I have over 500 calories left, but I'm not hungry. What to d

jadelyndsey
jadelyndsey Posts: 150 Member
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
I have been snacking on stuff all day because I was aware that I would be eating healthy and therefore have more calories to expend. However, I had quite a large healthy dinner at 6pm (It.s 9.10pm now), and then a yoghurt, and I am still full. Although I could possibly eat more if I really wanted to, I feel like it would be forced... What should I do? Eat or not?

The reason I am asking is because up until yesterday all I was doing was dieting. Today I ran/walked almost 2 miles, and burned 200 cals and I dunno if it would be more beneficial to eat or just leave it, as I would like to get past my plateau!!! Thanks guys.
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Replies

  • chubberlang
    chubberlang Posts: 30
    I would also be interested to hear replies on his topic. Some days i can burn 700 cals in gym but im reluctant to eat up to my total calorie allowance, espeially if i'm not hungry! I suppose the answer may be in the results! If you are losing weight and it wirks for you fine. The general feeling seems to be that if you have accurately calculated your calorie requirements then you should eat what you set out to take in in calories. The deficit between what you need and what you intake will remain he same. Provided you have got our sums iright! In practice i use excerise in order to eat a little more and stay wihin my goal. The idea of eating in order to hit our calorie target even if not hungry takes some getting used to. I can see the logic. The danger is that if you are not hungry but have a major deficit between intake and calories used this can have a knock on effct over a few days and you can get mega hungry!
  • rbaumch
    rbaumch Posts: 6
    I'm curious as well, more days than not I have calories left over and I'm not hungry.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    Eat a little something now and plan for a better day tomorrow.
  • jbrinda1
    jbrinda1 Posts: 153 Member
    I am hungry all the time. Would love to have the opposite problem :)
  • pinkpandangel105
    pinkpandangel105 Posts: 38 Member
    If I'm not really hungry I try to eat some peanut butter or baby carrots with ranch. You can get a lot of calories with out having to eat a lot. I have had a hard time eating back all my exercise calories, but has been my little trick to get the calories back. Good luck!
  • yesthistime
    yesthistime Posts: 2,051 Member
    I don't think you should eat if you're not hungry.
  • khuckaby1
    khuckaby1 Posts: 69
    My opinion only but I would say don't eat it if you feel stuffed. If you feel like you are going to be sick it will just make you miserable. I don't always eat my exercise calories back and it doesn't seem to affect my weight loss.
  • beccadaniixox
    beccadaniixox Posts: 542 Member
    You should never force yourself to eat. That's just going to make you form bad habits. If you aren't hungry, than don't eat. Eating low calories a couple of days a week isn't going to hurt you. Your body knows what it needs and as long as you listen to it, you're fine. :)
  • jenniferlynn12
    jenniferlynn12 Posts: 87
    Everyone's body is different and you have to figure out what works for you.. it took me awhile whether to eat or not eat back the exercise calories. I used another formula to figure out how many calories I should eat a day to lose for my height, weight, etc and it's around 1500... so regardless of my exercise calories, I stay within about 100 of that... and it's been working. It's a balance of making sure you eat enough to fuel your body but not over... Bottom line, don't eat below 1200--if you're above that and you're hungry, eat something healthy like some fruit or protein or something, if not, I'd say don't eat. :)
  • Agefyter
    Agefyter Posts: 105 Member
    Ppl vary widely on this topic. Me? I eat my gym cals on wkends if I need to and never force myself during the week. Helps me keep dropping pounds.
  • momof8munchkins
    momof8munchkins Posts: 1,167 Member
    listen to your body.. if you're not hungry, then don't eat
  • Jan3361
    Jan3361 Posts: 8
    2 donuts should take care of that for ya. :)
  • jadelyndsey
    jadelyndsey Posts: 150 Member
    I am hungry all the time. Would love to have the opposite problem :)

    HAHAH! Well that used to be me, 4 months ago, but I think my body is used to taking in between 1400-1600 now that when I exercise, my body still doesn't want to take in more (or maybe I don't, maybe my brain is controlling me haha) so I am almost always under now!
  • maf66
    maf66 Posts: 211 Member
    I would take this time to eat some calorie dense food like Peanut butter on toast or some sort of tree nut and dried fruit. I think you should eat at least half of that deficit. I'm sure you're going to get varied opinions on this! I've just started eating back my calories myself...
  • SkettiGurl
    SkettiGurl Posts: 186 Member
    Normally I always say, if you're not hungry, then don't eat. You need to listen to your body. It is also possible that your counting is out a bit, it happens. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just as long as you remember to listen to your body!
  • cassiemitchell1
    cassiemitchell1 Posts: 1
    My physician told me the secret to weight loss is that we have to burn more calories than we take in, so it makes sense that if I eat what I just burned I will stay right where I was. Hope this helps.
  • robinogue
    robinogue Posts: 1,117 Member
    personally if I'm not hungry I wouldn't bother with eating anything else. Later on if you feel the need to snack then you have 500 calories left to do it.
  • ChitownFoodie
    ChitownFoodie Posts: 1,562 Member
    I will let others tell you if you should or shouldn't eat your calories back. There seems to be a never-ending debate on that. If you feel like you aren't hungry and want to eat them back, may I suggest eating something calorie dense. It's easy to up your calories with healthy fats. Peanut butter is 190 calories for 2 tablespoons, olive oil is 110 calories for 1 tablespoon, a half an avocado is ~200 calories, etc.

