question about calories

TennesseBound

Hi all, just joined..im wondering..to MAINTAIN my weight..do you have to eat ALL the calories the site is telling me i should eat? or can i eat LESS about 100-300 calories & still maintain or is it really important to eat ALL my calories, this calories thing is a little confusing

Acg67

the number MFP throws out there is just an estimate, it's going to take a little trial and error to figure out your true maintenance. so eat at a certain level for 2 weeks or so and if you stayed the same weight, that's your maintenance, if you lost weight you need to bump up cals and vice versa. the only issue you run into is that women are much more susceptible to water retention and that can make you think you gained weight when it really is just some extra water

TennesseBound

oh okay...so then should i just be drinking 8 glasses of water or more? or does it matter? I need a website answering all the million questions i have!

Aegelis

Ya, what Acg said :-D. Regarding water, remember that water comes in various forms (coffee, tea, monster) and is in a lot of foods as well (like citrus fruits). The worry is more of dehydration which you can determine by urine color. If it's a dark yellow, you're likely dehydrated. Clear, you're good. Too much water can drop your electrolyte levels which is unhealthy.

Shweedog

At least 8 glasses (8 cups). More if you exercise. I drink about 15-20 cups of water per day. But I eat a lot of sodium and therefore need water to flush the retention out.

Acg67

oh okay...so then should i just be drinking 8 glasses of water or more? or does it matter? I need a website answering all the million questions i have!

you don't really need 8 glasses of water, it depends on what else you're drinking and the foods you're eating as they contain water as well

MissMaryMac33

If you want to maintin you should be eating your calories --- otherwise you're going to lose.

Now you have to take into account the fact that you may enter calories wrong, under or over estimate calories burned etc.
You'll need to experiment but its a good goal to eat them.

As for fluids --- yes you should be drinking AT LEAST 8 glasses of fluids a day.

amguyberson

oh okay...so then should i just be drinking 8 glasses of water or more? or does it matter? I need a website answering all the million questions i have!

The amount of water you drink should be your 1/2 body weight in ounces of water. Example: 150lb person should be drinking 75 ounces of water a day.. the 8x8 isn't an accurate rule. Good Luck!

albayin

From what I have read at this site and from other sources, it may not work like black and white. One way works for some and the other works for others. If I were you, I probably would try both way to compare.

HMonsterX

oh okay...so then should i just be drinking 8 glasses of water or more? or does it matter? I need a website answering all the million questions i have!

The amount of water you drink should be your 1/2 body weight in ounces of water. Example: 150lb person should be drinking 75 ounces of water a day.. the 8x8 isn't an accurate rule. Good Luck!

No, you dont have to be DRINIKING that much water. You need to be CONSUMING that much. Most of which will come from your food.

You may be surprised to find out many foods are high in water content. Below I have provided an abbreviated chart that lists the water content of some popular foods (Hale, 2007; Hale, 2010). The water percentage of each food is listed after its name.

Water Content of Foods

Apples: 85
Apricots: 85
Bean sprouts: 92
Chicken, boiled: 71
Cucumbers, raw: 96
Eggplant, raw: 92
Grapes: 82
Lettuce, head: 96
Oranges: 86
Peaches, raw: 90
Peppers, green: 94
Potatoes, raw: 85
Strawberries, raw: 90
Turkey, roasted: 62
Watermelon: 93

As you can see, you get a ton of water from food!