how many stay under calorie intake....????

kalebsmama07
kalebsmama07 Posts: 503
edited September 20 in Health and Weight Loss
and see results compared to eatting the set amount of calories or over?

Replies

  • sonjavon
    sonjavon Posts: 1,019 Member
    I generally find that if I eat right AT my calorie goal or a hundred plus or minus I'll continue to see weight loss. As soon as I eat too far under my calorie goal (and for me too far is a couple hundred) - my weight loss stalls. Generally my body is more forgiving of the splurges where I eat a couple hundred MORE than my goal though... I can do that once or twice a week and still lose.
  • hill242
    hill242 Posts: 412 Member
    I generally find that if I eat right AT my calorie goal or a hundred plus or minus I'll continue to see weight loss. As soon as I eat too far under my calorie goal (and for me too far is a couple hundred) - my weight loss stalls. Generally my body is more forgiving of the splurges where I eat a couple hundred MORE than my goal though... I can do that once or twice a week and still lose.

    My experience is very much the same.
  • skygoddess86
    skygoddess86 Posts: 487 Member
    Yeh I am right with them. My problem is if I ride my bike alot or whatever the exercise calories are too much. I just can't eat that much.
  • mthomas25
    mthomas25 Posts: 24 Member
    Yeh I am right with them. My problem is if I ride my bike alot or whatever the exercise calories are too much. I just can't eat that much.

    I've wondered about this. If I have eaten enough calories to reach my daily goal for the day but then I have 500 exercise calories do I need to eat those in order to lose weight? Am I starving my body if I just ignore eating my exercise calories???? I would love an answer.
  • hill242
    hill242 Posts: 412 Member
    Yeh I am right with them. My problem is if I ride my bike alot or whatever the exercise calories are too much. I just can't eat that much.

    I've wondered about this. If I have eaten enough calories to reach my daily goal for the day but then I have 500 exercise calories do I need to eat those in order to lose weight? Am I starving my body if I just ignore eating my exercise calories???? I would love an answer.

    At the top of this forum are 4 "sticky" posts with lots of information about exercise calories. You should try to eat at least some of your exercise calories.

    It's hard, though, when you've been biking for 3-4 hours and have about 1500 exercise calories to work with. But we can't just eat our 1200 cals for the day and call it done -- our body needs to refuel after activities.
  • sonjavon
    sonjavon Posts: 1,019 Member
    Yeh I am right with them. My problem is if I ride my bike alot or whatever the exercise calories are too much. I just can't eat that much.

    I've wondered about this. If I have eaten enough calories to reach my daily goal for the day but then I have 500 exercise calories do I need to eat those in order to lose weight? Am I starving my body if I just ignore eating my exercise calories???? I would love an answer.

    There is actually a lot of information about Exercise Calories and whether or not to eat them on the message boards... read the Newbie threads that are "stuck" to the top. You SHOULD eat your exercise calories because MFP has already calculated a deficit for you and eating too far under that will slow your weight loss and will send you into "starvation mode" (which isn't starving your body but is your bodies reaction to THINKING that you're starving). Slower, steadier weight loss is the healthy way to go. That being said - I've had many days where I had extra workouts in and just couldn't eat all the extra calories... I don't think that it hurts to have those days every once in a while - but it's not something that you should aim for. I always try to eat back at least half of my exercise calories.
  • CMomma23
    CMomma23 Posts: 132 Member
    I generally find that if I eat right AT my calorie goal or a hundred plus or minus I'll continue to see weight loss. As soon as I eat too far under my calorie goal (and for me too far is a couple hundred) - my weight loss stalls. Generally my body is more forgiving of the splurges where I eat a couple hundred MORE than my goal though... I can do that once or twice a week and still lose.

    Ditto on that! My body is the same way... When we eat too little our bodies go into 'starvation' mode and everything we eat automatically goes to storage, aka fat... But eating the appropriate amount helps our metabolism stay up to burn what we intake.
  • angebean
    angebean Posts: 195 Member
    When I didn't realize that I needed to eat my exercise calories I wasn't losing weight. Then, I started to eat at least 1/2 of my exercise calories back and then the scale started to move for me.
  • SimonLondon
    SimonLondon Posts: 350
    I find it hard to eat mine for two reasons:

    1. I don't know how accurate the estimated calories is.
    2. It is hard for me to eat so many extra calories.

    For these reasons I try to eat some of them but never all of them. I know I should...I just can't :sick:
  • mthomas25
    mthomas25 Posts: 24 Member
    Yeh I am right with them. My problem is if I ride my bike alot or whatever the exercise calories are too much. I just can't eat that much.

