Calorie Guilt

ElleEmmeKay
ElleEmmeKay Posts: 62
in Food and Nutrition
I've been trying to up my calories because I've been lifting. But I have such guilt! Like this week if I'm over 1700 (I pre-plan my meals by the way) I hear the little voice inside saying "get rid of some of those carbs". But then if I'm under 1600 or so the little voice is all "that's it?, how are you going to build muscle???"

I'm assuming this is just a phase and that I'm teaching myself something knew therefore it will eventually click, but man in the mean time this calorie guilt sucks! Anyone else have this or had it???

Replies

  • 2BhappyBhealthy
    2BhappyBhealthy Posts: 181 Member
    Of course! Anyone that has ever lived their life "afraid" of gaining weight/over eating - strictly watching cals in any way is going to go into a bit of a shock once you "allow" yourself to eat more! I was just telling a co-worker this morning how I was soooo full last night, forcing the last few bites of dinner down - and only to still need to eat my "dessert" (frozen kefir and berries) - and I woke up STARVING this morning! I was speeding just so I could get here and EAT! You have to give you body and your MIND time to adjust - but trust me, it WILL adjust. You have to properly feed your mind, body and muscles if you want them to grow. Just be patient, eat well (healthfully and get enough!), keep working out (you are doing strength training I think, ya?) and your body will do the rest. Eat within your macros and get REST. You body MUST rest to recover and rebuild. This was actually one of the hardest parts of this for me... All I knew was cardio cardio cardio and DON'T TOUCH THAT FOOD! I am grateful for every moment that I no longer have to live that way. You'll get there, just be patient.

    And ask questions when you have them! :)
  • Christine1110
    Christine1110 Posts: 1,786 Member
    With protein...lean meats. No carb is going to give you muscle only energy. Eat more lean protein!
  • Mollie007
    Mollie007 Posts: 73
    "All I knew was cardio cardio cardio and DON'T TOUCH THAT FOOD!"

    This is me right now! I feel like I don't know what to do half the time! How much do I eat? How much is too much? Ugh....
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
    "All I knew was cardio cardio cardio and DON'T TOUCH THAT FOOD!"

    This is me right now! I feel like I don't know what to do half the time! How much do I eat? How much is too much? Ugh....

    This WAS me, and I type this as I eat a piece of ham with cream cheese on it, because I'm hungry, and Im not going to shift those clean and jerks tonight unless Im well fed. Eat when hungry, eat good food, lots of protein, and lift. The rest will work itself out. :)
  • 2BhappyBhealthy
    2BhappyBhealthy Posts: 181 Member
    "All I knew was cardio cardio cardio and DON'T TOUCH THAT FOOD!"

    This is me right now! I feel like I don't know what to do half the time! How much do I eat? How much is too much? Ugh....

    This WAS me, and I type this as I eat a piece of ham with cream cheese on it, because I'm hungry, and Im not going to shift those clean and jerks tonight unless Im well fed. Eat when hungry, eat good food, lots of protein, and lift. The rest will work itself out. :)

    Yup. Just took down a protein bar, greek yogurt, berries..... yeah, I'm not afraid of food anymore. ;)

    Love the "I'm not going to shift those clean and jerks tonight unless I'm well fed." <--- these are my favorites too!

    EAT UP LADIES. Work your muscles (cardio does NOT push your muscles), FEED YOUR MUSCLES, and then REST YOUR MUSCLES. Muscles burn fat. Food gives you energy to burn tha fat. WIN WIN!
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
    "All I knew was cardio cardio cardio and DON'T TOUCH THAT FOOD!"

    This is me right now! I feel like I don't know what to do half the time! How much do I eat? How much is too much? Ugh....

    This WAS me, and I type this as I eat a piece of ham with cream cheese on it, because I'm hungry, and Im not going to shift those clean and jerks tonight unless Im well fed. Eat when hungry, eat good food, lots of protein, and lift. The rest will work itself out. :)

    Yup. Just took down a protein bar, greek yogurt, berries..... yeah, I'm not afraid of food anymore. ;)

    Love the "I'm not going to shift those clean and jerks tonight unless I'm well fed." <--- these are my favorites too!

