the importance of using all my calories.........

zebedeewyse1
zebedeewyse1 Posts: 10
edited September 30 in Food and Nutrition
hey how is everyone today? i have a question..... i eat the same amount of food that i have always done maybe the portions are smaller(and im not eating chocolate bars when i get peckish or crisps) but filling in my food diary im barely reaching 11000 cals i know i gain extra calories through doing exercise my daily cal is 1480 to begin with when ive had 3 meals and then put in the exercise cals im having anywhere between 300 and 700 cals left over i just dont understand other than maybe having bigger portions of things and letting myself have treat i dont quite know what to do i keep getting told off by MFP for being soo many cals under apparently im making my body go into starvation mode...... confused.com!!! any input would be most appreciated :-)

Replies

  • joanneeee
    joanneeee Posts: 311 Member
    well 11000 calories is very hard to reach
    loljk
    eat more fattttttttttt. nuts, nut butter, avocado, etc. dense calories are good. fat is good.
    1 tbsp of nut butter is around 100 calories, for example.
    you don't have to eat hundreds and thousands of vegetables to reach your calorie goal
  • charmednz
    charmednz Posts: 49 Member
    11,000 calories? are you sure thats right?

    My calorie amount for each day is around 1500
  • zebedeewyse1
    zebedeewyse1 Posts: 10
    OOPPSSSSSS i ment 1,100 lol xx
  • shoppie
    shoppie Posts: 618 Member
    Find a few healthy but high cal things to eat eg nuts, avocados, cheese - these are the things I have if I'm too far under
  • xraychick77
    xraychick77 Posts: 1,775 Member
    starvation mode is a myth. does your bmr calculations go down if you literally starve yourself yes..but its miniscule..by 10%..and thats if you STARVE. you do NOT hold onto calories or store fat..that is all incorrect info. your body will use any calories it gets to function. it HAS to use some sort of fuel..be it calories you intake, your body fat or muscle. so technically any calorie deficit from your T.E.E. is considered starving yourself.
  • Ahluvly
    Ahluvly Posts: 389 Member
    1100 cals a day is WAY too low! You need to rejig things and make sure you putting in the correct activity level and week goal loss! Whatever you burn, you need to eat them back so your body is getting the number of cals it needs in order to function! Hope that helps :P
  • Ahluvly
    Ahluvly Posts: 389 Member
    This is what I'd personally do...have three meals a day and two snacks! You need filling foods too!!!!! If you don't eat the correct number of calories your body will hang on for dear life to what its got!
  • sexforjaffacakes
    sexforjaffacakes Posts: 1,001 Member
    Do what you're comfortable with, 1450 is plenty of calories, starvation mode is a great exaggeration. Don't stuff your face because an automatic website calculator tells you to, just eat as much as you're comfortable with.
  • zebedeewyse1
    zebedeewyse1 Posts: 10
    This is what I'd personally do...have three meals a day and two snacks! You need filling foods too!!!!! If you don't eat the correct number of calories your body will hang on for dear life to what its got!
    thanks babe thats an awesome answer maybe i should sit down and maybe work out a meal plan or something i used to eat alot of takeaways indian/chinese/pizza some weeks id have an indian mon pizza (bogof) on a tues and chinese on a wed so i know where the weight has come from ive stopped the takeaways and eat the same stuff during the day maybe i am just eating the 'wrong' foods! xx
  • OtakuEngineer
    OtakuEngineer Posts: 31
    I have an issue using all my calories as well.. but I think that's because I get so many... like today, well yesterday, I had 3500 because I did 600 in exercise. I ended up taking in about 2100 and I have been trying to eat a little more here and there to bump up my count a bit, even if I don't feel hungry. Today was a low day, other days I'll eat up to 2500 or so, although I have 78 pound loss goal, and I think I only put my settings at a pound a week, so I get quite the generous amount of calories given to me for each day.

    I do find it hard though to get even close to what they want without feeling too full all day long. I mean to get up to my count today I'd have to eat dinner and lunch all over again... however as my weight decreases so will my calorie intake and maybe my 2500 will end up being a little too much instead of too little!
  • zebedeewyse1
    zebedeewyse1 Posts: 10
    i had set up mine to loose 1lb a week cos thats what it said was recomemded ive just gone and changed it ti 1.5lb a week and has taken me down to just over 1200 a day which i think will be better i do think i still need to sort out a meal plan thou!
  • Felesina1
    Felesina1 Posts: 142
    At first I didn't eat any of my exercise calories and I lost weight = 15lbs; but I've noticed last week that my weight is going up and holding steady regardless of how little I eat. So this week I decided to try eating some of my exercise cals back, and my body is starting to let go of the small amount of weight it gain last week. Find a balance for yourself and use the MFP guidelines - cause that what they are - guidelines.... at least for me!
  • Ahluvly
    Ahluvly Posts: 389 Member
    It is quite a complex subject to get your head around - calories, nutrition and energy to lose weight.

    Here's some background info on me which may help see where I'm coming from, advice wise....

    I joined my local gym on 16th June and during the first few weeks I went twice a week. I then upped it to 3 and now I go 3-4 times a week. Last week I got 3 sessions in (one swimming) as I had a death in my family saldy but, I've had two nutrition appointments there and they've been brilliant. I've learnt a lot and now, I won't consider a so called diet as it's not for me.

    It was the trainer that advised me to go onto this site and enter all my details but even he said, 1200 cals (which is what I got when I put my weight, my goal weight and my activity level along with my desired weekly weightloss). I then upped it to 1410 cals after changing from sedentary to active, and then at my 2nd appointment he advised me to increase it to 2300 cals. Massive jump! And in all honesty, to make up the extra cals I ate a cream cake one day which is a rarity for me!

    However, it boils down to this. I would rather eat as many calories as I am able to and still lose weight opposed to cutting my daily cals to something so drastic as 1200 cals. My trainer explained to me that while I am working out, I need the extra cals ane because of my weight, you simply need more! I have 30kg to lose, well, I should rephrase that to say, "I would like to ideally lose 30kg" but I'd rather lose it in a year or so then cut my cals so severely that after 3 or 6 months, my body just grinds to a halt...which is what he says happens to people.

    They cut their cals, after a few weeks, they don't lose or they lose a little. So this then propels them to cut them even more, causing your body to probably lose muscle mass in the beginning (which we really don't want) and then....your body will just hang on to your weight.

    I think unless you have to lose X amount by Y date, then do it the sensible way. Rejig your figures, aim for a 1lb a week weight loss and get at least 3.5 hours of exercise into you a week. They recommend 30 mins a day, 5 days a week but hand on heart for people who have a lot to lose you're more likely to be aiming for 5 sessions at 45-60 mins but then again, start as you mean to go on. Set something up you can and more importantly want to stick to and see through.

    x
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