    I've wondered about this. If I have eaten enough calories to reach my daily goal for the day but then I have 500 exercise calories do I need to eat those in order to lose weight? Am I starving my body if I just ignore eating my exercise calories???? I would love an answer.

    At the top of this forum are 4 "sticky" posts with lots of information about exercise calories. You should try to eat at least some of your exercise calories.

    It's hard, though, when you've been biking for 3-4 hours and have about 1500 exercise calories to work with. But we can't just eat our 1200 cals for the day and call it done -- our body needs to refuel after activities.

    I looked but I can't find the Stick post you talk about....
  • chandnikhondji
    chandnikhondji Posts: 136 Member
    I looked but I can't find the Stick post you talk about....

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
  • sonjavon
    sonjavon Posts: 1,019 Member
    I looked but I can't find the Stick post you talk about....

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    Thanks girl!
  • allykat8
    allykat8 Posts: 237
    I usually go anywhere from 200 under to 200 over on average.
  • mommyhof3
    mommyhof3 Posts: 551 Member
    I always eat my 1200 min and I try to eat most of my exercise calories. However, yesterday I golfed 18 holes, went hiking and did P90x. I burned just under 1900 calories and I could not even come close to eating all of them. I was so tired by the time I got home from golfing that I sat with my piece of pie and picked at it. I really tried but did not come close to eating all my calories. I didn't think one day would really affect me that badly so I just went to bed :smile:
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    I try to stay right under or right at 1200 when I don't exercise and when I do exercise, I'm usually at 1600-1800 calories and I've lost weight just fine.
  • smuehlbauer
    smuehlbauer Posts: 1,041 Member
    I just joined a week ago, but I was under all week, by 100-300 and I lost 3 lbs this week.
  • dansdeb
    dansdeb Posts: 164
    I joined a few weeks ago, did real good the first week, then didn't eat all my calories from working out. I gained two pounds! I find I do better if I eat at least 1/2 of my exercise calories. I try to leave only 100 on the board. Back at it now, lost those two pounds plus one more! wooo hoooo :bigsmile:
  • MissKaay
    MissKaay Posts: 25
    I eat about 300 under for the most part, and on a regular day burn 350 calories or so with my exercise. And yes, I still see results.
  • jennylynn84
    jennylynn84 Posts: 659
    On a good day I'm within 100 of my goal (which is 1330). On days where I don't work out, I'm typically a tad over - just cuz I'm hungry! lol. I actually went over last night having a snack (granola bar) because I found myself to be soooo hungry. And you have to figure - I'm set at a 1.5 lb a week loss. So that's a deficit of (if we agree on what has been said that 3500 calories is 1 lb) about 750 calories a day. So... 100 additional... not a disaster. Still a deficit for more than 1 lb a week. (Someone please correct me if my math is screwed up.) And if my body is really that hungry, I figure it knows!

    I try to stay just a tad under from eating all my exercise calories, because it's hard to know how accurate the estimates are. I try to eat at least half though. On days that I know I'm working out, I plan ahead and eat those calories throughout the day so I'm not caught off guard at 8 p.m. with an extra 600-700 calories to eat.

    Like many others, I have had days where I suddenly just by accident burned more than was necessary. I can run into a friend at the gym when my workout is over and end up starting all over again! Those days I definitely don't hit my calorie goal. But I figure one day every now and then coming in a few hundred under is okay, as long as its not a habit.
  • ashleybryant82
    ashleybryant82 Posts: 1 Member
    I burn approx. 375-450 cals w/exercise everyday. The problem is I only intake 800 cals max a day; problem, my body does not release the fat because it's in starvation mode. Muscle weighs for than fat and you need to fuel your muscles with protein, not sugar or fatty foods.

    Remember it takes a negative of 3500 calories to drop one pound.
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