THE answers to THE questions

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  • mommyhof3
    mommyhof3 Posts: 551 Member
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    ~ BUMP ~ Such a good post :smile:
  • michellejayne
    michellejayne Posts: 58
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    bump
  • TJ26
    TJ26 Posts: 35
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    bump:)
  • becca09
    becca09 Posts: 54 Member
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    bump bump bump :)
    thank you soo much for this really helped. i dont think ive done too bad since jan to now (dropping numbers on the scales) but i said to my boyfriend that im going to concentrate more on the inches i lose. ill still weigh myself but my main focus is a goal size.
    thanks for this.
    ill try and bump this daily
  • becca09
    becca09 Posts: 54 Member
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    bump again
  • becca09
    becca09 Posts: 54 Member
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    bump bump bumpity bump.
  • clioandboy
    clioandboy Posts: 963 Member
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    Thank you so much for your helpful post. I have just eaten some of my remaining calories....... difficult concept eat more lose more!!!! goes against the grain but hey what do I know????? so I will eat all my calories from today, I thank you now and will doubly thank you when it works!!!!!:flowerforyou:
  • mrsbeau
    mrsbeau Posts: 6
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    thanks for this post
  • jennb5255
    jennb5255 Posts: 33 Member
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    Bump!!
  • last25
    last25 Posts: 83
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    This post should be read by all... I read it two years ago and it's great to be able to come back for a refresher course :) So BUMPING IT UP!

    BUMP!
  • fishlover888
    fishlover888 Posts: 132
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    Please check out another post (for whatever reason I can't link to it here for you... called "for those confused or questioning eating your exercise calories" (if you search the forums, it should be near or at the top).

    Essentially, it's not just a "the less calories the better for weight loss" game...but it's a sweet spot of deficit you need to find. Although reducing calories can kick-start weight loss that has stalled, so can raising calories for some. It's about keeping your body confused and adapting.

    I am an advocate of eating at least your BMR calories, but if you have more to lose, you can go lower than your BMR. But, the closer you get to your goal, the smaller your deficit has to be to continue losing successfully.

    IMHO, if you can lose successfully without severe calorie reduction, you should do it. The more severe your "diet", the more difficult it is to maintain your weight loss...just my opinion, mind you...but what worked for me.

    HTH


    just to clarify. there are some great posts in the beginning of this topic about BMR. BMR is the amount of calories your body needs to purely survive and maintain tissue as is-not build muscle, walk downstairs, EVER get out of bed or even digest food (yes, it takes energy to digest). you should not ever eat a level of calories lower than your BMR, it will make you feel awful and in many people stops weight loss. i believe what she probably meant was that you can eat below your daily calories needed for the activities that you do regularly (non-exercise) such as talk on the phone, sit on the couch, go to work, drive, eat, etc. (MFP already sets your goal caloric intake to below this.)

    i really recommend you check out the posts on page 1 about BMR
  • orangegalt
    orangegalt Posts: 47
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    i'm stuck at 143 for basically three weeks, after averaging 1000ish calories a day for the last 2-3 months. i truly don't feel hungry, ever. myfitnesspal says my BMR is 1380, and this thread says never to eat less than that, even though MFP says to eat 1200 to lose 1.1 lbs per week (at this point, even when i set it to lose 2 lbs per week, it won't say anything different--i guess with what i've already lost that isn't safely possible or something).

    i exercise about 4-5 days per week; usually 3-4 of those are 25 minutes of jogging + 8 min abs and/or buns videos on youtube, and the other 1-2 days might be only the videos or an extra 45 minutes of fast walking. i don't eat any exercise calories, but sometimes i will eat the full 1200 on days that i run.

    i'm thinking about eating an extra 1/2 cup of cocoa-roasted almonds (not chocolate coated, just roasted/dusted with cocoa) a day to add an extra 300 with something that's healthy-ish but i still like enough to make myself eat when i'm not actually hungry. i'm also sort of equally considering drinking 2 tsps of apple cider vinegar three times a day (my boyfriend does this for weight loss) and/or trying the master cleanse. both of those options are less intimidating than eating more.

    thoughts? it's scary to eat more than i've been eating; i sort of expect to immediately gain 5 lbs.
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    i'm stuck at 143 for basically three weeks, after averaging 1000ish calories a day for the last 2-3 months. i truly don't feel hungry, ever. myfitnesspal says my BMR is 1380, and this thread says never to eat less than that, even though MFP says to eat 1200 to lose 1.1 lbs per week (at this point, even when i set it to lose 2 lbs per week, it won't say anything different--i guess with what i've already lost that isn't safely possible or something).

    i exercise about 4-5 days per week; usually 3-4 of those are 25 minutes of jogging + 8 min abs and/or buns videos on youtube, and the other 1-2 days might be only the videos or an extra 45 minutes of fast walking. i don't eat any exercise calories, but sometimes i will eat the full 1200 on days that i run.

    i'm thinking about eating an extra 1/2 cup of cocoa-roasted almonds (not chocolate coated, just roasted/dusted with cocoa) a day to add an extra 300 with something that's healthy-ish but i still like enough to make myself eat when i'm not actually hungry. i'm also sort of equally considering drinking 2 tsps of apple cider vinegar three times a day (my boyfriend does this for weight loss) and/or trying the master cleanse. both of those options are less intimidating than eating more.

    thoughts? it's scary to eat more than i've been eating; i sort of expect to immediately gain 5 lbs.

