Am I eating enough?

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Anniedrops20
Anniedrops20 Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
SInce starting MFP6 weeks ago I started exercising every day -swimming an hour or more almost every day and when I don't swim then a step aerobic class. I eat on average 1300 calories/day and low fat. BUt I do eat a lot. I don't really think I'm burning 500+ calories in my swims which is what MFP says I'm doing. I'm not a great swimmer! MFP says I should I be eating 1800 calories on those days, but I think Id feel sick if I ate another 500 calories! Anyway i lost 5 lbs quickly but the last 2 weeks my weight loss has stalled.... Any thoughts?

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  • McLifterPants
    McLifterPants Posts: 457 Member
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    If you want to more accurately calculate your burn, get a heart rate monitor. There are some that you can wear while you swim. But yeah, you should definitely eat more on days that you get in a good workout, even if it's not ALL of your exercise calories!
  • RuthSweetTooth
    RuthSweetTooth Posts: 461 Member
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    No one can give you tips unless you post your height, goal weight, and open your diary.
  • Anniedrops20
    Anniedrops20 Posts: 4
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    How do I open my diary? I am 5 ft 8 and am at 156 lbs. Trying to get down to 140.
  • HorseWithNoName27
    HorseWithNoName27 Posts: 188 Member
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    Go to Food --> Settings (under the main tabs) --> Diary Sharing --> set it to public.

    I would say you should eat a little more than that if you desire, like say 200-300 calories, especially if you are exercising. But you shouldn't eat more if you feel good where you are. It sounds like you are doing good, keep up the good work!
  • kaervaak
    kaervaak Posts: 274 Member
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    The general rule of thumb is that any deficit beyond 22 cal/pound of fat/day will start to cause you to lose muscle. So if you have 30 lbs of fat on you, that means that you can run a daily deficit of 660 calories and everything you lose will be fat (as long as your protein intake is sufficient). Beyond that your body will start catabolizing your muscle as well as using fat stores for energy.

    However, the study that showed this was based on sedentary subjects. This is somewhat different for active people, but not quantified. If you're doing strenuous, muscle building kinds of exercise you can probably run a higher deficit without impacting your lean body weight too much.

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