I Burn more Calories than what I eat...Help!!!

Tanyawhite30

Hey guys,
I have started the gym exactly 1 month ago today...My calorie goal for the day is 1200, I try to stay away from most processed foods so I eat alot of fruits and veggies so it fills me up alot so that makes it hard for me to get to my 1200 Calories everyday.
I have found a new passion for running so my daily routines consist of running and strenght training...I usually burn between 800 to 1000 Calories 6 days a week.......which leaves me with ALOT of calories to eat....I am so confused with this calorie deflict thing, I cant see myself eating 2200 calories in a day, I find that its alot of food. Any suggestions on what I should do? I want to do this the right and Healthy way and deffinately dont want my body to go to (starvation mode) and by the looks of it I guess thats what I have been doing. It would really be appreciated if someone could help me out with this. Thank you

prism6

protien bars,cereal,pizza and beer...oh no, bad me that's what I ate to get to this weight. I am kind of in the same boat as you. I have been exercising and I usually do not eat all my calories back. I guess I kind of feel it is counter productive. Find a safe treat that you can enjoy and yet not hurt your progress. If I do alot of exercise, I will treat myself to a bakery bagel...

KNMD

NUTS. Almonds, Walnuts, Cashews, Peanuts.... etc. = energy + calories + good fat

kekl

Yes - please eat more! It's not healthy to only eat 1000 calories a day especially on top of that exercise!

Try nuts, more peanut butter, replace your egg whites with eggs - maybe add some cheese and lean protein in there. Protein bars! If all else fails try liquids - protein shakes, even low fat chocolate milk....

Good luck!

ps- i eat 2100 calories net every day. It's really not that much just got to find denser foods

jskaggs1971

Keep eating healthy foods, but look for more calorie-dense ones like tree nuts, peanut butter, brown rice, and the like. Fruits and veggies are great, but it's hard to get all your caloric needs met with them when you're working hard.

Ainohikari

Gatorade, drinks with calories(preferably not soda), more protien! Eat some carbs too!

Gt3ch

IDK. I see this kind of post a lot and can't quite wrap my brain around it. I think if you're really burning 1000 calories a day from intense exercise you should be ravenous and easily eating over 1200 calories/day even if you were a pure whole-food raw vegan (I have). If you really don't have much of an appetite why do you need a weight-loss system like MFP? If you're really grinding past depravation and in "starvation mode" you should be kind of out of it and lethargic and unable to do that kind of intense exercise day after day. Really? No injuries? No Illness? No Flakiness? You can drive and perform at work?

I'm not saying you’re lying or anything- I just can't relate. Furthermore all the numbers and calculations are guestimates based on a number of assumptions so they’re essentially always wrong (or rather never exact). In some situations they’re more off than others. It’s unrealistic to treat these numbers as exact and with great precision. If the goal is weight loss you want to be in the ballpark but err on the side of low calories.

My vote is if you're full and feel OK and mentally sharp and performing strongly in the gym and elsewhere don't worry about the extra calories and err on the side of lower calories and weight loss (if that’s your goal). If you feel ravenous and foggy, lethargic and deprived, having trouble sleeping well, etc then eat more, up to what MFP and your entries say.

People here have made a lot of good suggestions for specific foods.

Elizabeth_M

I'm not sure how you could survive on essentially 100 calories!?

You need to eat more foods that have proteins and good fats in them.

Cottage cheese, greek yogurt, quinoa, avocado, olive oil, nuts

emstgm

I'm pretty sure that most people here would advise you that 1200 calories eaten with 800-1000 burned is not enough to sustain your body. You are netting 200-400 calories a day. I think you should feed yourself. 1200 calories is already a deficit.

Gargwin82

PERSONALLY I'd take a day off the gym or cut back on how much I did there. Then again there is a reason I'm on MFP to start with

alegrria72

Peanut Butter! How I miss PB! Just 2 tablespoons is 200 calories. You may even be able to make it at home or if there is a Whole Foods nearby they have grinders where you can make it fresh. Other nuts and nut butters also give you healthy fats, protein and calories. Maybe try greek yogurt too?

Good Luck!

