Should I be eating more calories????

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MissCreepyLovestruck
MissCreepyLovestruck Posts: 115 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
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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Replies

  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
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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.
  • MissCreepyLovestruck
    MissCreepyLovestruck Posts: 115 Member
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    I have been reaching my daily limit of 1,200. I never go into my exercise calories. Maybe I should start :/
  • Genesyn
    Genesyn Posts: 3 Member
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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 :(
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
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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.
  • MissCreepyLovestruck
    MissCreepyLovestruck Posts: 115 Member
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    Thanks for the help :)
  • apostle22
    apostle22 Posts: 13
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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.
  • Genesyn
    Genesyn Posts: 3 Member
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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.
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
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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.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,391 MFP Moderator
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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.
  • Umeboshi
    Umeboshi Posts: 1,637 Member
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    Eat your exercise calories.
  • bhurley1424
    bhurley1424 Posts: 927 Member
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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.
  • Dauntlessness
    Dauntlessness Posts: 1,489 Member
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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.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    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-7-2-12
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
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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!
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
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    Calculate your BMR and do not eat less calories than that.
  • Dauntlessness
    Dauntlessness Posts: 1,489 Member
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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 ;)
  • surromom2010
    surromom2010 Posts: 457 Member
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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!
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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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.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,391 MFP Moderator
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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 ;)

    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?
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
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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.
    I didn't say "fat loss"...

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