Netting too low?

embclark

So I am eating between 1700-1800 calories a day, but netting less then 1000. But there are so many times throughout my day where I take food onto my plate and at the end of the meal bag it up for tomorrow... I refuse to eat when I am full, I spent too many years doing this and don't want to get into the habit again... My working out has been giving me more calories burned then usual, but I feel great after the workout, so I don't want to stop. Any opinions or advice on whether it is okay to net this low?

I know there are die hards out there that will tell me I HAVE to eat these calories, but there must be others out there that feel like they are stuffing themselves when they eat ALL the calories!

teresadutton

I eat totally healthy, no "junk" at all. So I also have a hard time getting all of my calories in. I usually net around 750 to 850. I agree I am not going to eat when I am not hungry just to get all my calories in. I am getting all my protien and my veggies. I am not going to eat Oreos or ice cream just to get my calories up to 1200. I have been told I am fine by a doctor so I dont worry about it.

bits4226

On my good food days I have the same issue... and quite frankly I typically don't eat it all back> there's food that sometimes get logged @ less than what you really eat and theres times I eat unplanned thing, On days when I am under my goal (rare lol) I try to eat back most but if i have 500 calories or less leftover I dont make a huge deal about it.

trishgrace

I have the same problem.

gypsybree

Don't eat if you're full. Even if you overfeed a baby (my mom was pro at that) the baby will throw up.
Stop eating. I'm the same way, one day I had -3 calories because I was not going to eat any more food, I had eaten slightly over my goal calories for the day and I was done.

I totally agree with you, there was so many times I've eaten till I was sickly full its a bad habit and I'm not going to (try) do it.

blondejester

i rarely eat more like 1,200 (net) unless it's the weekend and i'm not thinking of calories or i go out/don't workout. i eat healthy and i eat when i'm hungry and don't eat when i'm not. i've seen so many posts ont this site about how i'm starving myself if i don't net a "good" number and even though i understand your body needs fuel, i just can't eat that much without getting sick!

ktrn0312

bump

cspong

I see my cals burned as a cushion, if I'm hungry, I'll have an extra snack/meal, if I'm not, I don't worry about it too much.

I also used to eat way past the point of full so now I refuse to eat just to meet a number.

If you're really worried, just pick up some nuts and eat them as a snack, high cal to help with the numbers and yummy

jsapninz

Of course, it depends on how low: I have seen alot of anorexic girls eat 600 cals a day, work off 500 of it, and then tell me they "aren't hungry." But since your intake is so high this obviously is a different situation, you are probably fine.

I'm guessing you haven't been at it very long (because honestly if your appetite were that small then you probably wouldn't be trying to lose weight in the first place)...so perhaps you won't be not hungry for your cals much longer? Hard to say. :ohwell:

It's important to keep in mind the rate of weight loss: healthy weight loss is 1-2 lbs per week. Unless you are very very overweight, any faster of a loss than this is a crash diet and it not healthy. If you start losing like 3 lbs a week consistently, I would make an effort to start eating back more. But if you are losing 1.5 lbs a week consistently, don't worry about it! Perhaps your BMR is slower than average....who knows. Time will tell.

Curious: do you have a heart rate monitor to track your burns accurately, or are you using an average estimator? Average estimators tend to be waaay off....so be careful, you may not be burning as much as you think.

SONIA820

Same and I stopped caring what other people thought. Some times you just have to find a groove that works for you and stick with it!

RaeN81

I would not eat if I felt full and satisfied. That being said, if you are killing it at the gym, you may want to consider having some nutrient and calorie dense foods like trail mix or fruit smoothies occasionally to help balance things out.

MonicaT1972

Right now I net very low, but it's working for me as you can see by my loss. My personal plan is to stick with it as it's worked for almost 60 lbs. When I plateau then I will revisit things.

Anyhow that's just my personal 2 cents!

brookepenni

I eat totally healthy, no "junk" at all. So I also have a hard time getting all of my calories in. I usually net around 750 to 850. I agree I am not going to eat when I am not hungry just to get all my calories in. I am getting all my protien and my veggies. I am not going to eat Oreos or ice cream just to get my calories up to 1200. I have been told I am fine by a doctor so I dont worry about it.

Im exactly the same. I dont feel the need most days to eat just for the sake of eating, and to be honest the thought of eating nuts or peanut butter bores me. Im rarely hungry and eat truck loads of food. I gained weight by eating meals the same size as my athletic partner (and at times my father!) so having a reality check of portion sizes was pretty much what I needed - and its worked perfectly for me.