    One of the reasons you could be not hungry is because one of the symptoms of starvation mode is lack of appetite. When I was undereating my BMR calories, I was literally repulsed by food at times.

    If you are exercising, you should definitely be eating more than 1200 calories a day.

    IMHO, and based on my reading/experience, consistently undereating your BMR is not good for you or your efforts.

    Almonds are a great way to up your calories. Think calorie dense foods, so that you don't need to eat a lot of volume and easily up your calories.

    The master cleanse is not advised (even by its creator) for weight loss. It is very likely that after the "cleanse", the weight comes right back on.

    Eat. Your body is a machine, and it needs fuel.
  • orangegalt
    orangegalt Posts: 47
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    i'm going to give it a try for a week or so. yesterday i ate all my 1200 calories plus almost all of my 250ish exercise calories. this morning, the result is a .4 lb gain :frown:
    i'll keep you posted...
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    i'm going to give it a try for a week or so. yesterday i ate all my 1200 calories plus almost all of my 250ish exercise calories. this morning, the result is a .4 lb gain :frown:
    i'll keep you posted...

    Also, don't weigh yourself everyday. In the course of a given day, your body has natural fluctuations.
  • jolhor
    jolhor Posts: 6
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    Great information - thanks (oh, and I like you "very opinionated" comments!)
  • Positively_Me
    Positively_Me Posts: 1,500 Member
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    thanks for the great information!
  • smuehlbauer
    smuehlbauer Posts: 1,041 Member
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    Great post!
  • 623Hernandez
    623Hernandez Posts: 458
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    love it!
  • sslopez24
    sslopez24 Posts: 110 Member
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    OK, this will be long. Please read it if you are confused. Disclaimer: I am not a dietician or a doctor, just a successful loser and maintainer, who has consulted both doctors and dieticians.

    Question #1:

    Should I eat all my calories?

    Yes. MFP is already figuring a deficit for you to lose weight. This deficit is based on what you need to eat based on your everyday activity, not counting exercise. In the end, it's all about "net calories" (you can view yours under reports)

    Example: you need to eat 2,000 calories to maintain your current weight (random number)
    MFP will tell you to eat 1,500 to lose one pound per week (500x7=3500=one pound loss).

    Let's say you exercise, and burn 500 additional calories.
    UH-OH, now you are at a 1,000 calorie a day deficit. You need 2,000 calories to maintian, are already restricted to 1500, so now your net calories are a 1,000 a day. This is starvation central. Your body, which is very good at keeping you alive, will store and save calories. You WILL stop losing weight. You WILL want to throw your scale out the window.

    Eat your exercise calories. At least eat most of them.

    Question #2:
    I'm eating 1200 calories, I feel like crap and I'm not losing weight. What gives?

    Answer:
    Run, don't walk, to "tools" and use the BMR calculator. Please, please, please, eat at least your BMR calories every day. You might lose weight more slowly, but you will still lose, and you will not longer feel a sudden urge to fall over every time you do, well, anything.

    Question #3:
    I'm doing "everything right" and the scale won't move.

    Answer #1: The scale is the devil. Step away from the scale. Buy a tape measure, notice how your clothes are (probably) fitting better. Muscle is more dense than fat, and takes up less space on your body. More muscle on your body will make the scale freeze or (gasp) move upward.

    Answer #2: You're not being honest. In order for this to work, you must record every morsel of food that goes in your body. Also, if you ride a stationary bike for 30 minutes and barely break a sweat and can still chatter on your cell phone (OK, that's my personal gym pet peeve) then you're probably not working "vigorously". Don't overestimate your exercise calories. (this was a big mistake I made in the past.)

    Answer #3: Your body might be re-adjusting. How you feel is the most important mark of progress. It's very easy to fixate on numbers, but feeling better really should be its own reward.

    Question #4:
    So, if I'm eating my exercise calories, what's the point of exercise?

    Answer: (warning: extremely opinionated answer ahead)
    You don't. You can lose weight through diet alone. But, then you will be skinny and flabby. Is a model skinnier than me? OH, YES! Is she healthier than me? probably NOT. She couldn't survive the hour-long spin class that I take three times a week. Trust me. Her skin is a mess, she smokes, and she looks like crap in person. (this is a generalization. I don't hate models, but this is their lifestyle. . .I used to be a "dresser" at shows, and I saw a lot of "behind the scenes" stuff.

    Does that help? Please say it does.:flowerforyou:

    Thank you for posting this. I was so afraid of eating my exercise calories burned. I am at a plateau! I will start to eat them and let you know if it works for me! :smile:

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