    EAT UP LADIES. Work your muscles (cardio does NOT push your muscles), FEED YOUR MUSCLES, and then REST YOUR MUSCLES. Muscles burn fat. Food gives you energy to burn tha fat. WIN WIN!


    :D Yey for ladies lifting!

    Heavy lifting has changed my life, literally. I'm the happiest and healthiest I've been in, well probably since puberty hit. I'm strong, and no longer concerned with weight or being skinny. I've squatted 95kg, I'm not going to worry about whether I should be eating an avocado with lunch because its 'full of fat'. If I can lift like Talia VanDoran I'll be a happy bunny
  • AmberJo1984
    AmberJo1984 Posts: 1,067 Member
    I get the same way. The more I eat, the worse I feel. Mostly, it's only carbs I worry about though. I'm not cutting them out... just trying to cut them down.
  • ElleEmmeKay
    ElleEmmeKay Posts: 62
    Wow!!! Thank you so much! Today I did 30 minutes of non-stop upper body lifting. It definitely wasn't easy but man do I feel good after. Thanks for the support everyone :)
  • SyStEmPhReAk
    SyStEmPhReAk Posts: 330 Member
    With protein...lean meats. No carb is going to give you muscle only energy. Eat more lean protein!

    Unfortunately, this is not true. Complex carbs - slower digesting carbs such as brown rice, sweet potatoes, whole wheat - are proven to help build muscle as they spare your body of using protein as a main source of energy. Generally speaking, if you are trying to build muscle on a low carb diet, the protein you eat and the muscle you are trying to build will be converted to energy, which will negate any gains you are trying to make. Carbs ARE necessary for muscle growth. Yes, your diet should be high in protein (lean meats etc.), but you need a moderate carb intake as well.
  • 2BhappyBhealthy
    2BhappyBhealthy Posts: 181 Member
    With protein...lean meats. No carb is going to give you muscle only energy. Eat more lean protein!

    Unfortunately, this is not true. Complex carbs - slower digesting carbs such as brown rice, sweet potatoes, whole wheat - are proven to help build muscle as they spare your body of using protein as a main source of energy. Generally speaking, if you are trying to build muscle on a low carb diet, the protein you eat and the muscle you are trying to build will be converted to energy, which will negate any gains you are trying to make. Carbs ARE necessary for muscle growth. Yes, your diet should be high in protein (lean meats etc.), but you need a moderate carb intake as well.

    YES, THANK YOU! It's sad how scared of carbs people are!! I am a grumpystilskin - and have NO energy if I don't eat enough... I don't understand how so many people do it... I've eaten too little out of ignorance, but was never too low on tha carbzz
  • belladonna786
    belladonna786 Posts: 1,165 Member
    .
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    A calorie is just a unit of energy. They're not evil. Consume more than your body needs, and you'll gain weight. Consume less, and you'll lose. Neither outcome makes you a bad person. But... if you don't get enough of them, you're not going to reach your goals, right? And if you accidentally go over and get too many, the world will not end, you will just have to adjust and it might take you slightly longer to reach your goals. Simple as that. No need for guilt to be involved.
  • iluvprettyshoes
    iluvprettyshoes Posts: 605 Member
    "All I knew was cardio cardio cardio and DON'T TOUCH THAT FOOD!"

    This is me right now! I feel like I don't know what to do half the time! How much do I eat? How much is too much? Ugh....

    Me too!!
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    With protein...lean meats. No carb is going to give you muscle only energy. Eat more lean protein!

    What do you have against eating fat?

    Probably just "eating fat guilt".
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
    With protein...lean meats. No carb is going to give you muscle only energy. Eat more lean protein!

    What do you have against eating fat?

    Probably just "eating fat guilt".

    Mmmmmn fat, and sweet potatos, and bacon, and avocados, and mackeral, and .....Im off on a tangent now.

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