HELP PLEASE!! Calorie Issues!
cjdippo15
Posts: 17
Ok so I have my MFP set to 1340 calories a day. I am 5'4" and currently weight 176. I want to get back down to around 135.
I feel like I'm eating all day long but I'm still left with a LOT of calories at the end of the day (after my INSANITY workout)
I have a protein shake in the morning with PB2 and almond milk
then a granola bar around 11
then a sandwich and pretzels or something like that for lunch
then a protein shake with just water immediately after workout
then i eat dinner
My workout burns around 300-400 calories depending on what day of INSANITY it is
and I still have a few hundred calories left in the day.
Is this a bad thing? Should I eat more? I feel full after I eat and I don't want to eat late at night..
HELP PLEASE!!
I feel like I'm eating all day long but I'm still left with a LOT of calories at the end of the day (after my INSANITY workout)
I have a protein shake in the morning with PB2 and almond milk
then a granola bar around 11
then a sandwich and pretzels or something like that for lunch
then a protein shake with just water immediately after workout
then i eat dinner
My workout burns around 300-400 calories depending on what day of INSANITY it is
and I still have a few hundred calories left in the day.
Is this a bad thing? Should I eat more? I feel full after I eat and I don't want to eat late at night..
HELP PLEASE!!
0
Replies
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Dinner consists of a veggie, a starch and a meat. A pretty decent well rounded meal0
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I know exactly what you're talking about, I have the exact same problem.. I end up searching for foods to eat just to get all my calories in (seeing Iam only on a 1200 anyways) but by the time I do my exercises, I have to eat more and Iam in no way shape or form hungry, but I eat anyways, eveything though I feel sick and don't want it.. This is a good topic, thanks for posting and good luck!0
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Maybe skip the PB2 and just use peanut butter? After all, you have calories to spare, why use the low cal substitute?0
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Try using skim milk for your protein shake - more calories and protein (if regular milk is an option for you).
Try other calorie dense foods - nuts, cheese, etc
Do you have other ways of getting your protein in besides shakes? More lean meats, beans, avocado, etc?0 -
Add greek yogurt to your protein shakes. If there is a healthy fat version, like the peanut butter, use the full cal version. Keep a bag of nuts and dried fruits on your person to pick at through the day.
All that being said. If you are honestly and truly NOT hungry. You don't feel deprived. You are meeting your weightloss goals etc, maybe your BMR is lower than average. Maybe you don't need those extra calories. it isn't common but it can happen.
And, if you truly feel like you are out of the norm on this stuff. It doesn't hurt in the least to go to a qualified medical expert and get blood work and BMR type testing done to get more accurate counts on things.0 -
I eat lean meats pretty much everyday.
The protein shake in the morning is more because I'm running out the door
Maybe I could add real peanut butter to the shake in the morning and try adding more nuts to my diet0 -
All good suggestions above! I also use rice cakes with peanut butter, handfuls of natural almonds, spinach with chicken breast on them. Good job on your work outs
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I second the greek yogurt suggestion in protein shakes or with your sandwich at lunch.
Also if you have plenty left don't be afraid of cheese, nuts and avacados...all of those could be a nice addition to a sandwich (okay maybe not the nuts but on the side maybe).0 -
thanks for posting this - I'm in the same boat. I don't do the shakes but eat healthy meals and still left with 2-300 calories at end of the day and MFP telling me I'm putting my body in starvation mode. I'm usually over on my protein and not sure what to do as I've read too much protein over time can be bad for your kidneys.0
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Eat a heartier breakfast.... include a yogurt or cereal or something....0
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Why don't you want to eat at night?0
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No fruit? Apple with peanut butter (pb will up your calories quickly).0
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Maybe add a chobani yogurt to lunch or a smoothie0
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1200 calories is gross input and as long as you eat this then no starvation messages
Today i ate 2300 calories but did 2900 of exercise leaving me 2000 beneath target.
Swings and roundabouts as on day of no exercise will go over target
Wait to see a correlation between target weight loss and actual weight loss before jamming every last calorie in.
Balance your calories over longer period than a day
Firm believer in getting it off before the willpower expires
Good luck0 -
I have recently lowered my calorie intake. I am finding that after going to the gym 4 times a week using the treadmill I have gained the weight back that I lost (only a pound). I have only been doing this for 2 weeks. Is this normal?0
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I have a protein shake in the morning with PB2 and almond milk
then a granola bar around 11
then a sandwich and pretzels or something like that for lunch
then a protein shake with just water immediately after workout
then i eat dinner
Use real peanut butter and dairy milk (unless you have an allergy).
