love....splurging won't even be an issue. Also.. NOT falling is not what makes us stronger...its the Falling down and getting RIGHT BACK UP....Dust yourself off and Keep it Moving!!!! GOOD LUCK!!!!

YaredPadilla

my thing too, is if i work out more i'm allowed to eat more... somebody explain that. now i know that is going to sound flat out ridiculous to some. but i'm not sure. this whole diet thing confuses me at times. H E L P!!!!

It works differently with everyone, but I personally have found that eating back my exercise calories is NO GOOD! As long as your calorie intake doesn't go below 1300 for the day after you work out, you are good. You need that deficit to lose weight. If you are eating 1700 calories a day (used to be eating 2000 for example), you need 500 calorie deficit a day to lose 1 pound a week (3500 calories weekly total), right? Well, you only have a 300 deficit there. You are now at 1700 and work out, you lose 200 calories that way, but you eat those 200 back? You are still only at a 300 deficit. Nothing is being done. But say you work out and lose 200 calories, and don't eat them back, you have lost your average of 500 a day.

Your body needs atleast 1250-1300 just to BARELY maintain and not go into starvation mode. So if you go hard core work out mode and burn 900 calories (which now puts you at 800 for the day) you want to eat back at least 500 of that so your body doesn't' think it's starving? Make sense?

Well said!! I have to eat back my exercise calories or I stop loosing, but I exercise intensely, and my net claories would be like 700 calories if I didn't. The beauty of tracking your habits is that you get to figure you our, what works for you, and what doesn't!

indpls2002

[/quote]Well said!! I have to eat back my exercise calories or I stop loosing, but I exercise intensely, and my net claories would be like 700 calories if I didn't. The beauty of tracking your habits is that you get to figure you our, what works for you, and what doesn't!
[/quote]
<<<<<<<<<<<This should have been quoted by someone else. lol


Thank you! I took me a week of seeing my weight go back to figure out it was eating back all the exercise calories, but like you said, everyone is different!

YaredPadilla

Thank you!!! makes lots of sense!!!

indpls2002

Thank you!!! makes lots of sense!!!

You're welcome! Like I said earlier, it took me a week to realize why I was gaining weight..lol. When I stopped eating back those calories, I started losing my weight again, but every one is different. What works for me may not work for you!


Good luck with everything

hecallsmeroses

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sorry about the multiple posts

hecallsmeroses

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hecallsmeroses

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daisy0482

I hope this isn't a dumb question. I'm definitely trying to eat better, but my question is, if I have a bad day or a bad meal, as long as I'm still under my calorie goal isn't that ok? I'm new to this. I'm thinking along the lines of weight watchers I guess. You can eat whatever you want but as long as you stay under your points then you are fine. Is it the same as that, just with calories? Thanks!

Great question!! Just remember eating empty cals NEVER fills you!! So its a sad HUNGRY day ahead of you!! Plus there is the guilt you feel and fat feelings you have to face as well. Keep it healthy in the end you will feel so much better!!