I'm stuck! Should I be eating all of these calories?

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Mrsthowell
Mrsthowell Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been dieting and exercising since January. I have lost about 40 pounds (still have a long way to go). I work out six times a week for 70 minutes of cardio and do some weight training (in the gym an hour and a half each day). For the last couple of weeks I can't seem to lose a single pound. I never eat all the calories MFP says I must. I get 2040 per day and eat about 1900 but with the exercise it says I should be eating almost 3000 to 3500 a day. I can not wrap my head around eating so much when I'm trying to get the pounds off. I drink lots of water and try to stay active. With the weight not coming off, I get very discouraged. Should I really be eating all these calories? How can I make the pounds come off again?

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  • chymerra
    chymerra Posts: 212
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    honestly, i never eat back my calories and i've been ok.

    these numbers are for references purposes only and really a way to help you NOT go over your caloric target. if you are eating under your target and are satiated and your body is fueled, i would listen to your body as well.

    however, 2040cals/day seems pretty high. MFP is known to either over or under calculate. i did my numbers on my own and came up to approx 1600 (when i first started tracking my food) where as MFP only gave me 1200 and i was constantly STARVING and gaining weight instead of losing! when i added back the missing 400 cals, i started losing weight again and stopped feeling hungry.

    have you tried doing your own numbers and compare them to what MFP gives?
  • newme2105
    newme2105 Posts: 89 Member
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    if you look at the biggest loser diet as an example - I am very overweight - and they would let me eat nearly 3000 calories a day if I was exercising regularly. Sometimes it really is that you are not eating enough...
  • bethany41h
    bethany41h Posts: 218
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    I don't eat back my workout calories but there is a lot of controversy about that surrounding these boards. But right now its working for me and I don't feel hungry. You could always give it a try and see what works best for you!

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