I only lose when i dont eat my calories

nmarcus
nmarcus Posts: 17 Member
edited September 30 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi Guys,

First time posting here. I don't understand I know i am supposed to eat my calories but the scale just does not move unless i have a large amount of calories left. Yesterday I left over 850 cals and today I lost.

Please help.

Replies

  • pkpzp228
    pkpzp228 Posts: 146 Member
    Well than I think you have your answer. MFP isn't a weight loss bible, it's a tool to help "you" figure out what works and what doesn't. Measurement are certainly not perfect and one size does not fit all. If things are working for you than keep at it, if calorie deficits are too high your body will let you know by either leading to a plateau or decreased energy levels. Keep tracking what your doing and when things aren't working evaluate what needs to change.
  • nmarcus
    nmarcus Posts: 17 Member
    Thank you. Thats what I thought. But I did not want to go into starvation mode
  • pp67
    pp67 Posts: 26
    You do need a calorie deficit to lose weight. If you've got enough fat on you, then you can tell your body to take from that rather than your muscle... match your eating calories with your exercise calories and keep your eating plan high protein, low sodium. Starvation mode is a myth! People who have Weight Loss Surgery simply cannot eat all the calories that they once did, let alone 1200... and they don't suffer from "starvation mode".
  • sweetsapphire85
    sweetsapphire85 Posts: 386
    Don't worry, I have to do the same thing. It tends to be a 1 size fits all at times and being just over 5' and trying to lose 30lbs I don't lose anything if i eat my exercise calories, and lose about a 1/2 pound every 10 days if I eat my 1200 without exercise.

    I don't know how tall you are but I just find shorter people need a lot less calories to run on. If i ever hit a plateau I'll definitely up my calories for awhile and try again...but for now if it works i'll run with it!
  • nmarcus
    nmarcus Posts: 17 Member
    Thanks. The funny thing is I am shorter than avg. Im a male 5'5. Just curious how much of a deficit do you keep and how much do you lose now.
  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member
    For many people, eating exercise calories is the way to go. But there are some who do better without eating them. Sometimes it's due to an error in calculations somewhere, and sometimes maybe it's just down to differences in metabolism. Do what works for you, and if it stops working, change something.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    MFP might be off depending on what you put in your profile. But we need to know more about your diet before we can digest the issue. Can you make your food diary public? Do you exercise? How many calories do you eat? Do you happen to know your bodyfat? Below is a pretty good link that will tell you how many calories you should eat. This approach is different than MFP. If the tool suggest 1800 calories, you eat that amount whether you exercise or not but you have to make sure you are consistant. As a male, you should be eating more. In most cases, it is suggested that men dont' eat less than 1500-1800 calories.

    If you answer some of the above, we can work with you more to figure this out.



    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
    Just keep tabs on it. If you have a lot to lose the big deficits will be fine. Once you are closer to your goal you may need to re-evaluate. The "mode" is NOT a myth....but it takes a long time to kick in...not a day or two. It wasn't until I joined MFP and started eating more that I broke an almost 2 year plateau from not eating enough...my deficits were way too much...BUT I lost the majority of my weight with much bigger deficits, so just do what works and at a level you can happily maintain..if you stall...start to experiment. ;-)
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    It also depends on how much you have to lose. Someone who only has 10 to 15 pounds to lose has to eat a lot more then someone who has a lot of weight to lose.

    In the beginning I was a non-eater, and now that I'm down to my last 6 pounds, every calorie counts. The only way I got the scale moving again was to up my calories by a hundred and eat some of my exercise calories back.

    Like others have said, try a few things and see what works for you.
  • memobe
    memobe Posts: 126 Member
    I too, don't lose if I eat my exercise calories. I only seem to lose if I stick to 1200 or less, so thats what I "try" to do. :)
  • auticus
    auticus Posts: 1,051 Member
    The first two weeks I was on a 1600 calorie diet. (I'm 6'2 and weighed 242 at the start of this in July). I dropped about 8 lbs in two weeks and then hit the wall. This was with 1600 calories a day and 30 minutes of cardio a day 6x a week.

