Do I really have to eat all my calories?

beverlyfox
beverlyfox Posts: 14
edited October 3 in Health and Weight Loss
I still have lots of calories left for the day. what happens if I don't eat them? I don't want to eat food just to get to zero calories. Someone help me with this please.

Replies

  • lrobin65
    lrobin65 Posts: 31
    You don't have to eat all your calories. Make sure you are eating at least 1200 a day and you should be fine.
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    YES
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    Read these.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
  • wbgolden
    wbgolden Posts: 2,066 Member
    have to, get to. depends on what works for you.

    when i do, it doesn't work.
  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member
    Nobody's going to hold a gun to your head and force you to eat them. But yes, you should.
  • kcwonder
    kcwonder Posts: 57 Member
    You don't have to eat all your calories. Make sure you are eating at least 1200 a day and you should be fine.

    ^^^ I subscribe to this same rule.
  • sandhillcrane
    sandhillcrane Posts: 301
    You should try to be close. Honestly, I never eat them all especially the exercise calories. It is working for me. I think you need to listen to your body. If you aren't hungry, you probably don't need to eat them all. Everyone is different. I'm sure plenty of people will disagree with me but as I said, it's working for me. Good luck! :flowerforyou:
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
    if you are hungry, you should eat. if you aren't, you shouldn't
  • meagalayne
    meagalayne Posts: 3,382 Member
    The answer is you should try to get as close to your targets as you can to maximize results. There are so many reasons why you shouldn't under eat, and they have all been addressed a million times before on the forums.

    Unless you are burning 1000+ calories a day, I see no reason why it should be that difficult to eat your calories. You ate in excess of them to gain weight, so it really should not be an issue.

    Food choice is really the answer. Look at WHAT you're eating. If you're struggling to fit into your calorie allotment, that's the first place to look...
  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member

    Unless you are burning 1000+ calories a day, I see no reason why it should be that difficult to eat your calories. You ate in excess of them to gain weight, so it really should not be an issue.

    This.
  • jhungate
    jhungate Posts: 95 Member
    Depends on how much you exercise. The more you work out, the more you burn, the more fuel you need. I eat all of mine and about how of those I burn working out.
  • isys5
    isys5 Posts: 213
    I have a hard time with eating all the calories too as I have dieted all my life so it is hard to change old patterns. I noticed in the past if I was eating too little, 1200 or around there, for too many days I would not loose weight.

    I heard an excellent tip from one of the training forums that for best results you should actually stagger your daily calorie intake to trick the body into not plateauing. Your usual target intake should be the average and you should not go lower than 1200. So if your target intake is 1500 you could alternate each day such as below:

    Day 1 -1300
    Day 2 -1800
    Day 3 -1300
    Day 4 -1700
    Day 5 -1500
    Day 6 -1300
    Day 7 -1600

    Or some version of the calorie amounts so that your total for the week adds up correctly to 10500 per week. Supposedly your body can't adjust/plateau as easily if you keep mixing it up :) And for me it is nice to know I can eat less one day and more another depending on my energy
  • MsAmulet
    MsAmulet Posts: 36
    I choose not to and I'm losing at a steady rate. I'm content/satisfied and realize later I might want to eat more of my calories. But at this point I am listening to my body. A site I highly recommend is www.pubmed.com for looking up diet related things.
  • PB67
    PB67 Posts: 376
    A site I highly recommend is www.pubmed.com for looking up diet related things.

    YES
  • bregalad5
    bregalad5 Posts: 3,965 Member
    When I'm exercising, I'm ravenous and always try to eat at least 14-1500 calories, but you really shouldn't be eating under 1200. Eating back exercise calories is a personal decision. It works for some, but not all. Some people push EAT BACK ALL YOUR EXERCISE CALORIES! others push DON'T EAT YOUR EXERCISE CALORIES!
  • celticmuse
    celticmuse Posts: 492 Member
    I didn't eat my exercise calories until I came within 5 lbs of my goal weight, now I do it all the time, because I need to - I am HUNGRY! So listen to your body, and never eat less than 1,200 calories/day net, and you'll be fine.
  • finchase
    finchase Posts: 174
    I rarely ever eat all my calories, especially my exercise calories, but I do try to get to 1200 calories.

    Someone commented that you exceeded your calories to get to your current weight. Well, that's true, but in my case anyway, I was eating things that were terrible for me: Lots of chips, cookies, fast food, lots of white bread with butter, etc. I was also drinking more than was good for me due to work stress. Now my snacks are things like fruit, almonds, yoghurt or low calorie fiber bars. The foods I eat now are good for me, and while I can't say I never drink, it's only on rare occasions now. Therefore, I have to say I find it very difficult to max out my calories these days, and yet I'm very full. For those of you who are familiar with the Abs Diet, that's basically its central tenet: If you're eating the foods recommended there, you don't really have to count calories because you'll be full.
  • 0PhAtDaDdY
    0PhAtDaDdY Posts: 569 Member
    I still have lots of calories left for the day. what happens if I don't eat them? I don't want to eat food just to get to zero calories. Someone help me with this please.

    I can help you please let me know how many you have left over and I will eat them for you.....
  • Kikilicious84
    Kikilicious84 Posts: 312
    I still have lots of calories left for the day. what happens if I don't eat them? I don't want to eat food just to get to zero calories. Someone help me with this please.

    I can help you please let me know how many you have left over and I will eat them for you.....

    *Like* lol
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