Eat more to lose more? I am confused!

dawnw30
dawnw30 Posts: 270
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Ok...so I am a tad confused here. I have read tons of posts about this and just can not wrap it around my brain. It sounds too much like an oxymoron to me...Eat more- weigh less! I started exercising and dieting a few weeks ago. I lost weight initially then ...boom...nothing! So then I changed my activity level on my profile (to more activity) and have tried to eat more. With in a couple of days I lost a little over 2 pounds!? Can someone simplify this for me? I thought it was a good thing to come in UNDER your calorie goal for the day? What if you go over? Will that make you gain anything back? And as for the calories it takes away for exercise...how much of that should be "eaten back" ? Apparently it doesn't take much to confuse me...:blushing:

Replies

  • mommy2halfdozen
    mommy2halfdozen Posts: 52 Member
    I am also confused. And I have been on here for a couple of months.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    The basic idea is that MFP works a bit differently than most calorie/point counters. Most nutrition plans incorporate workouts into your overall activity level- ie I have a desk job, but if I workout 5 days a week most plans would put me at "lightly active". This would figure into my daily calorie goal - so most nutritionists would probably recommend that I eat 1500-1800 calories everyday, regardless of my workout. MFP has you manually account for specific workouts or anything outside your normal level of activity, so you get a lower "starting goal" everyday (so you continue to lose regardless of whether or not you workout), but when you workout more, you should be eating more.

    This is where NET calories come into play. There is an equation on your homepage:

    GOAL FOOD -(minus) EXERCISE =(equals) NET

    Your goal, as far as MFP is set up, should be to get your NET calories to match your GOAL calories. The NET calories are a way of taking exercise into account, so that you eat enough to fuel your workout.

    This has in turn become known as "eating your exercise calories" and is highly controversial because people believe that less calories = higher weight loss. But for many, if you do not eat enough on a daily basis, your body begins to shut down your metabolism so as to stave off possible hunger/starvation not only effectively stopping loss but also causing gains anytime one goes even minimally over on calories.

    Sorry this was far more than you asked for but the context seemed relevant. Check out the boards (specifically the "NEWBIES PLEASE READ ME" if you need more info or any clarification.

    Best of luck on your journey!
  • dawnw30
    dawnw30 Posts: 270
    Thanks for the info! It wasn't too much and made sense:wink:
  • AnneGenevieveS
    AnneGenevieveS Posts: 441 Member
    .
  • kevanos
    kevanos Posts: 304 Member
    using short term results over 1 or 2 weeks won`t give you an accurate picture of what is happening.

    If you eat less you will lose more in theory, but it won`t be healthy and it won`t be sustainable. By eating your exercise calories, you keep your calorie deficit where you want it. If you crerate to much of a deficit you will feel lethargic and you will lose muscle mass.

    can you tell us what your daily calorie deficit is and what your taget daily caloric intake is?
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    I should ammend to say it's not solely about "eating more" -- it's about finding a healthy range. Eating at a caloric deficit puts a HUGE amount of strain on your body (think about it, it's contstantly needing to resize and adjust). So the key is to keep those net calories at a point where you can lose, but you aren't over stressing yourself physically. Generally speaking, keep your net in the range between 1200 and your Goal allotment.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    Thanks for the info! It wasn't too much and made sense:wink:

    Glad to help!
  • cmw9696
    cmw9696 Posts: 123
    I agree with Meg...it has been working for me! I have lost 20 lbs in 18-19 wks, and that was with the holidays and a vacation in there!
  • AnneGenevieveS
    AnneGenevieveS Posts: 441 Member
    your body's metabolism is slower if you wait long periods between meals or do not eat enough calories. Then your body will stop losing weight. You need to eat consistently throughout the day. The more you exercise, the more you can eat and lost weight faster.

    Its actually proven to help people lose weight and speed up their metabolism to eat 3 small meals and 2 snacks per day, and is recommended by doctors to their patients to lose weight and increase metabolism.

    Exercise will speed up that process by increasing resting metabolism and overall heart health
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
    The basic idea is that MFP works a bit differently than most calorie/point counters. Most nutrition plans incorporate workouts into your overall activity level- ie I have a desk job, but if I workout 5 days a week most plans would put me at "lightly active". This would figure into my daily calorie goal - so most nutritionists would probably recommend that I eat 1500-1800 calories everyday, regardless of my workout. MFP has you manually account for specific workouts or anything outside your normal level of activity, so you get a lower "starting goal" everyday (so you continue to lose regardless of whether or not you workout), but when you workout more, you should be eating more.

    This is where NET calories come into play. There is an equation on your homepage:

    GOAL FOOD -(minus) EXERCISE =(equals) NET

    Your goal, as far as MFP is set up, should be to get your NET calories to match your GOAL calories. The NET calories are a way of taking exercise into account, so that you eat enough to fuel your workout.

    This has in turn become known as "eating your exercise calories" and is highly controversial because people believe that less calories = higher weight loss. But for many, if you do not eat enough on a daily basis, your body begins to shut down your metabolism so as to stave off possible hunger/starvation not only effectively stopping loss but also causing gains anytime one goes even minimally over on calories.