    What got me over the plateau was upping my calories. As backwards as that seemed.

    Some people can "eat their calories", others cannot. Also a lot of times what we think we burned in calories, we really did not.

    For example you could run for 30 minutes, and MFP will say "congrats you burned 500 calories" but it doesn't know what your heart rate got up to, so if you ran slowly you may have only burned say 250 calories, but you eat the extra 500 calories because MFP told you it was ok.

    Do what works for you. For me, if I don't eat my calories, I will lose for a few days and then stall. So I mix it up. I don't just do one thing forever, mixing it up works best for me.
  • nmarcus
    nmarcus Posts: 17 Member
    psulemon I exercise both cardio and weights on different days avg burn 600-1000. i eat about 1000 cals to 1200 body fat according to my scale is 13.8. How to I make my diary public. You will see I eat all day. Had my protein at 45 Carbs and 35 and fat at 20. I just changed it to 30-50-20 Pro-carbs-fat.
  • nmarcus
    nmarcus Posts: 17 Member
    auticus, I use a HRM do monitor my cal burn I usually round off lower for ex. if it says i burned 260 i'll enter 250.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    psulemon I exercise both cardio and weights on different days avg burn 600-1000. i eat about 1000 cals to 1200 body fat according to my scale is 13.8. How to I make my diary public. You will see I eat all day. Had my protein at 45 Carbs and 35 and fat at 20. I just changed it to 30-50-20 Pro-carbs-fat.


    To make your diary public, just go to the food tab and click on settings.

    How much do you weigh? Also, do me a favor and use the below link to check your body fat. 13.8% is fairly in shape.


    http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html


    Also, I hate to tell you, but the weight you are losing is muscle. Men have to eat no less than 1500 calories and even then it's pushing it. If you are only eating 1200 calories and you are burning 1000, your net calories is 200 which is really bad. Because that doesn't even factor in your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) which is the calories you burn at rest. To put this in perspective for you, a person who is 175 lbs @ 13.5% burns 1850 calories a day if they did nothing but sleep. If you burn 600 calories working out, that means you burn 2350 calories. if you only eat 1200 calories, that would be the equivalent if you at - 1150 calories. Kind of an issue.


    Also, for a person to lose weight at these ratio's, you should be eating 2400 calories. Below is a link for why you should eat more.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/304983-why-1200
  • beccau_20
    beccau_20 Posts: 191 Member
    Well than I think you have your answer. MFP isn't a weight loss bible, it's a tool to help "you" figure out what works and what doesn't. Measurement are certainly not perfect and one size does not fit all. If things are working for you than keep at it, if calorie deficits are too high your body will let you know by either leading to a plateau or decreased energy levels. Keep tracking what your doing and when things aren't working evaluate what needs to change.

    Thank you for this. It drives me nuts when people say you MUST eat back your exercise calories. I don't and I'm losing consistently. I know there will come a time when I need to change it, but not right now.
  • mrmanmeat
    mrmanmeat Posts: 1,968 Member
    Thanks. The funny thing is I am shorter than avg. Im a male 5'5. Just curious how much of a deficit do you keep and how much do you lose now.

    My days are pretty much going to be the same as yesterday, you can look at my diary if you want to. I'm focusing on burning 1000-1200 calories a day for the next 5 weeks.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    Well than I think you have your answer. MFP isn't a weight loss bible, it's a tool to help "you" figure out what works and what doesn't. Measurement are certainly not perfect and one size does not fit all. If things are working for you than keep at it, if calorie deficits are too high your body will let you know by either leading to a plateau or decreased energy levels. Keep tracking what your doing and when things aren't working evaluate what needs to change.