LatinaGordita

I never eat all my calories burned, but when my calories are low I have a single serving pouch of planters nuts energy mix (180 cal). I usually have it after my walk. I also have a protein shake (270cals) after my evening aerobics/elliptical. I like these options because they are easy, quick, calorie dense and I do not feel icky afterwards. Find foods you like that can provide you with more calories if you have trouble meeting your 1200 on a regular basis.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I agree with most of the above-- if you have trouble eating your calories you can drink them in the form of protein shakes or smoothies. First of all though, make sure you are measuring everything properly and getting as accurate a measure of exercise calories burned as possible.

shellimus

NUTS. Almonds, Walnuts, Cashews, Peanuts.... etc. = energy + calories + good fat

^^ THIS! Plus how about a little avocado?

SuperFreakKT

Also confused by your post! I work out a ton, I'm also a runner... but I'm usually starving! I don't eat all my calories, but I typically have at least 1600/day.

I think you should focus on eating "healthy" fats (like nuts, avocado, evoo) as others have suggested as well as getting in whole grains to fuel your running (oats, quinoa, farro).

I have to wonder... are you REALLY only eating 1000-1200? That should technically put your body in starvation mode, especially if you are active. Maybe you are not measuring portion sizes or counting the calories correctly? (I don't mean it as an insult - just trying to make this make sense!

RedHotRunner

IDK. I see this kind of post a lot and can't quite wrap my brain around it. I think if you're really burning 1000 calories a day from intense exercise you should be ravenous and easily eating over 1200 calories/day even if you were a pure whole-food raw vegan (I have). If you really don't have much of an appetite why do you need a weight-loss system like MFP? If you're really grinding past depravation and in "starvation mode" you should be kind of out of it and lethargic and unable to do that kind of intense exercise day after day. Really? No injuries? No Illness? No Flakiness? You can drive and perform at work?

I'm not saying you’re lying or anything- I just can't relate. Furthermore all the numbers and calculations are guestimates based on a number of assumptions so they’re essentially always wrong (or rather never exact). In some situations they’re more off than others. It’s unrealistic to treat these numbers as exact and with great precision. If the goal is weight loss you want to be in the ballpark but err on the side of low calories.

People here have made a lot of good suggestions for specific foods.


My vote is if you're full and feel OK and mentally sharp and performing strongly in the gym and elsewhere don't worry about the extra calories and err on the side of lower calories and weight loss (if that’s your goal). If you feel ravenous and foggy, lethargic and deprived, having trouble sleeping well, etc then eat more, up to what MFP and your entries say.

I have to agree with you. I run half marathons and rarely lose weight during the training process because i'm hungry and need to feed my body in order to keep up with the types of distances I run. I could never do what I do with less than 1200 net calories (or even 1500, which is my daily norm)

kristinathenina

I was doing something very similar, and I gained weight doing that. I bumped up my absolute minimum calories per day level to 1400 (I HAVE to have that many), that way I wouldn't get too low everyday. I am much happier now, and dont feel so run down all the time like I did before. Add some of the things you told your self you could never have again in, just in moderation. For me it was pasta(170 cals per serving), peanut butter(180 per serving), and MILK (100 per serving) When you first start, try adding milk into your diet, it will let your body slowly adjust to having more, without making you feel overfull. Feel free to friend me for other ideas

RedHotRunner

I have to agree with you. I run half marathons and rarely lose weight during the training process because i'm hungry and need to feed my body in order to keep up with the types of distances I run. I could never do what I do with less than 1200 net calories (or even 1500, which is my daily norm)

Another thing i'm curious about. Your fitness diary says you ran for 30 minutes today and burned 400+ calories. I would only burn 300 doing that, but am at goal weight. I'm wondering if your fitness numbers are off. They seem to be a bit inflated, but because I don't know your weight, I can't be sure.

Tanyawhite30

I
Also confused by your post! I work out a ton, I'm also a runner... but I'm usually starving! I don't eat all my calories, but I typically have at least 1600/day.

I think you should focus on eating "healthy" fat (like nuts, avocado, evoo) as others have suggested as well as getting in whole grains to fuel your running (oats, quinoa, farro).

I have to wonder... are you REALLY only eating 1000-1200? That should technically put your body in starvation mode, especially if you are active. Maybe you are not measuring portion sizes or counting the calories correctly? (I don't mean it as an insult - just trying to make this make sense!

spammyanna

Do you use a HRM to track your calories burned? You may be overestimating. I know I was for a long time, and it severely impacted my weight loss.

Up your protein and fiber intake, your body needs fuel!

Tanyawhite30

I dont know why anyone would say I don't log in everything I eat.. I am obviously here for a reason and take it seriously. I also don't understand why I don't have more appetite than this considering the amount of calories I burn

cressievargo

If you are only eating 1200 calories a day and exercising that much, you are not eating enough. The 1200 calories is built in for NO exercise. You should really be eating back your workout calories, or at least some of them.

