There is a big difference between eating more to lose weight

runlaugheatpie

sadly I am never "stuffed" unless of course I go over my calories for the day!!

Jen8np

Such a great post!!!!! I want to scream when people say they are not hungry so they don't eat back exercise calories, then a few days later u see a post from them crying about how they binged and "ruined everything" really? I am so sure they ate thousands and thousands of calories to gain a true couple of pounds. But that's why I think people fall off the mfp wagon so fast. Because most people want a quick fix and not a real lifestyle change. I keep saying its not all about the scale anyways. Respect your body and it will respect you back. Again great post!!!

CosmicBella

Great post !!! I just recently upped my calories because I was exhausted and starving at the end of the day at 1200 calories plus eating whatever back in exercise calories. I may lose slower now, but I won't be a ravenous, angry b#tch anymore!...lol

LordBezoar

Excellent post! Thank you.

DanaNicolle

I totally agree that when I weighed my heaviest weight I could have been eating 3000 or more calories per day. When I first started mfp, I was allotted 1600 cals per day. Then, after losing 10 or so pounds, mfp said I should lower my caloric intake, then after another 10, lower again, etc. I was at 1400 cals per day, and hit a plateau. So, naturally, I thought I should lower my calories to 1250 per day. I was so hungry all of the time, and felt completely exhausted by then end of the day. I stayed 1250 at that plateau for 3 weeks until I allowed myself to go back up to 1400 calories per day. Now, at 1400 calories, I am losing again. I think it is important that we all learn to listen to our own bodies, and practice trial and error until we get it right. Good luck, everyone! We CAN DO this! :happy:

naomi8888

While I agree with you for the most part, a lot of overweight people (including myself) weren't eating enough. That meant that our bodies went into starvation mode and clung on to every ounce of fat that went into our bodies - - even if it was only 800/day. I wasn't focused on eating during the day before, so a glass of milk and a cup of coffee would be all I fueled my body with for 8-10 hours. I may have had lunch, I may not have. Sometimes I just figured why eat at 3pm when I realized I was hungry when dinner would be in 2-3 hours. So I was clearly not eating enough....for me it was an adjustment to go from eating one meal a day to 4-5 small meals a day. It seemed like I was constantly eating. I had to retrain my thoughts and my body. Now that I've been eating the way I'm supposed to - I'm looking at 1400 cals/day like the norm instead of 800.

See I don't get that bit, you say you were overweight because you weren't eating enough. Even if you're not eating much through the day surely you were overcompensating at night. I just don't understand how someone can be overweight when they consistently eat around 800 calories a day. I just don't think it makes sense.

teeley

What I don't understand is, most people came to MFP because they were eating well above their recommended caloric intake, so how all of a sudden are they now not able to eat exercise calories back and not eat up to 1200, 1300, 1400 calories?

The problem is that we are now eating good food that fills you up. If I eat good protein and lots of fruit and veggies and try to keep fat < 20%, calorie intake will be low and I will be stuffed. 400 calories of good protein and fruit and veggies will stuff you.

Sure when I was eating bad...I could eat 1/2 a pizza ( 4 pieces) and calories would be 1500-2000 calories or go to the chineese buffett and blow them out of the water with a couple egg rolls.

Today, I have to work on trying to add good calories. Maybe add some protein powder or nuts to my food or eating greek yogurt.

I agree with you! It is what we are eating now compared to how we used to eat...

I call BS,

There are plenty of ways to get in an extra couple hundread "good" calories...I am not going to waste my time listing them, as there are plenty of posts already on the subject.

brendansmom1

This is a true concept...I know...but I cannot be the only person that struggles with finding the RIGHT foods to eat. I am restricting carbs (diabetic, plus only thing that really does help me lose right now) without the high calorie carb things and the items ridiculously high in fat....sometimes it really is difficult to get in the calories. And, like someone said, if you eat high in protein and you have complex carbs when you do eat them...well, you are FULL!!

I hate that this is so hard. LOL I did well for the first year..then plateaued, then changed things up (restricted the carbs, upped my protein, etc) and started losing again. That is working for now, but I am sure I will have to adjust again in a few months.....

I eat pretty good...no junk (except for the sugar free jello...I know, bad)

Frustrating.....

brendansmom1

What I don't understand is, most people came to MFP because they were eating well above their recommended caloric intake, so how all of a sudden are they now not able to eat exercise calories back and not eat up to 1200, 1300, 1400 calories?

The problem is that we are now eating good food that fills you up. If I eat good protein and lots of fruit and veggies and try to keep fat < 20%, calorie intake will be low and I will be stuffed. 400 calories of good protein and fruit and veggies will stuff you.

Sure when I was eating bad...I could eat 1/2 a pizza ( 4 pieces) and calories would be 1500-2000 calories or go to the chineese buffett and blow them out of the water with a couple egg rolls.

Today, I have to work on trying to add good calories. Maybe add some protein powder or nuts to my food or eating greek yogurt.

I agree with you! It is what we are eating now compared to how we used to eat...

I call BS,

There are plenty of ways to get in an extra couple hundread "good" calories...I am not going to waste my time listing them, as there are plenty of posts already on the subject.

