Should I be eating all of my allowed calories?

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  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
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    MFP gave you 1200 and told you to eat the calories you burn through exercise - therefore they add it to your daily calories when you log it....
    Protein shakes are great to get the extra protein, calories without stuffing yourself...One before bed is a nice snack, makes you sleep well and gives a little boost if you exercise early in the morning....
  • kevandden
    kevandden Posts: 1
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    I've noticed that you've lost so much weight. Congrats! I am on my way. However, I am allowed 1370 calories a day and I workout pretty hard, giving me another 350-450 calories a day. I am on path to lose 2lbs a week. However, I thought that If I didn't eat the calories that I earned working out that I'd lose more weight faster. Should I be doing this, or should I be eating the 1370 AND the extra calories from the gym? I just don't want to sabotage myself. Thanks.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    A good rule that I follow is to never have my net calories below my BMR. If your body burns that amount (in my case, around 1400 cals a day) just laying in bed for 24 hours, then by all means, you should give it that and a good bit more if you're up and about, and exercising besides! :smile:

    Eating too little on a regular basis gives your body a reason to store fat, rather than shed it. Definitely not the goal any of us have, I'm sure! Fuel the body properly, and it burns the fuel, sheds fat rather than storing it, builds in lean muscle, and gives you plenty of energy to get through your day and your workouts.

    A great topic by an MFP member here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
    He explains it all very well and provides links to a site with the tools for calculating your BMR and your TDEE, and then setting your goals here at MFP manually. I love MFP, don't get me wrong, but I like being able to adjust my settings to fit my goals better, such as my daily cals, my percentages of protein, fat & carbs, etc.

    Check out that thread - tons of info there, and there's a group for it as well - lots of great testimonials from people using that method and losing the fat!
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    Thanks for the replies. I don't really feel hungry. I was just concerned that my body may go into "starvation" mode and I don't want that.

    Starvation mode is largely a myth.

    However, if you run a deficit that's too high, your body cannot meet its nutritional needs by just supplementing the calories with stored fat. It starts in on muscle. You will probably not like the results, and you are going to make the last few pounds you want to lose really, REALLY, REALLY hard work...

    Take your time. Do this right.
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,370 Member
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    Should I be eating all of my allowed calories?

    I am given 1200 daily calories by mfp. My "plan" says by doing this I will lose 1.4 lbs a week. I'd like to get that number closer to 2 lbs if not higher. Truly most days I am not eating all of those, maybe 900 calories a day. And then I am doing roughly 300-400 calories worth of exercise daily.

    Should I be eating more?


    Stick to the site's recommendations, if it doesn't work for you after a few weeks then review it then
  • kareinlib
    kareinlib Posts: 98
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    For health purposes, you need to be eating at least 1200 calories a day. If it's a concern of not being hungry, then eat higher calorie foods and you don't have to eat as much in volume. You'll hit starvation mode and not only the biggest plateau of your life, you'll gain weight.

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