confused

GinoMontague
GinoMontague Posts: 3
edited October 3 in Introduce Yourself
I see a lot of great stories and great commitment from the members. That's awesome. I do have some questions. I am eating and tracking everything, at the end of the day I do not eat all my calories allotted. Is that bad? And when it says I have earned extra calories from exercise, I don't have to eat extra do I? Thanks, Gino on 2nd day.

Replies

  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
    MFPs calorie goals will have you lose weight without lifting a finger in exercise.

    www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

    I've stalled in my weight loss a few times, and to restart it I had to increase my calories, I'm eating 2000 calories a day and still losing weight.
  • PaulaJKelly
    PaulaJKelly Posts: 96
    You should have a minimum of 1,200 calories a day. I don't know what your personal calorie number should be. Probably 50% of the people eat their exercise calories and are successfull and the other 50% of the people don''t eat their exercise calories and are successful. Drink 8 to 10 glass of water (8 oz) a day unless medically you aren't supposed to do so. Eat enough protein - The chart on here seems very low. I eat closer to 100 not 45 of protein. I reached my weight goal. Wishing you success.
  • EKarma
    EKarma Posts: 594 Member
    I try to stick around 1200 cals a day.. I try not to eat my exercise cals, but they are nice to fall back on if I want that extra glass of wine.. lol
  • ziggylove
    ziggylove Posts: 57
    If you are hungry, eat something. Doesn't have to be big, but eat something. Whereas if you're not hungry, don't eat. I have noticed beter weight loss results when I eat little snacks when I'm hungry. I don't lose weight as well if I try to deny feelings of hunger (your body telling you to eat!).
  • SailingMike
    SailingMike Posts: 237 Member
    Some things I have learned...
    1. In the first weeks of starting exercise program most folks gain weight because a cubic inch of muscle weighs more than a cubic inch fat. SO don't just weigh yourself... MEASURE to see what your body is really doing.
    2. NEVER eat less than about 125O calories... OR try to loose too much too fast. Your body goes into starvation mode and retains fat.
    3. It took YEARS to put on the weight... eat HEALTHY (food pyramid) exercise regularly... and slowly it will come off.
    4. Also, SLOW weight loss is most likely to stay off long term.
    5. DON"T "diet"... just learn to eat properly and exercise regularly. Make your goal "good health."
    6. Eat back at least SOME of your exercise calories. This motivates me to exercise more!
    7. Don't deprive yourself. Learn to have just ONE bite of that cake. Total deprivation may lead to fast weight gain later.
    8. As you gained weight you probably had plateaus going up. Your body remembers these plateaus and will automatically plateau there again on the way down. Some refer to these as "set points." It may take some time and sometimes some adjustments to get past them.
    9. Mix it up. Vary your exercise from day to day and vary your menu. If you get bored you are less likely to be successful.
    10. Fill out your MyFitnessPal.com profile, particpate on the boards and add some friends who will encourage you (and maybe inspire you too) .... and HAVE FUN with it!!
    11. Move More + Eat Less = Lower Weight

    "It matters not if we try and fail, and try and fail again. But it matters much if we try and fail and fail to try again."
  • TrishJimenez
    TrishJimenez Posts: 561 Member
    I see a lot of great stories and great commitment from the members. That's awesome. I do have some questions. I am eating and tracking everything, at the end of the day I do not eat all my calories allotted. Is that bad? And when it says I have earned extra calories from exercise, I don't have to eat extra do I? Thanks, Gino on 2nd day.
    [/quote

    The "goal" that mfp has for you in calories and in macros is what you are supposed to shoot for. Try not to go over by very much and try not to go under by very much either. It is kind of like when you are making cookies from scratch and are measuring your ingredients. Are your measurements EXACT? No, the spoon might be heaping when you measure your spices, and your cup of flour might be a little shallow, the raisins or brown sugar might not be as packed tightly as the next person. But your cookies still turn out good bcuz you were CLOSE. But if you go way over, or way under the cookies wont turn out. It is the same with your calories, follow the goal. log everything as close as possible and try to stay as close as you can with out going over. It just takes practice and eventually you will get better. I find that if I plan my meal the night before for the next day, or at the very least the morning before I leave the house I tend to do better. It is easier then being hungry and trying to figuire out what to eat and then you have to start looking stuff up and it can be a gamble, when you are hungry you might not make the best decision. But if you are hungry and you know that you are going to eat and can look forward to what you are going to eat it makes the being a little bit hungry ok. I also find that if I eat often that I do a lot better. Lately I am rarely starving like I used to get sometimes. And that is because I have fall back snacks like almonds on me all the time in my purse and a banana for when I am at work and cant stop and eat.
  • GinoMontague
    GinoMontague Posts: 3
    Thanks for the replies. I don't need to eat any extra, I am full and I do drink up to if not more than a gallon of water a day. These are my numbers I will keep going and see. Thanks, Gino

    At the end of the Day:
    Totals 1,410 194 42 79
    Your Daily Goal 2,368 326 79 89
    Remaining 958 132 37 10
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