Left over calories

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DELLYO13
DELLYO13 Posts: 11
in Food and Nutrition
I'm on day 4 and I'm finding I have left over calories one day I had 500 left and yesterday I have 300 left ... Do I need to eat them all ? What happens if I don't

Replies

  • vorgas
    vorgas Posts: 741 Member
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    You will lose weight faster if you don't eat them back.

    But listen to your body. If you find yourself feeling sluggish, having a hard time concentrating, experiencing hair loss, irratibility, mood swings, depression, etc then eat them back.
  • tjsoccermom
    tjsoccermom Posts: 500 Member
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    What's your calorie goal? Are they leftover from exercise? You don't want to have too few calories each week as that can slow down your progress.
  • DELLYO13
    DELLYO13 Posts: 11
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    My goal is 1200

    Thursday

    Goal - 1200
    Food - 1126
    Exercise - 432
    Cals remaining - 506


    Friday

    Goal - 1200
    Food - 882
    Exercise - 0
    Cals remaining - 318

    Weighed my self this morning I'm down 3lb in 3 days
  • juliadijk
    juliadijk Posts: 20 Member
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    Eat them! You are not eating enough....your body needs those calories. Sure, you will lose some pounds superfast, but in the long run, you are setting yourself up for failure as your body goes into starvation mode.
  • tjsoccermom
    tjsoccermom Posts: 500 Member
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    Definitely eat them. In my personal opinion, 1200 is too low anyway. you might lose now but as time goes on you'll find it harder to lose. I would calculate your TDEE and find what that is then base your goals off that. But if you continue to eat so little, you'll end up feeling sluggish and have trouble losing. This is a place to calculate your TDEE http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • 81Katz
    81Katz Posts: 7,074 Member
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    If you're hungry you should eat them. The point of MFP isn't to eat as little as possible. The point is to MEET your goals, not purposely be under them.

    Now if you're genuinely not hungry, don't force yourself to eat. Sometimes I might have some calories hanging around but I am not hungry, it might be because I ate a certain meal later or it was larger so I am not hungry more for later. Sometimes it might have been a busy day/workout and I'm just ready to call it a night.

    That's my 2 cents.

    Missing some of the calories HERE and THERE for legit reasons isn't a huge deal. It's a problem if that's your intention however. You'll hurt yourself in the long run.
  • DELLYO13
    DELLYO13 Posts: 11
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    Thank you , I didn't do it on purpose Lol .. Ill eat all 1200 now :) I'm very happy to eat more thats what my problem is , I think it just takes awhile to get used to it I have never cal counted before and with a 6 week old baby it's hard to fit it all in to my day I am loving mpf :)
  • juliadijk
    juliadijk Posts: 20 Member
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    If you don't mind my asking, do you breastfeed? Because then you are definitely WAY too low on your calories.

    Take a look at this: http://kellymom.com/nutrition/mothers-diet/mom-calories-fluids/

    It recommends 1800-2200 calories a day and eating 1500-1800 calories a day will probably diminish milk supply. It also contains a link about if dieting is possible while breastfeeding. Hope this info helps.
  • DELLYO13
    DELLYO13 Posts: 11
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    No I'm not feeding myself we're formula , thank you tho
  • juliadijk
    juliadijk Posts: 20 Member
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    Congratulations on the baby by the way :)
  • Fiona_Cami89
    Fiona_Cami89 Posts: 42 Member
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    I know it's difficult, especially if you exercise, but try to eat 1,200 in food at least because you don't want to risk your metabolism slowing down! Keep going, well done :)
  • Ophidion
    Ophidion Posts: 2,065 Member
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    Also are you eating only 1200cals or netting 1200cals...as in are you eating back any of your exercise calories?

    Some great links for you...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1069278-acronyms-and-terms-for-new-mfp-members-v-6

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

    Most probably the most helpful group on mfp (just be sure to read stickies)...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress
  • TwoPointZero
    TwoPointZero Posts: 187 Member
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    Well, I can tell you what happened to me when I left more than maybe 10-15% of my cals on the table . . .

    At first, I was loosing weigh pretty quick (6 ft 1 in, started at 270 lb), but after maybe 7-10 days, I started getting super cranky, and got some brutal headaches. Once I got my calories up to the goal, I felt _much_ better, and it slowed my loss down to around 1 pound per week, which is just about what I expect. I would definitely think that you would not want to skip 200-400 cals, when your goal is 1200 . . .

    Good luck!
  • helenphilp36
    helenphilp36 Posts: 3 Member
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    i try to eat all my 1200 calores sometimes im over but not by much
    iv been layed up sick with a bad back so havent been able to do any exercise so im hoping that i still lose this week or even stay the same
    if anyone has got any advise that would be great
    many thanks
    Helen xx
  • Ophidion
    Ophidion Posts: 2,065 Member
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    i try to eat all my 1200 calores sometimes im over but not by much
    iv been layed up sick with a bad back so havent been able to do any exercise so im hoping that i still lose this week or even stay the same
    if anyone has got any advise that would be great
    many thanks
    Helen xx
    MFP does a terrible job of setting up your macros and if you are laid up because of injury/illness you really have to watch your protein intake to maintain lean body mass.

    How to set up your macros properly...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
  • Ophidion
    Ophidion Posts: 2,065 Member
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    My goal is 1200

    Thursday

    Goal - 1200
    Food - 1126
    Exercise - 432
    Cals remaining - 506


    Friday

    Goal - 1200
    Food - 882
    Exercise - 0
    Cals remaining - 318

    Weighed my self this morning I'm down 3lb in 3 days
    Even without knowing your height I can safely assume you are eating far to little unless you are A. In a coma B. A card carrying member of the lollipop guild.

    This is neither healthy nor sustainable.

    Please refer to those links I posted eat all your allocated cals and at least 1/2 to 2/3 of your exercise cals.

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