Eating all of your calories

paulkj
paulkj Posts: 163 Member
edited September 20 in Health and Weight Loss
I have a quick question:

I am supposed to have 1330 calories (I'm at maintenance) and on top of that supposed to eat my exercise calories which can go anywhere from 400-900 depending on my workout which means that I am supposed to eat 1700-2200 calories daily.

If I am full and I force myself to eat this many calories, is it reconditioning to eat when I am not hungry or even overeat?

The reason that I ask is because when I was a child growing up in a middle class family I was forced to "clean my plate" before I left the table which became a part of me. As I got older (and this is how I put on the weight) no matter how much food was on my plate or how full I was I would continue to eat until my plate was clean.

It wasn't necessarily 'bad' food, just a large amount of it. That habit stayed with me for a long time until I became aware of it. I never did that to my kids, when they were full, they were full. The unfinished portion either became the dog's supper or was simply thrown in the trash because I didn't want them to develop that bad habit.

I have been making a conscious effort to eat more calories, but today I am way below and I just can't seem to fit anymore in my tummy. I don't want to get to used to the fact of eating all the time and it backfiring on me because it took me a long time to get to the point where I didn't have to finish everything on my plate.

Thanks in advance for any comments you may have and as always, good luck on your journey.:flowerforyou:

Replies

  • Yvonnewantstoloseweight
    Yvonnewantstoloseweight Posts: 18
    bump.
  • vickim26
    vickim26 Posts: 685 Member
    In my opinion since you are in maintenance you should eat only when hungry just keep it within your allowed calories by not going over. I never eat my exercise calories. I think everyone is different. I understand I was done the same thing as a child. I never did it to my children either and they are all healthy and not overweight. They eat when they are hungry.
  • tiffanygil
    tiffanygil Posts: 478 Member
    I don't eat my exercise cals. either
  • jenniferray526
    jenniferray526 Posts: 3
    I don't eat my exercise calories.
  • tracey7
    tracey7 Posts: 7
    Don't eat all your calories. At the end of the day you have to have a deficit to lose. The first several weeks I ate all my calories and I didn't lose. Now that I have at least 200 calories left at the end of the day I am losing weight. "They" can talk to me all day long about metabolic rates blah blah blah, but my body is what I trust:)
  • BrendaLee
    BrendaLee Posts: 4,463 Member
    Don't eat when you're full, I agree that's an old habit, and one that shouldn't carry over into your new life. Now's the time to learn to listen to your body. Make sure you're packing as much nutrional value into your calories as possible, and keep an eye on your weight to make sure you're maintaining and not stil losing.
  • argburr
    argburr Posts: 25
    I don't eat my exercise calories either. If I do I get too full and you should never eat when your not hungry.
  • jaxterbom
    jaxterbom Posts: 73
    I eat some of my "earned" calories. I recommend focusing more on the 5-week weight loss projection "If every day was like today then in 5 weeks you would weigh XXX lbs" ... I try to keep that at a level that fits in with my weekly loss goal. 5 lbs for 1lb/week and so forth.

    If you eat some "earned" calories and the 5-week projection is still OK, you'll still be losing at your desired pace.

    If they put you in slow-mode or (heaven forbid) gain-mode :noway: then you might want to walk or exercise more to compensate.

    My 2cents ...
  • July
    July Posts: 239
    You don't have to eat your exercise calories. I'm also in maintenance, and I don't. I find that if I exercise, I might unknowingly do something less active to compensate, like watch a movie. Everyone's body is different, and your tummy will tell you what to do!
  • akivi73
    akivi73 Posts: 27
    I think you should only eat if you are hungry. So stop when you're full. But, if you want to try squeezing in more calories try having protein shakes or bars. Those things have plenty of calories (although they don't seem very filling to me). Sort of volumetrics in reverse...:happy:
  • MissPriss30
    MissPriss30 Posts: 67
    OK.....First of all OMG CUUUTE DOGS!!! I love dogs lol, and MOST IMPORTANTLY.......here's the deal ok, I don't know what age you are but if you still get your cycles then you may want to save what I like to call "cheats" or "binges" for that time of month since most of us ladies like to eat a pint or 2 of ben and jerrys ice cream :-) <
    LOL! Seriously, if you are NOT HUNGRY do not eat more than your body is asking for, to me it seems rather pointless to put forth all of that hard work at the gym just to squash it with more food? So, I think as long as you are eating no more than the 1320 calories I believe it was you said and getting your gym time in that you will for sure lose weight and lose it even quicker if you don't eat up all of your burned calories at the end of the day. If you can wait to have any MAJOR calories I would say wait until it is that time of month, trust me I look forward to the love affair with Ben and Jerry's EVERY MONTH, so much that I usually try to plan it for a Saturday night so I can sit on the couch with my little mini dachsunds and watch Saturday night live LOL! It is my private quite time while my fiance is out drinking beer and being goofy with his friends! We all deserve to eat something devilishly good and fattening at least once a month! I promise if you can just push through and get though even 2 weeks before you cheat the longer you can do it the better! Hope any of this helped!
  • paulkj
    paulkj Posts: 163 Member
    Thank you all for your respones. I guess I was kind of freaking out because you hear alot of talk about not eating your exercise calories will put you in starvation mode. Very rarely do I find myself hungry....except that one time last week, but other than that, I usually do fine with about 1200-1300 calories before I feel like I am stuffing myself "just because" I am supposed to. Thanks again and I will listen to my body.
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