Late night calorie catchup

cterbogt · May 2011

It's 10:30pm and I find myself nearly 400 calories under my limit. I have had pasta for dinner and a bowlful of yoghurt icecream.

What to have now and not feel completely blah when I go to bed? I need to have my daily cals I get that so I don't hit starvation mode.

Any suggestions?

darrenham · May 2011

There's no such thing as starvation mode.

Do you eat breakfast? If not, add it in, it'll help you reach your calorie goal.

Don't eat if you're not hungry. Go to bed, and if this is a regular thing, try to find ways to get more calories into your diet.

If this isn't a regular thing then it won't matter. The body doesn't work on a day by day basis.

Tiggerrick · May 2011

I agree. You don't have to. The caloric goal of mfp is a rough guideline to loosing weight at a certain rate. Going under those calories is NOT going to put you into a slower metabolism. Your food diary looks good. Chuck those calories as extra weight loss. Also, if you indulge on another day and go over, you won't feel as bad.

lbinkley2008 · May 2011

There's no such thing as starvation mode.

Do you eat breakfast? If not, add it in, it'll help you reach your calorie goal.

Don't eat if you're not hungry. Go to bed, and if this is a regular thing, try to find ways to get more calories into your diet.

If this isn't a regular thing then it won't matter. The body doesn't work on a day by day basis.

Is there really no such thing as starvation mode? I have been finding this information a lot when looking into dieting. I have tried many, many things but find that eating less and exercising more (go figure) is the only thing that works for me. I am okay with this but like to eat WAY less calories so that I feel I am accomplishing something! But, I was also concerned that I may not lose my full potential if I did not eat enough! Your comment has given me new insight and I think I will stick to the under-eating! What are your thoughts on protein intake and it's impact (or lack thereof?) on weight loss? Thanks!

korgscrew · May 2011

There's no such thing as starvation mode.

Do you eat breakfast? If not, add it in, it'll help you reach your calorie goal.

Don't eat if you're not hungry. Go to bed, and if this is a regular thing, try to find ways to get more calories into your diet.

If this isn't a regular thing then it won't matter. The body doesn't work on a day by day basis.

Is there really no such thing as starvation mode? I have been finding this information a lot when looking into dieting. I have tried many, many things but find that eating less and exercising more (go figure) is the only thing that works for me. I am okay with this but like to eat WAY less calories so that I feel I am accomplishing something! But, I was also concerned that I may not lose my full potential if I did not eat enough! Your comment has given me new insight and I think I will stick to the under-eating! What are your thoughts on protein intake and it's impact (or lack thereof?) on weight loss? Thanks!

I tottaly agree!! But, I wouldnt "under eat" as you say. That sounds like (but probably isnt) anorexia! Most of the time im about 300-500 below my target for the day, and i dont set out to under eat! I just make better decsisions on what im going to eat!

I used to have these things called breakfast biscuits for breakfast and they were about 350 cals for the 3 biscuits.

Now i have oats, muller light yoghurt and berries for breakfast, more filling and about 100 or so less calories, sugar and fat!

I will eat if im hungry, i wont if im not.

I could fill that 500 gap with half a pizza, but im not hungry at the end of the day, so i dont have it.

I see alot of "your not eating enough" on here, but i feel i am eating enough, i dont feel weak for not eating my total daily goal, and i dont feel as though im being denied anything either.

At the end of the day, its what works for you :-)

chrisyoung0422 · May 2011

I agree with most every poster on this topic. There is no starvation mode (not for me anyway).

I have lost more by eating a lot less and hitting cardio as hard as I can (5-6 days a week 600-900 cal a pop).

Prior to this I did eat back all my workout calories and seen very little loss.

At the end of the day as stated.. Do what works for you... :flowerforyou:

gingerfoxxx · May 2011

I wouldn't force yourself to eat, especially late at night - Its just going to end up ruining your sleep, which you REALLY need! I would see if there are things you can add earlier in the day to fix it in the future at least. just a handful of nuts as an afternoon snack can give you 200 calories, and super awesome omegas!

kdouglas11 · May 2011

i'm so confused!!!! I need to call my nutritionist. I don't know wht to think now

She told me to eat about 900 calories when I was on bedrest... I couldn't eat that much, I felt awful. I was eating about 600. I lost 18 lbs!

then now i'm feeling better I'm back up to 900 to 1000 and moving around and I've gained weight,,,

I think the body just likes to play head games with me!

darrenham · May 2011

There's no such thing as starvation mode.

Do you eat breakfast? If not, add it in, it'll help you reach your calorie goal.

Don't eat if you're not hungry. Go to bed, and if this is a regular thing, try to find ways to get more calories into your diet.

If this isn't a regular thing then it won't matter. The body doesn't work on a day by day basis.

