Should I be eating more calories????
MissCreepyLovestruck
Posts: 115 Member
I have been eating 1,200 calories for the past 4 months or so, but I was also inactive for the most part. I recently joined a gym and have been doing an hour of cardio, and an hour of strength training every morning. I was trying to continue eating 1,200 calories on this regimen, but I have lost very little weight. I was talking to a gentleman at the gym about my problem, and he informed me that I should be eating more calories, and protein. What do you all think?
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Are you netting 1200 calories or just eating your daily limit and not touching your exercise calories?
With an hour of cardio and an hour of strength every morning you need to be eating a lot more than 1200 calories.0 -
I have been reaching my daily limit of 1,200. I never go into my exercise calories. Maybe I should start
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I've been doing the same, eating my 1200 or so, plus usually an hour either on the treadmill in the morning or the exercise bike, then another 40 minutes or so on the exercise bike in the evening. If I don't eat OVER my 1200, would that cause a plateau? I've been stuck in the same spot since last saturday
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I've been doing the same, eating my 1200 or so, plus usually an hour either on the treadmill in the morning or the exercise bike, then another 40 minutes or so on the exercise bike in the evening. If I don't eat OVER my 1200, would that cause a plateau? I've been stuck in the same spot since last saturday
As a male you need a lot more than 1200 calories... a lot more. You are setting yourself up for failure and muscle loss. Too low of an intake will cause you to lose much more muscle than you would with a proper deficit.
To the OP (and Genesyn), find out what your BMR and TDEE is. Eat somewhere between that. Eating too little is going to cause muscle loss.0 -
Thanks for the help
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I've been doing the same, eating my 1200 or so, plus usually an hour either on the treadmill in the morning or the exercise bike, then another 40 minutes or so on the exercise bike in the evening. If I don't eat OVER my 1200, would that cause a plateau? I've been stuck in the same spot since last saturday
Thats what I was doing. Took me a long time to drop 30 pounds and i am still 25 pounds overweight but i'm stuck dead in my tracks at 175. I cant seem to drop passed that number no matter what.
I went on vacation in october and stopped the diets/workout until January. I gained 7 pounds during that time and once i started up again, i dropped 5 pounds the first week. I have since lost 1 pound the following 3 weeks after. Once again, stuck at 175. I'm going to try upping my calories to about 2000 and see what happens. All i know is eating 1200-1500 calories isnt working.0 -
Thanks for the tips, I'll up it back up some then. I just let MFP do the math and set it for 2 pounds of loss per week, but I did set that before I was doing exercise every day.0
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Thanks for the tips, I'll up it back up some then. I just let MFP do the math and set it for 2 pounds of loss per week, but I did set that before I was doing exercise every day.
According to your ticker you only have about 30lbs left to lose. Best bet would be to aim for 1lb per week.
Are you sure you have all your settings correct? It shouldn't default you to 1200 calories if you do since you are a male.0 -
First, you should never go to the gym every day. You do need a rest day. When you exercise, you break down the muscle and when you rest you repair the muscle. You get your gains when you repair the muscle. I would also suggest switching your routine.. 3 days of weight training and 3 of cardio. Doing both every day will just lead to over training.
To answer the original question, yes you should eat back exercise calories or my preferred method is to include them in your lifestyle and set your account to moderate. This way you do NOT need to eat them back.0 -
Eat your exercise calories.0
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The same thing was happening to me. After some reading and asking freinds I decided to increase my calories. I now eat between 1300-1400 and sometimes more depending on workouts etc. I've been doing this for a few weeks and have started losing weight again.0
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I don't even know how many times I've said this but here is goes again hahaha
Okay its really simple actually.
*Find out what your BMR is. I think my TDEE is way too high so I go with the BMR for myself
*Use that as your daily calorie goal
*Create a deficit from that through exercise or eating less
On the mfp app you can count how many extra calories you have at the end of the week. It will be "In the green". That way you can calculated how much weight you should have lost.
