Optimal Calories?

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Shrelana
Shrelana Posts: 248 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So, I recently joined Planet Fitness, and am utilizing the trainer there. She had me use a BMR calculator - which tells me my Caloric intake should be 1550. She then told me to take 250 from that and aim for that. OK, tried that for a while (lost 6 pounds in the week and a half since joining the gym), and now am GAINING weight (2 pounds in the last two days)...But my problem is, in doing that, I'm also STARVING by 2 or 3 hours before bed, and I've used all my Calories by this time. I'm also going to the gym every day and at the very least doing 30 minutes of cardio, usually 15 min of strength training as well....What are some snacks I can try that are low to no Calories? (PS, I've tried the Celery thing....not happening). Prior to joining the gym, I had been at about 2000 Calories a day (thinking this is where I should have been to lose weight, and not understanding why it wasn't coming off).

I'm really wanting to lose about 70 pounds in the next 12 months...but...I don't know that I can keep up the always hungry thing, either...please help!
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  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    So you're saying that your BMR is 1550, you're eating 1300 cals a day, your exercising hard and you're always hungry?
    And you used to eat 2000 cals and weren't losing weight?

    I'd say it's time to get some nutrition advice from someone else. In the meantime, I'd suggest that is you are always hungry - you aren't eating enough! Try eating somewhere between 1300 and 2000 - maybe try 1500 and see if you feel better.

    Or you could always try something radical and use the MFP numbers!
    Set yourself up for a 1 pound a week loss, eat what MFP suggests plus what you burn from exercise and see if this works out better for you.

    There is no point in being constantly hungry, you aren't going to be able to sustain that.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    So, I recently joined Planet Fitness, and am utilizing the trainer there. She had me use a BMR calculator - which tells me my Caloric intake should be 1550. She then told me to take 250 from that and aim for that. OK, tried that for a while (lost 6 pounds in the week and a half since joining the gym), and now am GAINING weight (2 pounds in the last two days)...But my problem is, in doing that, I'm also STARVING by 2 or 3 hours before bed, and I've used all my Calories by this time. I'm also going to the gym every day and at the very least doing 30 minutes of cardio, usually 15 min of strength training as well....What are some snacks I can try that are low to no Calories? (PS, I've tried the Celery thing....not happening). Prior to joining the gym, I had been at about 2000 Calories a day (thinking this is where I should have been to lose weight, and not understanding why it wasn't coming off).

    I'm really wanting to lose about 70 pounds in the next 12 months...but...I don't know that I can keep up the always hungry thing, either...please help!

    Wow, trainers shouldn't really be moving into nutrition unless they did a study of that too.

    Sounds like they read about the study where 250 deficit from diet and another 250 from exercise was best combo, compared to just one or the other.

    Anyway, BMR - MFP - Tools - BMR Calc - read the blurb.

    Think you really take a deficit off that number? No.

    Added on to that is ALL your daily activity, plus calories burned processing food, plus exercise.
    The deficit comes from everything above that BMR figure if you want to minimize risk of losing muscle during the weight loss.
    And if exercising, I'm guessing you want to see body improvements.

    As Rubybelle says, select 1lb loss goal, eat back exercise calories you log, and you'll likely see more than 1 lb anyway.
  • Shrelana
    Shrelana Posts: 248 Member
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    What is mfb? And I just want to be sure that I'm clear...you mean that if my bmr is 1550mfb and I gain 500 exercising...Ishould be eatting 2000 Calories?
  • Kalynx
    Kalynx Posts: 707 Member
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    you'll be more satisfied and be less hungry if you eat full fat, flavorful food. eat your veggies and fruits with butter and cheese. it will work. :)
  • Diablo360x
    Diablo360x Posts: 15 Member
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    What is mfb? And I just want to be sure that I'm clear...you mean that if my bmr is 1550mfb and I gain 500 exercising...Ishould be eatting 2000 Calories?

    They are saying MFP which stands for myfitnesspal. Not sure why they are telling you to eat more food when you exercise. I say keep calories at your daily goal and if you exercise, you simply have a larger deficit which equals more weight loss.
  • tperlste
    tperlste Posts: 1
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    I cut out most sugar (which cuts cravings and keeps energy even more than cutting calories), all white flour, rice etc and most grain ( 1 piece multi grain bread) , eat tons of veggies like cukes, spinach and broccoli, lean protien and nuts *mostly pistachio 0 you have to take the shells off so you cant eat a handful), light cheese (string, laughing cow wedges), 0% fat greek yogurt and cottage cheese, and 1 glass red wine most days. The pounds fell off and I was never hungry. I sliced cukes like chips and dipped in humus .. and ate egges with spinach, mushrooms, a little onions, tomatoes ... try it :)
  • Diablo360x
    Diablo360x Posts: 15 Member
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    I like having the 100 calorie bags of popcorn or fruit for a snack. Don't be afraid to indulge in your favorite foods as long as you log it. It can help keep you satisfied and will not impede fat loss as long as you practice moderation. This is a lifestyle change.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    There could be a number of factors here, and you may have to experiment a bit.

    Firstly, are you weighing yourself every day? Weight will fluctuate up and down quite a bit, so if you want to do that, be prepared for the number to go up as well as down.

    Secondly, could you set your diary to public? It is really useful to see what you are currently eating before giving some suggestions.

    Thirdly, the issue of whether or not to eat back your exercise calories is hotly debated here on My Fitness Pal (MFP), so expect answers from both camps!
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    What is mfb? And I just want to be sure that I'm clear...you mean that if my bmr is 1550mfb and I gain 500 exercising...Ishould be eatting 2000 Calories?

