Trouble Eating Calories Back

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tawojcik
tawojcik Posts: 67
in Food and Nutrition
I am not quite there yet, but I think I may be there soon. What I am talking about is where I "earn" way more calories in exercise than I can eat (just not hungry enough and there is no point in racking up empty calories just do it). I don't want to go into starvation mode and I want to be healthy.

Ideas?

Replies

  • Kalrez
    Kalrez Posts: 655 Member
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    I have days like that, where I'm not really all that hungry. As long as I NET at least 1200 calories at the end of the day, I'm happy. Sometimes that means I've got a couple hundred calories left over, but whatever. I don't make it a habit or anything. Some days I'm just not as hungry.

    Net 1200 and you'll be alright.
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
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    Nutritious, high calorie foods like nuts, avocado, granola, peanutbutter.....they're all good for your, high in calories but won't fill you up too much.

    How many calories are you burning per workout? I just ask because if you're using MFP to determine your calorie burn (or a gym machine) you may think you have more calories to eat back than you really do. The website (while great) often overestimates calorie burn, as do machines at the gym. If you don't have an HRM, I highly reccommend getting one so you'll know excactly what you burn and what you should eat back.
  • ShellyMacchi
    ShellyMacchi Posts: 975 Member
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    i eat back anywhere from 1/2 to all (mostly all) of my exercise calories and doing so is what broke a plateau i was on a couple of months ago.

    i know that when i hit my next plateau (it is inevitable) i will lower my rate of loss (thereby upping my daily calories regardless of exercise) and i will eat all those too *S*.

    it works
    In fact if i cannot eat enough calories i will cut back then on cardio and focus more on strength training so i won't have too many calories left to eat *S*

    but it is not a matter of 'belief' ..it really is scientific fact.
  • innerfashionista
    innerfashionista Posts: 451 Member
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    Are you entering your calories from MFP or do you wear a HRM? I don't swear by my HRM but I feel like it gives me a more accurate representation of how many calories I'm actually burning. I find MFP to be a huge overestimate.

    Try eating more calorie dense foods like almonds, avocados, peanut butter (I prefer the unsalted natural kind you have to stir).
  • evesacks
    evesacks Posts: 94 Member
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    If you really aren't hungry don't eat them back. I don't always eat them I am guided by hunger.

    Others have made good comments that MFP often overestimates, and def don't eat processed non healthy foods for the extra calories.

    You will not go into starvation mode if you are eating to your hunger and are having more than 1200 cals.
  • crmhaske
    crmhaske Posts: 66 Member
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    You'd have to stop eating for days for your body to go into starvation mode. If you aren't hungry, don't eat.
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
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    but it is not a matter of 'belief' ..it really is scientific fact.

    Can you show me the proof of this scientific fact that you should eat back most, if not all, of your exercise calories? I've heard fors and againsts, but like most things involved in this field, there's very little actual fact. If it were hard fact, how can people eat 1600 calories and burn 5000 in a day, 7 days a week, and lose 14lbs that week. Do that for months, and at the end have lost the fat and built the muscles?
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
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    but it is not a matter of 'belief' ..it really is scientific fact.

    Can you show me the proof of this scientific fact that you should eat back most, if not all, of your exercise calories? I've heard fors and againsts, but like most things involved in this field, there's very little actual fact. If it were hard fact, how can people eat 1600 calories and burn 5000 in a day, 7 days a week, and lose 14lbs that week. Do that for months, and at the end have lost the fat and built the muscles?

    Are those numbers for real? Because they sound made up....not trying to be snarky, but that's just not possible. What exercise done 7 days a week could possibly burn 5000 calories a day? I'm sure running a marthon burns a lot though I doubt it's even that much and anyone that needs to lose weight could not run a marathon every single day.

    Eating 1600 and burning 5000 would result in a negative of 3400 calories a day, which would mean that person would not live very long at that rate. As for losing 14 pounds in a week, that is either water weight or the person is very obese.....when 1 pound a week is recommended there is no way 14 pounds in a week on a regular basis is even remotely healthy. Either these numbers are completely made up, or you are waaaaay over/under estimating a lot of things.
  • crmhaske
    crmhaske Posts: 66 Member
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    but it is not a matter of 'belief' ..it really is scientific fact.