A calorie is never just a calorie but the general rule is a pound of fat = 3500 calories. That means you need a deficit of -3500 calories to lose a pound. That means -500 a day through eating less or exercise should give you these results.
A side note: If your eating junk, that can really have an impact on weight loss even if your eating only 1200 calories. Another thing people tend to do is not measure their food, count their calories wrong and/or they forget to count drinks. Make sure your really tedious when it comes to your food intake.0 -
A lot of days you aren't even eating 1200. At your age and size, I would bet money that you would have more long-term success with a much higher goal. I'm nearly twice your age and losing slow and steady with a 300ish calorie deficit, an average of 2200 a day.
After reading the thread below, I went to 1700 calories, then after logging for several months, I calculated my TDEE at 2500 calories.
Check it out.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-120 -
If what you're doing isn't working...then yes...trying something different can't hurt.
I see you eat restaurant foods and processed food a lot too....try setting your diary to track sodium. That can really hinder your loss and there's TONS of it in the foods you're eating!1 -
Calculate your BMR and do not eat less calories than that.0
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First, you should never go to the gym every day. You do need a rest day. When you exercise, you break down the muscle and when you rest you repair the muscle. You get your gains when you repair the muscle. I would also suggest switching your routine.. 3 days of weight training and 3 of cardio. Doing both every day will just lead to over training.
To answer the original question, yes you should eat back exercise calories or my preferred method is to include them in your lifestyle and set your account to moderate. This way you do NOT need to eat them back.
I got to the gym 6 days a week, 2 workouts on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I am just fine Most of my friends work out every day too. Exercising almost every day has been a HUGE part of my weight loss and muscle building. To each their own 
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I was stuck at 122.4ish for a couple months, bumped it up to 1600-1700 in the last 4 days, first I went up 1lb, then I dropped .5lb more than the 122 I was stuck at down to 121.6. All in one week! Eating more works kids!0
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If what you're doing isn't working...then yes...trying something different can't hurt.
I see you eat restaurant foods and processed food a lot too....try setting your diary to track sodium. That can really hinder your loss and there's TONS of it in the foods you're eating!
Too much sodium can cause water retention, but it can't hinder fat loss so long as you are in a moderate calorie deficit.0 -
First, you should never go to the gym every day. You do need a rest day. When you exercise, you break down the muscle and when you rest you repair the muscle. You get your gains when you repair the muscle. I would also suggest switching your routine.. 3 days of weight training and 3 of cardio. Doing both every day will just lead to over training.
To answer the original question, yes you should eat back exercise calories or my preferred method is to include them in your lifestyle and set your account to moderate. This way you do NOT need to eat them back.
I got to the gym 6 days a week, 2 workouts on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I am just fine Most of my friends work out every day too. Exercising almost every day has been a HUGE part of my weight loss and muscle building. To each their own
Going to the gym 6 days a week is not going every day. A person can workout six days a week as long as they aren't working the same muscles. I work out six days a week but never work the same muscle groups back to back. And there is NO benefit of workout out twice a day unless you just like it or want to eat more, which I am all for.
And by build muscle, I assume you mean build strength, not actually building new lean body mass?0 -
I didn't say "fat loss"...If what you're doing isn't working...then yes...trying something different can't hurt.
I see you eat restaurant foods and processed food a lot too....try setting your diary to track sodium. That can really hinder your loss and there's TONS of it in the foods you're eating!
Too much sodium can cause water retention, but it can't hinder fat loss so long as you are in a moderate calorie deficit.0 -
I didn't say "fat loss"...If what you're doing isn't working...then yes...trying something different can't hurt.
I see you eat restaurant foods and processed food a lot too....try setting your diary to track sodium. That can really hinder your loss and there's TONS of it in the foods you're eating!
Too much sodium can cause water retention, but it can't hinder fat loss so long as you are in a moderate calorie deficit.
