Trying to eat to lose...and frustrated!

anakinlover
anakinlover Posts: 109
edited September 25 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone! So here's the thing...I am fully aware that in order to lose weight, the body needs food for fuel to do the job. I am working out faithfully, I mean really bustin' my butt, and I am losing weight at a nice pace..1.5- 2lbs a week. The issue is, by the end of the day, I sometimes have 800-900 calories left that I have earned back by exercising. I am NOT hungry!! Nor am I depriving myself of every single food I love. Yet, I do not want to force myself to eat. I keep reading these "lecture" posts about not eating enough to lose weight, and about the dreaded starvation mode that I certainly do not want to be in...What is the answer? I recently lost a friend who was obsessing so much about losing weight and exercising that her body couldn't take it anymore. It was an eye opening experience for me. I do not want that to happen to me. What is the best way to figure out how much of the calories earned you need to eat?

Replies

  • Vicky14174
    Vicky14174 Posts: 715 Member
    you need to open your diary when asking for help. we can't see what you've been eating or doing so it's really hard to give any one suggestions if we don't know what they are going already that is not working.
  • idahogirl71
    idahogirl71 Posts: 1,110 Member
    There are mixed feelings about eating back the calories earned from exercise and you will hear both sides of the debate on here. The best thing is to go by what your body is saying. If you are losing 1.5-2 pounds a week keep doing what you are doing. That is the healthy way to do it. Don't stress about those extra 800-900 calories. Make changes to your eating if your weekly weight loss drops for more than 2 weeks.
  • david081
    david081 Posts: 489 Member
    If you are losing 1.5 - 2 lbs a week you are getting it right! This is about what works for you. People theorising on here make me laugh sometimes - yesterday I read someone saying another member needed to exercise less and eat more to lose weight - yeah, right. That's how people end up on this site in the first place. Well done, keep it going! I can never eat all my exercise calories - I did 2250 yesterday, and nearly 2000 today... I am losing 2lbs a week approx...

    regards,

    David
  • PrairieRoseNE
    PrairieRoseNE Posts: 265 Member
    I never eat all of my exercise calories and I'm losing 1.5 to 2 lbs a week on average. I tell myself the eating when I wasn't hungry was the reason I'm overweight in the first place!
  • melbhall
    melbhall Posts: 519
    I think it just depends on you. I don't know that there really is a magic number, but we shouldn't be so obsessed about eating our workout calories that we eat when we aren't even hungry, I mean that's generally the reason most of us are fat, or is in my case. I eat out of boredom. If I honestly ate to fuel my body when I was hungry I would be at a healthy weight. Maybe instead of dreading having to eat those calories you could find a way to use them up earlier in the day, maybe eat foods that are higher in calories like peanut butter, avocados, nuts, etc. They are good for you and can still help you use up some calories without feeling like you have to eat. Just an idea...
  • ftoddw
    ftoddw Posts: 37 Member
    Yeah - what ever you do don't stress over it. As long as you are above your base goal for the day (not the exercise modified goal) and your protein is above your modified goal, don't force yourself to eat (and if you, do maybe a small snack) when you're not hungry. Eat 5-6 meals or snacks eat day to keep the furnace going and keep eating healthy fats for hormone balance, good protein for muscle and good carbs for energy. Don't stress over a day here or day there that's out of whack. Give yourself at least one cheat meal each week and one over-calorie day each week. Food is fuel, and should also be satisfying and enjoyable, to be shared at meaningful times with those we love - it shouldn't control our lives, one way or another.

    Just some thoughts - hope they're helpful
  • Elle408
    Elle408 Posts: 500 Member
    It depends on what you weigh right now too... if you're bigger, then you can probably go without eating those calories back for some time as you have lots of fat stores to take from... but the smaller you get the more likely it is that you'll need to start eating some of those cals back!

    I know if I don't eat them I get ridiculously weak and feel faint and exhausted.
  • dixiechicdana
    dixiechicdana Posts: 67
    I kind of save mine for snacks LOL If I am full and my net calories are only 900 then I don't eat them but if I want just a little something, I know I can :)
  • lhuber1105
    lhuber1105 Posts: 72 Member
    I have the same issue--personally I just try to make sure I eat at least 1200 cals./day and make them healthy. sometimes I get a few exercise calories back but not always. I have been losing @ 1.5/2 lbs per week. This is what seems to work for me. Good Luck with your journey!!
  • smileylittleorange
    smileylittleorange Posts: 45 Member
    If it's working and you don't hit a plateau - carry on - but if you are still hungry or tired eat those cals ok !! I agree with everyone above it's like brain overload sometimes with this eating back calories business but we must learn to take ownership of our own fitness and nutrition ourselves and do what's right for us and our bodies !!! If you get stuck on the scales for more than three weeks try eating more of your exercise cals if you can!
  • millerll
    millerll Posts: 873 Member
    A lot of what you've been told so far doesn't take into account your personal situation. First, you only have 30 pounds to lose. At your current weight, a deficit of 800-900 calories is far too large to allow you to get adequate nutrition. If you were very obese, then yes, you could tolerate a larger deficit. But, you're not. Second, you've only been at it a few weeks, based on your profile start date. Most people have larger weight losses at first, then it tends to taper off as you approach goal weight. So while what you're doing now is resulting in 1-2 pounds a week, that may change if you don't stay adequately fed.

