Calorie intake? whats the best!?

Searsh
Searsh Posts: 27
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
So we all have used the bmi to find out what our calorie intake should be! BUT what is better...

Eating over the calorie limit by a little?
Eating under the calorie by alot?
Eating perfect amount of calories (1200)
or Eating perfect amount of calories and not eating the calories we gained from exercise?
or should we eat these extra calories?

All help is appreciated :)

Replies

  • I eat under the calorie limit by a little :)
  • Newfiedan
    Newfiedan Posts: 1,517 Member
    or should we eat these extra calories?

    All help is appreciated :)
    this one especially at 1200 a day
  • SKP1986
    SKP1986 Posts: 392 Member
    Everything I have seen says to make sure your net calories are over 1200, but I have a hard time eating when I don't feel even the least bit hungry. So, some days I go over a little, some days I am under a lot, and some days I am right on target. I just listen to my body and I don't eat if I don't feel hungry. I understand the reasons for people saying to eat back those calories, though.
  • dgisnot
    dgisnot Posts: 3
    The healthiest of those options is eating over by a little. If you do your due diligence properly on the setup of MFP then you will have a good starting point that you can adjust over time as you start to see your results. Make sure that you account for your total exercise, calorie intake, BMR, daily activity level (minus exercise) and a small (300-1000 calorie) deficit and you will loose fat and retain the maximum muscle. And you'll feel great! Here is a copy of a post I made in response to a similar question:

    { If you are in more than a 1000 calorie daily deficit, you risk putting your body in a "catabolic" state. That is to say, your body will assume you are starving and in response to that stimulus will slow your metabolism and start to burn much more lean muscle tissue instead of fat, as fat is your body's anti-starvation storehouse of energy and your body will seek to preserve it. That is a triple whammy of badness for your diet goals as not only do you not want a slower metabolism, you also want to loose fat. And third, the more muscle you have/retain the more cals your body burns naturally! It's best to follow the guidelines of the website. If you have carefully set up your goals and you are honest about your food intake and daily exercise, I think you will find that this site is fairly accurate (except for the protein numbers - imo they are low for both genders). One of the toughest things to get your head around is the concept that you need to eat often, and much, if you want to loose fat and retain muscle. It seems counter intuitive since eating less is generally regarded as facilitating fat loss. That's true only to a point. Eating significantly less than your daily needs minus a small (300- 1000 calorie) deficit will result in low energy, slow metabolic rates, catabolism of your lean body mass, and fat retention not fat loss! My experience is that most women don't eat nearly enough protein and focus much too much on total fat intake. Try eating lean proteins like turkey breast, fish, chicken breast, or egg whites later in the day as these will add the extra protein you need as well as pack more cals into your diet. Also protein takes the most energy from your body to consume, digest, and use than any other macro nutrient so it's a bonus! Everyone is different and you will make adjustments to the basic guidelines on MFP (some people are more carb sensitive than others, ie.) over time as you progress but in general you should strive to keep on plan as set forth here on MFP. Good luck!!}

    Hope that helps!!
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
    Keep your NET calories at your goal. If you goal is 1200 and you burn 500 in exercise that puts your NET at 700. Eat your exercise calories. Your body will love you for it.

    And you can't just listen to your body in the beginning. You might have to force yourself to eat when you aren't hungry. Your signals are all screwed up from years of bad eating habits. Your body has to learn to read those signals again.

    I went from not eating all day and eating only at night to eating 5-6 meals a day. It was very hard at first but it is better for your body and for your insulin levels. 5 months in and I get hungry right before breakfast time and lunch time and dinner time. Snacks are my bonus.

    And you can go over some days. Our body isn't going to worry about an exact number. Going too low for too long can keep you from losing weight. Doing too much exercise on a calorie restriction can keep you from losing weight (or you will lose lean muscle mass and this slows down your metabolism).

    Check out some of the links in my signature and do some serious research and reading.

    This is also a good site for info:

    http://www.hussmanfitness.org/index.html

    Working With Your Body - The Basic Strategy
    By John P. Hussman, Ph.D.
    All rights reserved and actively enforced.