Switch to a protein bar (more calories) or some nuts (also high in calories).
Add a full-fat condiment to your sandwich.
Use milk or almond milk instead of water.
Eat a big, satisfying dinner.
Problem solved 0 -
I don't go by weight alone any more. I focus mainly on body fat %. I am working on getting down to 18% body fat. I am currently at 37%, so I have a lot of work to do. I eat 1800 across the board, and don't eat my work out calories back (following the road map method). I sometimes have issues trying to get enough calories in as well.
At first it used to be really hard. I thought I had started out right. Got all low-fat/low calorie foods, etc... I was struggling to get the calories in. Then I read one of the forums on here, can't remember the title. But it was about common mistakes people make when begining to lose weight. One of them was going out and buying all low calorie stuff. While some of the stuff is good to get low calorie, you don't want to go over board with it because then it will start being a struggle to get calories in.
One of the recommendations on the forum was to cook with regular olive oils. Not the 0 calorie sprays. That will add a lot of good fat calories to a meal. Same wtih milk. If you find that you are low on calories and you are using skim milk, try upping it to 1% or 2% so you get the added calories. Small changes like this can add a lot of calories back into your diet.0 -
I have a protein shake in the morning with PB2 and almond milk
then a granola bar around 11
then a sandwich and pretzels or something like that for lunch
then a protein shake with just water immediately after workout
then i eat dinner
Use real peanut butter and dairy milk (unless you have an allergy).
Switch to a protein bar (more calories) or some nuts (also high in calories).
Add a full-fat condiment to your sandwich.
Use milk or almond milk instead of water.
Eat a big, satisfying dinner.
Problem solved
This^^^ When I originally started losing weight I had this same problem. (Not anymore though haha, I just had to raise my calories haha) But it used to be really hard for me to get all the calories I needed because I felt like I was constantly eating! Therefore; I started eating the whole versions of foods and adding stuff to them!! Good luck!!
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Using your height, weight & age, I calculated your BMR (calories you would burn if you never got out of bed) to be 1608. Using the Harris Benedict method to calculate the number of calories you burn in a day (i did a conservative estimate of exercise 3-5x a week) and it says you burn 2500 calories a day. If you want to lose 1 lb a week, subtract 500 so you should be consuming closer to 2000 calories a day. I know this sounds crazy. Especially since you're doing something as strenuous as insanity (i'm doing p90x) you shouldn't let your net calories (food-exercise) get below 1600. Feel free to check out my diary if you want some ideas. I suggest having 5 or 6 smaller meals so you don't feel like you're stuffing yourself. There's like a million different ways to calculate your calorie needs. I like the calculators at bmi-calculator.net0
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I get a little over 1200 a day.. I go to the gym and burn 7 to 800 calories.. I make sure my 1200 a day is taken care of. If I ger hungry I will use some of what I burnt at the gym... Is this the correct thing to do??I never eat back what I burn at the gym0
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I get a little over 1200 a day.. I go to the gym and burn 7 to 800 calories.. I make sure my 1200 a day is taken care of. If I ger hungry I will use some of what I burnt at the gym... Is this the correct thing to do??I never eat back what I burn at the gym
Especially if you are set to only 1200 calories a day you should be eating your exercise calories back. 1200 is very low (too low for most people) as it is let alone not eating exercise calories back. Say you eat your 1200, exercise off 700 and don't eat any of them back you would only be netting 500 calories in the day. That is not nearly enough. You have to fuel your body! I would imagine 1200 is far too low of a goal anyways.
When you don't eat you exercise calories back you risk running to high of a deficit. Too high of a deficit can cause you to lose muscle along with fat and water. Definately not a good thing to have happen as lower muscle mass means a lower metabolism.
