Very confused about the calorie intake.

This program will tell you, and many people have different opinions about it, to eat the calories you are allotted AND the calories you burn during exercise. The reason is the program has already put in a deficit for you. I personally eat back part of my exercise calories but, like I said there are many opinions on it.

Going over on protein is really not that big of a deal, especially if you are working out. You are supposed to eat back your exercise calories because the way this website is designed, it gives you a deficit to lose without exercise, so eat those back (this is a HUGE debate on here.) It takes a lot more healthy foods to get to your calorie goals than it does junk food. The only areas I really worry about going over is sodium, carbs (I subtract my fruits and veggies from this number) and my calories though I try and get as close as possible, including eating my exercise calories. I hope this helps. I feel like I am all over the place but I just had a date with the devil (Jillian) and am still trying to recover!!! Good luck.

Hey Jennifer...I've been on a great diet and reading everything I could get my hands on as to nutrition. I've lost about 75 pounds in the past 10 months. I've done so through better nutrition, excercise and calorie counting to insure I have a calorie deficit each day. As a man, I shoot for around 1500 to 1700 calories per day. Two suggestions I would make to your eating. First, there is a lot of recent evidence that eating protein earlier in the day leaves you feeling more full. I typically start my day with eggs and whole wheat toast. Second is watching out for the fruit. Not that it isn't healthy and all, but it typically includes a great deal of natural sugar. If you eat a bunch of fruit and aren't actively burning the sugar (energy) your body will turn it to fat. People often refer to "Fruits and Veggies" as one and the same. Actually, you can eat pounds of veggies and add only health and very few calories to your body. Fruit on the other hand should be eaten sparingly and preferably, just prior to the point in the day when your activity is at its highest. This allows the sugar in the fruit to fuel your muscles, rather than pad your butt...:0) I've found best results in not only considering what I eat, but when I eat it. Jus tsome food for thought. Hope I haven't rambled on too long. Best of luck to you in your journey.

Cheers, Jeff

if that is all you are eating, then yes indeed you are eating nowhere near enough food. you shoudl be eating about triple what you are eating right now. Take a look at my diary to see how much i eat and i'm usually around 1350 cals. yesterday i ate a lot, i ate back my exercise caloris and today i had crepes as a treat. i lose on average of 2 lbs a week.

your lunch especially needs to be much much bigger.

Are you counting calories correctly? or portions? Breakfast seemed a little heavy to me. Other than that I would not worry if it tells me i am not eating enough, as long as you are not hungry. and you have exercised. other than that, keep on doing what you are doing! you will reap if you faint not!

In my opinion, going over in protein isn't a bad thing, especially if you are doing any sort of weight lifting at the gym... your muscles need the protein, so don't fret if you go over there. Worry about the Calories, Fat, Carbs, and Fiber. You want to be sure to limit the 1st three and you want to make sure to get enough fiber. Again with fiber, I'm not really sure going over is something you should be worrying about!

Judging by what you wrote down for your diet and assuming you burn around 400-600 calories when you work out, you probably aren't eating enough calories. As someone else already said, this program is already putting you at a calorie deficit so that you can lose weight at a safe and healthy rate. If you are allotted 1500 calories per day, try to eat around 1500 calories a day! If you burn 500 calories at the gym, try to eat the calories you burned! For me, I enjoy working out... it gives me more energy and it of course increases my appetite from all the calories burned. You have to give your body those calories back! It's almost a nice reward for a hard workout to have a big hearty, healthy meal. Obviously it's not best to fill the calories burned with empty calories, but it's also okay to treat yourself to a bowl of ice cream on occasion! It's important for you to try to change your mindset about eating while on a diet like this. Eating lots of veggies, fruit and water is absolutely the right thing to do, so keep doing that. But just make sure you're eating enough!

I think you will find in the long run that you continually go in an extreme deficit to what is recommended to you, you will gain weight back much easier if you go off the diet. Been there, done that, and really really trying to change my lifestyle for good this go around...

I don't know what exercise you are doing. But you could be gaining muscles. It sounds like you are eating healthy. I try to eat 1200 calories and 20 fat grams a day. And walk, I start out 2 miles and work my way up to 3 miles a day. Good Luck!