Should I be eating back my calories?
Replies
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Kelley0519 wrote: »Yes, my initial goal is to lose about 50-60 lbs this time around, already lost 9 lbs....
(I've lost 80 lbs before, but put 30 lbs back on this past year, so I'm focused again)
How fast did you lose your 9 lbs? Based on what your posts say (you're burning 800 calories beyond you 2 lbs/ week rate), you'd expect to lose about 3.6 pounds per week, 1.6 from your 800*7 = 5600 calories of exercise. If it took you longer than 20 days to lose that 9 pounds (ignoring any monthly flucctuations...) then something is wrong.
Agree with what other said about getting a food scale that measures in grams. I buy almost everything on Amazon, but they're available at Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc. as well.
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Kelley0519 wrote: »
I got my food scale at Wal-Mart - around $20. Taylor is what I have.
There are some things that are really hard to measure in cups. Liquids are good, but solids of different shapes and sizes. There were some surprises. Plus - what's a medium pear look like?
Lol I know! That's why when I go to enter an apple, I look for the medium sized apple with the most calories just in case. Thank you, I will check out Wal-mart. I'm sure I'll find some surprises as well.0 -
Kelley0519 wrote: »brucealfred3 wrote: »Whether or not you eat back the calories you burn depends on your goal. Do you want to loose weight? If not, you shout not eat back. If you feel you look good, then gradually change over to more weight training. But don't ditch cardio!
Um - OP is eating 1250 & burning 800. That's 450 NET calories! That's alarmingly low.
Granted she is probably not burning 800.
Bruce - here's how MFP (My Fitness Pal) works. You plug in a weekly weight loss goal and MFP gives you the number of calories to eat BEFORE exercise. Not everyone can or will exercise. So if OP is using MFP as designed and exercising, she should be eating back some calories.
Adding strength training is a great idea - but OP needs to enough fuel to support lean muscle too. 450 calories is no where near enough fuel. 450 doesn't even cover basic bodily functions.
MFP gave me 1300 calories to eat per day when I entered that my goal was to lose 2 lb per week. I lowered is to 1250 because I don't own a food scale and I didn't want to over do my calories. Normally, when I work out twice a day, the treadmill or elliptical can total up to about 900 calories burned, I would then enter 800 calories burned (not counting the light weight lifting that I do) into MFP because the machines may or may not be accurate. I take these things into consideration. I'm not really hungry to eat back my calories, even with working out twice a day, but I guess I can make myself eat more. Maybe I'll eat a candy bar lol (joking) I have set my goal to lose 50 lbs...just want to make sure I'm doing everything to right way.
There's nothing wrong with a treat here and there, "sometimes foods." Make your dieting experience closer to the lifestyle you will have during maintenance. I've lost weight & regained. I've lost weight eating zero treats, but it back fired. I got to goal and had no idea what portion size was for ice cream.
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Kelley0519 wrote: »Yes, my initial goal is to lose about 50-60 lbs this time around, already lost 9 lbs....
(I've lost 80 lbs before, but put 30 lbs back on this past year, so I'm focused again)
How fast did you lose your 9 lbs? Based on what your posts say (you're burning 800 calories beyond you 2 lbs/ week rate), you'd expect to lose about 3.6 pounds per week, 1.6 from your 800*7 = 5600 calories of exercise. If it took you longer than 20 days to lose that 9 pounds (ignoring any monthly flucctuations...) then something is wrong.
Agree with what other said about getting a food scale that measures in grams. I buy almost everything on Amazon, but they're available at Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc. as well.
I'm on day 23 with MPF...so looks like I'm right on track! Only about 2 lbs off... that's pretty close!0 -
Kelley0519 wrote: »Kelley0519 wrote: »
I got my food scale at Wal-Mart - around $20. Taylor is what I have.
There are some things that are really hard to measure in cups. Liquids are good, but solids of different shapes and sizes. There were some surprises. Plus - what's a medium pear look like?
Lol I know! That's why when I go to enter an apple, I look for the medium sized apple with the most calories just in case. Thank you, I will check out Wal-mart. I'm sure I'll find some surprises as well.
The biggest surprise for me was Peanut Butter. While the container says a tablespoon, when I weighed out that tablespoon it was always more grams than what they said a tablespoon would equal. Since it has a lot of calories, that meant I was eating substantially more calories than I thought just from my PB&J sandwiches.0 -
rileysowner wrote: »Kelley0519 wrote: »Kelley0519 wrote: »
I got my food scale at Wal-Mart - around $20. Taylor is what I have.
There are some things that are really hard to measure in cups. Liquids are good, but solids of different shapes and sizes. There were some surprises. Plus - what's a medium pear look like?
Lol I know! That's why when I go to enter an apple, I look for the medium sized apple with the most calories just in case. Thank you, I will check out Wal-mart. I'm sure I'll find some surprises as well.
The biggest surprise for me was Peanut Butter. While the container says a tablespoon, when I weighed out that tablespoon it was always more grams than what they said a tablespoon would equal. Since it has a lot of calories, that meant I was eating substantially more calories than I thought just from my PB&J sandwiches.
Luckily I don't eat peanut butter! I have been measuring items with my tablespoon or teaspoon, but I excited to know I'll be getting a more accurate count fairly soon!0 -
I absolutely think you should. You put in that blood and sweat into a hard workout, you gotta reward yourself in a massive way. If you don't, you'll hit a wall and binge anyway. Burgers + fries and a large milkshake are great self rewards.0
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Kelley0519 wrote: »rileysowner wrote: »Kelley0519 wrote: »Kelley0519 wrote: »
I got my food scale at Wal-Mart - around $20. Taylor is what I have.
There are some things that are really hard to measure in cups. Liquids are good, but solids of different shapes and sizes. There were some surprises. Plus - what's a medium pear look like?
Lol I know! That's why when I go to enter an apple, I look for the medium sized apple with the most calories just in case. Thank you, I will check out Wal-mart. I'm sure I'll find some surprises as well.
The biggest surprise for me was Peanut Butter. While the container says a tablespoon, when I weighed out that tablespoon it was always more grams than what they said a tablespoon would equal. Since it has a lot of calories, that meant I was eating substantially more calories than I thought just from my PB&J sandwiches.
Luckily I don't eat peanut butter! I have been measuring items with my tablespoon or teaspoon, but I excited to know I'll be getting a more accurate count fairly soon!
Anything calorie dense will likely have similar results. It is just so easy to force a little more in.0
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