Eat more?

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waternthesky
waternthesky Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been working out for about a month. I lost about 15lbs. I am trying to loose more but I cannot lower my calorie intake anymore. I eat about 1200 a day and I am doing Insanity DVD's. So my net intake for the day is about 500-800. Which seems dangerous. I feel like I need to increase my calories but I am afraid I will gain all of the weight back. Any suggestions? Should I just eat more and hope not to gain it back??

Replies

  • JaimeBrown5
    JaimeBrown5 Posts: 324
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    Are you eating back the calories you burn off? At 1200 calories a day (which is never a great idea) you MUST eat back all the calories you burn after working out. You don't want to ever NET below 1200. That's key. Definitely eat more.

    I can tell you from experience, I started at 1200 calories and since I went up to between 1600-1800 a day, the weight falls off way better.
  • Weebs628
    Weebs628 Posts: 574 Member
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    I always eat back my exercise calories, I eat about 1,700 calories a day and I'm losing weight. I would not be able to live off of 1,200 a day without eating back what I burn.
  • SmartAlec03211988
    SmartAlec03211988 Posts: 1,896 Member
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    If you're going to eat 1200 calories + exercise, eat back your exercise calories. Netting 500-800 calories is no good.
  • amycloutier
    amycloutier Posts: 6 Member
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    I have been working out for about a month. I lost about 15lbs. I am trying to loose more but I cannot lower my calorie intake anymore. I eat about 1200 a day and I am doing Insanity DVD's. So my net intake for the day is about 500-800. Which seems dangerous. I feel like I need to increase my calories but I am afraid I will gain all of the weight back. Any suggestions? Should I just eat more and hope not to gain it back??

    Yes, your net calorie should be 1200. If you eat more, you will lose weight.

    Look at it this way, not eating what you burn is equal to only eating 500-800 calories a day (as you listed) and that is starving yourself.

    If you aim to eat 1200 per day and burn 500 doing an Insanity DVD, eat up! Your body needs those calories to recover and help you build muscle.
  • kassiebby1124
    kassiebby1124 Posts: 927 Member
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    I was wondering the same thing. I started at 1500 and bumped myself down to 1250 in the course of a few months. I stopped weighing myself so I'm not sure if it's smart or not, I just by how my clothes fit..but should I bump it back up?
  • Spartan_Maker
    Spartan_Maker Posts: 683 Member
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    If you want to reach the goal you set when signing up for MFP, you have to eat your exercise calories back. Otherwise, you're being more aggressive than you said you wanted to be.

    When MFP sets your calories, they are setting "net" calories, the amount of calories you should eat after exercise is deducted. Just make sure your exercise calories are accurate, or you may end up overeating.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    Yeah you need to have fuel for the fire to be strong enough to burn down the wood.
  • ckay220
    ckay220 Posts: 271 Member
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    The only thing I don't get about eating more is...if I'm full...why force myself to eat more? I net around 1,000 calories..and I should probably net more...but I'm not hungry! So what do you do in that case?

    && If we're encouraged to eat more, why are we commended for being under our calorie goal?
  • julesribar
    julesribar Posts: 43 Member
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    I am no way an expert but 500-600 calories a day? Ummmm...that is way to little!!! Especially if you are doing those dvd's. You also look pretty young so I would think you could handle some extra calories. And did I read right you lost 15 lbs in a month? That is alot! I think you should maybe talk to an expert or really reaccess your workout regimin/caloric intake/etc....good luck but take it slow because when you take weight off quickly.....it almost always will come back on. :flowerforyou:
  • julesribar
    julesribar Posts: 43 Member
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    :smile: Wow, those are really good points! I also have had days where I have excersised and because of that, my calories look low but I am full! I go with how my body feels.
  • waternthesky
    waternthesky Posts: 3
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    I am going to try and eat more calories starting today. I will do my best to make my net 1200. :-)
  • lookatme09
    lookatme09 Posts: 57 Member
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    I'm not an expert but if you eat too many calories, your body will hold on to everything since it thinks your starving. It will be counterproductive. great work on the exercise and hard work
  • 4manda76
    4manda76 Posts: 47 Member
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    I'm in the same boat here, when I exercise I'm really struggling to net enough calories even thought about cutting down on the exercise!
    Friday last week I only managed to net 305 cals as I went hiking uo Whernside which at a good steady pace takes 4hrs plus carrying a rucksack earning myself a shed load of calories. So far 8 days out of 13 I've netted enough which are my rest days and on the other day I'm netting well below 1000 :o(
  • happycauseIride
    happycauseIride Posts: 536 Member
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    The only thing I don't get about eating more is...if I'm full...why force myself to eat more? I net around 1,000 calories..and I should probably net more...but I'm not hungry! So what do you do in that case?

    && If we're encouraged to eat more, why are we commended for being under our calorie goal?

    ^^^This!!

    I am having the same problem. My calorie goal that MFP set for me is 2100. I dropped it to 1800 because it's too much, and I'm still having trouble eating all that. And I'm not eating back my exersise calories either. Sure, I could end the day with a 500 calorie bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream to finish my goal, but what good what that do? On most days I am probably netting about 1200, but I'm just not hungry, or I get full eating something small now. Very frustrating.
  • MTBrob
    MTBrob Posts: 513 Member
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    The only thing I don't get about eating more is...if I'm full...why force myself to eat more? I net around 1,000 calories..and I should probably net more...but I'm not hungry! So what do you do in that case?

    && If we're encouraged to eat more, why are we commended for being under our calorie goal?

    ^^^This!!

    I am having the same problem. My calorie goal that MFP set for me is 2100. I dropped it to 1800 because it's too much, and I'm still having trouble eating all that. And I'm not eating back my exersise calories either. Sure, I could end the day with a 500 calorie bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream to finish my goal, but what good what that do? On most days I am probably netting about 1200, but I'm just not hungry, or I get full eating something small now. Very frustrating.


    If you are having this problem ... Donn't eat big meals.. eat smaller meals more times a day .. I have this problem .. But I was able to work around it by eating 5 small meals a day .. You can also get around the full feeling in between meals if you dirnk some calories, like a scoop of protein cup of milk and a banana is almost 400 cals right there.. ( pending protein give or take 50 calories. )

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