so full with 800+ calorie deficiency
unmitigatedbadassery
Posts: 653 Member
I know I am supposed to eat my exercise calories and I understand the principle behind it. A couple times this week I haven't had time to grab anything for breakfast (usually 250-300 cal) and since I have been eating healthier my overall cal intake is less. On a regular basis (even when I have a solid breakfast) I have a 400-500 cal deficit after dinner.
I try to walk 45 minutes 3 times a week and that equals almost 400 calories burned giving me a deficit of nearly 800-900 calories that I am supposed to fill in a few hours before my "no eating before bed" zone kicks in.
I have seen people ask similar questions and get answers like 'eat fruit or nuts to bridge the gap' and that's fine. However it takes quite a bit of fruit and nuts to fill in 900 calories and most of the time I'm just not hungry since I had dinner only a few hours ago.
I drink a protein shake with milk and fruit sometimes, that buys me 350 cal but I am soooo full afterward there is no way I could eat/drink more.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
I try to walk 45 minutes 3 times a week and that equals almost 400 calories burned giving me a deficit of nearly 800-900 calories that I am supposed to fill in a few hours before my "no eating before bed" zone kicks in.
I have seen people ask similar questions and get answers like 'eat fruit or nuts to bridge the gap' and that's fine. However it takes quite a bit of fruit and nuts to fill in 900 calories and most of the time I'm just not hungry since I had dinner only a few hours ago.
I drink a protein shake with milk and fruit sometimes, that buys me 350 cal but I am soooo full afterward there is no way I could eat/drink more.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
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Replies
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when cooking or as part of your salad dressing (if you eat salads) use extra virgin olive oil. Its 120 calories for a tablespoon and doesn't really add volume to what you are eating.0
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bump I have the same issue especially when I burn a lot of calories... or do 2 exercise workouts in a day... would love to hear replies0
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The rule of thumb that I have read recently is if you are full don't eat. Especially if you are eating healthy and exercising- Throughout the week you may be more hungry and will reabsorb some of those calories- Not sure if this will help but I wouldn't stress TOO much about it however 800 cals is a lot...0
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Sorry. I don't see how anyone could not eat more lol. I'm always hungry....0
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bump I have the same issue especially when I burn a lot of calories... or do 2 exercise workouts in a day... would love to hear replies
BUMP...I have the same issue!!0 -
How many calories are you on?
How about adding some extra cals to your current meals with things like avocado, which is healthy but high in calories.0 -
What a problem to have.....0
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natural peanut butter! I had the same problem you are having now. Natural PB, that kind that sticks to your ribs, helps bring up your calorie count. Good luck!0
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I completely disagree with "eating your excercise calories". It may sound harsh, but I believe that that is taking the easy way out. The only real science is calories in vs. calories out. There is no reason to eat more than you need to, period. Eating more than you need to gets you into the spot that we are all in currently. My advice, don't eat the exercise calories! You will reach your goal a lot quicker AND you won't be having to force yourself to eat.0
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That's what I thought we were supposed to do... I'm so confused now. I always have a daily calorie deficit and it's usually quite significant. I may have to start up a new thread to address this new concern I have lolI completely disagree with "eating your excercise calories". It may sound harsh, but I believe that that is taking the easy way out. The only real science is calories in vs. calories out. There is no reason to eat more than you need to, period. Eating more than you need to gets you into the spot that we are all in currently. My advice, don't eat the exercise calories! You will reach your goal a lot quicker AND you won't be having to force yourself to eat.0 -
I completely disagree with "eating your excercise calories". It may sound harsh, but I believe that that is taking the easy way out. The only real science is calories in vs. calories out. There is no reason to eat more than you need to, period. Eating more than you need to gets you into the spot that we are all in currently. My advice, don't eat the exercise calories! You will reach your goal a lot quicker AND you won't be having to force yourself to eat.