    Personally, I only eat them back when I am trying to maintain or gain. Right now I am trying to gain, so I eat far more than necessary, but I incorporate the good fats so I don't feel like I am about to explode every single day.
  • tiamaria3
    tiamaria3 Posts: 92 Member
    I don't think you should eat if you're not hungry.


    I second this reply :smile:
  • arleylange
    arleylange Posts: 24
    Having a low calorie day every once in a while will not kill you/slow down your metabolism/ make you a bad person. I am a HUGE advocate for intuitive eating, eat when you're hungry, stop when you're not hungry (notice how I didn't say "full"). Not hungry, don't eat!
  • trysha1231
    trysha1231 Posts: 163 Member
    If you truly feel you need to eat those calories, I would go for toast with peanut butter and a small glass of milk. Both calorie dense and good protein.
  • autumnk921
    autumnk921 Posts: 1,374 Member
    I have the same issue almost daily so I would love to hear the feedback on this one....I have a really hard time on most days eating all of my calories let alone my exercise calories...Not sure why though...

    16043484.png
    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter
  • xafricanqueen07x
    xafricanqueen07x Posts: 98 Member
    I think its really quite simple..if you aren't hungry and you feel full...DON'T EAT....no need to force yourself to eat when you aren't hungry...that reinforces bad habits...:)
  • jadelyndsey
    jadelyndsey Posts: 150 Member
    I would also be interested to hear replies on his topic. Some days i can burn 700 cals in gym but im reluctant to eat up to my total calorie allowance, espeially if i'm not hungry! I suppose the answer may be in the results! If you are losing weight and it wirks for you fine. The general feeling seems to be that if you have accurately calculated your calorie requirements then you should eat what you set out to take in in calories. The deficit between what you need and what you intake will remain he same. Provided you have got our sums iright! In practice i use excerise in order to eat a little more and stay wihin my goal. The idea of eating in order to hit our calorie target even if not hungry takes some getting used to. I can see the logic. The danger is that if you are not hungry but have a major deficit between intake and calories used this can have a knock on effct over a few days and you can get mega hungry!

    This is true! Thanks for the reply, think I may just leave it. I feel bloated from drinking so much pop/soda and had a large meal earlier, so I really don't find it necessary. Tomorrow I am doing very little exercise and will have higher calorie meals so the probability is that I will eat all calories tomorrow. At the end of the day, I don't think I could ever say I am starving or not receiving enough food in comparison to some people who must live off of one bowl of maize per day really! Hope it works for me and my body doesn't go into "starvation mode" hahah
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    My physician told me the secret to weight loss is that we have to burn more calories than we take in, so it makes sense that if I eat what I just burned I will stay right where I was. Hope this helps.

    MFP makes sure you are already "under" or, to say it another way, even if you do no exercise, you're already in a deficit. So when you exercise, you're asking your body to run on empty.
  • Chloe_Chaos_
    Chloe_Chaos_ Posts: 150 Member
    If I'm not hungry and I have a lot of calories to deal with (such as your 500 cal deficit) I would make 2 pieces of toast and put 1 tblsp of peanut butter on each piece. But that would be about 300 cals, then I would just leave the deficit. Cant force-feed yourself.
  • tofindmyselfprettyagain
    tofindmyselfprettyagain Posts: 46 Member
    If you aren't hungry, don't eat. If you are, eat them. That simple really.

    Generally, I view my exercise calories as more of a bonus calorie range. Meaning if I eat all of my allotted calories for the day, but I burned 400, then I get 400 calories worth of extra food. You will feel worse if you aren't hungry and you make yourself eat.
  • chubberlang
    chubberlang Posts: 30
    Its ok to say listen to our body, but i would guess that most of us needing to lose weigtht got here through not doing that! I sometimes eat when i'm not hungry because i know it is the right thing to do eg. To get consistent meals during the day. On the other side of the coin i sonetimes get very hungry and stop myself from over indulging! It would be very nice to eat when hungry and not take much notice of meal times etc. unfortunateky this does not work for me.
  • stephm112
    stephm112 Posts: 297 Member
    I have loads of cals left over today but I'm not going to force myself to eat. I'll just have a better day tomorrow, maybe have a treat :) x
  • Whatamilike
    Whatamilike Posts: 51
    What I tend to do is think more in terms of a week than a day. That is, after all more how our bodies work - it's an average over time. Save them if you're not hungry today and have a piece of cake tomorrow - or the next day - or the next day. You don't have to eat exactly the same net cals every day...
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