True, there are ways to get good calories....but most of those are so high in fat. Like almonds, etc...then if I eat those I am over on my fat intake for the day. FML. LOL

3audkids

great post!!! everyone should read!! thanks

bigd65

Awesome post. :flowerforyou:

Too bad the people who need this probably won't read it.
[/quote

^^^^^^
THIS

1carahmeldiva

Great post. Thanks

UsedToBeHusky

You know, I think the biggest flaw with MFP is that they do not accurately calculate caloric needs. People look at the BMR in terms of TDEE.

Paula21666

For me...I really didn't eat but maybe once a day or when I did eat I over ate. So watching more of what I eat and keeping track has truly opened my eyes. Now I am eating healthier and exercise so I do have a hard time using all my calories and by no means hungry. At the end of the day I see where, hey-I can't eat more...I found myself forcing something in me to meet my calorie goal then feeling sick (so I quit doing that). I try to get as close as I can. I'm eating the foods I love. Funny I ate the same foods before but then on top of it I had the fast food drive-thrus and so forth. I also look things up before I eat to know how many calories and what size portion I can have that fits into my daily calorie intake.

wahmx3

I totally agree and i don't see how people say they are too stuffed to add an extra 100-300 calories that will help them start losing once again.

Ebwash89

I get what your saying but what most dont understand is that because we were eating more calories before doesnt mean we were eat more food. Lets say for example a burger. When we used to eat a burger for 500-800 calories it was the same quantity as the burgers I would cook now at 200-300 calories. Also you have to take into account that most of us arent used to eating snacks in between. Me personally I would gorge all in one meal and not eat anything else for the rest of the day. Not good for the metabolism and that one meal may be thousands of calories. So its all about the quantity not the calories.

myfitnessnmhoy

Agreed! But there are some good points in the thread as well.

When I started dieting, I focused on healthy foods (foods that I knew were individually healthy, like lean meats, fruits and veggies, nuts, etc). I thought I was doing very well, and to lose weight I would simply cut my intake. But I was constantly hungry and using tricks like cinnamon gum to hold off the hunger pangs, and I'd cheat because I was HUNGRYHUNGRYHUNGRY all the time. And though I was losing weight, it was no fun and probably not all that healthy.

And I thought I was doing well. My meals consisted of:

Brekkies: a half bagel with lowfat cream cheese
Lunch: a lean half-wrap of turkey and cheese, a banana, some raisins, some nuts, a BIG quart bag of veggies, an apple, and a small piece of citrus.
Supper: something generally pretty lean - chicken soup, veggie crumbles/"fake meat" over lettuce, etc.

I started using the food tracker on this site and I'm slowly starting to realize that not nearly enough of my calories are coming from filling proteins and fats, so I backed off some of the sugars and upped proteins and fats a bit over the last few days (added a hardboiled egg to brekkies, upped the wrap to a full one, dropped the raisins, and a few other very minor tweaks), and I'm now starting to struggle to meet my daily caloric intake, because I'm eating more filling, higher-quality calories now.

You can diet by eating the same junk and eating less of it, or you can diet by eating a better balance of foods that fill you up and give your body the optimum fuel to increase your metabolism. That balance is a little different for each person, of course, but going beyond the calorie and following ALL of the guidelines in the food diary is a good start!

I'm sure many people came to the site after similar struggles like mine - forcing ourselves to eat less, not eat smarter. And now that we're starting to eat smarter, we've found that our appetite and BMR are messed up because of our earlier dieting habits. I'm going to continue working on balancing down my carbs (they are still too high a portion of my intake), and that will mean that eating to my recommended caloric intake is going to get harder.

But I love all the energy I've gained. I'm less groggy when I get up in the morning, I'm feeling better about stuff, and I'm feeling like my concentration and focus are improving, workouts aren't as unpleasant and the "exercise high" at the end is even more fantastic. I'm pretty sure it's mostly due to the fact that I'm now feeding my body more proteins and fats that it's been craving, and fewer sugars and carbs that just give me short-term energy that won't even last through a good workout and leave me tired and HUNGRYHUNGRYHUNGRY!!!!

jadashute08

What I don't understand is, most people came to MFP because they were eating well above their recommended caloric intake, so how all of a sudden are they now not able to eat exercise calories back and not eat up to 1200, 1300, 1400 calories?

The problem is that we are now eating good food that fills you up. If I eat good protein and lots of fruit and veggies and try to keep fat < 20%, calorie intake will be low and I will be stuffed. 400 calories of good protein and fruit and veggies will stuff you.

Sure when I was eating bad...I could eat 1/2 a pizza ( 4 pieces) and calories would be 1500-2000 calories or go to the chineese buffett and blow them out of the water with a couple egg rolls.

Today, I have to work on trying to add good calories. Maybe add some protein powder or nuts to my food or eating greek yogurt.

I agree with you! It is what we are eating now compared to how we used to eat...

I call BS,

There are plenty of ways to get in an extra couple hundread "good" calories...I am not going to waste my time listing them, as there are plenty of posts already on the subject.

Call it whatever you want but what works for some dont work for others!

engineman312

people also go into "diet mode" and think all they can eat are egg whites and veggies. low calorie, yes, but that can be filling.

downhomechik

Excellent article with pics!!!!

To me, eating more to lose weight is summed up by this article:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=1260