ALSO - about this...

I'm guessing you haven't been at it very long (because honestly if your appetite were that small then you probably wouldn't be trying to lose weight in the first place)...so perhaps you won't be not hungry for your cals much longer? Hard to say.

Curious: do you have a heart rate monitor to track your burns accurately, or are you using an average estimator? Average estimators tend to be waaay off....so be careful, you may not be burning as much as you think.

The first comment is rather stupid and random. Take a look at my diary - I dont have a small appetitie and Ive been doing this for 13 months now. I make sensible choices and make sure I get the best value for my calories.

And yes about the HRM - totally agree. MFP was estimating I was burning more than double of what I actually are burning now with a HRM - so I wouldnt worry about eating all of your calories back. Just make sure you're eating enough to make the most of your workouts and have the energy to get through. The rest is just numbers, and its different for everyone. You have to find your number!

CharisSunny

Ate 1500 cal today, still under my 1800 suggested goal but anyhoo....I burned 500 cal so I'm netting only 1000 :(y
Unsure what to do about that but I certainly won't rock the boat. Down 28.2 lbs so something is working, ands not at an unhealhty pace either even wth gaining lean muscle.

runfatmanrun

I am curently eating to maintain so I try to eat all my exercise calories. I don't usually succeed but it helps when I go over, it all balances out in the end. Bottom line, eat when you are hungry. If you are not hungry don't eat. It's your body and weight loss, so even with all the "advice" out there only you really know your situation.

FlaxMilk

I personally wouldn't worry about it unless you didn't feel good or like you didn't have enough energy and strength. You are eating more than the recommended minimum a day. Many fitness magazines will recommend 1500-1600 calories to their readers with exercise to lose weight. You are burning more than the average reader, but you are also eating a bit more than these meal plans. Long answer short--to me, you're fine as long as you feel fine.

Lozze

I think it depends on how your calorie limit is set. If its through the MFP tools eat your calories back. It's not factoring in exercise to your calorie limit. If you've used a tool that is asking you to include exercise then those calories then no don't eat them back.

kodom_123

I upped my calorie intake because I was only eating 1,200 cals a day and netting negative some days....I had stalled out on wieght loss so I went to 1,700 cals and it was SO hard! It still is! I second the suggestions to keep nuts handy. I try to eat a serving of nuts and an apple on the way to the gym then I always pack a small lunch bag with cherry tomatoes and a boiled egg to eat on the way home after the gym and then I eat lunch when I get back. I would also eat a serving of nuts on the way to get the kids from school...this helped me add in the extra cals in small amounts without feeling over stuffed. I keep hard boiled eggs in the fridge so I can grab one for a quick snack...of course eggs have quite a bit of collesterol so one or two a day will do.

It's just easiest to eat very small snacks of healthy foods sprinkled through out the day. Good luck!

ETA- I also refuse to eat until stuffed...I stop when I am comfortably full and know my boundries now so that's why I say it is SO hard to squeeze those extra cals in

lforner46

I wish I netted lower. According to MFP, I net the 1200 cal a day I'm suppose to, however, I am only losing 2 lbs per month if what you are doing is working - keep doing it.

embclark

Of course, it depends on how low: I have seen alot of anorexic girls eat 600 cals a day, work off 500 of it, and then tell me they "aren't hungry." But since your intake is so high this obviously is a different situation, you are probably fine.

I'm guessing you haven't been at it very long (because honestly if your appetite were that small then you probably wouldn't be trying to lose weight in the first place)...so perhaps you won't be not hungry for your cals much longer? Hard to say. :ohwell:

It's important to keep in mind the rate of weight loss: healthy weight loss is 1-2 lbs per week. Unless you are very very overweight, any faster of a loss than this is a crash diet and it not healthy. If you start losing like 3 lbs a week consistently, I would make an effort to start eating back more. But if you are losing 1.5 lbs a week consistently, don't worry about it! Perhaps your BMR is slower than average....who knows. Time will tell.

Curious: do you have a heart rate monitor to track your burns accurately, or are you using an average estimator? Average estimators tend to be waaay off....so be careful, you may not be burning as much as you think.

I do have a polar HRM and have gone through the message board that helps me calculate my "real" age and all that jazz.

