How to eat?

tat2oodmonster

I am set for 1200 calories and always run under my goal. I keep reading you need to eat more..and more lol. I exercise at least 30 minutes everyday on a stationary bike/elliptical plus strength train. What is a good eating plan? How do others do it? I am in the last stretch of nursing school and just planning is tough. Any tips would help. I've lost 7 in 3 weeks so far. 167 to 160. I want to get to 130 and build muscle. Advice!! :-)pleaassee!

ShaeSweetie

eat about 5 small meals a day...each consisting of about 300 calories or so...if you need more take more. I would say dont not eat but dont force yourself when your hungry! But if your going wayy below your calories it means your body needs more! If you eat too far under your calories especially to where MFP is telling you that you are, you def need to eat more. Try breakfast(always) then a small mid lunch..then lunch then small mid dinner and then dinner..and try to stick to proteins and grilled chickens, no fries stuff..stay away from sodaas..all that junk! and make sure your not starving!

csearcher34

I hope there's someone who can answer this because I've been wondering too! How can we eat more but weigh less? If someone would describe exactly how to do the method that'd be great!

capnwo85

Chew....then Swallow. lol

But seriously, meal frequency doesn't matter. Eat enough protein, fill rest with carbs and fat.

And you don't HAVE to eat breakfast, myth busted.

tat2oodmonster

Chew....then Swallow. lol

But seriously, meal frequency doesn't matter. Eat enough protein, fill rest with carbs and fat.

And you don't HAVE to eat breakfast, myth busted.

seriously no breakfast?

capnwo85

Chew....then Swallow. lol

But seriously, meal frequency doesn't matter. Eat enough protein, fill rest with carbs and fat.

And you don't HAVE to eat breakfast, myth busted.

seriously no breakfast?

Many people do Intermittent Fasting. They def dont wake up and eat right away, rather have a feeding window. I'm not saying its for anyone. But your body doesn't really care when it's getting its cals, just as long as your reaching your goals in a 24 hour span.

terri0527

I hope there's someone who can answer this because I've been wondering too! How can we eat more but weigh less? If someone would describe exactly how to do the method that'd be great!

You are fueling your body...your car doesn't run on empty so your body shouldn't either. check out the group eat more to weigh less. I have upped my calories and feel better and still losing.

csearcher34

I hope there's someone who can answer this because I've been wondering too! How can we eat more but weigh less? If someone would describe exactly how to do the method that'd be great!

You are fueling your body...your car doesn't run on empty so your body shouldn't either. check out the group eat more to weigh less. I have upped my calories and feel better and still losing.

Yayy! I'm so happy you responded! haha. I did look at the group but the part that has me confused is do we just eat the same amount of calories as our BMR? and how important is strength training with this method? Thanks for your help!

Glucocorticoid

I hope there's someone who can answer this because I've been wondering too! How can we eat more but weigh less? If someone would describe exactly how to do the method that'd be great!

Your question has no meaningful answer until you quantify "more"? More as compared to what? Than you usually eat?

You cannot lose weight in a caloric surplus.

csearcher34

I hope there's someone who can answer this because I've been wondering too! How can we eat more but weigh less? If someone would describe exactly how to do the method that'd be great!

Your question has no meaningful answer until you quantify "more"? More as compared to what? Than you usually eat?

You cannot lose weight in a caloric surplus.

haha I meant more than 1200 calories, same as the op ..I've been following the same plan and would like to up it.

abeckman612

You have to eat for fuel. Do your cardio in the morning on an empty stomach if you are looking to lose stubborn stored fat. ALWAYS eat a big breakfast because it boosts your metabolism. Throughout the day eat every 2-3 hours, mini meals of about 300 calories and don't eat 2-3 hours before bed time. This will provide long lasting results.

FitLink

Chew....then Swallow. lol

But seriously, meal frequency doesn't matter. Eat enough protein, fill rest with carbs and fat.

And you don't HAVE to eat breakfast, myth busted.

seriously no breakfast?

Seriously. No breakfast. It doesn't matter what time you eat. Seriously.

FitLink

You have to eat for fuel. Do your cardio in the morning on an empty stomach if you are looking to lose stubborn stored fat. ALWAYS eat a big breakfast because it boosts your metabolism. Throughout the day eat every 2-3 hours, mini meals of about 300 calories and don't eat 2-3 hours before bed time. This will provide long lasting results.

Any peer-reviewed evidence of that?

sjv1966

There are two ways to do this.

One is the easy way i.e. let MFP do the work. If you want to eat more either reduce your goal of how much you want to loose each week (I started with 2 lbs but that was unsustainable so I change to 1 lb per week) or do some exercise each day and log it and MFP will automatically adjust your calorie goals for that day by adding the calories you burned doing exercise.

The other is the almost as easy way. Start by going here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator

that will calculate your BMR which is the calories you burn if you lay in bed all day i.e. the calories you need for your heart to keep beating and your fingernails to keep growing etc.

Then calculate the total amount of energy you expend in a day i.e. your TDEE. You do this by taking your BMR then adding about 20% of for general walking around throughout the day and then on top of that add any exercise you do. For example my BMR is about 1400 calories a day and my TDEE varies from about 1900 to 2200 calories a day. (Again MFP does this all for you but if you want to do it yourself ....)

