Question about tracking food

jfield6
jfield6 Posts: 56
in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone! I'm new here but I haven't made it to the intro thread yet. I'm heading there after this post. :)

I wanted to ask some questions about tracking food.

MFP says that I can have 1270 calories a day. I find that I have a lot of calories left in a day. Especially after exercising! I'm full and really don't want to force myself to eat. I feel like that will only make me gain or keep from losing. Do I really HAVE to eat all of the calories?

If so, do I just eat a bag of popcorn at night to fill my 460 calories I need to eat by 9:00pm?

I'm just can't eat a ton during the day. Is that my problem? I don't feel hungry at all during the day, but should I still eat more calories in the morning?

Replies

  • frankiesats
    frankiesats Posts: 114 Member
    You should try net 1270 calories a day, sometimes, depending on your burn it might be hard. Try to never go below 1200 calories!

    Milk is a great way to get extra calories if you're struggling. Try eat the healthiest foods you can when eating back - remember it isn't just about the calories its about fat, carb and sugar too!
  • jesska812
    jesska812 Posts: 102 Member
    Welcome! I know it feels like you're stuffing yourself full of food when you want to be losing weight!! You need to work out what works for you but with those extra calories it means you won't have to deny yourself anything so you will be more like to stick to the plan. Se ways I've found to increase my calories is to add some avocado to my salad everyday, eat full fat yoghurt (which I LOVE), eat a few nuts as part of a snack and lately I've been trying to have more 'elaborate' snacks such as toasted English muffins with tomato and a bit of cheese rather than just a piece of fruit. Ive found this fills me up much more and I also increase my calories a bit - and yes eating all that food you will still lose weight at a steady healthy pace.

    Good luck!!
  • jfield6
    jfield6 Posts: 56
    I guess I need to rework some thing then. Like I eat Wheat Thins for a snack, so I should add something with those. Or I'll have a banana as a snack, so I need to add peanut butter to it. Right?

    I tried the Jillian Michaels protein shake...triple chocolate and I was NOT a fan. I made it with just water. Should I add milk to it to add calories? I drink skim milk. I can't use a blender at work and I was thinking it would be a good way to get it in while sitting at my desk. Or should I do it in the evenings?
  • jesska812
    jesska812 Posts: 102 Member
    Yep that's it. Just adding 'good quality' calories into your diet rather than just bulking up with empty calories. Peanut butter, full cream milk all really help get your calories up and provide some good nutrients. I find that I can't eat all my exercise calories back everyday (I burn around 500 - 600 x 5 days a week) so I aim to eat at least half - again its what works for you but really try to make sure you eat all of your 1270 per day. Good luck
  • tnjackso1
    tnjackso1 Posts: 312 Member
    I've really enjoyed reading the posts on this topic.... A big thanks to all. As far as the protein shakes go, I've found that they are good frozen for transport purposes to work---I use reduced fat milk, organic peanut butter, ice chips, and vanilla extra in mine with the vanilla whey protein mix by JM and its very good
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    Yes, you want to try at least to follow their calorie recommendations, at least at first until your body tells you whether it's right or wrong.
    Everyone's body is a little different, and the site isn't absolutely perfect at determining BMR (Base Metabolic Rate - how many calories your normal daily life will burn with no additional exercise). So maybe your own body's signals are right and the site has too high a BMR for you.

    But if you take in an extra 400 calories a day for 10 days, that's one and one third pounds' worth of calories in total. If it doesn't pay off, that's not much of a setback, and if it does you'll feel better and moire energetic as your BMR comes up to a healthier level.

    Look at the charts to make sure you are getting a decent balance between fats, carbs and proteins, and add what you need to add. In general, just "adding calories" is a bad idea - so your "snarf down popcorn to meet the number" is not optimal.

    Here's the issue - if you eat too few calories (or the WRONG calories), your body's metabolism drops. This site refers to it with the somewhat alarmist term "starvation mode". If your metabolism drops, you aren't burning as many calories. If your BMR drops, you won't lose weight unless you drop your intake below your new BMR. And when you do that, your BMR will drop further. You'll also feel more tired, and be at risk of falling into states like your body burning muscle for energy and other things that might allow you to lose weight, but not in a healthy way.

    Believe me - I spent a year a decade ago dropping from 280 to 230, and I focused on calorie control - I ate nothing but celery and lettuce for a week, and went three days on nothing but water. I was very stupid, and my BMI was so low I couldn't lose weight without feeling hungry ALL the time. I could have lost that 50 pounds in half the time with a lot less pain had I paid more attention to my BMI and food balance, and less on CALORIES BAD GAAH! dieting.
  • joy31021
    joy31021 Posts: 216
    I make the JM shake with unsweetened almond milk, PB2, hemp hearts,chia seeds and ice,blend with immersion blender (as a meal replacement)

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