How much should I eat?

Erisad
Erisad Posts: 1,580
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Okay, it gave me about 1500 as my starting calorie intake. Am I supposed to consume all of that? And if I exercise, do I need to eat all of those additional calories or am I okay as long as I get my 1500? If I need to get to 1500, I need to eat 300 more calories with or after dinner. Hmmmm....

Replies

  • sarahbetherck
    sarahbetherck Posts: 270 Member
    Eat it all and enjoy :-) I don't always eat all of my exercise calories back but I try to get most of them. I started with a lower calorie goal but have done much better since upping my calories.
  • Erisad
    Erisad Posts: 1,580
    Eat it all and enjoy :-) I don't always eat all of my exercise calories back but I try to get most of them. I started with a lower calorie goal but have done much better since upping my calories.

    Okay...I would have to consume over 800 calories to get all my exercise points in. I think that's a bit much. Wouldn't I lose more if I ate less of it, so long as I get to the base calorie amount? I may have cheese and crackers as a snack later. Hmmm....
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    Okay, it gave me about 1500 as my starting calorie intake. Am I supposed to consume all of that? And if I exercise, do I need to eat all of those additional calories or am I okay as long as I get my 1500? If I need to get to 1500, I need to eat 300 more calories with or after dinner. Hmmmm....
    eat it all :) i eat 1845 on rest days, and up to 2500 on exercise days, last month with very little exercise and going over on calories each week, i sitll lost 1/lb a week.
    you dont want your deficit to get too big, your body wont like it.. you might or might not lose more, but if you do its a higher chance that its muscle instead of fat. the absolute lowest you should NET is 1200, but most find thats not enough to keep them satisfied and fueled for workouts.
  • Erisad
    Erisad Posts: 1,580
    Okay, it gave me about 1500 as my starting calorie intake. Am I supposed to consume all of that? And if I exercise, do I need to eat all of those additional calories or am I okay as long as I get my 1500? If I need to get to 1500, I need to eat 300 more calories with or after dinner. Hmmmm....
    eat it all :) i eat 1845 on rest days, and up to 2500 on exercise days, last month with very little exercise and going over on calories each week, i sitll lost 1/lb a week.
    you dont want your deficit to get too big, your body wont like it.. you might or might not lose more, but if you do its a higher chance that its muscle instead of fat. the absolute lowest you should NET is 1200, but most find thats not enough to keep them satisfied and fueled for workouts.

    So I should eat whatever number they tell me? I guess I'll have to find 733 calories around the house. I don't want to eat junk food to get those calories though. So I may be raiding the V8, cheese and crackers or popcorn or something. I don't knoooow. *sigh*
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    Okay, it gave me about 1500 as my starting calorie intake. Am I supposed to consume all of that? And if I exercise, do I need to eat all of those additional calories or am I okay as long as I get my 1500? If I need to get to 1500, I need to eat 300 more calories with or after dinner. Hmmmm....
    eat it all :) i eat 1845 on rest days, and up to 2500 on exercise days, last month with very little exercise and going over on calories each week, i sitll lost 1/lb a week.
    you dont want your deficit to get too big, your body wont like it.. you might or might not lose more, but if you do its a higher chance that its muscle instead of fat. the absolute lowest you should NET is 1200, but most find thats not enough to keep them satisfied and fueled for workouts.

    So I should eat whatever number they tell me? I guess I'll have to find 733 calories around the house. I don't want to eat junk food to get those calories though. So I may be raiding the V8, cheese and crackers or popcorn or something. I don't knoooow. *sigh*
    id say yes - and it can be junk if you want it, tbh. i regularly have chips and candy and ice cream and pizza. i just make sure that my calories dont do over and i get as close as i can to my other goals (carbs, fat, protein).
    my only warning would be that if you dont use a heart rate monitor to figure your calories burned, you might want to only eat 50-75% of them... mfps calories burned can be a bit higher than what you actually burn..
  • haanne
    haanne Posts: 5
    Hi . I dont know about all the extra calories! I know what every one says, but I can only go off of what works for me. Last march I started working out 60 minutes of CARDIO AND EATING 1,200 CALORIES A DAY. I worked out 4 days a week. I STARTED AT 194 LBS. By fourth of July I weighed 158. I was able to keep it iff for the most part. I have started again because I put on 6 lbs. I have upped my cal intake to 1360 and I am doing 80 minutes of cardio . I know this works. I have lost 3 lbs this week.

    I think its all about the exercise and what you eat. For instance 2 cups of asparagus only has like 37 calories. Pair that with a side salad of spinach , tomatoes, mabye a few raisins and crutons (110) and 4 oz grilled chicken (180) and a few apple slices and you are good to go. And full when finished! yummy. Try grilling your aspargus!! they are so good with kosher salt and balsamic vinegar. Its like green french fries!!
  • Erisad
    Erisad Posts: 1,580
    Okay, it gave me about 1500 as my starting calorie intake. Am I supposed to consume all of that? And if I exercise, do I need to eat all of those additional calories or am I okay as long as I get my 1500? If I need to get to 1500, I need to eat 300 more calories with or after dinner. Hmmmm....
    eat it all :) i eat 1845 on rest days, and up to 2500 on exercise days, last month with very little exercise and going over on calories each week, i sitll lost 1/lb a week.
    you dont want your deficit to get too big, your body wont like it.. you might or might not lose more, but if you do its a higher chance that its muscle instead of fat. the absolute lowest you should NET is 1200, but most find thats not enough to keep them satisfied and fueled for workouts.