As long as you are eating less calories than you burn you will lose weight. It is the size of the caloric deficit you have each day that will determine how fast you lose. Since there are 3500 calories in one pound of fat if you eat 500 less calories than you burn each day you will loose 1 lb in a week (3500 divided by 500 equals 7 days). If you eat 1000 less calories that you burn each day you will loose 2 lbs a week .... however for most people that puts them below their BMR which is not healthy long term. That is why MFP suggests you have a goal of loosing 1 lb per week -- for most people this keeps them from eating so few calories that their body can't function properly.

It's not rocket science -- you just eat less than you burn. But not SO much less that you do damage to yourself.

sleepytexan

Your body gets used to how much you eat. This is not necessarily a good thing when you are eating too little.

WHY 1200 CALORIES (or fewer) MIGHT BE A BAD IDEA:

You lose weight for a while and maybe you will make it to goal (the bigger you are, the longer this will work, however most people can't get those last 10-20 lbs off at 1200 calories).

The longer you do this, the longer your metabolism has to adjust downward and get used to 1200 calories. Assuming you make it to goal, you want to maintain, right? What do you think is going to happen when/if you get there and it's time to maintain, when you start trying to eat "maintenance" calories? You'll gain. Welcome back to the yo-yo.


WHY EATING AT THE TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) OF YOUR GOAL WEIGHT MIGHT BE A BETTER IDEA:

Eat now, like the thin you at maintenance. Fat2Ftiradio.com can help you find the TDEE of your ideal weight: Choose ALL CALCULATORS, MILITARY BODY FAT%, then get your bodyfat estimate. Now calculate your BMR, and look in the chart below to see the TDEE of your goal weight -- that is how much the thin you will eat at maintenance.

Eating at maintenance for your ideal weight is a great idea because you will eat THIS SAME AMOUNT of calories for life. Your metabolism will not slow down to match too little fuel (1200 calories), and consequently stall on the way to goal, or cause you to gain when you try to increase calories later to maintain.

BTW, if you have been eating below your BMR for an extended period of time, and especially if you have been stalled/plateaued for an extended period of time, you may experience a slight gain for some weeks after you increase to the proper amount of calories. However, at the point where your body adjusts to the proper amount of fuel based on your dally activities, you will begin to lose again and break through the plateau.

Blessings.

BTW, I maintain my weight at 130 lbs. at about 2000 calories/day. I am 5'4 and 44 years old.

anna_lisa

bump

lillebanon

I hope there's someone who can answer this because I've been wondering too! How can we eat more but weigh less? If someone would describe exactly how to do the method that'd be great!

As a matter of fact, there is a ton of info here on MFP on how to eat more but weigh less. I wrote a blog about my experience doing it:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/lillebanon/view/my-take-on-eating-more-to-weigh-less-254554
And there is an entire group dedicated to the process:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/3834-eat-more-to-weigh-less

capnwo85

You have to eat for fuel. Do your cardio in the morning on an empty stomach if you are looking to lose stubborn stored fat. ALWAYS eat a big breakfast because it boosts your metabolism. Throughout the day eat every 2-3 hours, mini meals of about 300 calories and don't eat 2-3 hours before bed time. This will provide long lasting results.

Don't believe the Hype.

csearcher34

Sleepytexan and lillebanon, thank you so much for the help! Both of you are an inspiration to me!

abeckman612

Your body gets used to how much you eat. This is not necessarily a good thing when you are eating too little.

WHY 1200 CALORIES (or fewer) MIGHT BE A BAD IDEA:

You lose weight for a while and maybe you will make it to goal (the bigger you are, the longer this will work, however most people can't get those last 10-20 lbs off at 1200 calories).

The longer you do this, the longer your metabolism has to adjust downward and get used to 1200 calories. Assuming you make it to goal, you want to maintain, right? What do you think is going to happen when/if you get there and it's time to maintain, when you start trying to eat "maintenance" calories? You'll gain. Welcome back to the yo-yo.


WHY EATING AT THE TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) OF YOUR GOAL WEIGHT MIGHT BE A BETTER IDEA:

Eat now, like the thin you at maintenance. Fat2Ftiradio.com can help you find the TDEE of your ideal weight: Choose ALL CALCULATORS, MILITARY BODY FAT%, then get your bodyfat estimate. Now calculate your BMR, and look in the chart below to see the TDEE of your goal weight -- that is how much the thin you will eat at maintenance.

Eating at maintenance for your ideal weight is a great idea because you will eat THIS SAME AMOUNT of calories for life. Your metabolism will not slow down to match too little fuel (1200 calories), and consequently stall on the way to goal, or cause you to gain when you try to increase calories later to maintain.

BTW, if you have been eating below your BMR for an extended period of time, and especially if you have been stalled/plateaued for an extended period of time, you may experience a slight gain for some weeks after you increase to the proper amount of calories. However, at the point where your body adjusts to the proper amount of fuel based on your dally activities, you will begin to lose again and break through the plateau.

Blessings.

BTW, I maintain my weight at 130 lbs. at about 2000 calories/day. I am 5'4 and 44 years old.

EXACTLY-this will provide lifelong results and it is so much easier to maintain

tat2oodmonster

thanks guys!