anxiety when eating exercise calories
emilyisbonkers
Posts: 373 Member
hello everyone 
I am having trouble with feelings of guilt after eating back my exercise calories, my goal is set to 1200 net, and I like to hula hoop and my job involves a lot of walking, so some days mfp tells me I need to eat about 2000 calories.
I find this is making me very anxious on the days that I do eat that much, I find it hard to believe I could actually lose weight on days where I eat 2000 calories.
However, last year I dieted down to 123lbs, but I was eating around 600 NET calories a day, and now I am eating 1200 NET calories minimum a day, and weigh 133lbs, but DESPITE weighing a lot more, I am the same size and can wear the same clothes.
Am I right in thinking this is muscle weight? How can I get over this fear? Any advice is helpful xx
I am having trouble with feelings of guilt after eating back my exercise calories, my goal is set to 1200 net, and I like to hula hoop and my job involves a lot of walking, so some days mfp tells me I need to eat about 2000 calories.
I find this is making me very anxious on the days that I do eat that much, I find it hard to believe I could actually lose weight on days where I eat 2000 calories.
However, last year I dieted down to 123lbs, but I was eating around 600 NET calories a day, and now I am eating 1200 NET calories minimum a day, and weigh 133lbs, but DESPITE weighing a lot more, I am the same size and can wear the same clothes.
Am I right in thinking this is muscle weight? How can I get over this fear? Any advice is helpful xx
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Replies
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bump? anyone
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I always eat my exercise calories back... if you are nervous about it, start by eating 50% of them back and go from there...0
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I really feel like this a lot too! Bump0
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Not sure what to say, you just have to try it and see if it works. If it doesn't, adjust.0
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try eating back only half 0
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Some people only eat half of them back. I really don't see anything wrong with that if it makes you more comfortable.0
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Get a Heart Rate Monitor so you'll know how much you're really burning. There's not a problem with eating back your exercise calories unless you're overestimating the burn.0
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Set your calorie target to 2000 and ignore the exercise calories.0
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the difference between dieting and eating right on mfp is that mfp is a lifestyle. Don't think many people would be very successful on 600 calories for long periods of time. Add weights to working out. You will build more mucsle and burn fat faster. i go by clothes too. If they fit then i'm ok, as soon as they get a little snug, i have to be careful.0
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To be honest with you, I had to up my calories to lose weight. They had me at 1200, I stuck to it, and nothing happened.
I upped it to 1500 and I'm losing slowly.
I looked it up based on my measurements and BMI and should be eating about 1600-1700 a day. (This weekend I hit 2k each day and lost 2 pounds...)
600 NET is very low... You may not feel hungry, but it could cause your body to hold onto whatever is there.
http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/
Give that a shot and see what it tells you. I like the tool, and I think it seems more realistic. I'm never hungry, but I'm never stuffed either, I'm right in the perfect zone I guess you could say.0 -
Not trying to be mean, but honestly if eating causes you that much anxiety, you should seek professional help before you develop a full-blown eating disorder. Not to mention eating 600 calories is no where near healthy.0
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Get a Heart Rate Monitor so you'll know how much you're really burning. There's not a problem with eating back your exercise calories unless you're overestimating the burn.
^^ this.0 -
So MFP tells you to eat 200 cals..that must mean you are burning 800 cals in your activities..subtract the 800 from your 2000 and you are actually eating 1200..
But like another user said, eat half and see how that works for a few months. I went 3 months not eating mine back and didnt lose squat before I sat down and thought about it. MFP says eat 2280 cals, I burn 1000 during my workouts, I am only taking in 1280, my resting metabolic is 2200...my body thinks I am starving. So now I eat back my cals and will try that for a few months.0 -
the difference between dieting and eating right on mfp is that mfp is a lifestyle. Don't think many people would be very successful on 600 calories for long periods of time. Add weights to working out. You will build more mucsle and burn fat faster. i go by clothes too. If they fit then i'm ok, as soon as they get a little snug, i have to be careful.
oh, and 2000 cals is a lot. I just bought a fitbit to track my actual calories burned and its pretty accurate. look into something like that. 0 -
Hi, Have you included your hula hooping and walking at work as part of your lifetsyle rating or do you add them as exercise?
For myself I don't add any of my day to day exercise such as walking at work into my lifestyle as I have a sedentary job and only walk at work intermittently.
I do log physical exercise such as continuous walking and gym workouts and eat most of the calories (I try and make sure I net 1200 calories particularly when I have burnt over 400).
Walking which is not sustained (e.g. walking between departments at work) for me is not aerobic enough to count as cardio/daily exercise.
Do you have/ can you borrow a pedometer or heart rate monitor to see how active your work is?