    So I should eat whatever number they tell me? I guess I'll have to find 733 calories around the house. I don't want to eat junk food to get those calories though. So I may be raiding the V8, cheese and crackers or popcorn or something. I don't knoooow. *sigh*
    id say yes - and it can be junk if you want it, tbh. i regularly have chips and candy and ice cream and pizza. i just make sure that my calories dont do over and i get as close as i can to my other goals (carbs, fat, protein).
    my only warning would be that if you dont use a heart rate monitor to figure your calories burned, you might want to only eat 50-75% of them... mfps calories burned can be a bit higher than what you actually burn..

    So I guess I'll stick closer to the base calorie amount given then. :)
  • Erisad
    Erisad Posts: 1,580
    Hi . I dont know about all the extra calories! I know what every one says, but I can only go off of what works for me. Last march I started working out 60 minutes of CARDIO AND EATING 1,200 CALORIES A DAY. I worked out 4 days a week. I STARTED AT 194 LBS. By fourth of July I weighed 158. I was able to keep it iff for the most part. I have started again because I put on 6 lbs. I have upped my cal intake to 1360 and I am doing 80 minutes of cardio . I know this works. I have lost 3 lbs this week.

    I think its all about the exercise and what you eat. For instance 2 cups of asparagus only has like 37 calories. Pair that with a side salad of spinach , tomatoes, mabye a few raisins and crutons (110) and 4 oz grilled chicken (180) and a few apple slices and you are good to go. And full when finished! yummy. Try grilling your aspargus!! they are so good with kosher salt and balsamic vinegar. Its like green french fries!!

    I roasted asparagus in the oven with olive oil like I do with broccoli and that's pretty good too. I'll do the best I can and keep you guys posted on my progress. :)
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member

    So I guess I'll stick closer to the base calorie amount given then. :)
    thats not really what i said, even if you ate back half of your cals burned, you should be eating more than the base.
    everyone will give you different opinions - to be honest, and most of the people against eating exercise calories will say "oh i lost 50 lbs in 5 months! so its fine ;D"
    but how much of that 50 was muscle? id rather eat normal amounts and not damage my hormones and muscle, and still be able to eat normal amounts when im at my goal weight. eating that low can lower your BMR and while over time, it can happen as you lose weight, its not nearly as drastic. ill be going from 1845 BMR to 1550.. if i tried eating at 1200, thats what my body would get used to, and anything more would make me gain. ive lost almost 40 pounds in 6 months, and if i had stuck to my goals better i would have lost more. why cheat yourself? you dont have to be hungry to lose weight
  • Erisad
    Erisad Posts: 1,580

    So I guess I'll stick closer to the base calorie amount given then. :)
    thats not really what i said, even if you ate back half of your cals burned, you should be eating more than the base.
    everyone will give you different opinions - to be honest, and most of the people against eating exercise calories will say "oh i lost 50 lbs in 5 months! so its fine ;D"
    but how much of that 50 was muscle? id rather eat normal amounts and not damage my hormones and muscle, and still be able to eat normal amounts when im at my goal weight. eating that low can lower your BMR and while over time, it can happen as you lose weight, its not nearly as drastic. ill be going from 1845 BMR to 1550.. if i tried eating at 1200, thats what my body would get used to, and anything more would make me gain. ive lost almost 40 pounds in 6 months, and if i had stuck to my goals better i would have lost more. why cheat yourself? you dont have to be hungry to lose weight

    Yeah but I'm not hungry, that's the thing. I guess I should force myself to eat more? O.o
  • TurnLeftNow
    TurnLeftNow Posts: 171
    If you are under your calories a couple days, there's nothing wrong with that. I would say stick to around 1500 a day if it works for you.

    Find out what works best for you. Try 1500 calories for a few weeks and if you don't see any progress, change it up. But basically there are 100000 different ideas on here on what you should do and people are going to tell you different things.

    If you don't feel like eating back all your burned calories, then don't. Try and hit 1500 as that is already a deficit before you work out. If you are a little under some days, that's okay. If you are a little over some days, that's okay.
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member

    So I guess I'll stick closer to the base calorie amount given then. :)
    thats not really what i said, even if you ate back half of your cals burned, you should be eating more than the base.
    everyone will give you different opinions - to be honest, and most of the people against eating exercise calories will say "oh i lost 50 lbs in 5 months! so its fine ;D"
    but how much of that 50 was muscle? id rather eat normal amounts and not damage my hormones and muscle, and still be able to eat normal amounts when im at my goal weight. eating that low can lower your BMR and while over time, it can happen as you lose weight, its not nearly as drastic. ill be going from 1845 BMR to 1550.. if i tried eating at 1200, thats what my body would get used to, and anything more would make me gain. ive lost almost 40 pounds in 6 months, and if i had stuck to my goals better i would have lost more. why cheat yourself? you dont have to be hungry to lose weight

    Yeah but I'm not hungry, that's the thing. I guess I should force myself to eat more? O.o
    if the levels at which you are eating are too low, yes.
    i had the same issue when i started - i never felt hungry. until i started nourishing my body and giving it what it needed, now i feel it if i miss a snack or a meal.
    just start a little at a time, or add in higher-cal things. full fat salad dressing, peanut butter, any kind of nut, avocado, cheese, cook with olive oil, etc. i almost never buy fat-free, or low-fat anything.
  • haanne
    haanne Posts: 5
    The fact that you are trying to make a change is amazing. Find out works for you .I LOVE CHOCOLATE!! I eat chocolate mocha kashi bar for breakfast . So yummy. Lunch (when I work) looks like a chargrilled chicken sandwich with provolone cheese, dinner is A weight watchers meal or steamed veggies, grilled chicken , fruit and a salad. Calorie countung works for me. I know you can do it . I set a goal. An old pair of jeans that I wanted to be in by... It worked!!! Good luck. Look forward to hearing your progress!!!!!
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