Getting over the mental hurdle of eating all the calories :S

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KayaSamantha
KayaSamantha Posts: 157 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have now lost a total of 20 lbs which is great but I have to admit something... I didn't do 15 out of the 20 the "right" way. I didn't eat very much most days and worked out a lot! I know this is the "wrong" way and have made a conscious effort to eat at least 1,200 cals a day if not more (I am still working out until I burn at least 1,000 cals a day though :S ). I have split emotions on this because I have slowed down my weight loss but I also know that I am getting healthier because of eating more.

I could really use some motivation to keep getting better habits right now and any tips on how to overcome these feelings would be great!

THANKS!
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Replies

  • Rompa_87
    Rompa_87 Posts: 291 Member
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    I have now lost a total of 20 lbs which is great but I have to admit something... I didn't do 15 out of the 20 the "right" way. I didn't eat very much most days and worked out a lot! I know this is the "wrong" way and have made a conscious effort to eat at least 1,200 cals a day if not more (I am still working out until I burn at least 1,000 cals a day though :S ). I have split emotions on this because I have slowed down my weight loss but I also know that I am getting healthier because of eating more.

    I could really use some motivation to keep getting better habits right now and any tips on how to overcome these feelings would be great!

    THANKS!

    I also had the same emotions and misconceptions at the start. The only way to overcome the hurdle in all honesty is to trust in the science behind eating more to burn more and eat your required calories. Once you start doing so and you realise you aren't gaining fat but actually losing it you won't feel as emotional from eating so much. Though you might find it hard to eat 3000-4000 calories of clean food if you are super active :/
  • funkyspunky871
    funkyspunky871 Posts: 1,675 Member
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    Therapy. Sounds like the beginning of an eating disorder to me.
  • kabatoff
    kabatoff Posts: 54
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    I am confused on this issue too. I am trying to eat 1200 calories/day. If I exercise and burn 300 calories... I am still eating 1200 calories... but it says I should eat 1500 calories... not sure what to do... I feel more comfortable eating the 1200 calories...
  • Rompa_87
    Rompa_87 Posts: 291 Member
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    I am confused on this issue too. I am trying to eat 1200 calories/day. If I exercise and burn 300 calories... I am still eating 1200 calories... but it says I should eat 1500 calories... not sure what to do... I feel more comfortable eating the 1200 calories...


    Eat the 1500 calories...

    The more you exercise the more you need to eat.
  • GypsyRose25
    GypsyRose25 Posts: 407
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    Therapy. Sounds like the beginning of an eating disorder to me.

    Where do you get that idea? Are you a therapist or a psychologist? Do you have personal history with an eating disorder? This is not the kind of encouragement and motivation that anyone needs or deserves.
  • NotGoddess
    NotGoddess Posts: 1,198 Member
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    Do you measure or monitor your body fat?
    I did my first 15 the 'wrong' way too and even though I'd lost weight, I didn't really lose inches.
    When I finally got a digital scale that would measure bf it was actually up by 3% (tho that might just be the differences between the scales).
    I started doing it the right way and the first thing I noticed was my pants were looser even though the scale had barely registered a pound. This last weigh in I did the math. I've only lost 5 so far but according the the bf #'s it's been all fat-just a trace (0.02lb) of muscle.
    It's a lot slower doing it this way but I know I could actually -live- the rest of my life eating what I am right now.
    You need to take notice of the non-scale victories, as they call them. I think that will help.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    I am confused on this issue too. I am trying to eat 1200 calories/day. If I exercise and burn 300 calories... I am still eating 1200 calories... but it says I should eat 1500 calories... not sure what to do... I feel more comfortable eating the 1200 calories...

    Here is a nice straightforward explanation of why:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/196502-for-the-people-who-work-out-like-crazy-and-are-not-losing

    It really works. and it works for the long haul. Trust that you will not be able to live the way you are living forever. In fact, at some point you will plateau and even GAIN. Your increasing muscle mass needs to be fed, and then in turn, it will burn calories FOR you, even while you sleep.

    I eat 1530 on a day without exercise. When exercising, I will eat up to 2800, depending on how much.

    Blessings.
  • MissyFit08
    MissyFit08 Posts: 274 Member
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    I am confused on this issue too. I am trying to eat 1200 calories/day. If I exercise and burn 300 calories... I am still eating 1200 calories... but it says I should eat 1500 calories... not sure what to do... I feel more comfortable eating the 1200 calories...

    okay, MFP starts you off at 1,200 Calories/day...

    1200 Calories just to get through normal daily activities
    -300 Calories from exercising
    =900 Calories left to get through the day...not enough,so you have to eat the 300 to get through the rest of your day. Your body needs it and if you eat it you'll lose weight easier....eat healthy foods and not too much processed stuff :wink: I hope this helped!
  • phillipstracey
    phillipstracey Posts: 1
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    I have the same problem. If I eat over 900 calories I feel really guilty. But I am trying to eat the 1200 calories. It is very hard for me to lose weight and was told by many people it is because I dont eat enough.

    It is hard to get over the mental part of "eat more to lose more".
  • lclarkjr
    lclarkjr Posts: 359 Member
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    Therapy. Sounds like the beginning of an eating disorder to me.

    Where do you get that idea? Are you a therapist or a psychologist? Do you have personal history with an eating disorder? This is not the kind of encouragement and motivation that anyone needs or deserves.

    Exactly! I mean the OP was asking for motivation and encouragement and what kind of person would suggest therapy? Shaking my head at that one...
  • fitplease
    fitplease Posts: 647 Member
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    @kabatoff: You need 1200 calories minimum to maintain your basic metabolic functions. If you exercise, then you "buy" into this "bank." That is why calories are added to your calorie count when you exercise....to make sure you dedicate the 1200 where it ought to go.