If you can't accurately measure what you are doing at work then I would suggest entering your lifestyle as sedentary or lightly active.
Only log sustained exercise and eat those calories, this way you won't be overestimating what you have burned.0 -
thanks everyone
I think I will eat 50% back and leave myself a buffer, after all I doubt I could overestimate exercise by 50%!
I want a HRM but cant afford one
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You could try only eating the calories back if you're hungry, and letting them go if you're not.0
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Get a Heart Rate Monitor so you'll know how much you're really burning. There's not a problem with eating back your exercise calories unless you're overestimating the burn.
^^ This - MFP and cardio machines typically give higher calorie burns that what you have actually burned. If you wear a HRM or a Body Bugg, you will have a better picture of where your burn is, so it won't be so stressful to eat back some (if not all) your exercise calories. I never used to eat them back, but a few months ago I got a Body Bugg and now I eat back almost all of them and my weight loss has increased substantially. Good luck! :flowerforyou:0 -
Being the same size will indicate that your body composition has changed.
You really shouldn't being concerned about trying to eat 2000 cals on higher activity days - your body needs them to function and recover in the healthiest possible way (i.e. not having to resort to burning muscle for energy)
I will also add, and I know it's difficult because I get anxiety too when I'm faced with an unhealthy meal that I haven't prepared (interestingly, not so much unhealthy snacks!), but being anxious and stressed can in fact promote fat storage and has in my experience caused digestive discomfort if I eat when I have that horrible anxious sinking feeling in my stomach.
I take a couple of deep breaths, think rationally about the situation, and the difficult situation are becoming easier to deal with.
I'm not saying I have the best advice going, just giving you my thoughts on how I relate to a similar problem.
Take care and good luck.0 -
I eat back my calories, but set a limit as to how many I will eat in a day, no matter how much I burned. I think I am worried about over estimating how much I have actually burned. Once, I went on an all day hike, about 7 hours on hilly terrain and when entered it in, it gave a crazy amount of calories, so I ate a really big dinner. I was really hungry after all that hiking, but I think I went overboard and I weighed more the next day. So, I set a limit for myself.0
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go ahead and feel guilty, BUT try to eat them.
if you eat them they will keep you on track for your goal whether its loosing or gaining "X" amount of weight per week.
if you dont eat them just make sure you eat the same amount of calories consistently. Don't bounce day to day. 1600 one day then next 1200 then 2000 the next and so on. .
when you don't eat them back, your body will consume itself for energy.(extreme case) and it will eat the good stuff first, muscle, leaving the FAT for last. you might still loose weight but your body composition will be lower on muscle mass.
disclaimer: I'm not a doctor or even a nutritionist , just my understanding of the topic through my research0 -
If you are wearing the same clothes but weigh more.... I'd say that you prolly gained some muscle weight. Do you feel like you look more toned? You must feel wayyyyyyyyy better eating at least 1200 cals a day rather than a measley 600. Keep up the good work, and in regards to eating back calories.... If you feel hungry, eat. If your honestly not hungry... then dont. Always listen to your body.0
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Hi, Have you included your hula hooping and walking at work as part of your lifetsyle rating or do you add them as exercise?
For myself I don't add any of my day to day exercise such as walking at work into my lifestyle as I have a sedentary job and only walk at work intermittently.
I do log physical exercise such as continuous walking and gym workouts and eat most of the calories (I try and make sure I net 1200 calories particularly when I have burnt over 400).
Walking which is not sustained (e.g. walking between departments at work) for me is not aerobic enough to count as cardio/daily exercise.
Do you have/ can you borrow a pedometer or heart rate monitor to see how active your work is?
If you can't accurately measure what you are doing at work then I would suggest entering your lifestyle as sedentary or lightly active.
Only log sustained exercise and eat those calories, this way you won't be overestimating what you have burned.
I have set my activity level to sedentary and I log my work as slow walking, i work at greggs so I am literally on my feet walking around all day0 -
If you are wearing the same clothes but weigh more.... I'd say that you prolly gained some muscle weight. Do you feel like you look more toned? You must feel wayyyyyyyyy better eating at least 1200 cals a day rather than a measley 600. Keep up the good work, and in regards to eating back calories.... If you feel hungry, eat. If your honestly not hungry... then dont. Always listen to your body.
thankyou, although i meant net calories, I would likely eat 1200 cals and then burn another 600, now I eat around 1600 and burn 400ish on average0 -
Hi, Have you included your hula hooping and walking at work as part of your lifetsyle rating or do you add them as exercise?
For myself I don't add any of my day to day exercise such as walking at work into my lifestyle as I have a sedentary job and only walk at work intermittently.
