What if I'm not eating enough calories while working out?

How do I know how much to eat if I don't know how many calories are in some of the foods I eat. I have been really good about eating my breakfast in the morning to get my matabolism going. I'm finding as I work out more that I'm not wanting to eat as much during the day and evening? Some days I will only get maybe a 1000 calories and on top of that I will have done a good 30 minutes on the treadmill in the morning. The next day I may have 1500 and then I may be back to a couple days of 1000. I don't really count my calories because I make alot of things that I have no clue how it would calculate into portions and calories.
I have around 50 lbs to loose. Do I have enough to loose that I don't have to worry about my body burning muscle before it will burn the fat?

I just remember someone was doing weight watchers and not eating all her points and she was not loosing weight. The WW lady to her she needed to eat all her points.
Then I remember on biggest looser how she would say, "you have to eat" if your going to loose weight."

Sat. Jul 29, 5:26pm

The problem isn't that you're going to start burning muscle, it's that your body is going to want to hold on to the fat. If your body thinks you're starving, it's going to hold on to what it has and not burn that extra 50 pounds you want to get rid of. Plus, it's going to hold on to whatever calories you do put in. You may actually GAIN!

Saturday, July 29, 2006, 6:32 PM

lack of appetite can be a sign of over training- which will likely slow your weightloss down. Some days I swim for 45 min, run for 30, and do an hour long total body strength training session... and all I will have eaten that day was a banana and a handful of walnuts and then a late dinner of a salad with chicken. Def not enough to eat given the workouts. But I don't feel hungry- that's a BAD sign.

I'm notorious for skipping meals. I'm so busy sometimes I really do forget to eat. Or I refuse to pick up a bite to eat as I avoid processed/preservative laiden foods. But when you're working out, you have to eat.

Saturday, July 29, 2006, 6:34 PM

Ok, so if I decide to eat some pizza and lets say eat 1500 just for dinner will my body realize it's not starving and burn some of the calories that it's been holding onto? I'm kinda scared to eat but I want a pizza and one slice has 700 calories

Saturday, July 29, 2006, 6:57 PM

You need to read some nutrition stuff

It is not just the number of calories, it is what you eat. If you eat only carbs and sugar -- your body will hold onto fat and use muscle for protein.

If you are eating a balanced diet of protein, appropriate carbs, veggies, etc. within the calorie limits, you'll be fine.

Look into Andrew Weil's book on eating, such as 8 weeks to better health or Dr. Perricone's anti-inflammatory diet.

Pizza can be great depending on the ingredients or HORRIBLE depending on the ingredients and amount. 700 calories a slice is pretty high. There are some individual pizzas which only have 500 calories.

With pizza you need to watch the fat, cholesterol, trans fat, and especially the salt. They tend to have twice the amount of salt that you should have in one day!

Saturday, July 29, 2006, 7:02 PM

Honestly, regular meals are best for your body. Sure, you need to shock it once in a while, but constant flux between feast or famine will still train your body to conserve. It's got a long memory- if you haven't been feeding it enough, overdosing your calories is not going to help- especially just one meal. It need consistent feeding for many different reasons.

Saturday, July 29, 2006, 7:10 PM

I agree with most of what's been said above, but I also know that working out is an appetite suppresant for me, at least for the couple hours after I finish exercising. And it sounds like you don't really know how many calories you are eating. It is very, very easy to under-estimate calories and portion sizes...

I would say try to actually do a calorie count for what you eat in a day - there are lots of websites out there. Measure everything you put in your body, and look everything up. It's a pain in the neck, but 1000 calories/day is almost for sure too low, so figuring out if you are only eating that much is a good idea.

You can also just try your plan for a couple of weeks. Then, if you're not losing weight, try adding a 200-calorie snack or something.

One final thought: all "diets" need to be sustainable *forever* to work. Make sure that what you're eating is going to work for you for the next year...if you are severely restricting your caloric intake, you won't be able to sustain it, and the weight you lose will come back.

Monday, July 31, 2006, 12:51 PM

When I first started to workout, and trying to eat right, I was not hungry at all when I worked out, I just went with the flow, and you will get hungry when your body needs the fuel. Please keep in mind that the human body is a complex system, and it will let you know you have to eat, and drink etc. I would have 2 good cheat meals a month to balance out the calories. And I think you would be good. This is what I did and I lost 110 pounds in 2.5 years.
I wish you luck
jt

Monday, July 31, 2006, 1:27 PM

How many calories while working out, how much protein after

this video provides an excellent answer to this question:

http://blog.peertrainer.com/tip_of_the_day/2010/03/how-much-protein-does-an-athlete-need-to-consume-in-their-diet-dr-joel-furhman-explains-what-he-tell.html

Friday, October 01, 2010, 4:48 PM

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