Eating to few calories and ? about exercise calories

erickirb

So, what is a good high cal snack that people have to boost cals at the end of the day? I don't want to do shots to keep my cals up. Well, I kinda do but know that's not the smartest route :drinker:

haha,

Nuts, seeds, olive oil, drink some cals (milk juice) avoid diet and lite foods and eat the full calorie versions.

frugalmomsrock

So, what is a good high cal snack that people have to boost cals at the end of the day? I don't want to do shots to keep my cals up. Well, I kinda do but know that's not the smartest route :drinker:

spoon+peanut butter=a heavenly, high cal snack with healthy fats.

Lauren8239

Bad news, when the numbers are red you've gone over......

Apparently people also get a red nastygram if they say "complete this entry" with less than 1200 net calories for the day. At least that is what I've deduced from comments here on the boards. I have no personal experience because I don't think I've ever netted less than 2000 calories, let alone less than 1200!

Exactly right. I've been getting the red because I'm way below after working out. The red jumping out at me is what got my attention about not eating enough. So thank you MFP

heybales

I've read somewhere on here that your suppose to eat back your exercise calories...Why is that? That doesn't hurt your weightloss? Also I've been looking through my diary and noticed that I haven't been eating much...having 800 or more calories left a day after exercising....Can this slow down my metabolism
and eventually make me hit a plateau? How can I make myself eat more a when I'm not hungry and add more variety? Thanks!!

So you can see the success of others NOT starting on the low end of the calorie deficit method.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/546227-for-the-500-000-time-eating-more-works

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/547975-help-eatting-back-calories

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/539980-people-who-have-had-success-by-upping-their-calories

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/547983-not-losing-anything-except-my-mind

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/494091-i-just-don-t-care-anymore

crystal8208

Bad news, when the numbers are red you've gone over......

Apparently people also get a red nastygram if they say "complete this entry" with less than 1200 net calories for the day. At least that is what I've deduced from comments here on the boards. I have no personal experience because I don't think I've ever netted less than 2000 calories, let alone less than 1200!

Yup. Warning! You aren't consuming enough calories, it says.

Here's a good reply - you can eat less than 1200 and you will lose weight. Except that you will lose muscle too (instead of just fat and that's bad :noway: ), and if you continue on that path, if you are quite large to start with, you increase the chance that at goal weight, you'll have lose saggy skin. It's best to up the calories and lose a little at a time. You didn't put it on in 2 months, how can we expect to get it off in 2 months?

Biggest Loser is not the norm.... Once I accepted this and went up on my calorie intake, not only was I happier to get to eat more again, but I lost weight after a 4 week plateau. :drinker: Good luck in figuring out what works for you!

A_New_Horizon

Sounds to me like you are eating too few calories and yes it does slow down your metabolism. I know it is backwards, but you really do need to eat more to lose weight/burn calories.

I did some research myself with the help of a friends and realized that MFP has my BRM too low (it should be 1430 vs 1330). I workout usually 3-4 days a week and burn anywhere from 500-800 calories/workout. I was consuming around 1400 which is too low for me considering my workout, so now, I consume anywhere from 1900-2300. I have my calories set on maintenance and I usually eat back most of my exercise calories. I would do some research for yourself and do some calculations.

ElHombre23

Every physical body is different listen to yours...What works for someone may not work for you and vice a versa. If you plan to be in the "red" often make sure you factor in a high calorie day here and there just to keep your metabolism interested. Again that has worked for me in the past I won't promise it will work for anyone else.

askinnybanana13

Okay here is the best answer I have. but you probably already know this

When trying to loose weight we need to burn calories.... your body naturally burns calories without the help of exercise. (check your BMR under the tools section). It is the simple and yet so confusing but calories in must equal calories out. It is like a checking account you make your deposit and you cant spend more than you have or you overdraft. So your deposit is your food and you have all those calories to spend but must spend them all or they transfer to you savings account--- think of the savings account as your fat storage.

Your metabolism will plateau because your body will believe it is starvation mode and can only go so long with such little calorie intake, this will cause your body to store fat in the hard to loose places like our mid sections( our savings account)

I hope this makes sense but as long you burn what you consume and consume enough to burn than weight loss and metabolism will speed up. The most important is that you eat and should eat 1200 or more calories a day to avoid starvation mode and burn them to loose the weight.

betholiver

bump

huntindawg1962

So my question is that if this eating below your "BMR is bad" is so apparent to all on MFP, then why does MFP continue to give you a daily allotment below that number?? I read somewhere on these threads someone said that the BMR is a constant. Well, the fat2fit calculators won't allow me to go the whole distance to my goals because it says my calories is below BMR but to set a higher goal and recalc it when I get there - implying (what we already know) the BMR will be lower when bodyweight is also lower thus allowing a new daily input to achieve the end goal.

treetop57

So my question is that if this eating below your "BMR is bad" is so apparent to all on MFP, then why does MFP continue to give you a daily allotment below that number?? I read somewhere on these threads someone said that the BMR is a constant.