    They are saying MFP which stands for myfitnesspal. Not sure why they are telling you to eat more food when you exercise. I say keep calories at your daily goal and if you exercise, you simply have a larger deficit which equals more weight loss.

    Incorrect, too large and you get negative effects, especially if exercising a lot.

    You eat more food when you exercise in the hopes of maintaining a good workable deficit that is not too extreme and can cause problems.

    Go search for plateau and stall and see what happens when you don't eat appropriate for your level of activity.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    What is mfb? And I just want to be sure that I'm clear...you mean that if my bmr is 1550mfb and I gain 500 exercising...Ishould be eatting 2000 Calories?

    Correct.

    And how many calories are you actually burning being awake?

    Did you read the BMR blurb on what that value even means? That is asleep, in a coma.

    You get out of bed?
  • minizebu
    minizebu Posts: 2,716 Member
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    Make sure that when you eat carbohydrates you eat protein at the same time. Eating carbohydrates by themselves will lead you to be hungry again shortly after. Eating carbs with protein will give your blood sugar a quick fix from the carbs, but the proteins take longer to digest and will leave you feeling more satiated.

    So don't just eat a green salad. Have salad with chicken, or some other protein source. Don't just eat crackers, have crackers with cheese. Don't just have a slice of bread, have bread with peanut butter, etc.

    This will help you to feel full.
  • Shrelana
    Shrelana Posts: 248 Member
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    I will try to find the BMR thing tonight after I get home (we're going on a road trip today to visit family :) ). I'll try to set the diary to public - not sure how. I didn't realize the carbs/protein thing. Keeping that in mind, I wonder why a protein shake my first day trying to make this change didn't work - I had the whole thing and 25 minutes later was looking for something to eat b/c I was hungry lol.
  • Shrelana
    Shrelana Posts: 248 Member
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    Wow, getting it public was easy...don't judge my soda :blushing: :drinker: I used to have about 4 or 5 a day, now have 1 a day, so I'm working on that front as well...
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    What is mfb? And I just want to be sure that I'm clear...you mean that if my bmr is 1550mfb and I gain 500 exercising...Ishould be eatting 2000 Calories?

    They are saying MFP which stands for myfitnesspal. Not sure why they are telling you to eat more food when you exercise. I say keep calories at your daily goal and if you exercise, you simply have a larger deficit which equals more weight loss.

    That is only good advice if your caloric deficit is very small to begin with. MFP gives you less cals than all other sites, as the other sites include planned exercise into your intake. If you are using MFP's caloric intakes you should be eating the cals back.
  • Angie_1991
    Angie_1991 Posts: 447 Member
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    Eat your calories back...if you are working out...and not eating anymore...you will be starving...try more protein as well...
  • knowwhentoshutup
    knowwhentoshutup Posts: 318 Member
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    This link has helped me so much: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    It is simple math, based on your information.

    Edited to add: I just looked at your diary. No wonder you are hungry!
  • clehman71
    clehman71 Posts: 139 Member
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    I took a quick peek at your diary. I would suggest cutting out some of the processed foods. They tend to be high in calories and/or sodium and don't fill you up for very long. I still have one soda a day, but have greatly given up on the processed foods. The weight has some off nicely as I really only got into changing my lifestyle in late February.

    Go with the number of calories this site gave you when you set up your goals, try starting with just a 1 lbs a week.

    The eat back exercise calories, it will be up to you to find what works for you. Some times I do eat the calories burned back and sometimes I don't. A HRM will give you a better idea of calories burned than a machine or this site can.
  • prokomds
    prokomds Posts: 318 Member
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    I was at about a 1500 calorie/day setup, and I was hungry (and grumpy!) all the time. I upped it by about 150 calories, and now I'm much more happy. Looking at your diary, there are probably two or three things going on. One, you're hungry because you're simply not getting enough calories. Maybe try a little more? Somewhere between 1300 and 2000, maybe 1500 or 1600? Give it a few weeks and see how you feel. If you don't feel well, what's the point?

    Secondly, you have to look at the quality of the calories you're consuming. Should I point out the snacks section of Friday the 14th? If you're not fueling yourself with quality foods, you're not going to get the results you want. 800 calories of junk means 800 less calories of real food. No wonder you're hungry.

    Third, are you actually logging everything? Looking at that same Friday, it kind of looks like you didn't eat anything except (unhealthy) snacks. Either you're leaving out things, or you need to look even harder at the quality of what you're eating
  • georgie181
    georgie181 Posts: 68
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    sorry, but to be blunt your eating the wrong foods!!! you need to eat fresh healthy well balanced meals then you won't feel half starved!
  • CantarellaMiyani
    CantarellaMiyani Posts: 91 Member
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    Go for whole foods, when you can, with healthy fats and a good amount of protein. You come in way under protein a lot, and that's something that will help you feel more full.
    You're drinking a lot of calories. I'm not just talking about the soda (well done going from 5 to 1, that is fantastic), I'm talking about Campbell's tomato soup, and Powerade, things that are nutritionally void but high in sugars, so they add calories. With the exception of that one soda a day, try to make all your calories come from food (and a sometimes glass of milk or two), you'll feel better. And eat veggies! You can have a TON, to really fill you up, for not much of a caloric hit.
    Cupcakes, protein bars. 'Nuff said.

    There's nothing wrong with treating yourself, as long as they stay treats, and you're generally on track the rest of the time. On track means eating healthy, filling foods, with a good macro balance. Leave some of the bread and potato carbs out, replace them with protein, good fats (like olive oil), and some veggies, and life gets better.

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