A little worried about my calorie intake

Yasmine91
Yasmine91 Posts: 599 Member
edited September 22 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, I hurt my leg and haven't been able to go to the gym for about 4 weeks now, I feel like absolute crap not going :(

I'm gonna wait one more week then start.

So because I haven't been excersising, my calorie intake can only be 1200. But sometimes I only manage 1800 or I go about 50 calories higher than 1200.

I'm worried about either going into starvation or not losing any weight.

What do you guys think?

Replies

  • leighshutter
    leighshutter Posts: 9 Member
    You are doing great! Don't let this bump in the road derail your whole plan. As soon as you can (SOON!) get back in there and give it all you got. Look forward not backwards!
  • jamie1888
    jamie1888 Posts: 1,704 Member
    If 1200 is the amount of calories that MFP calculated for you based on your activity level, etc., then you will be fine. Once you start exercising, the 1200 calories probably wouldn't be enough. But, since you are sedentary right now, I don't think you need to worry about starvation mode. Just make sure you are still eating nutritious foods for those 1200 calories.

    If you feel bad about not working out, can you get to a gym or do some upper body strength training? There are plenty of things that don't require you to use your legs. Otherwise, don't worry about it and get back on track when you can. It's important to heal properly!

    Hope your leg is better soon! :flowerforyou:
  • sairanasir
    sairanasir Posts: 54 Member
    Could someone out there help me and give me some answers please! my daily calorie intake should be 1320 and then i work out some and get some free extra calories - i want to lose anywhere between 15 to 20 calories - should i eat only my allocated calories and not consume the extras in order to lose the weight. ! really confused!!!:h thank you
  • CakeFit21
    CakeFit21 Posts: 2,521 Member
    Well, I think it's absolutely great that you are not going below 1200. I know lots of peeps would do that and send themselves into starvation for sure. You've already lost a good amount of weight and even if your metabolism has slowed, (a teeny tiny bit) by not working out, as soon as you get back it'll all be fine. I couldn't work out a couple of weeks ago and I kept my cals between 1200 and 1300 and didn't gain. Don't rush your injury though, make sure you are healed before you get back out there!
    Good luck!
  • gettingbetter50
    gettingbetter50 Posts: 4
    Yasmine91,
    As soon as you can get back to exercise. That is one of my keys to not feeling like crap. Your calorie intake sounds very reasonable. I believe that calories up and down do help your metabolism to burn better. Don't go too low though because your body is fighting to set a different rate. What helps me on this site is we all struggle with calorie intake. Too much time left in the day and no calories to eat. UGH :o(
  • cozzy530
    cozzy530 Posts: 46
    If you are only taking in 1200 Calories you are going to go into starvation mode and might even gain weight. You should find out what calories you need to take it to maintain your weight then cut out 200-250 calories. If you hurt your leg I would still do some upper body exercise, Push ups, light weights for the chest and arms, would help and burn some calories. I hurt my back at the beginning of the summer and had to stop all work out. I went right back to bad eating habits and put on 16 lbs that I had lost. I have been working out and dieting for seven weeks and have lost 8 of the 16 lbs. Try to find something to do so you don't lose all the gains you have made
  • jamie1888
    jamie1888 Posts: 1,704 Member
    Could someone out there help me and give me some answers please! my daily calorie intake should be 1320 and then i work out some and get some free extra calories - i want to lose anywhere between 15 to 20 calories - should i eat only my allocated calories and not consume the extras in order to lose the weight. ! really confused!!!:h thank you

    This is something you may need to figure out for yourself. It seems to be different for everyone. Some eat all of their exercise calories, some eat 1/2, some eat none, etc. You basically have to play with it and see what works for you. For the first couple of months, I didn't eat my exercise calories. I lost probably 10lbs and hit a plateau for a good 3 or 4 weeks. I started to eat back some of my exercise calories and started losing weight again.
  • Douniap
    Douniap Posts: 841
    Ok, I hurt my leg and haven't been able to go to the gym for about 4 weeks now, I feel like absolute crap not going :(

    I'm gonna wait one more week then start.

    So because I haven't been excersising, my calorie intake can only be 1200. But sometimes I only manage 1800 or I go about 50 calories higher than 1200.

    I'm worried about either going into starvation or not losing any weight.

    What do you guys think?
    Yasmine
    Based on the amount of weight that you want to loose per week and your current weight, age and activity level, you should be able to determine via MFP how many calories you need daily to achive that. It is not necessarily 1200 (that is a number that people get stuck on).
    so if your activity level has changed, then all you need to do is go back and change it and it will give you your new caloric intake.
    Meanwhile, get that leg looked at and when you are ready, then you can go back to exercising prior to injury and therefore, chnaging your caloric intake back.
    Hope this helps
    Cheers
    Dounia
  • Douniap
    Douniap Posts: 841
    Could someone out there help me and give me some answers please! my daily calorie intake should be 1320 and then i work out some and get some free extra calories - i want to lose anywhere between 15 to 20 calories - should i eat only my allocated calories and not consume the extras in order to lose the weight. ! really confused!!!:h thank you

    This is something you may need to figure out for yourself. It seems to be different for everyone. Some eat all of their exercise calories, some eat 1/2, some eat none, etc. You basically have to play with it and see what works for you. For the first couple of months, I didn't eat my exercise calories. I lost probably 10lbs and hit a plateau for a good 3 or 4 weeks. I started to eat back some of my exercise calories and started losing weight again.

    if your recommended caloric intake based on your profile is 1320 then that is your net calories that you need to consume. In other words, if you exercise then you are losing more calories from that 1320. if you do not eat them back, you are indeed crating a huge deficit and therefore putting your body at risk and slowing down your metabolism. As a physician, I always advice eating back between 85% to 95% of your exercise calories.
    Cheers
    Dounia
  • turbojanem
    turbojanem Posts: 285
    we all have bumps in our road. a month, have you seen your doctor to see what the issue is?
    make sure you do eat your 1200 calories. have you been losing with this intake during your month off from exercising? it can be done with diet alone, but exercise is much needed for a healthy lifestyle.
    cheering you on!
    Jane
  • Yasmine91
    Yasmine91 Posts: 599 Member
    Thanks everyone so much for the encouragement :)

    I hope to star gym on tuesday this week, hopefully. I'm just so impatient that's my problem.
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