Too FEW calories?
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Goldenwoof
Posts: 535 Member
Hiya,
On a typical, day, I eat a good bit below the 1,590 calories that are suggested to me by the site. Even on day where I burn a lotta calories with cardio, I find myself below that number (needless to say, I'm not eating back my exercise calories on those days, either).
What could be the negative side of this? I don't feel like making myself eat more, because on those days, I'm truly not hungry. The stuff I eat is more than enough to keep me satisfied throughout the day.
My diary is open, so please feel free to take a look. I only started logging again this past Monday, so there are only three recent days to see.
Thanks!
On a typical, day, I eat a good bit below the 1,590 calories that are suggested to me by the site. Even on day where I burn a lotta calories with cardio, I find myself below that number (needless to say, I'm not eating back my exercise calories on those days, either).
What could be the negative side of this? I don't feel like making myself eat more, because on those days, I'm truly not hungry. The stuff I eat is more than enough to keep me satisfied throughout the day.
My diary is open, so please feel free to take a look. I only started logging again this past Monday, so there are only three recent days to see.
Thanks!
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Replies
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I do the same thing,0
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Diary is not open.
You should eat back your exercise calories. You'll lose weight at first by not doing that but it'll stop, because your not giving your body enough fuel. You think you are but here's the break down.
Say you eat 1,590 but you burn 600 calories working out...That leaves you with 990 calories netted. Your body needs 1200 to continue to function properly. Even with eating those calories back, you're still at a deficit.0 -
Negatives
1) not enough fuel to sustain you long term
2) certain weight gain once you reach your goal
3) loss of lean body mass leading to higher body fat % despite lower weight
4) confusing hunger and energy needs
5) lowering testosterone levels
6) reaching plateau sooner
Your body's hunger hormones, leptin and ghrelin, take time to adjust to a new intake level. "Feeling hungry" is not a good indicator of whether your body actually needs food or not-- that's how most of us got here in the first place.
Use this calculator to find your TDEE and subtract 20% from that in order to lose weight and also adequately fuel your workouts. You may feel like you are stuffing yourself at first, but your hunger will adjust to match your intake within a week. You should be eating as much as you can while still losing weight.
http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/
Most men need at least 2000 NET calories a day to lose weight.0 -
low test0
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The biggest risk, in the short term, with too big of a deficit is that you may simply lack the fuel to work out at the intensity or the duration that you want.
Longer term......read this http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2535933/0 -
Hiya,
On a typical, day, I eat a good bit below the 1,590 calories that are suggested to me by the site. Even on day where I burn a lotta calories with cardio, I find myself below that number (needless to say, I'm not eating back my exercise calories on those days, either).
What could be the negative side of this? I don't feel like making myself eat more, because on those days, I'm truly not hungry. The stuff I eat is more than enough to keep me satisfied throughout the day.
My diary is open, so please feel free to take a look. I only started logging again this past Monday, so there are only three recent days to see.
Thanks!
Loss of LBM (lean body mass, or muscle), which in turn can lead to a higher body fat % at a lower BMI--this can lead to its own health problems, let alone body composition many would find unattractive. Altering hormones can lead to poor body function, both at losing weight and just maintaining good brain and body health--this, plus lowered LBM, can result in everyone's favorite: "starvation mode." At a prolonged period, one can lose organ tissue--heart and brain is often the first to be shed, than other organs. Depending on macros, hair can fall out or thin... but a layer of hair can form elsewhere (I believe it's called lanugo, like "baby" hair... but I'm blanking on its exact name). Nails and skin can become dry, brittle, etc. Mood can and will change. TIredness. Sleep problems. Cloudy thinking. Often, all of this will come on gradually with chronic undereating, so you might not be aware it's happening until you pass out, or someone comments on your crabbiness.
Overall, the negative side-effects from chronic undereating (particularly with heavy, consistent exercise) can lead to poor quality of life, or premature death.0 -
Sorry, all. It was "Friends Only." It's now Public.0
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It's really, really easy to add in calorie-dense foods to meet your goals. I eat a lot of nuts, which can take a big chunk out of that deficit. They're so healthy for you. Avocado is another one. You're getting nutrient-dense foods in addition to them being calorie dense and rich in healthy fats.0
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So, from what I'm reading so far, I should be FORCING myself to eat, even if I'm not the least bit hungry? If that's the case, then that's the case, but it just doesn't seem to make a whole lotta sense (not to mention sounding awfully uncomfortable).0
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So, from what I'm reading so far, I should be FORCING myself to eat, even if I'm not the least bit hungry? If that's the case, then that's the case, but it just doesn't seem to make a whole lotta sense (not to mention sounding awfully uncomfortable).