Not following you exactly. People (and websites) use equations to estimate BMR. These equations use the person's weight, age, height, and gender. Presumably, these equations are developed by measuring the actual BMR for a group of people and finding the function of weight, age, height, and gender that puts the estimated BMR closest to the actual measured BMR (multi-variable least squares, I would guess). But for a given person, the actual BMR is probably different from the estimated BMR from the equations, with probably a greater difference the further a given person is away from "average" in terms of weight, height, or body fat percentage.

So I have no idea why someone would say "BMR is constant." For a given person, the estimated and actual BMR will both change if the person loses weight. Even at the same weight, the actual BMR will change if the person changes body composition (body fat percentage), even though the standard equations will not change the estimated BMR. And the estimated BMR will change every year on your birthday, even though your actual BMR doesn't know the day before your birthday from the day after. (My understanding is that the age factor in the standard BMR equations are designed to account for the fact that on average, people lose muscle and gain fat as they age. So age is in the BMR equations as a sort of indirect accounting for body composition.)

heybales

So my question is that if this eating below your "BMR is bad" is so apparent to all on MFP, then why does MFP continue to give you a daily allotment below that number?? I read somewhere on these threads someone said that the BMR is a constant. Well, the fat2fit calculators won't allow me to go the whole distance to my goals because it says my calories is below BMR but to set a higher goal and recalc it when I get there - implying (what we already know) the BMR will be lower when bodyweight is also lower thus allowing a new daily input to achieve the end goal.

My nefarious answer.

MFP knows that when you first drop daily eating by a big amount, even below BMR, you are likely to create a great deficit for a while before the metabolism drops.

You'll have perhaps a couple weeks or longer depending on how bad the drop below. Losing great weight potentially.
You are enthralled with this great program, look at the weight drop.

It stalls, you check out why, you get advice, you keep going.

How does MFP benefit? Subscribers. Which means ad sales, which is how money is made. Besides how much of our statistical stuff is sold too I wonder.

MFP knows slow and steady is NOT the initial desire. Look how many women select 2lb weekly when that is not a realistic amount, combined with selecting Sedentary.

So give the folks what they want to get the sub's over other sites, and once hooked, when problems arise, they'll stick around.

Shoot, don't have to be here long to see the credit for exercise is not explained very well at all, the whole principle for what is attempting to be done is confusing to many people. Instead of trying to make that clear, just give warnings if really bad, but otherwise, we'll assume users are underestimating calories eaten and over-estimating calories burned, so it'll equal out when they don't eat it back.

It would be very simple to not allow the goal to be set below the BMR. But they don't even really show people potential weight loss when they stop at 1200. You have to go to Goal page to discover "that's not 2lbs weekly", because the math doesn't allow it.

huntindawg1962

well you did define the nefarious intent

heybales

well you did define the nefarious intent

Ohhh, I actually forgot the more nefarious part of it.

The ads are for other diet products usually it seems. And who is more willing to buy, someone that was having success and now it stopped?
Or someone who is doing just fine?

hml86

Listen to fat2fitradio.com try avocados, olive oil, cheese, and bananas, oh and almond butter or peanut butter.

Thanks...:I'll try them!!

hml86

Thank you everyone for your input!! Each of your replies were wry helpful!! I will try my beat to eat more calories to keep my body fueled and be able to function!!

hml86

Every physical body is different listen to yours...What works for someone may not work for you and vice a versa. If you plan to be in the "red" often make sure you factor in a high calorie day here and there just to keep your metabolism interested. Again that has worked for me in the past I won't promise it will work for anyone else.

So far it seems to be working for me...& I do include a few higher calorie days here and there! Maybe that's what's helping me!! So true everyone is different and lose differently!! Thanks!

sophearvyphe

if your calorie intake dips too low, says Lummus, your body could go into starvation mode. "Your body will start to store fat because it thinks it is not going to get anything," says Lummus. "You will be at a point where your body is kind of at a standstill."

Lummus says that when your body goes into starvation mode, your metabolism slows to a crawl, burning calories as slowly as possible to conserve its energy stores. This is why people who cut their calories too much may reach a plateau and stop losing weight.

Eating too few calories can be the start of a vicious cycle that causes diet distress. When you cut your calories so low that your metabolism slows and you stop losing weight, you probably will become frustrated that your efforts are not paying off. This can lead you to overeat and ultimately gain weight.