I m not losing that much each week either, some weeks 2 pounds, some none, some up .5 or so. I have been exercising since January, but this week I added in a new DVD that burns though the calories faster...

embclark

I would not eat if I felt full and satisfied. That being said, if you are killing it at the gym, you may want to consider having some nutrient and calorie dense foods like trail mix or fruit smoothies occasionally to help balance things out.

I actually just ordered a protein shake to start drinking after my workouts . It just took me a while because I had to find gluten free soy free. But I will probably get this for next week...

StrawberrySt

I agree you can't rely on calories burned by MFP and a HRM is more accurate.

Don't eat if you are not hungry and don't eat junk food to make up the extra calories either.

One thing you may want to think about in your diaries is scrapping 'low fat' foods. You don't need to eat the low fat versions if you're struggling with reaching your net and it's not worth the extra sugar or sodium 'low fat' options have.

Do you cook with extra virgin olive oil? Cause this helps with cals too. one tablespoon is 12o calories and it's good fats!

Good luck

meeka472

I eat the minimum of 1200 calories per day but outside of that I don't eat more if I'm not hungry. Some days with exercise MFP has me up to 2000 calories but if I'm not hungry which is usually the case I do not eat those calories back or I'd be eating empty calories.

JoniBologna

Eating enough to meet your calorie goal isn't eating just to reach some arbitrary number. It is eating enough to provide your body with the necessary nutrients and calories it requires to function. I would encourage you to at least meet your macros (protein, carbs, and fats) each day. At that point, if you're not hungry then stop. At the very least don't deprive yourself of those things. Also, basing how much you should eat on hunger is a very flawed system, as your body can get used to just about any calorie amount.

embclark

I agree you can't rely on calories burned by MFP and a HRM is more accurate.

Don't eat if you are not hungry and don't eat junk food to make up the extra calories either.

One thing you may want to think about in your diaries is scrapping 'low fat' foods. You don't need to eat the low fat versions if you're struggling with reaching your net and it's not worth the extra sugar or sodium 'low fat' options have.

Do you cook with extra virgin olive oil? Cause this helps with cals too. one tablespoon is 12o calories and it's good fats!

Good luck

I don't use low fat anything except mayonnaise. My biggest problem with calories is that I am gluten free due to an intolerance and I hate most of the substitutes and so it really cuts out a lot of what I can/want to eat each day.

JoniBologna

I eat the minimum of 1200 calories per day but outside of that I don't eat more if I'm not hungry. Some days with exercise MFP has me up to 2000 calories but if I'm not hungry which is usually the case I do not eat those calories back or I'd be eating empty calories.

Empty calories? Why not eat more nutritious food? Why does it have to be empty calories? There is so much flawed thinking in this thread.

StrawberrySt

I agree you can't rely on calories burned by MFP and a HRM is more accurate.

Don't eat if you are not hungry and don't eat junk food to make up the extra calories either.

One thing you may want to think about in your diaries is scrapping 'low fat' foods. You don't need to eat the low fat versions if you're struggling with reaching your net and it's not worth the extra sugar or sodium 'low fat' options have.

Do you cook with extra virgin olive oil? Cause this helps with cals too. one tablespoon is 12o calories and it's good fats!

Good luck

I don't use low fat anything except mayonnaise. My biggest problem with calories is that I am gluten free due to an intolerance and I hate most of the substitutes and so it really cuts out a lot of what I can/want to eat each day.

That does make it hard!!

Maybe try snacking more? Search the threads (or web) for high calories healthy snacks and see if any take your fancy (and are gluten free)

I think the most important thing is what works for you and what you can commit to for life, not just short term. It might be a trial and error guessing game

:flowerforyou:

jenniejengin

bump

TheLongRunner

I see my cals burned as a cushion, if I'm hungry, I'll have an extra snack/meal, if I'm not, I don't worry about it too much.

I also used to eat way past the point of full so now I refuse to eat just to meet a number.

If you're really worried, just pick up some nuts and eat them as a snack, high cal to help with the numbers and yummy

^This!

lakota1307

I'm stuck I have hit a wall, this happened before I tried to increase to lose, didn't work , I tried to decrease to lose , didn't work, what am I doing wrong ? I drink an ocean of water every day as well....

embclark

I guess I'll throw a handful of almonds in with each meal on these high exercise days. I try my best not to snack, but I can probably just make each meal slightly bigger with the almonds.