not eating all your daily calories??

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hippieguitargirl
hippieguitargirl Posts: 11
in Food and Nutrition
so.. yes... I am new.. and it seems like I don't eat all my daily calories. Or if i exercise alot then i get more calories? and i don't really eat those either. Should i be eating those?

The MFP guide said i should eat 1350. . .

I'm a little confused??
i eat really healthy and the stuff i want. . .

Maybe I'm just going crazy:happy:

anyways, thanks get back to me.

Replies

  • maurierose
    maurierose Posts: 574 Member
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    It is important that you eat all your MFP calories; that's something you really shouldn't go under. If you're finding yourself under your cals, try adding some more protein (not sure what your usual diet is, can't see your food log) and make sure that the food you do eat is GOOD food (complex carbs, not a lot of fats and processed sugars, etc.) This is particularly important, if you starve your body, it will hang on to every single little ounce of fat ya have and grab on to any more you eat, just to keep itself going.

    As for eating your exercise calories, some say they do, some say they don't. Personally, I am eating most of my exercise calories and I've lost several pounds a week (I am new to this too, started June 29th.... again...) and I am actually hungry for those cals....

    Since you're already under your MFP calories, I'd start with at least eating all your daily calories; if you find you're not losing anything (inches OR pounds), bump up your calories a little... try eating half your exercise cals, if that doesn't work, try eating all of them, etc. Good luck!!!
  • slcobb001
    slcobb001 Posts: 39 Member
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    Hi..:smile:

    I think the reason you have to eat close to what your daily calories list, isn't for today.. it is for later in the walk you have with your weight loss. When you start you are focused and things are easy. As time goes by your body will start asking for more. Now you feel guilty about eating more and after awhile you give up.
    By eating near the plan you break that and can keep on track better.

    On the same note.. When you eat close to the target 2 things happen.. You are making a life change and get use to the "right" amount of food to eat W/O having to track so close. Also losing weight fast mostly means you put it back on faster. Use the tracking to make a real change and it will stay with you.

    Good luck and happy eating!!!
  • adopt4
    adopt4 Posts: 970 Member
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    maurie is exactly right. for some people eating the exercise cals works, for some it doesn't seem to be necessary, but for some it is absolutely required. You might already be in starvation mode which means once you start eating your calories you will gain just a bit of weight in the beginning until your body realizes you will feed it what it needs, then it will drop fast. You don't want to drop below 1200 in net calories, that's total calories minus your exercise cals.

    I know it seems strange and odd - but I've been losing 10 pounds a month doing that... so obviously it works.
  • kathrynp45
    kathrynp45 Posts: 22 Member
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    Once I discovered portion control and eliminated some of my high calorie foods I found I wasn't eating enough either. The problem was that I plateaued and stopped losing weight. Once I started eating my required calories I started losing weight again - that includes the additional calories for exercise which sometimes I am not in the mood for after exercise but it keeps me on track.
  • hippieguitargirl
    hippieguitargirl Posts: 11
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    THANKS GUYS!! :D

    you all help me mucho!! <3
  • lilangel7671
    lilangel7671 Posts: 353 Member
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    This was a really helpful thread guys! I too am pretty new at the balancing my calories thing too. I started Turbojam again in Mid-January- I was 167lbs. Eating carefully (alot of salads, portion controls, and staying away from bad fats/carbs) along with my exercise (at least 30 min 6 days/week), I've now slimmed down to my goal weight of ~120lbs. I am loving my new body but- I was noticing getting tired easily, not losing much weight and getting BAD cravings! I workout a lot and could not imagine stopping now-so I decided it was time for help on here! Everyone is so supportive I love it!:happy: Anyways- haha- back to my story...I started posting on here a few days ago and everyone who responded agreed that I NEED to eat more! I took a closer look at my calorie intake-only about 1300/day? So when one girl who posted told me her BMR is to eat 1500 calories/day not including exercise calories she was wow'd and so was I! I need to eat around 1600 calories/day base and then I get the extra exercise calories if I want them. Today starts a new day- so far I have eaten around 800 calories and have another snack and dinner to go! I'm thinking an apple with peanut butter for snack and probably my favorite salad with grilled chicken, lots of veggies (tomatoes, cucumbers, maybe some grapes), nuts, and feta cheese, with balsamic vinegar dressing:tongue:
    The hardest part for me is to balance out my carbs and sugars- is eating whole wheat breads like the Arnold's 100 calorie 100% Whole Wheat sandwich thins ok? Also is eating a lot of fruit going to spike my sugars too much--causing extra to be stored? Or are those totally ok as long as you're burning it off with exercise?

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