Do I Boost my calorie intake??

tyger547
tyger547 Posts: 5
edited November 13 in Health and Weight Loss
When I started this journey I had a sedentary life style as time went on I started working out more. I now do Zumba 6 days a week. I'm still only eating 1200 calories a day but I'm wondering of I should be eating more. I don't eat the calories I burn unless I'm hungry and only up to 100 calories more. I know that if you don't eat enough your body will go in starvation mode. Any help with this would be great. Thank you!
I've lost 22.6 lbs since Jan 2, 15

Replies

  • 4thDegreeKnight
    4thDegreeKnight Posts: 69 Member
    edited March 2015
    I'm not a trainer but can relay to you what my trainer told me. So take it with a grain of salt.

    On days I was hitting the gym, I needed to add 100-200 more calories. Matter of fact, when I log here I eat most of the exercise calories it gives me. This was directed by my trainer.

    In my case, if I didn't, I would continue to lose weight but I was losing muscle mass. (My body started eating muscle).

    So what I do now is eat my calories (usually some sort of protein drink) and take my weight to calculate lean body mass every four weeks. If I am losing lean body mass, I up my calories.

    But yes, you are right about your body going into starvation mode too. Which means it will fight with everything it has to not lose weight.

  • 2snakeswoman
    2snakeswoman Posts: 655 Member
    Personally, yes - I think you should be eating more. I don't know how many calories Zumba burns, but you don't want your net calories to be below 1200. It can be a delicate balancing act, I know, since calorie burn estimates are usually too high. Try a calculation of how many calories you should be consuming as a lightly active and moderately active person.
  • jkwolly
    jkwolly Posts: 3,049 Member
    You should be at 1200 calories NET by the end of the day.

    But why not focus on a sustainable lifestyle instead of trying to get quick results from low calorie?

    You should consider finding your TDEE and minus 20%. And eat all the foodz.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited March 2015
    Starvation mode is a myth at least far as the term is slung around here. There is no state where you can't lose weight and your body conserves calories because you aren't eating enough. If this were true, no one would ever die of starvation!

    Frankly, I wouldn't eat 1200 or 1300 calories every day, regardless of my activity level, for a very long period of time and I'm 49 years old and only 5'3". While starvation mode is a myth, muscle loss and a lower metabolism from a large caloric deficit and chronic under-eating isn't. Most people would recommend you eat no less than 1200 net calories (net calories = calories eaten - calories burned in exercise) each day. So yes, I would recommend eating more especially on the days you're doing Zumba.
  • tyger547
    tyger547 Posts: 5
    2snakeswoman wrote: »
    Personally, yes - I think you should be eating more. I don't know how many calories Zumba burns, but you don't want your net calories to be below 1200. It can be a delicate balancing act, I know, since calorie burn estimates are usually too high. Try a calculation of how many calories you should be consuming as a lightly active and moderately active person.

    I burn anywhere between 400 and 700 calories depending on how long I workout for. So if I'm reading everyone correctly I should up my calorie in take on those days to about 1600?? Ok so this makes me have another question. How do you have a deficit in calories if you eat them back? You have to have a deficit of 3500 in a week to burn 1lb of fat.
  • tyger547
    tyger547 Posts: 5
    4thDegreeKnight wrote: »
    I'm not a trainer but can relay to you what my trainer told me. So take it with a grain of salt.

    On days I was hitting the gym, I needed to add 100-200 more calories. Matter of fact, when I log here I eat most of the exercise calories it gives me. This was directed by my trainer.

    In my case, if I didn't, I would continue to lose weight but I was losing muscle mass. (My body started eating muscle).

    So what I do now is eat my calories (usually some sort of protein drink) and take my weight to calculate lean body mass every four weeks. If I am losing lean body mass, I up my calories.

    But yes, you are right about your body going into starvation mode too. Which means it will fight with everything it has to not lose weight.

    Thank you. This was very helpful to read.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    tyger547 wrote: »
    2snakeswoman wrote: »
    Personally, yes - I think you should be eating more. I don't know how many calories Zumba burns, but you don't want your net calories to be below 1200. It can be a delicate balancing act, I know, since calorie burn estimates are usually too high. Try a calculation of how many calories you should be consuming as a lightly active and moderately active person.

    I burn anywhere between 400 and 700 calories depending on how long I workout for. So if I'm reading everyone correctly I should up my calorie in take on those days to about 1600?? Ok so this makes me have another question. How do you have a deficit in calories if you eat them back? You have to have a deficit of 3500 in a week to burn 1lb of fat.
    Your 3500 calorie deficit (for a 1 pound per week loss) is already built into the calorie goal that MFP gives you. In other words, MFP has already calculated the calories you need to stay the same weight and subtracted 500 calories to get your daily goal. When you eat the calories you've burned in exercise you're maintaining that 500 calorie daily deficit.
  • shreddedtrooper
    shreddedtrooper Posts: 107 Member
    SueInAz wrote: »
    Starvation mode is a myth at least far as the term is slung around here. There is no state where you can't lose weight and your body conserves calories because you aren't eating enough. If this were true, no one would ever die of starvation!

    Frankly, I wouldn't eat 1200 or 1300 calories every day, regardless of my activity level, for a very long period of time and I'm 49 years old and only 5'3". While starvation mode is a myth, muscle loss and a lower metabolism from a large caloric deficit and chronic under-eating isn't. Most people would recommend you eat no less than 1200 net calories (net calories = calories eaten - calories burned in exercise) each day. So yes, I would recommend eating more especially on the days you're doing Zumba.

    This^^
    agree and concur. Eat MOAR :) Best of luck
  • tyger547
    tyger547 Posts: 5
    SueInAz wrote: »
    tyger547 wrote: »
    2snakeswoman wrote: »
    Personally, yes - I think you should be eating more. I don't know how many calories Zumba burns, but you don't want your net calories to be below 1200. It can be a delicate balancing act, I know, since calorie burn estimates are usually too high. Try a calculation of how many calories you should be consuming as a lightly active and moderately active person.

    I burn anywhere between 400 and 700 calories depending on how long I workout for. So if I'm reading everyone correctly I should up my calorie in take on those days to about 1600?? Ok so this makes me have another question. How do you have a deficit in calories if you eat them back? You have to have a deficit of 3500 in a week to burn 1lb of fat.
    Your 3500 calorie deficit (for a 1 pound per week loss) is already built into the calorie goal that MFP gives you. In other words, MFP has already calculated the calories you need to stay the same weight and subtracted 500 calories to get your daily goal. When you eat the calories you've burned in exercise you're maintaining that 500 calorie daily deficit.

    Thank you I get confused with all this stuff. Reading this makes me feel better about eating more.
  • tyger547
    tyger547 Posts: 5
    Everyone, thank you for the help. I did medical weight loss a few years ago and lost 70lbs. I gained back some from having a baby then became a stay at home mom. Their weight loss program is all done for you and not practical for real life. (They cut out all sugar and almost all carbs) I quit drinking pop or sugary drinks 5mo ago.
    I love the routine I have now I eat what works for me and just make sure I'm eating enough carbs, protein, and fats. I also love my workouts too!!! This from someone who hated to workout but I really enjoy Zumba.
    I will be upping my calorie intake. Thanks again everyone.
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