You'll also kick your body into starvation mode and wake up one morning twenty pounds heavier, with no clue what happened.0 -
I would suggest planning your day out the night before to keep you from having to worry about how to squeeze something in after a workout, but that wasn't the question. I like making a half almond butter and jelly on whole wheat, especially if it's close to bed time - the complex carbs with protein combo keeps me full until I fall asleep. Hard boiled eggs or string cheese would do it, too, or a protein shake if you're really not hungry (you're still thirsty, right?).0
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How many calories are you on?
How about adding some extra cals to your current meals with things like avocado, which is healthy but high in calories.
800 calories is a lot NOT to eat back....I agree with adding things that are healthy but have a high caloric value (avocados, peanut butter, etc...) should help bridge part of that gap.0 -
I say, if you are not hungry don't eat! As long as you are eating balanced nutritional foods. I think you will be fine. Your carb, fat, and protein intake are more important than calories. My body lets me know if it's hungry or not.0
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Honestly, I'd say when you're full stop eating.0
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I completely disagree with "eating your excercise calories". It may sound harsh, but I believe that that is taking the easy way out. The only real science is calories in vs. calories out. There is no reason to eat more than you need to, period. Eating more than you need to gets you into the spot that we are all in currently. My advice, don't eat the exercise calories! You will reach your goal a lot quicker AND you won't be having to force yourself to eat.
You ultimately need to listen to your body. If you are eating 5-6x per day, drinking water, getting enough nutrition, then I wouldn't worry about eating them back. However, if you are hungry, EAT! Just be sure you don't go over the calories allotted to you by MFP. For smoeone like me on a 1200 cal diet WITHOUT EXERCISE, my body would completely shut down if I didn't eat some of my exercise calories back.
This isn't a race. Losing 1% of your bodyweight per week is very healthy. Anythign more than that and you are probably losing muscle.0 -
My first suggestion would be to remember to have a breakfast. Even a quick shake in the morning or as a snack throughout the day could make up most of that deficeit.
When i first started watching my calories i found I was in your exact boat. I constantly skipped breakfast, barely hit 900 or 1k most days and only sometimes hit 1200.
2 months of watching calories and not loosing weight (in fact i gained 10 pounds) I finally figured out my BMR and now that I know i need 1600 a day bare minimum the only way i can get that is to eat something High calories in the morning so that i'm not super low come dinner time.
Second suggestion is treat yourself to something High in calories and light on the stomach shortly before you excercise.0 -
Interesting thread, the issue I see is that I hit my fat loss goal weight, and now want to bulk up. I too have a caloric deficeit, and full at the end of the day. If I don't eat my excersize cals, I continue to lose weight. Now what?0
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The principle of eating your exercise calories at MFP is good, but doesn't work for everyone.
I think the first rule is...if you are not hungry, don't eat. Part of maintaining a healthy weight is to ONLY eat when you're hungry. So, don't eat.
The other thing about exercise calories is...how accurate are they? The calories estimated that you've burned may overestimated.
A compromise might be to try and eat half your exercise calories back, if you're hungry.0 -
Every now and again I run into that same problem. You might try lowering your daily calories. On a typical day I'll burn 400-600 calories and on more intense days I;ll burn 800-1000 calories. It helps to have my daily calories set at 1200 or 1300 then it's not as much of a struggle. I think if you can end the day with about 300 calories left then you'd be in good shape. You might try adding a few extra ounces of proten to each meal. It would add in some calories but not make you feel overly full.0
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I completely disagree with "eating your excercise calories". It may sound harsh, but I believe that that is taking the easy way out. The only real science is calories in vs. calories out. There is no reason to eat more than you need to, period. Eating more than you need to gets you into the spot that we are all in currently. My advice, don't eat the exercise calories! You will reach your goal a lot quicker AND you won't be having to force yourself to eat.
You'll also kick your body into starvation mode and wake up one morning twenty pounds heavier, with no clue what happened.
I would agree with those who are saying not to eat those exercise calories back religiously. I've been doing this for 7 months now and have yet to reach 'starvation mode'. Maybe I'll have to be a bit more careful when I approach my target weight but so long as I still have stones to lose and not just pounds, this approach is working just fine for me.0 -
Try to remember to have breakfast, and carry something easy to snack on with you throughout the day. You are right, 800 worth of fruit is A LOT of fruit. I do agree with trying to eat nuts, or a protein bar. I disagree that you should eat back ALL of your exercise calories. I try to shoot for half, to account for "what if that was measured wrong" or "what if MFP says I burned more calories than I did".
