Can't meet my calories!

Really I do not have that problem at all lol

Hi Dani, You don't want to eat back your exercise calories. The exercise will give you a greater calorie deficit and that's what you want. By the way, you need to eat breakfast!!!!!

Please don't listen to this advice.

Why not? Thats exactly what you need to do to burn fat. Fat is lost by burning more calories then you eat in a day.

Suppose I'm on a 1400 cal diet and I workout 6x doing cardio totalling up to 1000 cals each session (let's say cycling with HRM). In the long run I'll be living on 400 cals on average with the exception of rest days and it's not something you'd like to venture in.

As for the second part, no, breakfast isn't something necessary.

Hi Dani, You don't want to eat back your exercise calories. The exercise will give you a greater calorie deficit and that's what you want. By the way, you need to eat breakfast!!!!!

Please don't listen to this advice.

Why not? Thats exactly what you need to do to burn fat. Fat is lost by burning more calories then you eat in a day.

No, you will lose muscle and bone. We want to hang onto those. Fuel your body.

Hi Dani, You don't want to eat back your exercise calories. The exercise will give you a greater calorie deficit and that's what you want. By the way, you need to eat breakfast!!!!!

wrong, but thanks for playing!!

Suppose I'm on a 1400 cal diet and I workout 6x doing cardio totalling up to 1000 cals each session (let's say cycling with HRM). In the long run I'll be living on 400 cals on average with the exception of rest days and it's not something you'd like to venture in.

You forgot the fat off your body that's used to fill the calorie gap. You'll be using say 1800 to live plus 1000 of exercise = 2800 total - 1400 of food and 1400 of fat. That's a big deficit to be sure, and would need about 50 lbs of excess fat reserves to supply it, but will work for heavier people.

If you exercise off more calories than you consume your body will not burn fat, as fat is not fuel. Your body will go after muscle and bones, as that is where nutrients are to sustain life. Do some research before giving bad advice.

So bone is fuel ? The 9 calories per gram of fat aren't fuel ? Weird.

Sorry, I meant fat does not have nutrients or proteins to sustain life. Was typing fast, due to my annoyance with the person that decided to say to burn off more calories than you consume. That is such dangerous advice to give anyone. I was angered and typed an aboslutely incomplete thought.

Once again everyone is different. Some on here need to let go of the "stuff your face, lazy fat person" stereotype. Not everyone got fat the same way. Yes in essence you get fat because over a period of time you ate more calories then you burned. For some this happens quickly for others its over a period of years. Some women gain 20 or 30 pounds while pregnant then fail to lose that weight after the baby is born. Get pregnant again a few years later and gain another 20 or 30 pounds..WHAM you are now 40 to 60 lbs over weight and it's not because you are over eating large quantitys of food. Also i know women who ate well and were active but when they hit their late 30's early 40' they developed the classic middle aged spread. This is in part because their metabolism has slowed or they are struggling with hormonal issues. Another way both men and women get fat is they gain 20 lbs...jump on the diet bandwagon and lose 15 pounds then gain that back plus more. They get into the viscious "diet" cycle and end up 50 or 60 pounds overweight but they weren't neccesarily dining endlessly on bags of chips and icecream sundaes. There's other examples but the point is we shouldnt make blanket assumptions regarding how some got fat any more then one should assume that an extremely skinny person never eats or is deprived. Or that a fit person worksout endlessly and never consumes anything that is labeled as "BAD"

Personally i have found that since i have started logging my food, drinking the recommended 6-8 glasses of water and increased my veggies, fruits,fiber and protiens i also feel full when i get close to my daily calories. My stomach has shrunk because im not over eating. I was an emotional eater...it takes time for your body to readjust to true hunger signals.

Remember this is a process....as you learn about eating healthy you will make changes to get the required result. The tips about adding in a small portion higher calorie snack are good. Also i have a couple friends who eat small meals throughout the day which they find is helpful in getting thier daily calories and or eating back their exercise calories. Go through your diary and make sure you are eating balanced and high quality foods. Also the HRM is a very good idea. Many people think they are burning x amount of calories when they aren't....like me you will probably find that when you really burn during a workout you will feel hungry before your next meal!!

Best of luck OP!!

I really don't understand this problem. How do you get overweight to begin with if you are stuffed and unable to eat anymore than 1200 calories a day? I am not being snotty, I sincerely am confused by this.