    Thank you for this. It drives me nuts when people say you MUST eat back your exercise calories. I don't and I'm losing consistently. I know there will come a time when I need to change it, but not right now.

    You are also at a different stage in weight loss. Limiting calories will affect muscle growth. More muscle equals a slimmer body that burns more calories. In order to make muscle grow, you need to eat enough. I know some say eat less, lose more, but it's really eat more, lose more.

    The problem is, MFP might not be set up correctly. Below is a good link the help understand peoples caloric needs.

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/
  • LauraMarie37
    LauraMarie37 Posts: 283 Member
    My first thoughts were (1) maybe you aren't measuring your calories correctly. (Nearly everyone underestimates their portion sizes unless they actually weigh/measure their food.) or (2) you haven't tried keeping your calories high enough for long enough. Your body has to stop believing it needs to hang on to every last nutrient - for some people, that takes a month or longer of hitting their recommended calories every single day.

    Also, remember HRMs are only accurate for steady-state cardio, not for anything involving weights or anything with stop-and-start. Search the user "Adzak" and read his blog for the science behind it.
  • grrrlface
    grrrlface Posts: 1,204 Member
    I haven't eaten all my calories to date and I never eat back exercise calories. I have been losing consistently for three weeks. Starvation mode to me seems a bit of a white lie to get people to lose weight healthily but it's hard to eat 1200 a day when I eat mainly just fruit and veggies!
    I don't think it is a problem unless you are definately eating too little for your body to run on.
  • Jade_Butterfly
    Jade_Butterfly Posts: 2,963 Member
    The first two weeks I was on a 1600 calorie diet. (I'm 6'2 and weighed 242 at the start of this in July). I dropped about 8 lbs in two weeks and then hit the wall. This was with 1600 calories a day and 30 minutes of cardio a day 6x a week.

    What got me over the plateau was upping my calories. As backwards as that seemed.

    Some people can "eat their calories", others cannot. Also a lot of times what we think we burned in calories, we really did not.

    For example you could run for 30 minutes, and MFP will say "congrats you burned 500 calories" but it doesn't know what your heart rate got up to, so if you ran slowly you may have only burned say 250 calories, but you eat the extra 500 calories because MFP told you it was ok.

    Do what works for you. For me, if I don't eat my calories, I will lose for a few days and then stall. So I mix it up. I don't just do one thing forever, mixing it up works best for me.

    Precisely the reason. . . I would recommend to anyone to get an HRM (heart rate monitor) so that you know exactly what you are burning and at what rate. . It really helps. ..

    Well and there are different rules of thumb as others have said you have to find what works for you. . But I think when you have a lot to lose. . you can go without eating the exercise calories. . as you near your goal weight and increase your muscle mass you will need to be eating more to avoid the body consuming muscle for energy. . .

    The biggest loser recommedation is that you eat 7 times your weight in calories. . . My trainer when I was kickboxing said keep it under 1500. .. so just a few thoughts. . wish you the best in your weight loss journey.
  • beccau_20
    beccau_20 Posts: 191 Member
    Well than I think you have your answer. MFP isn't a weight loss bible, it's a tool to help "you" figure out what works and what doesn't. Measurement are certainly not perfect and one size does not fit all. If things are working for you than keep at it, if calorie deficits are too high your body will let you know by either leading to a plateau or decreased energy levels. Keep tracking what your doing and when things aren't working evaluate what needs to change.

    Thank you for this. It drives me nuts when people say you MUST eat back your exercise calories. I don't and I'm losing consistently. I know there will come a time when I need to change it, but not right now.

    You are also at a different stage in weight loss. Limiting calories will affect muscle growth. More muscle equals a slimmer body that burns more calories. In order to make muscle grow, you need to eat enough. I know some say eat less, lose more, but it's really eat more, lose more.

