Burning Calories = Eat More?

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mojojojo9882
mojojojo9882 Posts: 4
in Fitness and Exercise
Today was my first day on the site and it just so happened to be open gym for volleyball. According to the exercise calculator, I burned about 1,600 calories in an hour and forty five minutes of competitive volleyball play. Since I played hard today I indulged but my total calories for the day were still only at 2,100. With a goal of 1,700 my net is 500 and I have 1,200 remaining. Is it okay to leave so many calories unused for the day? My plan was to eat half the exercise calories I earn every day to ensure I'm not depriving my body but still enjoying the slightly advanced weight loss from working out. However, I'm done and don't want anything else to eat. As I play competitive volleyball regularly, I want to be sure I'm not setting myself up to fail by slowing down my metabolism from not eating enough.

Has anyone had such a low net at the end of the day? What were your results? MFP tells me that if every day were like today I'd lose about 25 lbs in five weeks but that won't be the case if my body shuts down because I have such a low daily net.

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  • anababiie
    anababiie Posts: 23
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    Today was my first day on the site and it just so happened to be open gym for volleyball. According to the exercise calculator, I burned about 1,600 calories in an hour and forty five minutes of competitive volleyball play. Since I played hard today I indulged but my total calories for the day were still only at 2,100. With a goal of 1,700 my net is 500 and I have 1,200 remaining. Is it okay to leave so many calories unused for the day? My plan was to eat half the exercise calories I earn every day to ensure I'm not depriving my body but still enjoying the slightly advanced weight loss from working out. However, I'm done and don't want anything else to eat. As I play competitive volleyball regularly, I want to be sure I'm not setting myself up to fail by slowing down my metabolism from not eating enough.

    Has anyone had such a low net at the end of the day? What were your results? MFP tells me that if every day were like today I'd lose about 25 lbs in five weeks but that won't be the case if my body shuts down because I have such a low daily net.

    I'm wondering the same thing!
  • brndygrl98
    brndygrl98 Posts: 196 Member
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    Eating at least half, if not all, of your exercise calories is ideal. However, there are going to be days when you just aren't that hungry and you've exercised a ton. It has happened to me a few times ( I wish it happened more). Don't sweat it unless every day is like that. One day is probably not going to throw you into starvation mode. In fact, you could probably feel comfortable going a little over tomorrow if you want to. Don't sweat a day :)
  • aallison85
    aallison85 Posts: 97 Member
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    Ladies-Check out the information in the link below! It contains a lot of helpful information about the way this site works as well as eating your exercise calories!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

    Best of luck! And keep at it!
  • Kym1610
    Kym1610 Posts: 333 Member
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    My net is usually around 7-800 a day and sometimes around 400 a day. Having said that I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables. To get to a 1200 net eating healthy filling low cal food I would need to eat around 2kg a day...something that I just cannot do.
    I tend to listen to my body and if I am hungry I eat more. My personal view point on starvation mode is as long as I am getting the required nutrients my body will be fine (this view point has come from a lot of research from very different sources).

    At the end of the day you need to find what works for you. I have been here since april, and doing this properly since June. i haven't plautaued. I don't feel tired all the time. If you are unsure there is plenty of information out there on starvation mode so you could do you own research, or alternatively experiment with it. Try zig zagging, or only eating half you exercise cals or not eating them at all and find what works for your body.

    Edit- By the way I am aware this can be a very contriversial view point on this site. I am not going to argue with anyone about this, it is just what works for me.
  • jchester71
    jchester71 Posts: 124 Member
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    Today was my first day on the site and it just so happened to be open gym for volleyball. According to the exercise calculator, I burned about 1,600 calories in an hour and forty five minutes of competitive volleyball play. Since I played hard today I indulged but my total calories for the day were still only at 2,100. With a goal of 1,700 my net is 500 and I have 1,200 remaining. Is it okay to leave so many calories unused for the day? My plan was to eat half the exercise calories I earn every day to ensure I'm not depriving my body but still enjoying the slightly advanced weight loss from working out. However, I'm done and don't want anything else to eat. As I play competitive volleyball regularly, I want to be sure I'm not setting myself up to fail by slowing down my metabolism from not eating enough.

    Has anyone had such a low net at the end of the day? What were your results? MFP tells me that if every day were like today I'd lose about 25 lbs in five weeks but that won't be the case if my body shuts down because I have such a low daily net.

    My net is often that low on Saturdays when the dog gets walked twice, I go to the gym and for a hike. I wouldn't worry about it too much if you are trying to lose weight.
  • mojojojo9882
    mojojojo9882 Posts: 4
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    Thanks for the input everyone. I think I'll just go with how my body feels for now and evaluate in a couple weeks.

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