Eating less on Exercise days??

Ok.... so I know u're supposed to eat more on the days that u do exercise but I usually find myself eating less! I have no idea why and I'm wondering if this is a bad thing? Is it going to hinder my weight loss?

On the days I don't work out I find myself eating around 1300-1400 calories (although I'm supposed to be sticking to 1200 according to CC) and on the days I workout..where I burn an additional 400 cals..I stick to the 1200.. I know this is not the way it's supposed to go...so any suggestions?

Thanks.

On the day you know you will eat more, try to get some more exercise in. Your body needs food as a fuel to workout. If you continue to exercise on a minimium amount of food, you'll body will hold on more to the food and you will hit a plateau quicker. Hope this helps :)

well 1200 seems a little low for ANY female. You should really be aiming at 1400 a day, and then on days you work out, I'd try to bump it up to 1600-1700. 1200 is the BARE MINIMUM that most women need to survive...just laying around in bed all day not doing a thing.....go plug in your stats here at this BMR calc. You'll find what you need every day....just to live. So especially on workout days make sure you are eating that, mostly a little above that, and never go under it.

I know what you mean, though. I tend to eat better on days I workout...it's weird!

Just as an example. I'm 5'7, 175 lbs, 28 yo f. I need 1500 calories just to keep my body functioning. So I usually aim for 2000....cuz working all day and normal daily activity bumps that up. On days I workout, I shoot for about 2300-2400 calories.

Thanks for your responses guys.

I 'll try to eat more on the days I work out then...

Vicki.... I'm a little confused.. I went to the site and it says that my BMR is1424.  According to CC burn 1690 calories a day and to get to my goal weight of 118 I should eat 1200 calories a day..but what u're saying is that I should eat 1424 a day even on days I don't work out and I'll still lose weight?

I'm 21,  5 4", 132lbs btw.

I know the question isn't to me. But, I'm 24, 5'4, 142 pounds and I consumer 1449 calories a day and I still lose 2 pounds a week and I eat more on my workout days. By the way, I used to eat 1200-1350 calories a day for a month and made it to 129 pounds, but when the summer came, I couldn't eat just 1200 calories daily and I gained back  some weight. My body was so used to eating 1200 calories and gained it fast cuz it was too low for my daily caloric intake. Now, I know that I should be eatting more and I lose the small amount of weight, but this time I can maintain it easier. 

Ok thanks sweetness0721,

I guess that's my dilemma..I'm not eating as much as I should...and 2 lbs a week is alot so hopefully it works.

Thanks.

lol looks like you got the answer, but yup, you'd want 1424 at least!

Okay I am going to be completely honest to you guys.

I am 5'2 and I weigh around 105 pounds.

I want to lose 5 pounds.

I try to eat around 700 calories a day.

I maintain a balanced variety.

Everyday I make sure I eat vegies, fruit, dairy, grain, and protein.

I usually work out every other day for an hour and burn around 400 calories.

Under no circumstances what so ever will I stop eating. I am not annorexic.

Will someone tell me the downfall of my plan. Because you guys are saying to eat over 1000 calories.

And I have stuck to my plan and lost 8 pounds because I started out at 113. I don't want to do anything to extremely unhealthy. Please give me all the constructive criticism you have.

I appreciate it. <3

Hey,

I'm no expert...but u need to eat at least 1200 cals a day just for your body to function...without knowing your age, i can't calculate how much u should or shouldn't be eating. But use the calorie count tools to calculate your calorie target and follow that or use a BMR calculator to calculate how much calories your body needs to function..like vicky and sweet mentioned to me in the above posts and eat no less than that.

700 calories a day might be working for u now..but eventually your body will go into starvation mode and will cling on to any fat that u have and it will be hard for u to lose those 5 lbs. If u eat 1200 calories or above with the same balanced variety u will not put on any more weight and u will lost at a healthy pace.... oh and especially when u exercise u need to eat more to fuel the body.

Don't u get hungry on 700 calories alone?

I am 18. And I drink about 3 liters of water a day so that pretty much fills me up. I also take adrenalean.

It seems like eating so many calories would be bad. I have a tainted view on calories. I know this, but I still can't help but being paranoid about them. I know calories are the bodys main energy source, and if you don't burn all the calories that you intake then they are stored as fat.

