What to do when there are excessive amount of calories left

petithamu
petithamu Posts: 582 Member
edited September 22 in Food and Nutrition
Oops...that's kind of the question in the subject right there, isn't it..?

I have been really good at logging my exercises and my food. I've been doing the 30 Day Shred and I'm on Day 9. I started to mix in with some light cardio in the gym to strengthen my knee and ease my sciatica. And I tend to walk around town instead of taking the bus. In result, I end up with a lot of remaining calories! I eat healthily, I make most of my food from scratch so I have a good recipe database that tells me the calories per serving. I snack, I eat breakfast and lunch and after logging in all the exercises, I still have 1000+ calories remain for the day! I know I can't eat 1000 + and I always have a good size dinner as well...so I often go under my calories goal which I take is a good thing.

What I'm worried about is I'm doing it all wrong...I'm not starving myself, I just work out and I'm not a work out fanatic either...so there's no way I'm overexerting myself...it's just when I see I have so much extra calories, I'm worried...I don't want to mess my metabolism and of course, I want to keep losing weight and lose it the right way...

Anyway, I just wanted to know if I can get some confirmation that what I'm doing and eating are all okay and I am on the right track. My food diary is open so feel free to take a look.

My thinking is, it's not every day I have such excessive calories, just a few days out of the week and I'm thinking it balances out with the days when I go over the calories a little bit...sounds about right?

Thanks! Hope that wasn't too confusing!

Tiffany

Replies

  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
    You definitely want your Net calories to be at least 1200/day. Once upon a time when I dieted I had to work to get minimum calories and just kept protein shake mix on hand. A little bit of mix plus milk and some fruit could easily add 300 cals to my day without making me feel like I was overstuffed.
  • honeybee709
    honeybee709 Posts: 40 Member
    I'm definitely not perfect at this either. Some days I have tons left over and some days I eat too much. I think the key is to have that balance somewhere. It keeps your body guessing. You could always add an extra snack on the days you burn quite a bit at the gym. It's best to get some type of protein within 30-60 min after working out. It helps your muscles recover and build. I hope you get some good advice from everyone!
  • lillmssy
    lillmssy Posts: 67
    I have had a extra 1000 the last few days myself. Good question. I hope someone answers :) What is a 30 day shed??
    Annmarie
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I snack, I eat breakfast and lunch and after logging in all the exercises, I still have 1000+ calories remain for the day! I know I can't eat 1000 + and I always have a good size dinner as well...so I often go under my calories goal which I take is a good thing.

    Not a good thing. MFP already gives you a caloric deficit depending on your goal (0.5-2 lbs per week) If you are set at 2 lbs per week you definitely don't want to go under the calories set by MFP, if you are set at 0.5 you deficit is small so going under would be fine. you want to be within 100 cals of your goal (over or under)

    How are you calculating calories burned through exercise? If you are not using a HRM I would only eat back half your calories anyway, to ensure you are not over estimating the caloric burn.

    In order to get more cals you don't have to eat more food. just eat more calorie dense food such as full fat versions of "diet" food, switch to 2% milk from skim, eat regular mayo vs lite (as well as other condiments and salad dressings). Add olive oil to soups and sauces. there options won't fill you up anymore than lighter foods but will add hundreds of calories to your day.
  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
    I agree, a protein shake would do wonders for you, especially with all your exercising!
  • trent_sluiter
    trent_sluiter Posts: 27
    I wouldn't worry at all, just eat as much excercise calories as you can but trust your body and listen to it. If you feel fine then you are fine.

    After a while your body will adapt to the excercise by raising the metabolic rate and that's when you will start to need more food to stay nourished. But your body will tell you that when it happens.

    Keep up the good work!
  • JakeN3A
    JakeN3A Posts: 1
    I do the same thing and I find that my body starts to pay for it as the week goes on. I tend to bank calories for any excesses over the weekend. I have been doing this for 3 months now and reached one plateau where I was calorie difficient but not losing weight. I went back to better prepared meals and a few more treats during the recent holidays and found that I had lost additional weight during the holiday. I am now back to caloric difficiency a little and all seems well.
    Bottom line, I think your body will tell you if you are under nourishing. Test it by working out after an excessive food day (out to dinner or bigger family meal type thing). If you feel great during your workout then you are probably not getting enough nourishment on those days when you are meticulous about watching your intake.
    My $.02
  • kuteinfaync
    kuteinfaync Posts: 33
    Your right!!! I think it slow down how much weight I was loosing! I was doing good then when I weighed myself I couldn't understand why I hadn't lost anything when I was eating way less. I started eating more than what I was and the right amount of cals and now i'm back on track.
    I snack, I eat breakfast and lunch and after logging in all the exercises, I still have 1000+ calories remain for the day! I know I can't eat 1000 + and I always have a good size dinner as well...so I often go under my calories goal which I take is a good thing.

    Not a good thing. MFP already gives you a caloric deficit depending on your goal (0.5-2 lbs per week) If you are set at 2 lbs per week you definitely don't want to go under the calories set by MFP, if you are set at 0.5 you deficit is small so going under would be fine. you want to be within 100 cals of your goal (over or under)

    How are you calculating calories burned through exercise? If you are not using a HRM I would only eat back half your calories anyway, to ensure you are not over estimating the caloric burn.
  • sallyLunn
    sallyLunn Posts: 381
    I usually have a glass of wine at that point.
  • petithamu
    petithamu Posts: 582 Member
    I agree on the listing to my body part. Few days ago when I had excessive calories, I was worried so I didn't eat after 6pm. I woke up at 4am with hunger pang...yesterday, I made sure I ate a teaspoon of peanut butter few hours before and drank more water, I slept through fine! I think when I feel I'm hungry, I will eat small meals..so far I've eaten like 6 times today!

    I don't want to call this 'dieting' but life changing as everyone says it should be so I don't do anything low fat. I use full mayo, I use salt, I eat carbs, etc. I can't have milk and cheese cuz they make me break out in rashes so can't really add calories that way...

    I will find a way to eat my calories! God I hope this works!! So far, I'm loving my new lifestyle!

    Thanks for the advice, guys!
  • petithamu
    petithamu Posts: 582 Member
    I agree, a protein shake would do wonders for you, especially with all your exercising!

    I can't drink protein shakes...I had a personal trainer who used to work for a company that made these shakes..and he told me protein powder were byproduct of bunch of other stuff that I can't pronounce or remember...and when he saw that, he was horrified so he stopped drinking protein shakes as well. He said I'm better off making a smoothie...I quite trust this trainer as he was the only trainer who told me to eat good food and we used to have a good partnership going, I complete my super sets, he'll give me a recipe from his mom...=)
  • Teemo
    Teemo Posts: 338
    I can't drink protein shakes...I had a personal trainer who used to work for a company that made these shakes..and he told me protein powder were byproduct of bunch of other stuff that I can't pronounce or remember...and when he saw that, he was horrified so he stopped drinking protein shakes as well. He said I'm better off making a smoothie...I quite trust this trainer as he was the only trainer who told me to eat good food and we used to have a good partnership going, I complete my super sets, he'll give me a recipe from his mom...=)

    Whey protein is a byproduct of milk/cheese...
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