Calorie Intake

otellia

I am at a loss, I have been watching my Cal intake and working out. I don't reach the amount of Cal i'm suppose to consume but my bestfriend is a Personal Trainer and she told me that I need to be consuming more calories. I really confused because everything i've read is stating to consume less calories including exercise. I feel as if I'm doing everything wrong.

Any help please?

Nicola0000

how many are you eating now?

otellia

It varies day to day but less then 2100 calories and with exercise I'm burning about 600 cal a day

HMonsterX

back when i was 240lbs my nutritionist told me exactly the same. I was netting barely anything, eating only 1200. She told me to EAT MORE. Told me to try eating 2000 a day for a few days, see what happened. It felt odd, eating MORE to LOSE weight.

I lost 3lbs in teh next 3 days, and it carried on from there.

I know it seems odd, but its so true!

otellia

Okay, but with consuming 2000 calories do I increase that because i'm burning 600 calories to 2600 calories a day? this confuses me

Nicola0000

Okay, but with consuming 2000 calories do I increase that because i'm burning 600 calories to 2600 calories a day? this confuses me

Dont eat back your exercise cals as this will make weight loss faster. You could cut it down to 1600 easily, which is safe and lose more quicker.

rhce40

if you are working out your body needs the extra fuel to repair the muscles you used. i would try and net the 2000 calories. eat high protein foods for your muscles to repair. after a prolonged period of eating too few calories, your body will hold on very tight to your fat because it goes into starvation mode.
there is a lot of research on this topic and a lot of threads about how people lost more weight after upping their calories, i recommend taking a look at those threads

BlueMoods

I hate that "eat more" trip. I can't geeze 1000 is WAY too much food for me with what i eat. Venison, chicken, vegies. I can't be spending that much on food. I tried, it cost me 102.00 for ONE week YIKES! back to my normal 50.00 to 60.00 per week and that includes soap, toilet paper, cleaners and dog treats. Now I know eat fewer calories and you loose, so why don't I loose on 500-600 cals a day, which is my average? I can't eat breakfast, food before I've been awake 3-4 hours makes me nauseous so, around 1 am to 1 pm I have either a bowl of soup, a sandwich or some leftovers. Then about 6-8 pm I have a meat, a veg and a starch. In between i drink coffee or tea and, if I can afford it that week sometimes juice, but that's one week a month because I can skip buying any meat that week and get a bottle of juice instead.

This week I skipped the meat, but tried to get enough to make the 1300 cals/day this site wants and it cost me twice what I can afford for food, so now either I make that food last 2 weeks or, I eat it but then have just venison, chicken and beans next week. I think I'll make it last 2 weeks, better to have some variety for next week too.

Nicola0000

if you struggle reaching your calorie target, eat calorie dense food like dried fruit or nuts. You dont eat much, but they have high calories.

Cashmere1111

Hello otellia !

Maybe I can clarify a few things for you. Your personal trainer was RIGHT about you consuming ALL of your recommended caloric intake for the day. If you eat less, your body will go into STARVATION MODE, which will lower your metabollism (sp??), thus making it EVEN HARDER than usual to lose the inches and pounds. I 'm currently having this problem, too - so I know how frustrating this can be ! ! Hang in there - everything will go smoother if you try what I've suggested ! Good Luck to you !

Janet

chevy88grl

Okay, but with consuming 2000 calories do I increase that because i'm burning 600 calories to 2600 calories a day? this confuses me

Dont eat back your exercise cals as this will make weight loss faster. You could cut it down to 1600 easily, which is safe and lose more quicker.

Not eating back your exercise calories is NOT always a sure fire way to lose weight faster. When I was actively trying to lose and didn't eat mine back? My weight loss would stall out. Not everyone can cut their daily calories super low and still lose weight. Depending on your activity level and your body in general - some people NEED more calories.

I am in maintenance now and consuming between 2300-2500 NET calories a day. When I was losing, I was consuming around 2100-2200 NET calories a day. Had I cut mine back to 1600? I would have a) been starving and b) saw a halt to my weight loss.

Scorpioangel

Okay, but with consuming 2000 calories do I increase that because i'm burning 600 calories to 2600 calories a day? this confuses me

Dont eat back your exercise cals as this will make weight loss faster. You could cut it down to 1600 easily, which is safe and lose more quicker.

Not eating back your exercise calories is NOT always a sure fire way to lose weight faster. When I was actively trying to lose and didn't eat mine back? My weight loss would stall out. Not everyone can cut their daily calories super low and still lose weight. Depending on your activity level and your body in general - some people NEED more calories.

I am in maintenance now and consuming between 2300-2500 NET calories a day. When I was losing, I was consuming around 2100-2200 NET calories a day. Had I cut mine back to 1600? I would have a) been starving and b) saw a halt to my weight loss.

I am definitely one of those people who need to eat more calories. My metabolism is on fire and I eat around 1,600 to 1,800 a day!

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Have you entered your stats into MFP correctly? If so then start out eating as close to what it tells you as possible. Yes eat back your exercise calories but try to make sure they're accurate. MFP notoriously overestimates calorie burn. Make sure you weigh/measure everything you eat and log accurately. Drink lots of water. Give that a few weeks to work and then you can adjust up or down if you need to. If you're really eating 2000 calories per day I'd be very surprised if you were in starvation mode. You'd have to be burning nearly 1000 calories per day without eating them back to hit the standard for a starvation diet. If you are doing that, by all means eat more, but I'm not sure starvation mode is the culprit here. Also you need to realize that with only 20 lbs to lose you may not see dramatic losses every week. Your goals should be set for 1 lb per week or even .5 lb per week.

houstonmacbro

Hello otellia !

Maybe I can clarify a few things for you. Your personal trainer was RIGHT about you consuming ALL of your recommended caloric intake for the day. If you eat less, your body will go into STARVATION MODE, which will lower your metabollism (sp??), thus making it EVEN HARDER than usual to lose the inches and pounds. I 'm currently having this problem, too - so I know how frustrating this can be ! ! Hang in there - everything will go smoother if you try what I've suggested ! Good Luck to you !

Janet

I wonder if this happened to me. I am at 1570 cal/day and have stalled out. So you're saying I should increase the cal intake to lose more?

koosdel

Okay, but with consuming 2000 calories do I increase that because i'm burning 600 calories to 2600 calories a day? this confuses me

Dont eat back your exercise cals as this will make weight loss faster. You could cut it down to 1600 easily, which is safe and lose more quicker.

Ignore this. This is bad advice for anyone wishing to achieve a level of fitness. In order to refuel the body after a workout, these calories should.be consumed.

koosdel

Hello otellia !

Maybe I can clarify a few things for you. Your personal trainer was RIGHT about you consuming ALL of your recommended caloric intake for the day. If you eat less, your body will go into STARVATION MODE, which will lower your metabollism (sp??), thus making it EVEN HARDER than usual to lose the inches and pounds. I 'm currently having this problem, too - so I know how frustrating this can be ! ! Hang in there - everything will go smoother if you try what I've suggested ! Good Luck to you !

Janet

I wonder if this happened to me. I am at 1570 cal/day and have stalled out. So you're saying I should increase the cal intake to lose more?

As nutrition intake lowers, metabolism lowers to match.