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    The law of unintended consequences

    Your body is an amazing feedback system aimed at balance and survival. Humans are at the top of the food chain because they are able to adapt to their environment. Every action produces a reaction. Every change in its environment triggers a survival response. It's important to keep that in mind when you plan your fitness program. If you treat your body as an enemy to be conquered, you'll produce unintended results.

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  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
    The healthiest of those options is eating over by a little. If you do your due diligence properly on the setup of MFP then you will have a good starting point that you can adjust over time as you start to see your results. Make sure that you account for your total exercise, calorie intake, BMR, daily activity level (minus exercise) and a small (300-1000 calorie) deficit and you will loose fat and retain the maximum muscle. And you'll feel great! Here is a copy of a post I made in response to a similar question:

    { If you are in more than a 1000 calorie daily deficit, you risk putting your body in a "catabolic" state. That is to say, your body will assume you are starving and in response to that stimulus will slow your metabolism and start to burn much more lean muscle tissue instead of fat, as fat is your body's anti-starvation storehouse of energy and your body will seek to preserve it. That is a triple whammy of badness for your diet goals as not only do you not want a slower metabolism, you also want to loose fat. And third, the more muscle you have/retain the more cals your body burns naturally! It's best to follow the guidelines of the website. If you have carefully set up your goals and you are honest about your food intake and daily exercise, I think you will find that this site is fairly accurate (except for the protein numbers - imo they are low for both genders). One of the toughest things to get your head around is the concept that you need to eat often, and much, if you want to loose fat and retain muscle. It seems counter intuitive since eating less is generally regarded as facilitating fat loss. That's true only to a point. Eating significantly less than your daily needs minus a small (300- 1000 calorie) deficit will result in low energy, slow metabolic rates, catabolism of your lean body mass, and fat retention not fat loss! My experience is that most women don't eat nearly enough protein and focus much too much on total fat intake. Try eating lean proteins like turkey breast, fish, chicken breast, or egg whites later in the day as these will add the extra protein you need as well as pack more cals into your diet. Also protein takes the most energy from your body to consume, digest, and use than any other macro nutrient so it's a bonus! Everyone is different and you will make adjustments to the basic guidelines on MFP (some people are more carb sensitive than others, ie.) over time as you progress but in general you should strive to keep on plan as set forth here on MFP. Good luck!!}

    Hope that helps!!

    LOVE THE WAY YOU EXPLAINED IT!!

    MFP put the ratios at 55/15/30. IMO, don't need that many carbs; way too little protein; don't even need that much fat.

    I'm at 40/35/25 based on some advice from a weight loss adviser/trainer. I was at a healthy weight trying to lose 10lbs (at this point I have had better luck with weight lifting than cardio). He told me 1g of protein per pound of lean body mass or goal body weight. 25% of my calories from fat. 1-3 svgs of fruit. 3-6 svgs of veggies then whatever else my little heart desires with my calorie goal. M