As far as someone saying calories in < calories out, that is true, and MFP calculates that into your BASE calories for the day, that is why you should eat some of your exercise calories.
Edit: Oh, and, if your NET is still 1200 or higher...I wouldn't worry about it at all. My 1 pound / week calorie allowance is only 1220, so I pretty much HAVE to eat back most of my exercise calories at this point, but, if you have a pretty high allowance, as long as your net is over 1200, you will be fine
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Interesting thread, the issue I see is that I hit my fat loss goal weight, and now want to bulk up. I too have a caloric deficeit, and full at the end of the day. If I don't eat my excersize cals, I continue to lose weight. Now what?
Going to be tough to bulk up with a caloric defecit. Look at more calorie dense foods. Nuts or avacado have healthy fats. Also drink some calories, but healthy one such as protein shakes. You can easily add a few hundred calories with two scoops a protein powder and some milk.0 -
I noticed that 90% of the posters on this thread either just joined, have a very low post count, or both...which is FINE, but also means that most of you are new at this and uneducated in the ways MFP calculates your goals.
Please listen up:
Your daily calorie goal already includes a sizable deficit. You do NOT need, or WANT, to make it bigger by leaving calories uneaten at the end of the day. Your goal is a goal to REACH, not a goal to stay UNDER.
If you chose the recommended 1 lb per week your goal is 500 calories less than your maintenance amount, which is the amount you would eat to stay the same weight.
You need to EAT all the calories you are given to maintain that reasonable deficit. If you eat LESS than your goal, you are making that deficit way bigger and possibly hurting yourself in the process.
Your NET calories are shown on your homepage in that box right in the middle. At the end of your day, that NET should be equal to what your original goal was to start the day.
Your calories in your diary should be equal to zero remaining, or within 100 regardless of if it goes red or not.
RED does NOT mean failure. You have a 500 (or more, if you chose 2 lbs per week) deficit. You would have to be RED by 500 to break even and maintain for the day.
You goal is based off of regular daily activity NOT including exercise, so on days you DO exercise, you HAVE TO eat them back to maintain the same daily deficit. it is NOT counterproductive, it is fueling your body for your workout!
If you DON'T eat them back you are creating a much larger deficit than you intended and are not getting adequate nutrition.
To the OP:
you say you have an 800 calorie "deficit" at the end of the day...what you really mean is that you have 800 calories left to eat. If your goal was 1 lb per week, you already have a deficit of 500, so the 800 left uneaten makes it 1300! That is WAY too little to be holding back from your body each day.
I understand that you get this and are trying to figure out ways to eat more, but it really isn't hard, just eat more. Healthy food. It's quite simple.
To the people who say they don't eat their exercise calories. That's all fine and good when you're morbidly obese and have a ton to lose, but once you are within 50 pounds of goal you need to be at 1 lb per week and EAT a LOT more.
Within 20 lbs of goal, people need to be at .5 lb per week and eat even more.
To the person who is looking to bulk up:
You need to eat a calorie SURPLUS to put on muscle. Calculate maintenance calories, set your diary to that amount, and aim to turn it RED, and with a LOT of protein daily (1g per pound of your weight is good). Lift HEAVY weight near to the point of failure.
Also, I must point out, WOMEN have a MINIMUM net of 1200 a day to be healthy (unless you are under 5 feet tall and under 100 pounds, then you MIGHT be able to get away with a little less)
MEN, on the other hand have a BARE MINIMUM of 1500 a day, and this site can't differentiate between male or female on the goals page so it uses 1200 across the board. If you are a man, please be sure to NET OVER 1500 a day bare minimum, preferably more.
Trust me, I maintain at 1800-2200 a day as a 5'2" 108 lb female.0 -
I noticed that 90% of the posters on this thread either just joined, have a very low post count, or both...which is FINE, but also means that most of you are new at this and uneducated in the ways MFP calculates your goals.
