How much is enough?

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blantonjm1
blantonjm1 Posts: 74 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Is it ok to not eat all of your calories for the day? Just the calories allotted prior to exercise? or should i be consuming closer to the amount allotted prior to excerise? Just curious what everyone else does. Not saying i want to eat more, just want to make sure i am eating enough to fuel my exercise as well.

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  • lmalaschak
    lmalaschak Posts: 346 Member
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    I hit pretty close to what my "goal" is every day, usually slightly under. If I exercise I usually eat some of those calories but not all -- I'd guess about half. But some people need to eat them all, I think. It depends what works for you. If you're NOT hungry enough to eat those calories back I don't see why you should have to. Although NOT being hungry enough is never my problem! :D
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    You are already in a deficit if you eat 100% of the cals, so the closer to your goal the better, as too large of a deficit can be counter productive.
  • vickie28
    vickie28 Posts: 68 Member
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    For me right now I can eat a few hundred less & it is not effecting me-- prob. cos I have a lot to lose-- 50 more pds, but my sis who only has 12 to lose --- was not seeing much of a lost each week so she up her eatting to what she was suppose to eat and wha - la she started losing-- so if u hit a plateau then up u'r calories-- when i lost 60 pds with weight watchers 15 yrs ago ( didn't keep it off ) any ways the more I ate the more I lost :) of course of the right foods & amounts -- your doing great !! Keep it up :) I love seeing your loss keeps me motivated :)
  • rdsxgrl28
    rdsxgrl28 Posts: 165 Member
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    I only eat my pre-workout calories.

    I think it is kinda self defeaiting to eat the calories. I alwyas try to maximize the calories I burn - they hurt too much to lose!!
  • allnewskinnyme
    allnewskinnyme Posts: 64 Member
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    I think it comes down to how you feel throughout the day. If I'm not hungry but I've still got 200 calories left I just leave them. I always eat them back on my treat day though!
  • holthaus30
    holthaus30 Posts: 58 Member
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    I normally do not eat back my calories from a workout, especially if I played basketball or cardio that burned a lot of calories. I would feel like I was defeating the purpose.
  • Anayalata
    Anayalata Posts: 391 Member
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    I only eat my pre-workout calories.

    I think it is kinda self defeaiting to eat the calories. I alwyas try to maximize the calories I burn - they hurt too much to lose!!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/206951-asked-my-trainer-re-eating-back-calories

    Eat everything guys. Don't cut yourself short. I'm eating 2500~ calories a day and maintaining.
  • 10acity
    10acity Posts: 798 Member
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    You are already in a deficit if you eat 100% of the cals

    Yes! Fueling your body is important, especially when you're working out regularly. Like several other posters, I am usually at or within 50 calories of my daily goal. Occasionally (like when I burn 700-800 cal in an evening kickboxing class), I just can't do it-- short of force-feeding myself, anyway-- but those are days on which my goal has exceeded 2000 cal because of a really hard workout. It's a tough thing for an over-eater to process, but it's actually important that we eat enough.
  • sara1923
    sara1923 Posts: 53
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    I try to keep my goal at 1200 but my actually calories to maintain my current weight without any activity is 1700. I am sure you know but a lot of the machines are innaccurate when they tell you calories burned. Also, a lot of websites will give you different numbers as well when you just enter how long you exercised for. I will eat some extra when I work out but I try not to eat all of the calories that I have burned. It really depends on how many calories you burn with exercise and your lifestyle. I'd suggest using a calorie counter to determine what your number should be at to maintain, lose, or gain weight with a sedentary, light,moderate lifestyle, hard lifestyle. These are more accurate and will put things into perspective.
  • blantonjm1
    blantonjm1 Posts: 74 Member
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    Ok now for part 2 of the question. I run 10 miles on Saturdays and supposedly burn between 1800-1900 calories on that run. Calorie wise I am at a huge deficit for the day when my calorie intake is set at 1860 when i be better to eat more the night before or the day of to help fuel this calorie burn? I run with two- 20 oz bottles of water with 2 tbsp of sugar and 1/8 tsp of salt in each to keep me hydrated during the run but this is nothing calorie wise. I got the recipe from a book called "the Runners Diet" and she encourages anyone running over 1 hr to hydrate with a low calorie drink or to use this mixture it really helps me keep going. Just curious what others might think. i am trying to lose weight and also not lose muscle or stamina. I need both to complete the distances. Any advice would be great.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    One day here or there wont be an issue but I would up the cals the day before the run, the day of the run and the day after. Even with the extra cals from all 3 days you don't have to hit the total burned of 1800-1900, but I would def. try to get more than half of them in. fueling your body will also help improve your running performance.
  • sprincess88
    sprincess88 Posts: 17 Member
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    When you dont put enough calories in and finish logging for the day it will tell you that you're not eating enough and it also explains why... your body goes into starvation mode and will hold on to as much as it can to give you enough energy for what you are doing. If you look at some pictures of starving people sometimes you'll see a protruding tummy even tho the rest of them is like skin and bones. The body holds on to things it would normally get rid of just to survive. I am by no means telling you to eat back the whole work out. I would just be careful to make sure you are eating enough to support your body. :smile:
  • bridies01
    bridies01 Posts: 57 Member
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    Are you sure about that 1800-1900 calories for a 10 mile run? I think an average person burns about 100 calories per mile. That sounds really high to me.
  • blantonjm1
    blantonjm1 Posts: 74 Member
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    I can't be sure of the calorie burn. I take it from my Garmin running watch and it has a heart rate monitor that helps adjust my calories based on my overall weight, distance ,heart rate and effort. I also can't say for certain but I way in right now i weigh in at 268 lbs and it should take more calories to move my body that distance than say someone 100 pounds less than me. Calorie burn should be based on time, distance, intensify and overweight weight of the person exercising. At least I think that would make sense. But I' ve been wrong before. Overall, i am just trying to do it right. i appreciate the feedback.
  • preachingirl
    preachingirl Posts: 12 Member
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    i get the minimum calories there are, so yes, I eat every single one. If I get extra with workouts, yep, those too. :D,
  • forever28
    forever28 Posts: 374 Member
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    Are you sure about that 1800-1900 calories for a 10 mile run? I think an average person burns about 100 calories per mile. That sounds really high to me.

    I don't think that's high for a 10 mile run weighing in at 268 lbs. Give or take, I bet it's pretty close.
  • blantonjm1
    blantonjm1 Posts: 74 Member
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    thanks. i am trying to get rid of the protruding belly. LOL.
  • noturshorte
    noturshorte Posts: 56 Member
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    Are you sure about that 1800-1900 calories for a 10 mile run? I think an average person burns about 100 calories per mile. That sounds really high to me.

    I weigh a bit more but just walking a at 3mph for like an hour with an average of an 8% incline I can burn 800 calories so 1800-1900 doesn't sound off to me but I have been wondering about eating more calories...it's actually what I was on here looking for an answer to lol.

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