    Can you show me the proof of this scientific fact that you should eat back most, if not all, of your exercise calories? I've heard fors and againsts, but like most things involved in this field, there's very little actual fact. If it were hard fact, how can people eat 1600 calories and burn 5000 in a day, 7 days a week, and lose 14lbs that week. Do that for months, and at the end have lost the fat and built the muscles?

    Are those numbers for real? Because they sound made up....not trying to be snarky, but that's just not possible. What exercise done 7 days a week could possibly burn 5000 calories a day? I'm sure running a marthon burns a lot though I doubt it's even that much and anyone that needs to lose weight could not run a marathon every single day.

    Eating 1600 and burning 5000 would result in a negative of 3400 calories a day, which would mean that person would not live very long at that rate. As for losing 14 pounds in a week, that is either water weight or the person is very obese.....when 1 pound a week is recommended there is no way 14 pounds in a week on a regular basis is even remotely healthy. Either these numbers are completely made up, or you are waaaaay over/under estimating a lot of things.

    Martial artists competing for nationals train 8-10 hours a day. One hour of taekwondo burns around 1000 calories.
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
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    but it is not a matter of 'belief' ..it really is scientific fact.

    Can you show me the proof of this scientific fact that you should eat back most, if not all, of your exercise calories? I've heard fors and againsts, but like most things involved in this field, there's very little actual fact. If it were hard fact, how can people eat 1600 calories and burn 5000 in a day, 7 days a week, and lose 14lbs that week. Do that for months, and at the end have lost the fat and built the muscles?

    Are those numbers for real? Because they sound made up....not trying to be snarky, but that's just not possible. What exercise done 7 days a week could possibly burn 5000 calories a day? I'm sure running a marthon burns a lot though I doubt it's even that much and anyone that needs to lose weight could not run a marathon every single day.

    Eating 1600 and burning 5000 would result in a negative of 3400 calories a day, which would mean that person would not live very long at that rate. As for losing 14 pounds in a week, that is either water weight or the person is very obese.....when 1 pound a week is recommended there is no way 14 pounds in a week on a regular basis is even remotely healthy. Either these numbers are completely made up, or you are waaaaay over/under estimating a lot of things.

    Martial artists competing for nationals train 8-10 hours a day. One hour of taekwondo burns around 1000 calories.

    I meant an exercise that a regular person just trying to lose weight would do. Someone whose job it is to work out to train for a competition is not what I would call a regular person on MFP and therefore shouldn't be compared to a regular person trying to lose weight.. Besides, when it is a person's job to train for some type of event like that, their other job is eating. There is no way any professional athelete that works out that much in a day eats anywhere near 1600 calories. According to Fox news, when Michael Phelps is in competetive training, he consumes 12,000 calories a day.
  • KSfitgal
    KSfitgal Posts: 59 Member
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    This is my thoughts and what I do.... For me to maintain my current weight which I don't want to do, I would need to eat around 2630 calories a day. To lose 2 lbs a week like I want - I need to eat 1000 calories less (or 7000 calories less a week), so for me it is 1630 daily. Even if I work out for an hour 5 days a week. My calorie burn goal is around 3500 calories a week then. So in reality that is another 500 calories a day off the initial 2630 to maintain. Because to lose 1 pound a week you want to take in 3500 calories less a week or 500 calories a day than you would need to maintain. SO, I actually aim to eat 1500 calories minimum and 1630 maximum a day, that way if I am not hungry I am still getting enough nutrition or if I am hungry then I have 130 calories to play with. Anything I burn over that is benefiting me. To get your calories in, you might try to pick up some Whey Protein- I like the Body Fortress Whey Protein. It is around 140 calories and 26 g of Protein per scoop. Mix it with a cup of water or some fruit and it is a light meal and easy way to get your water, calories in and still stay healthy.

    This has worked well for me. I had been doing WW from January - end of May lost 10 lbs. Started MFP and this process at the start of June and lost 18 pounds last month.

    Good luck!

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