I do log physical exercise such as continuous walking and gym workouts and eat most of the calories (I try and make sure I net 1200 calories particularly when I have burnt over 400).
Walking which is not sustained (e.g. walking between departments at work) for me is not aerobic enough to count as cardio/daily exercise.
Do you have/ can you borrow a pedometer or heart rate monitor to see how active your work is?
If you can't accurately measure what you are doing at work then I would suggest entering your lifestyle as sedentary or lightly active.
Only log sustained exercise and eat those calories, this way you won't be overestimating what you have burned.
I have set my activity level to sedentary and I log my work as slow walking, i work at greggs so I am literally on my feet walking around all day
I work in retail and I set mine at lightly active. If you read the examples, it says Sales Person, Nurse, etc. Mind you, I do heavy lifting at work sometimes and also climb ladders, but this is not every day.0 -
I don't eat mine back but I also don't follow a daily calorie schedule as much as a weekly one. Mon-Fri I stick around 1200 calories and weekends I spike (about 2000 calories Sat and 3000 Sunday). This still puts me at a defecit so I'm losing steadily and I don't have to worry about the exercise calories because the weekend spikes keep my metabolism humming along.
But, that said if I was following a 1200 calorie diet 7 days a week I'd definitely eat the calories back.
And yes I think you have gained muscle...well done!0 -
Yes, you likely are more muscular and have a better shape than when you were 123 pounds. Clothes fitting is a better gauge than the scale, anyway. Take your measurements and record those along with your weight. I saw a 1 inch decrease in my waist size in a week where the scale said I gained 2 pounds!
If it helps, don't eat back quite ALL your exercise calories. I usually try to eat back 3/4 of them, just to give myself some wiggle room. Also, I like the feedback of "and was under her calorie goal"! Alternatively, you can just put in 3/4 of the time on your exercise minutes (record 45 minutes instead of 60 minutes). But since you are pretty much at the 1200 calorie floor anyway, I wouldn't go less than 3/4.
Try thinking of the next 4 weeks as an experiment. you'll do the things you are supposed to do (which you are doing great at, it sounds like) and at the end of it, you'll see what the results are. Check both your weight and you measurements.
Good luck!0 -
Yes, you likely are more muscular and have a better shape than when you were 123 pounds. Clothes fitting is a better gauge than the scale, anyway. Take your measurements and record those along with your weight. I saw a 1 inch decrease in my waist size in a week where the scale said I gained 2 pounds!
If it helps, don't eat back quite ALL your exercise calories. I usually try to eat back 3/4 of them, just to give myself some wiggle room. Also, I like the feedback of "and was under her calorie goal"! Alternatively, you can just put in 3/4 of the time on your exercise minutes (record 45 minutes instead of 60 minutes). But since you are pretty much at the 1200 calorie floor anyway, I wouldn't go less than 3/4.
Try thinking of the next 4 weeks as an experiment. you'll do the things you are supposed to do (which you are doing great at, it sounds like) and at the end of it, you'll see what the results are. Check both your weight and you measurements.
Good luck!
thankyou this was really helpful. I think i may start logging less excercise so i know i havent accidently over estimated and then I'll feel better about eating it all back 0 -
I know how you feel. It was very difficult for me in the beginning. I'd say start by eating half of them back, see how that works and then go from there. I think you sorta gotta ease into it. Remember weight loss takes time and patience. Don't get discouraged!0
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Hi, Have you included your hula hooping and walking at work as part of your lifetsyle rating or do you add them as exercise?
For myself I don't add any of my day to day exercise such as walking at work into my lifestyle as I have a sedentary job and only walk at work intermittently.
I do log physical exercise such as continuous walking and gym workouts and eat most of the calories (I try and make sure I net 1200 calories particularly when I have burnt over 400).
Walking which is not sustained (e.g. walking between departments at work) for me is not aerobic enough to count as cardio/daily exercise.
Do you have/ can you borrow a pedometer or heart rate monitor to see how active your work is?
If you can't accurately measure what you are doing at work then I would suggest entering your lifestyle as sedentary or lightly active.
Only log sustained exercise and eat those calories, this way you won't be overestimating what you have burned.
I have set my activity level to sedentary and I log my work as slow walking, i work at greggs so I am literally on my feet walking around all day
I work in retail and I set mine at lightly active. If you read the examples, it says Sales Person, Nurse, etc. Mind you, I do heavy lifting at work sometimes and also climb ladders, but this is not every day.
^^^This. If you are walking slowly all day then your activity level is no sedentary it is lightly active. I worked in retail before and I had mine set to lightly active. When I quit and started a desk job I changed in to sedentary.
It may be easier for you to either change your profile setting to lightly active, or find out what your BMR is for your lifestyle and only log voluntary exercise, or none.0
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