Maybe it's just easier to say it will "mask" weight loss. Either way I think we all understand what you meant.0 -
I didn't say "fat loss"...If what you're doing isn't working...then yes...trying something different can't hurt.
I see you eat restaurant foods and processed food a lot too....try setting your diary to track sodium. That can really hinder your loss and there's TONS of it in the foods you're eating!
Too much sodium can cause water retention, but it can't hinder fat loss so long as you are in a moderate calorie deficit.
Maybe it's just easier to say it will "mask" weight loss. Either way I think we all understand what you meant.
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I didn't say "fat loss"...If what you're doing isn't working...then yes...trying something different can't hurt.
I see you eat restaurant foods and processed food a lot too....try setting your diary to track sodium. That can really hinder your loss and there's TONS of it in the foods you're eating!
Too much sodium can cause water retention, but it can't hinder fat loss so long as you are in a moderate calorie deficit.
True, but it seems rather silly to try to lose weight that isn't fat.0 -
I didn't say "fat loss"...If what you're doing isn't working...then yes...trying something different can't hurt.
I see you eat restaurant foods and processed food a lot too....try setting your diary to track sodium. That can really hinder your loss and there's TONS of it in the foods you're eating!
Too much sodium can cause water retention, but it can't hinder fat loss so long as you are in a moderate calorie deficit.
Maybe it's just easier to say it will "mask" weight loss. Either way I think we all understand what you meant.
Believe it or not, this actually doesn't apply to everyone. In fact, my wife has to eat more salt than the average person due to her medical condition.0 -
^^^^^^^^Eat your exercise calories.
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There are a lot of good threads on this site to help you set calorie goals aligned to you but overall I agree that you need to increase your calorie intake to lose weight.
I work with a trainer 4X per week and that was one thing we identified with my diet. I now eat at around 1700 - 2000 calories and I am now consistently losing weight.0 -
YES!!! If you are doing 2 hours of exercise especially weight training for an hour I would say at the very least 1500-1700 cals. 1200 calories is nothing. I noticed when I started to eat more I started to lose. Good luck to you!! 0
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Calculate your BMR and do not eat less calories than that.
YEP! What this young lady says is correct. Calculate your BMR and don't net less than that..for long term success.....unless you are morbidly overweight (there are some exceptions). Take measurements and BF%. You'll probably feel like your eating more than you ever have in the past....especially if your eating only healthy foods.
In conclusion, Find your BMR, eat that....then if you workout that day...eat those calories you burned from the workout too.
Like 1% of the entire population in the world should have a 1200 calorie plan....so if your on a true 1200 calorie plan...your very special.0 -
It depends on WHAT you are eating. If you're eating mostly vegetables, you probably won't need to eat more than 1200. Trust your body to tell you what it needs. There's an amazing book called 'Eat to Live' that has changed my life. He will tell you not to count calories, just to follow his food recommendations (mostly dark green veggies, nothing processed, etc). Hunger as we know it tends to actually be gases composting off the food we eat. So, if we eat a lot of toxins, we get more gas & therefore, more feelings of hunger. Also, if our bodies are lacking some nutrient, we will get the signal that we are hungry because our bodies are trying to get that nutrient. Therefore, if we are eating nutrient-rich foods, we will be less hungry. I hope this helps. Another great book is 'Plant-Based Diet.' I've lost 15 lbs in a month without exercise just by increasing my veggies & taking doTERRA slim & sassy essential oil drops in my water & drinking as much water as I can. I read that we need to take our weight in pounds, divide in half, and drink that in ounces of water each day. So a person weighing 128 lbs would need 64 ozs of water each day. Of course, we can get water in some foods, so consider that as well. Best of luck & health to you! 0
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*Find out what your BMR is. I think my TDEE is way too high so I go with the BMR for myself
*Use that as your daily calorie goal
*Create a deficit from that through exercise or eating less
So your advice is to determine how many calories she'd need just to maintain her bodily functions if she were in a coma and than create a deficit from that?0
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