So in my mind it feels like I should try to burn off all of the calories that I intake.

I agree with borntodoit2. Your body is burning at rest as well (basal metabolic rate).. caluculate what the amount is and thats what you are burn without exercise. so if you consume that amount you will still lose if you are working out. If you continue eat at 700, your body will go into stravation mode and you definitely aren't giving yourself enough nutrients. PLUS, you will always be fighting to remain at the weight you are, but you wont be able to maintain it because your body hold on to the fat and weight you still have and will be SO HARD to lose. You can't keep eating at 700 calories cuz you wont eat that much forever and u will mostly gain it back. I suggest finding out how much your body needs and just eat more on your workout days. You will get much better results and keep it off. 

I want to sincerly thank the 2 of you for taking the time to write such detailed and considerate emails. They have inspired me. And I do want true results, and not just some fad. All I needed was a little push in the right direction and some words of wisedom. I am going to figure out my bmr and try to stick to it.

Thanks.

Alluring.glam,

I have been suffering from the exact problem that the sweetness and born2doit described. I lost over 40 lbs by eating 1200 calories a day, even on workout days. I was following the guidance of a nutritionist so I thought that 1200 calories was acceptable but after joining this site, I learned that 1200 calories for my height, weight, and activity level were simply too low. Anyways, when I began maintenance and eating more calories, I put on 5 lbs. Now, I'm not sure if this is fat or water weight, but the point is that my body felt like it was starving for almost a year and is now clinging to anything that it can.

So I think that a reduced calorie diet is a healthy way to lose weight, but go too low and the weight will ultimately creep back on, because your body thinks it is being deprived of food.

I just started a new diet and exercise plan through the New Rules of Lifting for Women, am eating a lot more healthy high protein foods and work out 5 days a week. This is how I am going to lose those last 5 lbs and I am confident that this is the way I will keep it off. I urge you to reconsider such a drastic reduction in your caloric intake. Good luck!

There are sooo many reasons why eating under 1200 calories (especially for someone so young!) is sooo bad for you! The body needs at least that much just to keep it's kidneys and liver and heart functioning daily. Once you eat that little for too long, your body starts essentially eating away at your muscles first, the good, lean muscle that you WANT. Then the metabolism will start to go, so anything that you DO eat will start to get stored as fat. Read this article. It does explain starvation mode pretty well.

And if you are doing ANY exercises, you are just being counter productive cuz w 700 calories a day, your body can't keep up. Find out what your bmr is, your basal metabolic rate. You can enter your stats here to find that. Whatever that number is, you want to eat AT LEAST that daily....and a little more on workout days.

If you really are just NOT hungry, add some calorie dense foods to your diet....almonds, avacados, peanut butter.....stuff w high protein, GOOD fats, and good carbs.

I appreciate all the feed back that you all have given me on the site. It shall not be given in vain. I am gradually boosting my calorie intake, and it feels great. I have more energy. Now that I have read all of your responses I have realized how warped that my view on nutrition actually was. And the last thing I want to do is be counterproductive. Vicki, thanks for giving me all of those links, I read them and found out my bmr and I plan to balance out a diet revolving around it. To be honest when I made my first post, I didn't expect so much help. But everyone in this forum has helped tremendously and saved me from failure down the road. I just needed that nudge and constructive criticism from peers. Thanks again all! :]

I just had a quick question, calorie count tells me to eat 1700 cal on workout days ( I burn 550 cal at the gym 3 or 4 times a week), i go to the gym after lunch so thats half way through eating my 1700 calories for the day. after the gym should i eat back 550 calories that I burnt at the gym to get to my daily 1700 calorie intake for the day or continue eating as if i hadnt been to the gym?? I dont really understand how to eat and remain within a deficit.

sorry if its confusing, can anyone help? 

also my two pence for alluring glam, you should try your hardest ad eat a real amount of calories because i was eating roughly 800 calories for nearly two years and have totally slowed down my metabolism, so when i realised i had to increase my caloires to get fat loss, i put back on all the weight i lost (6lbs) ad SOME, i have actually increased my hips and stomach by 2.5 inches which was the total opposite to my goal, so im now gonna listen to calorie count and loose the fat weight i put on ( none of it was muscle!) and eat a normal amount of calories even though it will take me ages now to see any difference :(.