Please listen up:
Your daily calorie goal already includes a sizable deficit. You do NOT need, or WANT, to make it bigger by leaving calories uneaten at the end of the day. Your goal is a goal to REACH, not a goal to stay UNDER.
If you chose the recommended 1 lb per week your goal is 500 calories less than your maintenance amount, which is the amount you would eat to stay the same weight.
You need to EAT all the calories you are given to maintain that reasonable deficit. If you eat LESS than your goal, you are making that deficit way bigger and possibly hurting yourself in the process.
Your NET calories are shown on your homepage in that box right in the middle. At the end of your day, that NET should be equal to what your original goal was to start the day.
Your calories in your diary should be equal to zero remaining, or within 100 regardless of if it goes red or not.
RED does NOT mean failure. You have a 500 (or more, if you chose 2 lbs per week) deficit. You would have to be RED by 500 to break even and maintain for the day.
You goal is based off of regular daily activity NOT including exercise, so on days you DO exercise, you HAVE TO eat them back to maintain the same daily deficit. it is NOT counterproductive, it is fueling your body for your workout!
If you DON'T eat them back you are creating a much larger deficit than you intended and are not getting adequate nutrition.
To the OP:
you say you have an 800 calorie "deficit" at the end of the day...what you really mean is that you have 800 calories left to eat. If your goal was 1 lb per week, you already have a deficit of 500, so the 800 left uneaten makes it 1300! That is WAY too little to be holding back from your body each day.
I understand that you get this and are trying to figure out ways to eat more, but it really isn't hard, just eat more. Healthy food. It's quite simple.
To the people who say they don't eat their exercise calories. That's all fine and good when you're morbidly obese and have a ton to lose, but once you are within 50 pounds of goal you need to be at 1 lb per week and EAT a LOT more.
Within 20 lbs of goal, people need to be at .5 lb per week and eat even more.
To the person who is looking to bulk up:
You need to eat a calorie SURPLUS to put on muscle. Calculate maintenance calories, set your diary to that amount, and aim to turn it RED, and with a LOT of protein daily (1g per pound of your weight is good). Lift HEAVY weight near to the point of failure.
Also, I must point out, WOMEN have a MINIMUM net of 1200 a day to be healthy (unless you are under 5 feet tall and under 100 pounds, then you MIGHT be able to get away with a little less)
MEN, on the other hand have a BARE MINIMUM of 1500 a day, and this site can't differentiate between male or female on the goals page so it uses 1200 across the board. If you are a man, please be sure to NET OVER 1500 a day bare minimum, preferably more.
Trust me, I maintain at 1800-2200 a day as a 5'2" 108 lb female.
THANK YOU!
Awesome advice.0 -
Good information..."..."
Trust me, I maintain at 1800-2200 a day as a 5'2" 108 lb female.
THANK YOU!
Awesome advice.
I have to agree that was a great explaination and read.0 -
Anyone who has questions or would like one-on-one help can feel free to inbox me and add me.
I'm not a "certified" expert by any means, I didn't go to school for this...but I don't do anything half-assed, and therefore have spent over a year reading, learning, and researching, and happened to meet my goals in the process and am more than happy to share what I know to help others.0 -
My trainer recommended Zone Bars and they're 200 calories and delicious! They also have 10 grams of protein. You can get them at BJs or grocery store. I've even seen them at pharmacies. They just came out with a trail mix bar and a cashew pretzel bar.
Yum Yum Hope this helps!0 -
Zone bars ARE delicious, I call them guiltless candy bars. But they're not DAILY things, just a couple a week for emergencies...like keep in your purse for that time when you're stuck in traffic and starving and tempted to pull into the drive thru that is calling your name...
My favorites: Strawberry Yogurt, Cinnamon Roll, Trail Mix, and Chocolate Peanut Butter0 -
Thank you to everyone who replied. I got a lot of valuable info here. I will be sending a few of you some follow up.0
This discussion has been closed.
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