    Sorry this was far more than you asked for but the context seemed relevant. Check out the boards (specifically the "NEWBIES PLEASE READ ME" if you need more info or any clarification.

    Best of luck on your journey!

    This is a very nice and simple way of explaining it.

    Too few calories for too long (but not too long. We're talking a few days to a week) will cause the metabolism to slow down and the body to start hanging onto fat and dig into lean muscle mass for fuel. This is a biological response.

    We already lose lean muscle mass through diet and cardio exercise.
  • kevanos
    kevanos Posts: 304 Member
    your body's metabolism is slower if you wait long periods between meals or do not eat enough calories. Then your body will stop losing weigh You need to eat consistently throughout the day. The more you exercise, the more you can eat and lost weight faster.

    Its actually proven to help people lose weight and speed up their metabolism to eat 3 small meals and 2 snacks per day, adn is recommended by doctors to their type II diabetic patients to lose weight and increase metabolism.

    Exercise will speed up that process

    eating frequently helps reduce the desire to binge eat and keep your energy levels constant, but it has not been proven to increase your metabolism. That`s a misconception.
  • AnneGenevieveS
    AnneGenevieveS Posts: 441 Member
    well, the MD I work with has done a lot of research, and has applied it in his own practice, and its been working.

    Me, not the MD, so ... just going on the data given to me by him.
  • dawnw30
    dawnw30 Posts: 270
    I can tell you that as of right now my daily goal is 1470 and my net is at -56. The only meal I have left is dinner and I won't be eating that much. I usually eat a banana and a slim fast shake for breakfast...a lean cuisine meal for lunch and a child size plate of whatever is for dinner - usually a meat, potato/pasta and veggie. I use 1/2 of the plate for veggies and the other 1/2's for the meat and potato/pasta. I also try to drink tons of water. The thing is I don't feel hungry so it's confusing me to hear - you have to eat more. But I am trying! I guess I need to add a couple of healthy snacks in somewhere during the day.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    Honestly- I would recommend losing the slimfast- You'd do better with a coffee based shake you make on your own (for some caffiene) and maybe some pb toast (2tbsp of PB and 1 slice toast is really a sticker) or some oatmeal. Beef up your mornings!

    Also, I find it helps a lot of people to have calorie goals for each meal so they eat enough through out the day and avoid inadvertantly saving calories for dinner. Here's the breakdown I like to use:

    Breakfast: 2-400
    Snack: 100-150
    Lunch: 3-450
    Snack: 100-150
    Dinner: 400-600
    Snack: 100

    Most people will say that breakfast should always be bigger, but I just like having them mostly equal and having the room to play around a bit.
  • AnneGenevieveS
    AnneGenevieveS Posts: 441 Member
    In the office where I was working... Our patients who we've been able to get starting to eat more often have increased weight loss, and lower A1Cs due to for steady blood sugar levels from steady food intake (instead of highs and crashes), and have actually had improved diabetes and need less medication.
    Almost all of our obese patients tell me they only eat one meal a day and do not eat breakfast. The doctor explained it to me that since they are starving between the one meal per day, the body holds on to the fat because it never knows when its going to get more food, this decreases the metabolism. If the reasoning is wrong, then maybe it is. BUT the results in our patients that I've been getting to try the 3 meals and 2 snacks have been phenomenal

    Megan, that is awesome, exactly what I was talking about ... spreading your food out through the day.

    and Kevanos, yes, it does help with avoiding binges too.
  • dawnw30
    dawnw30 Posts: 270
    Also, I do 30 minutes on my elliptical with the iFit 6 days a week. I try to do various other exercises 5 days a week...toning, aerobics, zumba, calisthetics, ab work..etc...ranging from 30 minutes to 1 hour. I tend to alternate on times...30 minutes one day then 1 hour the next. Am I exercising too much or is this ok? Do I need to figure out my eating before working out like this for my weight? I just don't know...I am trying though!!
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    Anne- IDK what it does for your metabolism (what with my lack of MD and/or studies) but I sit at work all day so it keeps my belly full (which is vastly more important to me :wink: )

    Dawn- Exercise is really all up to you- as long as you make sure you are taking a rest day about 1-2x a week. You probably know roughly how much you burn at each of these sessions, right? Just try to distribute about 2/3 to 3/4 throughout the rest of your day -- ie: add in about 1-200 calories at breakfast and lunch, and about 50-100 for each snack (or just have more snacks) and then by dinner you'll only have a few extra hundred or so left to have with dinner/post dinner snack.
  • dawnw30
    dawnw30 Posts: 270
    Thank you all for the info! You'be been a great help! :flowerforyou:
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    Many welcomes, and good luck! :drinker:
  • newve
    newve Posts: 82 Member
    bump
  • nikkiallison312
    nikkiallison312 Posts: 5
    All of these posts are very helpful! i had the same question. But if you don't mind me asking if I am supposed to up my calories how can i do it with out going over fat and carbs. Every time i try and eat more my carbs skyrocket along with my fat. I am only supposed to have about 50 grams of fat and 190-200 carbs but if i eat my to my goal , it always seems to go over!?
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