    Also, keep in mind the accuracy of how you're measuring exercise calories. Are you sure you're burning what you think you are? If you're using a heart rate monitor, then that's pretty accurate. But if you're using the readouts on a machine, or the exercise database on this site, those often over-estimate calorie burn. So your deficit might not be as big as you think. Likewise, how accurately are you weighing and measuring all your food intake? You may be eating more than you think, also resulting in a smaller deficit.

    I recommend you try to get closer to your calorie goal. Add in some calorie-dense nutritious foods, like olive oil, nuts, peanut or almond butter. A little of each throughout the day will give you calories but not be too filling. Best of luck!
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    Hello everyone! So here's the thing...I am fully aware that in order to lose weight, the body needs food for fuel to do the job. I am working out faithfully, I mean really bustin' my butt, and I am losing weight at a nice pace..1.5- 2lbs a week. The issue is, by the end of the day, I sometimes have 800-900 calories left that I have earned back by exercising. I am NOT hungry!! Nor am I depriving myself of every single food I love. Yet, I do not want to force myself to eat. I keep reading these "lecture" posts about not eating enough to lose weight, and about the dreaded starvation mode that I certainly do not want to be in...What is the answer? I recently lost a friend who was obsessing so much about losing weight and exercising that her body couldn't take it anymore. It was an eye opening experience for me. I do not want that to happen to me. What is the best way to figure out how much of the calories earned you need to eat?

    Before you started this, did you eat meals? Or did you skip meals and graze on crap before?

    I was skipping and snacking and I've found it hard to get used to eating full meals again. But I'm doing it.

    Why?

    Because I took this same friggin' 40 pounds off 25 years ago with diet and exercise and kept it off for 20 years. And you know what? I ate A LOT when I was keeping it off.

    You're not here to lose weight, really. You're here to develop (or relearn) a healthy lifestyle that you can sustain for the rest of your life.

    People get far too hung up on the weight loss. I really don't know why, as most of us have played that game before, lost the weight, gained it back, repeat ad nauseum. If you learn a healthy lifestyle, which would be good eating habits and reasonable exercise that you can sustain for life, the weight comes off. Better yet, it stays off.

    If you think you can survive for the rest of your life doing what you're doing, knock yourself out. If you think that would be difficult, if not impossible to sustain, then change something.
  • hannahderr
    hannahderr Posts: 4
    i would go with how you feel. if you are over doing it, your body will tell you. are you tired? are you slow/sluggish? are you stressed? are you anxious for no reason? if you feel good, strong, healthy, and happy- keep on doing what your doing.
  • JillyCornwall
    JillyCornwall Posts: 376 Member
    Hello everyone! So here's the thing...I am fully aware that in order to lose weight, the body needs food for fuel to do the job. I am working out faithfully, I mean really bustin' my butt, and I am losing weight at a nice pace..1.5- 2lbs a week. The issue is, by the end of the day, I sometimes have 800-900 calories left that I have earned back by exercising. I am NOT hungry!! Nor am I depriving myself of every single food I love. Yet, I do not want to force myself to eat. I keep reading these "lecture" posts about not eating enough to lose weight, and about the dreaded starvation mode that I certainly do not want to be in...What is the answer? I recently lost a friend who was obsessing so much about losing weight and exercising that her body couldn't take it anymore. It was an eye opening experience for me. I do not want that to happen to me. What is the best way to figure out how much of the calories earned you need to eat?

    Before you started this, did you eat meals? Or did you skip meals and graze on crap before?

    I was skipping and snacking and I've found it hard to get used to eating full meals again. But I'm doing it.

    Why?

    Because I took this same friggin' 40 pounds off 25 years ago with diet and exercise and kept it off for 20 years. And you know what? I ate A LOT when I was keeping it off.

    You're not here to lose weight, really. You're here to develop (or relearn) a healthy lifestyle that you can sustain for the rest of your life.

    People get far too hung up on the weight loss. I really don't know why, as most of us have played that game before, lost the weight, gained it back, repeat ad nauseum. If you learn a healthy lifestyle, which would be good eating habits and reasonable exercise that you can sustain for life, the weight comes off. Better yet, it stays off.

    If you think you can survive for the rest of your life doing what you're doing, knock yourself out. If you think that would be difficult, if not impossible to sustain, then change something.

    Yes Yes Yes, what a sensible answer........it really does boil down to establishing an eating & exercise routine that is achievable, sustainable & relevant to tomorrow as well as today.......this particular penny only dropped with me last year after a lifetime of yo yo dieting......by living with a massive calorie deficit we are almost certainly setting ourselves up to a reversal of this and a major calorie excess....moderation and planning.....its the only way....
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