What to do with extra calories? HELP!

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rcrea
rcrea Posts: 80
in Food and Nutrition
Please, please help me figure out how to do this. I know that I'm supposed to eat back my exercise calories, but I can't seem to find anything to eat that would finish them up and stay within my limits of my other criteria. These numbers include the dinner I'm about to eat as well as a snack for later. No joke, I literally ate all day long. I don't know what else I could possibly add. HELP!


Totals 1191 2114 52 86 37 32
Your Daily Goal 1602 2500 53 60 18 32
Remaining 411 386 1 26 19 0
Calories Sodium Fat Protein Fiber Sugar
*You've earned 402 extra calories from exercise today

Replies

  • rcrea
    rcrea Posts: 80
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    I forgot to ask...is it better to go over my other limits (sodium, fat, sugar) in order to eat back those calories or to just shut it down for the day?
  • SixCatFaerie
    SixCatFaerie Posts: 690 Member
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    Personally, if I'm not hungry, I won't eat. So if you don't feel like it, don't.

    Also, I wouldn't risk going over on the fat especially or the sodium.

    Sorry, but I don't have any suggestions as to what to eat though.

    Good luck!
  • Lisa_222
    Lisa_222 Posts: 301 Member
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    What nutrients are you going over on?
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
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    I have the same problem. I am consistently coming in anywhere from 200-700 calories under net every day. I feel like I am eating constantly, but my new healthy choices aren't very calorie dense. I feel like I'd have to add in "junk" to up my calories, so I stick with the lower numbers. Many days I'm earning 500 calories by exercising, which I am certainly not willing to give up.
  • EmmaBielefield94
    EmmaBielefield94 Posts: 3
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    If you are hungry and feel like you need to eat, have some fruit! It will fill you up and wont make you gain! even if its a few calories over or under your goal. Its still healthy! but if your not hungry, just stop for today. Thats what I do.
  • grassette
    grassette Posts: 976 Member
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    Don't force yourself to eat if you aren't hungry. Weight Watchers would allow you to bank points in anticipation of special events where you would be eating more food. Applying those principles to MFP, maybe you'll exercise less tomorrow, and eat more then. If not tomorrow, the day after. The eating back your calories is a rule of thumb. Apply it with common sense. See how your body reacts. Adjust accordingly.
  • marialynnporter
    marialynnporter Posts: 95 Member
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    drink milk! milk has a lot of cal. and milk is good to drink after a nice hard work out.
  • leftymae5454
    leftymae5454 Posts: 41
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    Thanks everyone for the advice, because I was wondering the same thing. There's no way that I am going to eat back all of the calories I earned. If I am hungry I will eat back some but never all.
  • rcrea
    rcrea Posts: 80
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    I had tons of fruit today. The problem is I am at my sugar limit.
  • rcrea
    rcrea Posts: 80
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    But is it ok to do so when it means it will put me over on my sugar, sodium, and fat content?
  • rcrea
    rcrea Posts: 80
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    I'm always hungry, so I don't mind that I have the calories, it's how to do it without messing up my sodium, fat, and sugar limits that poses the problem.
  • nsueflorence
    nsueflorence Posts: 295 Member
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    When you work out you need to have extra protein, some studies say before others say after, your work out. This will help with rebuilding you muscules you broke down during your work out. Try a protein shake with fresh fruit.
  • rcrea
    rcrea Posts: 80
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    I've had TWO protein shakes today with plenty of fruit. But again, that still contains fat, sodium and sugar. What I'm looking for are foods that will eat up calories, but are have little to no fat, sugar, and sodium. I have no alloted sugar left, one fat, and a couple hundred sodium, but over 400 calories left.
  • GinaMarieG27
    GinaMarieG27 Posts: 29 Member
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    Don't force yourself to eat if you aren't hungry. Weight Watchers would allow you to bank points in anticipation of special events where you would be eating more food. Applying those principles to MFP, maybe you'll exercise less tomorrow, and eat more then. If not tomorrow, the day after. The eating back your calories is a rule of thumb. Apply it with common sense. See how your body reacts. Adjust accordingly.

    well said. i agree
  • cmeiron
    cmeiron Posts: 1,599 Member
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    I'm always hungry, so I don't mind that I have the calories, it's how to do it without messing up my sodium, fat, and sugar limits that poses the problem.

    Unless you have a medical condition that requires you to carefully limit sodium or sugar, there's no need to track either of them.

    There's also no need to panic if you go over on fat. Dietary fat does not magically convert into body fat.

    (Edited because I made an error reading your post re: protein intake). You could eat something with a bit of protein: a glass of milk, a couple of hard-boiled eggs, a snack-serving of tuna, that sort of thing.

    If you're feeling too full on only 1200 calories, you should look into eating foods that are more calorie-dense, like full-fat dairy, cheese, nuts, oils, etc.

    Personally, if I had 400 calories to kill I'd probably have some ice cream. Or a couple of beers. Or a PBJ.
  • TammyVieu
    TammyVieu Posts: 121 Member
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    I love peanut butter so whenever I have calories left that is my treat.
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
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    You mentioned not wanting to go over your sugar goal. Be aware that many, many people here are HIGHLY skeptical of the way nutrition trackers like MFP handle sugar because food labels don't distinguish between naturally-occurring sugar (like in fruit) and "added sugar." Most high level advisory bodies agree they want us to limit "added sugar" but DON'T agree on how much overall sugar or naturally-occurring sugar is okay -- generally recommendations range between 10% of total calories and 25%. The most sensible advice I've seen is that in general people should limit overall sugar to about 50 g per day but not stress out about it unless you're diabetic or eat a lot of processed foods. You are at 32 grams, or 10% total calories eaten today (at the low end of the recommended range) or <8% of total recommended calories for the day: a typical recommendation from MFP but UNREALISTICALLY LOW for anyone who eats fruit. And we should eat fruit!

    So, since you're coming in just about right at 30% of calories from fat and you're a little over on protein, the best thing would be to have a high-carb treat! If you hadn't said you were kind of fruited out, I'd recommend fruit juice, which I'd normally stay away from myself because of relatively high carb calories but lack of fiber, would be a great treat in your case. But how about a whole wheat english muffin or other toast with some jam? Somebody here suggested alcohol, which I didn't think of but if that's something you've been depriving yourself of, a glass of wine or a beer as a special treat might be good!
  • Peachy1962
    Peachy1962 Posts: 269 Member
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    I only eat back half my burned caloreis and kick the rest to the curb!! I hope that works in my favor!! :bigsmile:
  • robinschwalb
    robinschwalb Posts: 58 Member
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    I drink skim milk
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
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    Also, frankly, this might be a perfect occasion for a bit of chocolate! A dark chocolate bar with 210 calories*, added to your current totals, would keep your fat < 30% of calories, protein also < 30%, and total grams of sugar right at the 50 g per day REASONABLE recommendation. It would add no sodium. And you'd only be eating back half of your exercise calories, which many people do because they don't quite trust the exercise calorie calculations.

    *I'm calculating this from Dove Dark Chocolate Promises because that's what I keep in the house and like, but name your own poison, by all means.

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