Yes, that is the case. You will probably feel uncomfortable at first, but your sense of hunger adjusts with your intake and as you eat more, it will increase.
If you increase your calores by 200 per week until you reach your goal, you should be able to make the transition without feeling too uncomfortable.
ETA: it doesn't make sense because you don't understand that your hunger hormones adjust with your intake. When you eat less, your body adjusts to eating less. That's how you get anorexics eating 500 calories a day and saying they don't feel hungry. I'm not saying you're anorexic, just that the hormones are producing the same function.
If you "force" yourself to eat more over a week or so, your body will adjust its sense of hunger accordingly and you will be hungry for he right number of calories.0 -
So, from what I'm reading so far, I should be FORCING myself to eat, even if I'm not the least bit hungry? If that's the case, then that's the case, but it just doesn't seem to make a whole lotta sense (not to mention sounding awfully uncomfortable).
Not necessarily. Just be smart about including more energy dense foods. For example, I noticed fruit smoothies with yogurt. Replace the yogurt you currently use with Greek yogurt that has fat to it(my favorite has 9% MF and it is so, so delicious).
Also, omelettes with egg beaters. Why not use the whole egg? You miss out on valuable nutrients by removing the yolk, as well as a significant number of calories.
Experience: My fiance is quite thin and doesn't have a huge appetite for his calorie needs, so I got good at making his food more energy-dense this way.0 -
So, from what I'm reading so far, I should be FORCING myself to eat, even if I'm not the least bit hungry? If that's the case, then that's the case, but it just doesn't seem to make a whole lotta sense (not to mention sounding awfully uncomfortable).
I'm wondering why you find it so hard to eat? You're eating way too little. I think you need to seek some professional medical help.0 -
So, from what I'm reading so far, I should be FORCING myself to eat, even if I'm not the least bit hungry? If that's the case, then that's the case, but it just doesn't seem to make a whole lotta sense (not to mention sounding awfully uncomfortable).
If you're eating that low... yes. Hormones are the primary component for hunger. After a prolonged period of overeating, people can feel legitimately hungry for more, even when there body doesn't necessarily need it.
The opposite happens, too. If you've been at this awhile, you're not feeling hungry because your body is becoming accustomed to undereating for so long.
If you gradually add more to eat, your appetite will go with it.
You, as a man, let alone a man exercising frequently, can lose weight at a much higher amount of calories than you're eating (in regards to your "eating more doesn't make sense"). You do not ALWAYS have to force yourself to eat past the point of discomfort... however, due to your consistent undereating, that discomfort is less of a true measure of your body's satisfaction, and more of a hormonal acclimation to not getting enough.0 -
So, from what I'm reading so far, I should be FORCING myself to eat, even if I'm not the least bit hungry? If that's the case, then that's the case, but it just doesn't seem to make a whole lotta sense (not to mention sounding awfully uncomfortable).
It's easy get a spoon and some peanut butter.
Or on days you know you're going to work out, spread it out and add the calories to each meal.0 -
I am a little confused by this. I understand the calorie portion on WHY eating less good calories is bad, but the alternate calorie calculator is COMPLETELY different than MyFitnessPal (http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ ) It shows me LESS calories to be eaten than MFP, but my friend I am working out with, the calculator shows MORE calories than MFP. Is this because the other one is more accurate or should we just try to stay within the balance of the two?0
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So, from what I'm reading so far, I should be FORCING myself to eat, even if I'm not the least bit hungry? If that's the case, then that's the case, but it just doesn't seem to make a whole lotta sense (not to mention sounding awfully uncomfortable).
It's easy get a spoon and some peanut butter.
Or on days you know you're going to work out, spread it out and add the calories to each meal.
This too, peanut butter is easy calories.0 -
I find myself doing the same thing. If I exercise quite a bit, say I burn 900 calories which is pretty typical for me, I just don't feel hungry at all and end up feeling sick if I try to force myself to eat. So instead I end up eating way below my calorie intake and most of the time not eating back my calories burned either. Which doesn't do me well for workouts the next morning!0
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How are calculating your workout burns OP? are you using MFP's calculator or a HRM, or a machine?0
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What could be the negative side of this?
Muscle loss. You want to preserve muscle because it is more metabolically active and burns more calories than fat. And you don't want to still be unhappy with how you look at goal weight because you burned up too much muscle.
How many pounds per week did you tell MFP you want to lose? You should set it to 1 pound a week according to your ticker goal of only needing to lose 20 pounds, and then change to half a pound as you get closer to goal. And yes, eat your exercise calories.0
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