To the OP, try switching things out that are lower calories to higher calorie version if you are having trouble hitting your goal. Doing Insanity you should be eating more than 1300 odd calories anyways. Instead of a granola bar go for a protein bar. Granola bars don't have a lot of nutrition in them. Or switch that snack out to something else. By what you said you eat in a day try swapping some things out to get some more fruits and vegetables in your diet. By the sounds of it you really only eat veggies at dinner time. Try switching your granola bar to cut up veggies with a nice dip. Or apple slices and peanut butter. Switch to regular milk in your shake if you don't have any issues with regular milk. Add some healthy fats in. Instead of pretzels with lunch have a nice salad along with your sandwich with a olive oil type dressing. You can make a great dressing with some olive oil, mustard and a bit of honey if you like honey mustard (great thing for dipping chicken into as well!).0 -
Using your height, weight & age, I calculated your BMR (calories you would burn if you never got out of bed) to be 1608. Using the Harris Benedict method to calculate the number of calories you burn in a day (i did a conservative estimate of exercise 3-5x a week) and it says you burn 2500 calories a day. If you want to lose 1 lb a week, subtract 500 so you should be consuming closer to 2000 calories a day. I know this sounds crazy. Especially since you're doing something as strenuous as insanity (i'm doing p90x) you shouldn't let your net calories (food-exercise) get below 1600. Feel free to check out my diary if you want some ideas. I suggest having 5 or 6 smaller meals so you don't feel like you're stuffing yourself. There's like a million different ways to calculate your calorie needs. I like the calculators at bmi-calculator.net
^^^ Great advice! Far too often people use MFP's number which can be too low for most people. Eating more really does help with weight loss especially when you are doing a program like Insanity.0 -
877
Calories Remaining
Goal 1230
Food 1040
Exercise -687
= Net 353
the above it for today... so I should eat the 877 that is left or the net of 353
sorry to ask the same question I am new and need all the help I can get
thanks0 -
877
Calories Remaining
Goal 1230
Food 1040
Exercise -687
= Net 353
the above it for today... so I should eat the 877 that is left or the net of 353
sorry to ask the same question I am new and need all the help I can get
thanks
defintely eat the 877 but i definitely suggest calculating your calorie needs. just go to bmi-calculator.net and start off by calculating your BMR. they have really great explanations of what everything means.0 -
OK my first point in all this is always: How do people gain weight if they struggle to meet 1200-1500 a day now?
My second point, which I think we are all guilty of when we start a weight loss regime, is the fear of eating things such as avocado, cheese, nuts etc etc.
I did WW a couple of times and it's all about low-fat. When I cam to MFP I was surprised that I could have scrambled eggs fro breakfast everyday, avocado in a salad and nuts to snack on and still lose weight.
Yay!
Fuel your body and enjoy the food!0 -
877
Calories Remaining
Goal 1230
Food 1040
Exercise -687
= Net 353
the above it for today... so I should eat the 877 that is left or the net of 353
sorry to ask the same question I am new and need all the help I can get
thanks
Yes, you should eat those calories back. If you can't eat all your exercise calories back lessen the amount of cardio you do. Weight loss has a lot to do with diet... Having too large of a deficit is not a good thing and doesn't always lead to higher losses. The only time a large deficit is ok is when you have a lot of weight to lose (more than like 50-75lbs). When you run too high of a deficit you run the risk of losing muscle in addition to water weight and fat.0 -
1200 calories is gross input and as long as you eat this then no starvation messages
Today i ate 2300 calories but did 2900 of exercise leaving me 2000 beneath target.
Swings and roundabouts as on day of no exercise will go over target
Wait to see a correlation between target weight loss and actual weight loss before jamming every last calorie in.
Balance your calories over longer period than a day
Firm believer in getting it off before the willpower expires
Good luck
What type of exercise do you do to burn 2900 calories?0 -
1200 calories is gross input and as long as you eat this then no starvation messages
Today i ate 2300 calories but did 2900 of exercise leaving me 2000 beneath target.
Swings and roundabouts as on day of no exercise will go over target
Wait to see a correlation between target weight loss and actual weight loss before jamming every last calorie in.
Balance your calories over longer period than a day
Firm believer in getting it off before the willpower expires
Good luck
What type of exercise do you do to burn 2900 calories?
I second this. Being 200lbs at 5' 5" I have to go full speed on my elliptical for a hour to burn 550 max.
You would have to workout for hours a day to burn 2900 calories. I would guess that the amounts you have calculated are not correct.0 -
I had gastric bypass 7 years ago and I have picked back up 24 lbs.. that is why I have a struggle with the 1200 calories.
thanks for everyone help0 -
I had gastric bypass 7 years ago and I have picked back up 24 lbs.. that is why I have a struggle with the 1200 calories.
thanks for everyone help
If you can't actually eat more switch to higher calorie foods. Drink protein shakes (you can sip them throughout the day)... switch to full fat milk/cheese/other dairy products, use oil when cooking, snack on nuts throughout the day, take a spoon to the peanut butter jar if you need to.0
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