    The problem is, MFP might not be set up correctly. Below is a good link the help understand peoples caloric needs.

    http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/

    I wasn't really looking for advice, but thanks. I've lost a ton of weight before, in a healthy manner, so I know what works for my body and I know what's going on with my body. I am building muscle and burning fat, while working under the supervision of a personal trainer and my doctor.
  • tallteacher
    tallteacher Posts: 74 Member
    I don't know if this is the case for you, but I had a similar problem recently. I was exercising and eating under my calories for the day - but I never lost anything. I finally figured out that, for me, even ONE alcoholic drink in the evening (a glass of wine after dinner, whatever) would cause me to not lose weight, even if I was still under my calories. I have to give up alcohol to lose the weight. I'm limiting myself to one night a week for any beer or wine. Another friend suggested that you not have anything with calories in it after 6pm. I haven't tried this myself, but it seemed like sound advice.
  • KyleB65
    KyleB65 Posts: 1,196 Member
    I am in the same situation.
    I kind of understand the logic of eating back my exercise calories.
    However, for me it is simple math. If my base rate is 1500 calories per day and I exercise to around the 500 calories mark but I do not consume the extra calories. My weight will go down.
    I try to hit the 1500 calories range each day. If I have a particularly strenuous workout I eat a little more so that I do not feel hungry.
    So far it is working and I am staying pretty close to my 2lb per week lose goal.
  • tallteacher
    tallteacher Posts: 74 Member
    Oh, and I also forgot to mention that last year, no matter what I tried, I could not lose weight. I was doing all the right things and still no luck. My doctor told me to take 500 IUs of Vitamin D. Now, when I try to lose weight, I can.
  • nmarcus
    nmarcus Posts: 17 Member
    psulemon, Thank you for the link i'll measure latter. I made my diary public so please take a look. I eat pleanty. I was at a 800 calorie deficit again yester day and lost a little. Currently i am 5'5 and 146 lbs. I would like to lose another 5-10 lbs.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    psulemon, Thank you for the link i'll measure latter. I made my diary public so please take a look. I eat pleanty. I was at a 800 calorie deficit again yester day and lost a little. Currently i am 5'5 and 146 lbs. I would like to lose another 5-10 lbs.

    Trust me when I say this, you truely do need to eat more. Here is why. When I started my weight loss program, I did p90x. I kept my calories around 1800 not much how hard the workout was. I was 210 lbs, 18% body fat. After 90 days, I lost 16 lbs and 3% body fat. So I tried it again, p90x for a second 90 days. Figured I would keep my calories the same since it worked before. After 90 days, nothing. No weight loss, no body fat change, and not a single inch off my body. So i research and started doing the hard math. I changed programs, started doing chalean extreme (a less intense and easier program), increased my calories to 2600 and watch the ratio's.. After 90 days, I lost 6" off my abs/waist/hips, 3% body fat and another 5 lbs. Currently I sit at 190, 11.75% body fat and eating about 3000 calories.


    The fact is, the closer you get to your goal, the more you have to eat. It is a scientific fact. Without proper nutrition, which is where you are at, you can not build muscle and lose weight. If you don't eat at least 1500 calories, you will be malnurished. This will SLOW your metabolism. Do me a favor and answer the questions I originally posted and I bet you I can get you to lose weight and build muscle. I have done it for myself, I have worked with tons of peopel on this board with success and I follow the math.
  • aussie_nic_getting_fit
    aussie_nic_getting_fit Posts: 134 Member
    im the same..
    when i eat my exercise calories i maintain and have slight gains.

    i am going to stop reading so much on these forums and thinking them as FACT.

    im gunna stop strssiing about it and start listening to my body
  • SaishaLea
    SaishaLea Posts: 333 Member
    I haven't eaten all my calories to date and I never eat back exercise calories. I have been losing consistently for three weeks. Starvation mode to me seems a bit of a white lie to get people to lose weight healthily but it's hard to eat 1200 a day when I eat mainly just fruit and veggies!
    I don't think it is a problem unless you are definately eating too little for your body to run on.

    Same here!!
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