You're appetite changes with your diet, that's how. When a person eats alot their appetite will accustom to that, allowing the person not to get full as easy, as you diet your appetite then accustoms to that, having the person get full easier. Also the types of food have changed, the person may be eating more low cal but fiber dense foods which will make a person get full easier. What you have to remember is the person wasn't watching what they ate before when overweight, that is how the person became overweight so the person having been overweight is a mute point.

Really??? I have lost 310 lbs. and yesterday for breakfast I ate 4 eggs over easy, Home fries, 3 pc. of bacon, 2 pcs. of Thick cut Wheat toast, 3 cups of coffee, 1 glass of chocolate milk, 4 pcs. of cinnamon raisin french toast with hot maple syrup and can tell you I was by no means stuffed... (To be fair I make this point that your appetite doesn't change that much even after losing alot of weight but this meal was intentional do to a 3 hour/ 10.5 mile Hike yesterday) If I did not have discipline I could easily eat at the same quantity level I ate at when I weighed 560 lbs. The man point is balance in your choices, those eating just large salads and complaining about not being able to meet there calorie goals need to balance that meal out with a chicken breast or lean meats, some brown rice or even a potato of some sort, or work in some good fats like avacado's and whatnot..

Your appetite changes with your diet, not weight. If you're still eating alot there is no reason its going to change.

I still have that problem somedays. A handful of nuts or a glass of skim milk usually puts me where I need to be

my old WW leader used to say "none of us got to this point by not being able to eat."

i am pretty sure you can eat 1200 calories.

I really don't understand this problem. How do you get overweight to begin with if you are stuffed and unable to eat anymore than 1200 calories a day? I am not being snotty, I sincerely am confused by this.

You're appetite changes with your diet, that's how. When a person eats alot their appetite will accustom to that, allowing the person not to get full as easy, as you diet your appetite then accustoms to that, having the person get full easier. Also the types of food have changed, the person may be eating more low cal but fiber dense foods which will make a person get full easier. What you have to remember is the person wasn't watching what they ate before when overweight, that is how the person became overweight so the person having been overweight is a mute point.

Really??? I have lost 310 lbs. and yesterday for breakfast I ate 4 eggs over easy, Home fries, 3 pc. of bacon, 2 pcs. of Thick cut Wheat toast, 3 cups of coffee, 1 glass of chocolate milk, 4 pcs. of cinnamon raisin french toast with hot maple syrup and can tell you I was by no means stuffed... (To be fair I make this point that your appetite doesn't change that much even after losing alot of weight but this meal was intentional do to a 3 hour/ 10.5 mile Hike yesterday) If I did not have discipline I could easily eat at the same quantity level I ate at when I weighed 560 lbs. The man point is balance in your choices, those eating just large salads and complaining about not being able to meet there calorie goals need to balance that meal out with a chicken breast or lean meats, some brown rice or even a potato of some sort, or work in some good fats like avacado's and whatnot..

Your appetite changes with your diet, not weight. If you're still eating alot there is no reason its going to change.

Never once said it changes with you weight...... Simply stated how much I have lost but my appetite has not changed... I simply used the example that it doesn't matter how much I ate before, I can still put away food like I used to regardless to "how much weight I have lost" or "what I am eating now compared to back then" the only difference now is I choose when and how much I want to eat (controlling my portions to atone for my goals) and not just eat due to my emotions... The point is none of us got obese by not being able to put away 1200 calories a day....

You are stating it changes with your weight since you keep stating how you lost weight and it didn't change. Emotional eating is also a different issue from appetite. You know how some people say they feel like their stomach has gotten smaller, or shrunk. Its mainly from their appetite has changed, they have a smaller appetite so it gives an impression their stomach has shrunk. We may not had become overweight from not being able to eat 1200 calories but that was before dieting so it shouldn't be confusing a person having a hard time getting in 1200 calories since its a different situation, its not the 'before' situation.

I really don't understand this problem. How do you get overweight to begin with if you are stuffed and unable to eat anymore than 1200 calories a day? I am not being snotty, I sincerely am confused by this.

You're appetite changes with your diet, that's how. When a person eats alot their appetite will accustom to that, allowing the person not to get full as easy, as you diet your appetite then accustoms to that, having the person get full easier. Also the types of food have changed, the person may be eating more low cal but fiber dense foods which will make a person get full easier. What you have to remember is the person wasn't watching what they ate before when overweight, that is how the person became overweight so the person having been overweight is a mute point.

