Am I eating too little??

theprettywon

So when I add my food and exercise into my log it always leaves me with A LOT of calories left. I usually burn about 400-600 calories per gym session and have a 1250 calorie limit. So after everything is said and done I'll have about 400-600 calories left over and of course it says my body is going into starvation mode when I HAVE eaten about 1200-1300 worth of calories. Am I supposed to eat more? I feel like I would be eating wayyyyy too much. What do you guys think? Sorry this is so long lol.

Also feel free to add me, always looking for more support!

Carolyn_79

MFP is set up to give you a deficit based on the information and goals you enter. You're suppose to net the amount it gives you and eat back the exercise calories so the deficit isn't too large.

swtjenny90

MFP is set up to give you a deficit based on the information and goals you enter. You're suppose to net the amount it gives you and eat back the exercise calories so the deficit isn't too large.

so you're supposed to eat back what you burn off? I thought if you didn't it just got you to lose weight faster.

RunDoozer

You're supposed to be eating your exercise calories back. MFP already has a built in deficit. By not eating them you are creating a deficit that is too large and may slow or even stall your weightless. Also your body wont be getting the proper nutrition it needs. Your body needs energy for those workouts so give it fuel.

theprettywon

So is that saying that I need to eat more to make up for my lost calories?

swtjenny90

Thank you!

Carolyn_79

You could eat less than it tells you but that's not healthy. You need the energy to fuel your workouts and get your proper nutrition as the previous poster mentioned. You didn't gain it in a day and you won't lose it in a day. It's a lifestyle change and it's not worth being hungry and unhappy in the process. If you learn how to eat right and lose it right now, it'll make maintaining your loss a lot easier. Good luck! It can be confusing in the beginning but it gets easier :flowerforyou:

theprettywon

It's just hard to imagine that I need to be eating MORE food than I already am. I'm eating more than I was before and I'm eating better. Guess I need to sneak in more snacks throughout the day.

msherrodmorfin

I had the same question.. Thanks for asking.. I always have 200-600 Calories left at the end of the day and Ive always thought that leaving them there was somehow helping me loose MORE weight..
Thanks for asking and for all the answers..
M

NJL13500

I am maintaining now so I am following a different eating plan, but when I was losing I set my calorie goal at 1200 and ate back about half of my exercise calories. I usually ended up eating about 1500-1600 calories most days and leaving 200-300. I was very active and felt fueled for my workouts.

My reasoning for leaving some calories "on the table" was to make up for any overestimates on calorie burns (MFP is pretty high for me personally-I have a BodyMedia armband and can see my true calorie burn now-WAY lower than MFP's estimates for me and I bust my butt in the gym) or my underestimating calories that I ate because a scale wasn't always available.

I lost consistently for 10 months and averaged 1.5 pounds per week. I surpassed my original goal weight of 145 and got down to 130.

At maintenance I am eating about 2,000 calories per day. I've maintained a 60 pound weight loss for 3 months now.

I guess you have to see how you feel for the most part. If you are tired (especially during workouts) then you definitely need to eat more. It also depends on how active you are during the day when not exercising. So many factors come into play. You can always try and eat back some of your exercise calories and see how it goes. Good luck!

theprettywon

Yeah I made all customized exercises because the amount of calories it was saying I burned was high. I don't even use the pre-made options anymore. That's a good idea to try to eat half of what you burn. I may start trying that until I get use to eating that much lol.