    According to MFP my maintenance is 1470. I'm at 1600 right now and am still dropping weight.
  • young1726
    young1726 Posts: 347 Member
    I say it depends. If your allotment is 1700 then stay slightly under. If your allotment is 1200 then go slightly over. If you want to lose weight like this site says you will...then don't let your calorie intake venture too far from what it tells you to eat. Seriously!! I have been following EXACTLY what this site tells me to eat and have consistently lost weight. Every single week. Eat your exercise calories. This site ALREADY puts you at the deficit needed to lose weight. So when you work out and burn more calories, then you are putting yourself at an even higher deficit than needed and could actually cause more harm than help. If you eat too little, your body will try to hang on to extra calories because it is "scared" that you will starve. Sure, you might lose weight, but you will be losing muscle. And most people eventually realize they cannot sustain eating so little and start eating more...and end up gaining everything you lost...and in a lot of cases, even more! If you don't feel hungry, there are a lot of things that won't make you feel like you're stuffing your face, but will knock off a bunch of calories. One example is a couple tablespoons of peanut butter and a glass of milk. :)
  • Searsh
    Searsh Posts: 27
    thanks for the help! feel free to add me :)
  • lmschwanke
    lmschwanke Posts: 10 Member
    I dont think that here is a correct answer because everyone reacts to food differently. Personaly my goal is to listen to my body, which when I was younger I had no clue how to tell when I was full until it was to the point of being overly full. I try to keep in the satisfied/just full area. When I have a big work out I do eat some of my earned calories, mainly because I get hungery and that after doing big work outs my rule is to eat something with in a half hour usually high in protein. I know that under eating can be really harmful.
  • dgisnot
    dgisnot Posts: 3
    The healthiest of those options is eating over by a little. If you do your due diligence properly on the setup of MFP then you will have a good starting point that you can adjust over time as you start to see your results. Make sure that you account for your total exercise, calorie intake, BMR, daily activity level (minus exercise) and a small (300-1000 calorie) deficit and you will loose fat and retain the maximum muscle. And you'll feel great! Here is a copy of a post I made in response to a similar question:

    { If you are in more than a 1000 calorie daily deficit, you risk putting your body in a "catabolic" state. That is to say, your body will assume you are starving and in response to that stimulus will slow your metabolism and start to burn much more lean muscle tissue instead of fat, as fat is your body's anti-starvation storehouse of energy and your body will seek to preserve it. That is a triple whammy of badness for your diet goals as not only do you not want a slower metabolism, you also want to loose fat. And third, the more muscle you have/retain the more cals your body burns naturally! It's best to follow the guidelines of the website. If you have carefully set up your goals and you are honest about your food intake and daily exercise, I think you will find that this site is fairly accurate (except for the protein numbers - imo they are low for both genders). One of the toughest things to get your head around is the concept that you need to eat often, and much, if you want to loose fat and retain muscle. It seems counter intuitive since eating less is generally regarded as facilitating fat loss. That's true only to a point. Eating significantly less than your daily needs minus a small (300- 1000 calorie) deficit will result in low energy, slow metabolic rates, catabolism of your lean body mass, and fat retention not fat loss! My experience is that most women don't eat nearly enough protein and focus much too much on total fat intake. Try eating lean proteins like turkey breast, fish, chicken breast, or egg whites later in the day as these will add the extra protein you need as well as pack more cals into your diet. Also protein takes the most energy from your body to consume, digest, and use than any other macro nutrient so it's a bonus! Everyone is different and you will make adjustments to the basic guidelines on MFP (some people are more carb sensitive than others, ie.) over time as you progress but in general you should strive to keep on plan as set forth here on MFP. Good luck!!}

    Hope that helps!!

    LOVE THE WAY YOU EXPLAINED IT!!

    MFP put the ratios at 55/15/30. IMO, don't need that many carbs; way too little protein; don't even need that much fat.

    I'm at 40/35/25 based on some advice from a weight loss adviser/trainer. I was at a healthy weight trying to lose 10lbs (at this point I have had better luck with weight lifting than cardio). He told me 1g of protein per pound of lean body mass or goal body weight. 25% of my calories from fat. 1-3 svgs of fruit. 3-6 svgs of veggies then whatever else my little heart desires with my calorie goal. M

    According to MFP my maintenance is 1470. I'm at 1600 right now and am still dropping weight.

    Thanks 4 that! You and I agree that the macro nutrient ratio guidelines here on MFP are probably not ideal for most. However I feel that the BMR calculator and the resultant daily calorie goals are fairly accurate. One justs needs to adjust the macro nutrient ratios in the setup to reflect a more healthy (roughly) 50/30/20 or 45/35/20 if you are carb sensitive. Overall, however, I am pretty pleased with the tools on this site. Really has helped me track things well. I lost 32 pounds (roughly 28 fat and only 4 lean body mass) in just 17 weeks and I feel great! Even have a little bit of a six pack. Haven't seen that since college over 20 yrs ago!!
  • 123nikki123
    123nikki123 Posts: 527
    Bump!
This discussion has been closed.