Reaching your daily caloric Goal.

Bumdrahp

I might get roasted for this, and.. well.. I can handle it...but try to be nice! :flowerforyou:

Anyone ever feel GUILTY for eating all of their daily calories? I am set at around 1500, but I like to usually stay between 1200-1500 since I don't always have time to work out, But some days, I just feel guilty about being right at 1500. I can't help but feel like I over-ate, even though that's just silly.

Anyone else ever feel that way?

babyblake11

i have felt that way before.. but its stupid.
1500 calories is already a deficit WITHOUT exercise. eating less then that will just give you less energy and you will lose muscle. and honestly if you have energy on that low calories.. your body is probably already catabolic and using amino acids for energy.

psuLemon

Hell no, i enjoy every single calorie i can... i train hard, so i need to calories... also want to maintain my muscle mass since that is what keeps a person tight and lean... under eating just leads to muscle loss which i view as backwards progress. When you stop seeing calories as the enemy and see it to fuel your workouts then you wont have an issue eating every sweet bite.

Btw, if you are active even 1500 calories is low.

With 5 lbs left you should aim for 1/2 lb per week.

Bumdrahp

i have felt that way before.. but its stupid.
1500 calories is already a deficit WITHOUT exercise. eating less then that will just give you less energy and you will lose muscle. and honestly if you have energy on that low calories.. your body is probably already catabolic and using amino acids for energy.

Even if i'm sedentary most of the time? I usually can only work out 2x a week, some weeks i can get in more, but it depends how busy I am at home and work,

Bumdrahp

Hell no, i enjoy every single calorie i can... i train hard, so i need to calories... also want to maintain my muscle mass since that is what keeps a person tight and lean... under eating just leads to muscle loss which i view as backwards progress. When you stop seeing calories as the enemy and see it to fuel your workouts then you wont have an issue eating every sweet bite.

Btw, if you are active even 1500 calories is low.

With 5 lbs left you should aim for 1/2 lb per week.

5 lbs was my FIRST goal, I'm still about 195 lbs.

babyblake11

i have felt that way before.. but its stupid.
1500 calories is already a deficit WITHOUT exercise. eating less then that will just give you less energy and you will lose muscle. and honestly if you have energy on that low calories.. your body is probably already catabolic and using amino acids for energy.

Even if i'm sedentary most of the time? I usually can only work out 2x a week, some weeks i can get in more, but it depends how busy I am at home and work,

this is the deficit that MFP set you WITHOUT EXERCISE. therefore this is how many calories you NEED to lose X amount of weight WITHOUT EXERCISE. therefore my above comment stands.

psuLemon

Hell no, i enjoy every single calorie i can... i train hard, so i need to calories... also want to maintain my muscle mass since that is what keeps a person tight and lean... under eating just leads to muscle loss which i view as backwards progress. When you stop seeing calories as the enemy and see it to fuel your workouts then you wont have an issue eating every sweet bite.

Btw, if you are active even 1500 calories is low.

With 5 lbs left you should aim for 1/2 lb per week.

5 lbs was my FIRST goal, I'm still about 195 lbs.

1500 calories is probably close to your bmr which is better to eat at...if you eat below your metabolic rate then it will adapt and dlow down.

TheCaren

I have recently upped my calories from 1240 (where I've been since September) to 1480, based on my actual TDEE (using the past ten weeks of weight loss I figured out exactly how many calories I'm burning a day on average, then knocked off 20% = 1480). I have sort of plateaud and I keep hearing about bumping up calories when you plateau. I thought every day would be like Thanksgiving with 1480 calories. But I have such a 1240 mentality that unless I'm eating crap I shouldn't be eating anyway, I'm not quite getting there most days. I need to work on my mindset and fear of weight gain. I'm either "all in" with this test of the calorie increase, or not.

StonesUnturned

I sometimes felt this way when I first started and I knew it wasn't healthy-being overly restrictive or unforgiving of yourself risks failure. Big red numbers in my diary stressed me out. So I changed my diary setup to track some things where it's okay or good to be over (protein, fiber, iron). It maybe sounds strange but it helped me to understand that eating more can sometimes be beneficial. If you had a few small treats that didn't have a lot of nutrients, you might need to eat right up to your daily target just to make sure you're getting enough of some vitamins or protein or whatever. Calories aren't the enemy. The goal should be to have a calorie deficit, but to use the calories you do get effectively (where I include taste and enjoyment as part of effectiveness).

Bumdrahp

I have recently upped my calories from 1240 (where I've been since September) to 1480, based on my actual TDEE (using the past ten weeks of weight loss I figured out exactly how many calories I'm burning a day on average, then knocked off 20% = 1480). I have sort of plateaud and I keep hearing about bumping up calories when you plateau. I thought every day would be like Thanksgiving with 1480 calories. But I have such a 1240 mentality that unless I'm eating crap I shouldn't be eating anyway, I'm not quite getting there most days. I need to work on my mindset and fear of weight gain. I'm either "all in" with this test of the calorie increase, or not.

I have been here! For a while I stopped calorie counting all together because it was starting to get ridiculous for me. If i ate ONE single peanut m&m.. I would track it. I mean, a little silly no?

I know it's stupid to feel guilty about reaching your calorie goal every day! It's dumb. I mean jesus I used to eat probably double that over a year ago! I guess it doesnt help that for SUCH a long time I was at 1200 a day, and that was it. AND, I would work out 5x a week ( yes I would eat back calories) . That's when I lost most of my weight. but, since I stopped losing big numbers, I upped my caloric intake thinking it would help.. so far, it hasn't at all...which is why I feel that guilt when I reach 1500.

Maybe, If I could find more time to work out ( instead of only 1 hr 2x a week) , I would be dropping weight again.. but this 1 lb here 1 lb there business is really bummin me out. I have a long way to go still!

Bumdrahp

I sometimes felt this way when I first started and I knew it wasn't healthy-being overly restrictive or unforgiving of yourself risks failure. Big red numbers in my diary stressed me out. So I changed my diary setup to track some things where it's okay or good to be over (protein, fiber, iron). It maybe sounds strange but it helped me to understand that eating more can sometimes be beneficial. If you had a few small treats that didn't have a lot of nutrients, you might need to eat right up to your daily target just to make sure you're getting enough of some vitamins or protein or whatever. Calories aren't the enemy. The goal should be to have a calorie deficit, but to use the calories you do get effectively (where I include taste and enjoyment as part of effectiveness).

Yes! At the begining red numbers freaked me out!! I also then started playing around with my diary setup. As I stated above, though.. I upped ym calories because when Iw as at 1200, and working out much more often.. I lost most of my weight, but then it stopped. I ate back those calories, btw.

So far,. upping my calories has not worked enough for me.. but, I am hoping that once the spring comes and I can finally go back outside and run IN ADDITION to my zumba and circuit training, that It will start dropping off again... I just need to find the time seeing that my hours at work changed. Sucks when you have a routine and you get hit with a curveball!