eat more when exercising? - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

smoochie3 · 10-24-2006, 04:00 PM

I use to just calorie count, I kept my calories around 1200 but 2 weeks ago I started doing Slim in 6 workouts at least 4 days a week. The workout is 78 minutes long. I haven't lost anything since doing them, is it possible I need to up my calories now that I am exercising? How much do I need to up it? I am so confused. I know a lot of people say don't eat less than 1200 calories otherwise the body goes into stavation mode, so if I am eating 1200 a day plus working out, does that mean I am getting too few calories and my body is in starvation mode? I'm not sure what Slim in 6 burns but I do break a pretty good sweat!

Jasmine31 · 10-24-2006, 04:07 PM

You very well could need more cals a day! This is what I go by:

Womens Nutritional Calculator

callystia · 10-24-2006, 04:09 PM

I'm not a doctor, but it's my opinion that yes, you are probably eating too little. I made that mistake myself, for several months, and it's only now (after about four months of eating more) that my metabolism's starting to wake back up. Perhaps you could try 1400 per day, or cycling from 1200-1500, with different amounts each day of the week. Good luck!

Sojourner · 10-24-2006, 04:14 PM

Oh good advice on the calorie cycling... have low 1200 days but then higher days so your body knows its not starving.

jcatron243 · 10-24-2006, 04:51 PM

I agree you probably need to eat more, but you are also probably building muscle.

3Beans · 10-24-2006, 05:39 PM

I'm not sure it's possible to build muscle while taking in less than your BMR, which is what you burn daily even if you never get out of bed.

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

sotypical · 10-24-2006, 05:41 PM

I would say, EAT MORE!

I so 30 min 5 days a week on my exercise bike. I keep my average around 1600 and weight the same as you. I am losing just over 1 pound per week.

Ready2ShedLBS · 10-24-2006, 07:18 PM

i dont agree that its not possible to be building muscle eatting 1200 cals, for the last 3 weeks I have been eatting between 1200-1500 and exercising and I am getting alot more definition. Everyone's body is different you cant rely on a calculator unless you have been tested and have pretty good idea of what your rmr is

Meg · 10-24-2006, 07:22 PM

Hmmm, I lost 130 pounds of fat and gained 8 pounds of muscle while eating less than my supposed BMR for a year.

Yep, everyone's different and calculators are just guesses and averages.

3Beans · 10-24-2006, 07:27 PM

Meg, I have read your story, so I definitely stand corrected!

Heather · 10-24-2006, 08:22 PM

I don't know what to say about the calories, except that it's very possible you could eat more and still lose. I think it's hard for many people to eat healthy and eat so little.

However, I would also say, it's only been 2 weeks! We all want this to go quickly, and sometimes it takes our bodies a while to actually catch up with what we're doing. For instance, it's possible you've lost a pound or 2 of fat, but in the meantime are right now holding onto a couple of pounds of water. So the scale looks the same, but changes have happened you can't see yet because you are using a poor tool for measuring just fat.

We WANT to lose fat, but that scale measures it all (fat, muscle, water,etc), so it can be difficult with a scale to tell when you have lost fat!

Don't worry about the scale right now! Work on becoming a healthier you and the scale will follow eventually.

2frustrated · 10-25-2006, 08:07 AM

Wyllenn you said it!

Although I will add my 2c - I cannot exercise/function properly on 1200kcals a day. By the time I get to my kickboxing class I am just about to pass out. So I eat more than 1200kcals, but that's me, and I am quite active (workout at least once if not twice a day).

Oooooh and I see you're the same height and weight as me! I'd say it's pretty tough to get past the 170 mark, not impossible but for me it was very tough. I got down to about 162 and then went up

I think I'm on the verge of deciding to maintain, but keep weight training and changing my body composition. I'm not too bothered about the scales at this point, since I'm very nearly there! (Where-ever "there" is!)

BlueToBlue · 10-25-2006, 12:51 PM

I started at 1200 calories a day but as I increased the intensity of my workouts, I found that I did need to eat more calories. I increased them in 100 calories increments, eventually getting up to 1400 per day. You are quite a bit taller than me and therefore also weigh more than me, so I would expect you to need to eat more calories than me. Of course, this is just a guess and I'm not a nutritionist or anything but based on my own experience, it does seem like your calories are low for the amount of exercise you are doing.

smoochie3 · 10-25-2006, 12:54 PM

Thanks guys! I will say this I have been the same weight for a month now. I decided to start working out only 2 weeks ago, actually not even 2 weeks. When I first started back in June I was losing 1-2 pounds a week just counting calories, I lost 13 pounds pretty easy then a month ago during time of the month the scale went up 2 pounds and has been there ever since. I can't seem to get past this. I am currently 172 when my low was 170 right before September's time of the month. I need to get over this hurdle. I have added a little more in this week we will see if it makes a difference!