Is there really no such thing as starvation mode? I have been finding this information a lot when looking into dieting. I have tried many, many things but find that eating less and exercising more (go figure) is the only thing that works for me. I am okay with this but like to eat WAY less calories so that I feel I am accomplishing something! But, I was also concerned that I may not lose my full potential if I did not eat enough! Your comment has given me new insight and I think I will stick to the under-eating! What are your thoughts on protein intake and it's impact (or lack thereof?) on weight loss? Thanks!

I'm NOT advocating under eating. Attempt to follow MFP's suggestions, but if you are under them every now and again, do not worry about over-eating to reach the goal.

If you eat a healthy balanced diet, then protein will not be an issue. Increased protein intake should have no impact on weight loss.

SHBoss1673 · May 2011

Can people PLEEEAAAASE stop saying "There's no such thing as starvation mode"

That's completely false

People generally mis-understand the specifics of what is required for a human to produce the hormones that trigger the body to enter the famine response state, but that's a very different statement than saying it's a myth or there's no such thing. There's plenty of research that proves out starvation mode, and the concepts are based on solid, proven science.

BUT

Eating under your calories (even by a lot) for 1 day won't trigger the famine response unless you're already close to glycogen depletion in the liver and at the muscle sites (I.E. you've already been eating at a deficit larger than your body can overcome with fat stores for days or weeks).

If you want to know about starvation mode, or want some resources, ask me, or any of the many other knowledgeable members here that have spent years researching nutrition and health like stroutman or songbyrdsweet. any of them or myself can give you enough credible research to read to keep you busy for months. Or we can just answer your specific questions.

stormieweather · May 2011

i'm so confused!!!! I need to call my nutritionist. I don't know wht to think now

She told me to eat about 900 calories when I was on bedrest... I couldn't eat that much, I felt awful. I was eating about 600. I lost 18 lbs!

then now i'm feeling better I'm back up to 900 to 1000 and moving around and I've gained weight,,,

I think the body just likes to play head games with me!

I don't know how long you've been eating at 900-1000, but it's possible your body is trying to hang on to the extra calories (after being fed 600 for a while). Hang in there and keep eating a reasonable quantity of food (probably more than you're eating now, unless you're very tiny) and be patient. Your metabolism will eventually readjust and you'll begin losing weight again.

korgscrew · May 2011

Can people PLEEEAAAASE stop saying "There's no such thing as starvation mode"

That's completely false

Haha, who is the next to say PPLLEEASSSEE stop saying there is such a thing as starvation mode.

Im sick of it.

Do HIIT, Dont do HIIT.

Starvation mode, no starvation mode

Eat protein, dont eat protein

Eat more!! No!! Eat less!!

Eat before your workout. Workout on an empty stomach!!!!!!

Im sick of hearing it all!

To the OP, if you feel like you could eat your extra cals, eat them! But choose a good option.

If your not hungry, dont eat them. Your doing great, keep it up!!!!

What works for one, wont work for everyone else. Rant over XD

Danny

ssector · May 2011

I was wondering if people do take the 'extra' calories added on when they log in exercise. I am concerned that this will slow down my rate of weight loss. My other thought was that if someone consistently stays under their calorie level does the body 'reset' to this level and when a higher calorie intake is reintroduced say the recommended daily amount of calories will one start to gain lbs?

Unlike many of the people of this site, I have a goal of 1200 a day and really have to watch myself to make sure I don't go over.. Kudos to those struggling to add calories!

SHBoss1673 · May 2011

it should only slow down your weight loss if you have incorrectly figured your original weekly weight loss goal. Otherwise it should stay the same (might even go up a little).

cterbogt · May 2011

Thanks to all who have 'weighed' in on this topic. As has been pointed out - there are so many conflicting ideas out there, it's hard to know what to do.

I am finally getting serious and finally seeing some progress and as it is early days, I am trying to get off on the right foot right from the start.

As it was I went to bed without consuming any additional calories. The low count wasn't deliberate, just happened with the foods I happened to chose that day.

As weird as it may sound - unless I am completely starving I rarely feel hungry. And that has casued a whole separate set of problems on its own, cos by the time I am starving I am in the nausea phase and really don't feel like eating. Most times I eat because it is the right time of day and I know that I should, not because I am hungry. This would have contributed to the extra cals I have eaten previously and not been aware of in the same way I am now.

I don't plan waiting till I am hungry to eat because that would mean I wouldn't hardly eat at all during the day - hence my query if I should try and 'catchup' at the end of the day. I am trying to stick to my limit, but don't want to eat just for the sake of eating.

Will just continue as I am and it I am under so be it - will just try and ensure I don't fall below the 1200 mark (my limit is 1570)

Cheers all and keep up the good work

Late night calorie catchup

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