    If we don't expend all the calories we take in, then that energy gets stored in our tissues. (This is why I need to watch my ice cream. lol.)
  • LillysGranny
    LillysGranny Posts: 431
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    For most of us, gaining weight is a prolonged upward trend--we probably even go down some days, but we're not obsessed with it, so we don't notice...until we come to our senses months or years later and wonder where all the extra weight came from. If you want your weight loss to be as permanent as weight gain is for most people then you need to plan on taking your time and using the time you are losing weight to learn how to eat like a person who lives at a healthy weight permanently. No one will be happy starving forever, no even you (if you were, you would have weight to lose!). Use all those exercise calories to experiment with vegetables, fruits, fish, etc...that you haven't tried. Or reworking the recipes that led you to weight gain in the first place so that they will fit in easier with your new, healthy life. I've never been more than 20-25 pounds over weight, but I've lost and gained them more times than I can count in 45 years--mainly because I'd let the pounds creep on and then want to lose them all as fast as possible. Another thing I learned while doing some amateur kickboxing--I lost more weight eating 1600 calories a day than I did 1200. FACT. Give it a try!
  • funkyspunky871
    funkyspunky871 Posts: 1,675 Member
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    Therapy. Sounds like the beginning of an eating disorder to me.

    Where do you get that idea? Are you a therapist or a psychologist? Do you have personal history with an eating disorder? This is not the kind of encouragement and motivation that anyone needs or deserves.

    I have an ED, yes. And, I do believe that "getting over the mental hurdle" implies that she almost fears eating more after restricting for so long. I don't mean to be rude or anything. You act like therapy is such a horrible thing.
  • laurad8911
    laurad8911 Posts: 99
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    EAT YOUR EXERCISE CALORIES OR YOURE SETTING YOURSELF UP FOR METABOLIC RETARDATION.
  • GypsyRose25
    GypsyRose25 Posts: 407
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    Therapy. Sounds like the beginning of an eating disorder to me.

    Where do you get that idea? Are you a therapist or a psychologist? Do you have personal history with an eating disorder? This is not the kind of encouragement and motivation that anyone needs or deserves.

    I have an ED, yes. And, I do believe that "getting over the mental hurdle" implies that she almost fears eating more after restricting for so long. I don't mean to be rude or anything. You act like therapy is such a horrible thing.

    I don't at all. I'm in therapy. But you were just plain rude. Maybe you don't see it that way, but you were. People just need to be aware of what they say. Especially when someone is asking for help.
  • KayaSamantha
    KayaSamantha Posts: 157 Member
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    Thank you so so much for the encouragement that I am working towards the "best" way to do it! I really appreciate you all taking the time to respond to my post! I wish you all the best in your journeys!
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
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    I wouldn't be surprised if many of those pounds lost were muscle and not fat. You would probably hit your goal weight that way, but you wouldn't be happy with the results I bet. Eating more helps keep your muscle and mostly burn fat, this is what you should keep in mind when you are low on calories.
  • salleem
    salleem Posts: 6 Member
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    I'm not a health expert but I know what works for me and I've done a lot of reading on the subject. So take everything I say with a grain of salt.

    In order to lose 2 lbs a week (which is the high end of healthy weight loss) you should shoot to have a 500 calorie deficit for food and a 500 calorie deficit for working out. (that works out to 7000 calories a week which should be 2 lbs). At 1200 calories a day you are surely hitting the 500 mark (you're probably closer to 700) and if you're working out for 1000 calories I think that you're not quite eating enough (when I do this I get angry, forgetful and I can't maintain it)

    You might want to try cutting back your exercise to 500 calories or eating the additional 500 you're working out (if you're still working out 1000). And depending on your age and activity level I might bump up your eating calories to 1400 then you'll be getting your 1000 calorie per day deficit but still able to eat and still losing weight at a level that will keep you motivated.

    Good luck.
  • LauraMarie37
    LauraMarie37 Posts: 283 Member
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    Therapy. Sounds like the beginning of an eating disorder to me.

    Where do you get that idea? Are you a therapist or a psychologist? Do you have personal history with an eating disorder? This is not the kind of encouragement and motivation that anyone needs or deserves.

    *Shrug*. If she does have an ED, sometimes that kind of blunt talk is the "kick in the pants" needed to really sit down and think, "Do I have a healthy relationship with food?" I agree if EVERY response on here was like that, it wouldn't be helpful, but I don't think you need to jump on the one person bluntly suggesting therapy so quickly. It may be true. (I wasn't the one who said it originally, btw.)

    To the OP, there are lots of us on here who are close to our goal weights (ie, already a BMI of 22 or lower), are very active, are eating 2000+ calories a day, and are losing weight. I know it's scary to allow yourself to eat like that at first, but it will help all of that exercise actually DO something - ie, build muscle, build up your cardiovascular endurance, and burn fat!! Plus you'll feel tons better - more energy, better focus, etc.
  • funkyspunky871
    funkyspunky871 Posts: 1,675 Member
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    Therapy. Sounds like the beginning of an eating disorder to me.

    Where do you get that idea? Are you a therapist or a psychologist? Do you have personal history with an eating disorder? This is not the kind of encouragement and motivation that anyone needs or deserves.

    I have an ED, yes. And, I do believe that "getting over the mental hurdle" implies that she almost fears eating more after restricting for so long. I don't mean to be rude or anything. You act like therapy is such a horrible thing.

    I don't at all. I'm in therapy. But you were just plain rude. Maybe you don't see it that way, but you were. People just need to be aware of what they say. Especially when someone is asking for help.

    So my response was a little curt and didn't contain a smiley face or an 'lol.' That makes me rude?

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