Am I eating enough??

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fishndad
fishndad Posts: 102 Member
in Food and Nutrition
My job is fairly physical half the day, & sedentary the rest. I never thought of using my job as exercise, but I thought I would wear a heart monitor & see how many calories I burned. According to MFP, I could eat another 600 calories yesterday & about 800 today. Since work is not a traditionat exercise, but I use so many calories, should I eat those extra calories just like exercise. I have my goals set at lightly active, but I guess that wasn't enough.I went by MFP standards of a 1000 calorie deficit, but that would be to little if I used work calories. My main question........am I putting my metabolism in a starvation mode because I've been eating to little??

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  • fishndad
    fishndad Posts: 102 Member
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    bump
  • japruzze
    japruzze Posts: 453 Member
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    Up your activity level and see what comes up as the recommendation. I wouldn't count it as exercise since its "regular" activity for you.
  • karismalynn
    karismalynn Posts: 41
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    I have a similar question, actually. I keep being under...significantly under, sometimes, my calorie intake goal of 1200. On the days I have class and then work I barely have time to eat, especially on 15 minute breaks. However I don't find myself being hungry, I'm usually content. But I don't get a lot of exercise on days like these because as a cashier I don't move around a lot. So I'm also wondering if this is making my body go into starvation mode....
  • KoriS
    KoriS Posts: 13 Member
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    I'm interested in hearing the answers to your questions too. I've been significantly under my calorie intake for the past few weeks, especially on the days I exercise (Zumba 4 days/week, plus interval or strength training 2 days/week). I'm very frustrated b/c my weight seems to have plateaued...I'm hovering within 2 pounds and can't seem to get anywhere! I have about 40 more pounds to lose to reach a healthy BMI, and I'm getting very discouraged! I tried increasing my calorie goal, but that is difficult for me. I have been eating very healthy for several months, lots of veggies (leafy greens, sweet poatoes, broccoli, peppers, etc), lean grilled meats, whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, barley, whole wheat bread), healthy fats (olive oil, almonds, avocado). The thing is, my calorie intake is low, but I am eating a lot & feel FULL. Very difficult for me to increase my calorie intake when I feel full and satisfied. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!
  • fishndad
    fishndad Posts: 102 Member
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    bump
  • carrie_eggo
    carrie_eggo Posts: 1,396 Member
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    Up your activity level and see what comes up as the recommendation. I wouldn't count it as exercise since its "regular" activity for you.

    ^This.
    Here are a couple of good links you may want to read through.

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/447397-my-plateau-nutrition-story-learn-from-my-mistakes
  • justanotherbrickinthewall
    justanotherbrickinthewall Posts: 156 Member
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    Maybe bump your activity level to active instead of sedentary? 1000 is far too little; you'll put your body into starvation mode which completely wrecks havoc on weight loss. Make sure to get at least 1200 a day.
  • pauljsolie
    pauljsolie Posts: 1,024 Member
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    I agree with upping your activity level. It would be easier than trying to figure what you are burning on average per day.
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
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    My job is fairly physical half the day, & sedentary the rest. I never thought of using my job as exercise, but I thought I would wear a heart monitor & see how many calories I burned. According to MFP, I could eat another 600 calories yesterday & about 800 today. Since work is not a traditionat exercise, but I use so many calories, should I eat those extra calories just like exercise. I have my goals set at lightly active, but I guess that wasn't enough.I went by MFP standards of a 1000 calorie deficit, but that would be to little if I used work calories. My main question........am I putting my metabolism in a starvation mode because I've been eating to little??
    You need to experiment and just see.
    I'd take a middle way, track weight a few weeks and see what the numbers tell me.
    And just to keep the scale honest, I also track body fat
    Here for free:
    Body Fat
    http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    I'm interested in hearing the answers to your questions too. I've been significantly under my calorie intake for the past few weeks, especially on the days I exercise (Zumba 4 days/week, plus interval or strength training 2 days/week). I'm very frustrated b/c my weight seems to have plateaued...I'm hovering within 2 pounds and can't seem to get anywhere! I have about 40 more pounds to lose to reach a healthy BMI, and I'm getting very discouraged! I tried increasing my calorie goal, but that is difficult for me. I have been eating very healthy for several months, lots of veggies (leafy greens, sweet poatoes, broccoli, peppers, etc), lean grilled meats, whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, barley, whole wheat bread), healthy fats (olive oil, almonds, avocado). The thing is, my calorie intake is low, but I am eating a lot & feel FULL. Very difficult for me to increase my calorie intake when I feel full and satisfied. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!

    Even if you are quite full, there should be ways you can sneak in extra calories, a little at a time to help you eat enough and break your plateau. Use extra olive oil for a while, an extra tbsp (or 1/2!) of PB or hummus with veggies. Look to just slightly up those calorie dense foods you already incorporate- just 25 extra calories per meal and snack gets you 100+ cals over the day.

    If you have been eating low and are plateauing, my best recommendation is to slowly (maybe every 3days or each week) increase your calorie intake until you are eating just a little below mainenence at your goal weight (the maintenence is probably in the 1600-1700 area, so ideally get to around 1500) and then drop back into a regular deficit- I'd say if you are prone to under eating as a habit, try not to go below 1250.

    Good luck!
  • gdunican
    gdunican Posts: 20 Member
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    http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/the-facts-on-leptin-faq?page=2

    I suggest reading this article on Leptin. Leptin is controlled by what we eat and how much we eat. Your brain may be telling you that you are hungry, when indeed you are not... Great article. Of course Leptin was only discovered in our body's functioning in 1994 - so there are allot of studies continuing.

    Greg
  • gdunican
    gdunican Posts: 20 Member
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    Another good search to do is on Conjugated Linoleic Acid.

    Conjugated linoleic acid inhibits fat storage by enhancing the ability of cell membranes, other than fat cells, to open up and allow the absorption of fats and other nutrients. It also promotes the growth of muscles by letting nutrients into active muscle cells. Trials have shown CLA to help build muscles and reduce body fat while protecting against arterial disorders and a host of age related diseases. CLA pushes sugar into muscle where it can be burned off as energy.

    Just my opinion, I have been researching weight loss heavily and have found some great information available from proven science. No, I am not a salesperson!! LMAO Just a research freak when I get started on something!! So I thought that I would share.

    CLA is all natural and is made of Safflower and Sunflower Seed Oil.

    Here is a link to more info: http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20040520/cla-weight-loss
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,051 Member
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    You would have burned more than 600 calories anyway during that nine hour period - even if you were just watching TV. You can't count all of that as exercise!

    Heart Rate Monitors are meant to be used during aerobic or anaerobic activity, not daily routines. Even when being used for exercise, you should deduct the calories you would be burning anyway at rest.

    Read this:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472

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