Tanyawhite30

thank you to all of you that answered and gave me suggestions without almost attacking me. I only wanted opinions and suggestions. What would be the point of being on This site if I lied about my food and exercise.... Sorry but some of these posts frustrated me...

spammyanna

I dont know why anyone would say I don't log in everything I eat.. I am obviously here for a reason and take it seriously. I also don't understand why I don't have more appetite than this considering the amount of calories I burn

I don't think that anyone was trying to say you were being misleading...just trying to understand better.

KatieJane83

I dont know why anyone would say I don't log in everything I eat.. I am obviously here for a reason and take it seriously. I also don't understand why I don't have more appetite than this considering the amount of calories I burn

Wait, I don't think people are saying that you don't log everything you eat. Nobody's attacking you! Rather, they are just asking whether you are absolutely positive you are logging the correct amounts of foods. Unless you are using a food scale to measure everything it can be all to easy to under or over estimate the amount of calories you're intaking. We're just trying to help! :flowerforyou:

And again, I am also curious if you are using a HRM to calculate your calories burned? That can be another area where the estimates that MFP gives you can be quite a bit over OR under, depending on the activity.

KareninCanada

I think you've just confused people... it IS hard to figure out how it is that you're not absolutely starving with working that hard and eating so little. When I've been working out consistently, my stomach is growling and letting me know I've got to pay attention and get enough fuel in there.

Maybe you could give an example of what you normally eat (or they can look at your diary), and people can help you fill in some blanks? My one suggestion for you would be to increase your protein - you're pretty low on that.

Tanyawhite30

Yes many I understand some things the wrong way.. I'm French LOL! But I do mesure everything and I do have a digital scale to do that... I never had a big appetite before.. I just ate really bad.

CyberEd312

You definitely need to be eating more....... I burn 1200-2000 calories most days and am eating 3200-3400 calories a day... I do wear a HRM to tract my burns and I eat back 85% of those exercise calories and leave 15% for error... I don't eat junk except for my weekly cheat meal so my diet consist of fish, tuna, chicken, veggies, and fruit..... I eat alot of almonds and pistashios to make up some calories and love peanut butter.... My breakfast alone is around 900 calories between 3 pieces of toast with peanut butter and coffee and a big glass of 1% milk. It isn't hard to eat 3400 calories a day when I am burning so much energy in my workouts. I am still losing 1 to 2 pounds every week for the last 32 months...... Heck last week I lost 5 1/2 pounds this late in my journey . So somehow you need to work in more good denser foods..... Good luck.....

Tanyawhite30

My food diary is there for all of you to see

Gt3ch

thank you to all of you that answered and gave me suggestions without almost attacking me. I only wanted opinions and suggestions. What would be the point of being on This site if I lied about my food and exercise.... Sorry but some of these posts frustrated me...

I'm sorry if my post was offensive or frustrating. It seems like many people here think this is an exact science and all the formulas and rules are very precise. They're not. They're ballpark figures for EVERYONE. I don't think you're deliberately fudging anything or slacking off or stupid. But each thing you enter into the diary is an approximation based on certain assumptions. Each entry will be a little off. You don't have a fancy lab. That's just how it is. Sometimes it all balances out and at the end of the day the numbers are in the right ballpark. Sometimes small inaccuracies add up big time and give you a misleading and confusing picture. It's completely normal. Don't let anyone here freak you out about anything or that you didn't eat or burn some precise figure or that their numbers come out very differently. Focus more on the larger trends and changes in your body and how you feel.

i guess what I'm taking so long to say is it's possible you're doing what's right for your body even if it doesn't line up with someone else's diary or pseudoscience based dogma. Listen to your body. Take the rules and formulas and theories with a grain of salt. Consistency & common sense are more important than precision.

Gt3ch

My food diary is there for all of you to see

I took a quick look and the exercise figures don't seem unreasonable to me- if it is really intense, you've been training for a long time and you aren't very petite. Your diet is honestly extremely light. I don't know how you do it. I did a juice fast in December that was 1200 calories and I couldn't function, had to pull back on exercise, and was starting to get sick in under a week. If you are well, alert and active on this plan over a long period I can only sit here and be jealous. Obviously out of the 2 of us you will be the one that survives the zombie apocalypse.

It's completely up to you if you want/need to add lean protein, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, rice, complex carbohydrates, fruit, healthy fats like avocado, coconut oil, breads, pasta, etc.