to eat or not to eat?

When you set your goals on how fast you want to lose weight, MFP will give you a number of calories you should net per day. That will most likely be a lot less than you're consuming right now (which is why you are needing to lose) - there are a lot of reasons to not under-eat and lose weight too fast, which hopefully someone can elaborate on. You want to make a lifestyle change, not do a fad diet.

Like you, occasionally I don't reach all my calories. Sometimes I eat a piece of fruit, but I think that if it's the exception rather that the rule you're okay.

Good luck!
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Even though I am not an expert in any way, shape, or form, I can tell you that eating calories just to eat is not a good habit to form/continue. I know that when I eat back exercise calories, I try to eat back at least 1/2 of what I burned as protein... I basically try to get the most nutrients i can.. I almost never eat back all my exercise calories unless I don't work out very hard. I feel as if, like everything, should be in moderation. If you feel that the only thing left to eat is the kitchen table and you still have calories left, leave that table where it is. No one needs that much fiber.

When I am under on my net calories for the day, I will have nuts or some cheese and crackers or a glass of juice.

It is my understanding that your calorie goals are set according to your activity level. If you're not active, calorie goals are set low. If very active, calorie goals are high. These goals are the minimum you should be eating to maintain proper nutrition. If you're eating less calories & exercising, then your body is using stored calories for energy & your body can go into starvation mode for lack of nutrients. So far, I've been very successful in losing weight when I eat my exercise calories. Those extra calories are how I make up for any nutrients I'm missing for that day. My calorie intake for the day determines how much I exercise that evening. If I'm way under in calories, I won't exercise. Also, eating more & exercising more helps speed the metabolism to increase weight loss. This is what works for me...hope it helps someone out there! :~)) JustLove...

I am fairly new here and have seen a lot of people talking about eating the calories burned from exercise. I'll a little confused. I had assumed that not eating these calories would translate into faster weight loss. Am I wrong? What are everybody's thoughts and experiences on this?

Also, sometimes I don't eat all my calories for the day... (most days I'm either ok or over) in this case should i just eat something like cake that will fill up the calories even if I don't particularly want it then?

Thanks!

You will see LOTS of discussion on this point. I think it's iimportant to understand how MFP calculated your daily calorie allowance, then you are are in a position to decide what will suit you.

When you set up your goals, you enter age, weight, height etc plus your activity level (this means the regular things you do day to day - walking around the house, work etc, but not extra exercise). MFP calculates how many calories you need just to stay alive, then adds extra cals to cover the regular activites in your day. You can see this number (maintenance calories) on your goals page.

Then MFP subtracts calories to give you a calorie deficit to ensure that you lose weight - ie you are burning more calories that you eat, so you will use some of those stored resources and will lose weight.

This means that the daily calorie allowance that MFP suggests already has a calorie deficit built in - you don't need to make this bigger by burning more or eating less.

The effect of making your deficit bigger is going to vary depending on your body and your situation.
- You might find that you lose weight faster with a bigger calorie deficit. From what I've heard, it seems that this most often applies to people who have a fair bit of weight to lose.
- You might find that your body reacts to a big calorie deficit by trying to work more efficiently and hang onto as many calories as possible. This is why some people find that their weight loss can slow down or stall if they don't eat enough.

My personal opinion is that you may as well try MFP the way it has been designed first of all. If you eat all your cals for a month or two and find that you aren't losing weight then you need to look at whehter you are logging food/exercise accurately, do you need to eat more or eat less, exercise more or exercise less etc.
This isn't an exact science - you have to try it and see what works for you. But I don't see the point in depriving yourself of good food and nutrition when it's not necessary.

Make sure you are getting in plenty of nutritious calories - then if you have room for cake and you will enjoy it, go for it!
If you want to eat something just to make up calories, you would be better off with nuts or fruit or avocado or salad with olive oil dressing or ... well whatever you like to eat that is going to give you good nutrition.

PS. Another thing I have an opinion on is "listening to your body". I've done this for over 40 years and it didn't do me any favours. I eat whether I'm hungry or not (within reason of course!) to make sure I am getting in good fuel for my body.

That is a tricky question but the way I address it is by the end of the day if I have left over calories then if im hungry Ill eat something if not I pat myself on the back and call it a good day.

Love this answer

If you have been consistently below your target caloric in take for the week, and have following your plan according, use the extra calories you have earned and have a little temptation on the weekend (whatever it may be), not too much, but enough to make you get back and on track on monday