Really??? I have lost 310 lbs. and yesterday for breakfast I ate 4 eggs over easy, Home fries, 3 pc. of bacon, 2 pcs. of Thick cut Wheat toast, 3 cups of coffee, 1 glass of chocolate milk, 4 pcs. of cinnamon raisin french toast with hot maple syrup and can tell you I was by no means stuffed... (To be fair I make this point that your appetite doesn't change that much even after losing alot of weight but this meal was intentional do to a 3 hour/ 10.5 mile Hike yesterday) If I did not have discipline I could easily eat at the same quantity level I ate at when I weighed 560 lbs. The man point is balance in your choices, those eating just large salads and complaining about not being able to meet there calorie goals need to balance that meal out with a chicken breast or lean meats, some brown rice or even a potato of some sort, or work in some good fats like avacado's and whatnot..

Your appetite changes with your diet, not weight. If you're still eating alot there is no reason its going to change.

Never once said it changes with you weight...... Simply stated how much I have lost but my appetite has not changed... I simply used the example that it doesn't matter how much I ate before, I can still put away food like I used to regardless to "how much weight I have lost" or "what I am eating now compared to back then" the only difference now is I choose when and how much I want to eat (controlling my portions to atone for my goals) and not just eat due to my emotions... The point is none of us got obese by not being able to put away 1200 calories a day....

You are stating it changes with your weight since you keep stating how you lost weight and it didn't change. Emotional eating is also a different issue from appetite. You know how some people say they feel like their stomach has gotten smaller, or shrunk. Its mainly from their appetite has changed, they have a smaller appetite so it gives an impression their stomach has shrunk. We may not had become overweight from not being able to eat 1200 calories but that was before dieting so it shouldn't be confusing a person having a hard time getting in 1200 calories since its a different situation, its not the 'before' situation.

LOL well we will just have to agree to disagree.... But let me back track and lets take out anything that I said about my weight loss.... Now that we have done that let me just say IN MY OWN SITUATION!! my appetite has not changed one bit now at 250 lbs. as to compared to when I weighed 560 lbs. I (again in my own situation) do not buy into the my stomach must have shrunk now that I am eating differently... I can consume just as much food now as I did back then the only difference is I have control over what I eat and when I eat it... And as far as not being able to consume 1200 calories a day, my daily breakfast is 3 pieces of toast (135 calories) with 3 Tbsp. of All Natural Peanut Butter (285 calories) and 2 Tbsp. of Honey (120 calories), 2 cups of 1% milk (200 calories) and my coffee (2 Tbsp. of pure can sugar, 2 Tbsp. International Delight creamer) (104 calories) so total is 844 calories and that is just breakfast so again in my own opinion I find it very hard to see how anyone has a problem getting to 1200 calories in a day...

I really don't understand this problem. How do you get overweight to begin with if you are stuffed and unable to eat anymore than 1200 calories a day? I am not being snotty, I sincerely am confused by this.

I'm not saying the OP has done this but often times many people will compromise their metabolic function to such a degree after chronically eating at a severe deficit most of their adult lives that even a modest calorie surplus above what they normally eat can lead to considerable weight gain over time. There are a lot of health issues that occur from this ongoing behavior including accelerated aging, poor insulin insensitivity, brittle nails and hair, etc.

It will always be that way. If people are struggling to reach 1200 calories, they are either a)not eating enough healthy foods by choice or lack of awareness or b)because they have been eating so little for so long - in other words they have been in a perpetual diet before they even started one. For nearly everyone here, their maintenance calories is considerably greater than 1200 calories. If they are having such difficulties dieting off of 1200 calories, it will be an even greater obstacle to eat at or near maintenance. I don't think the idea of being on a restricted caloric intake for the rest of my life, and the health consequences from it, to be a novel thought.

I really don't understand this problem. How do you get overweight to begin with if you are stuffed and unable to eat anymore than 1200 calories a day? I am not being snotty, I sincerely am confused by this.

I'm not saying the OP has done this but often times many people will compromise their metabolic function to such a degree after chronically eating at a severe deficit most of their adult lives that even a modest calorie surplus above what they normally eat can lead to considerable weight gain over time. There are a lot of health issues that occur from this ongoing behavior including accelerated aging, poor insulin insensitivity, brittle nails and hair, etc.

Thank you for giving me a real answer to a real question I had.