I want to lose some weight after being weight restored and overshooting my original weight but I find that if I don't eat back the calories I burned during excercise I end up overeating/binging later that day or the next day and I end up eating more than I burned so now I'm gaining weight instead of losing or even maintaining for that matter. How much should I be eating then? I want to stay away from calorie counting as well and I don't know how to approach this healthily
Overshooting is a common phenomenon. I think it’s pretty much a physiological response in which the body is overcompensating in case of a future bout of famine. For those who follow the ‘set point theory’, it may be that the body increases its ‘set point’ following caloric restriction.
As a result, I’d suggest that decreasing further would be a bad idea (it could incite further rebound physically, let alone the mental consequences).
I hear that you want to stay away from calorie counting. For a day-to-day living perspective, it can be a serious drag for some people.
I would, therefore, suggest that some kind of routine of 3 square meals with the occasional snack could work out. I’d try to place a real emphasis on really enjoying your meals and picking what will fuel and satisfy you. For example, if you’ve got the time, rather than doing a ‘grab & go’ style breakfast, you could sit down after preparing a really appealing meal.
Even if it’s just a bowl of yogurt with a sprinkle of this and a sprinkle of that, just taking the time to stop and plan instead of urgently picking things can make eating not only more intuitive, but more enjoyable. That’s part of the reason I do my Instagram - not only do I enjoy making the food, but I know it’s what I truly want.
You say you feel the need to eat back your exercise calories… perhaps you could adjust some of your portions so that you eat more after your workout anyways? So if you normally work out in the afternoon, you could have a lighter breakfast and lunch and then a bigger dinner. This would satiate the ‘exercise munchies’ without eating extra calories back.
Certain types of exercise do increase hunger levels more than others also, so you might find the above approach particularly effective depending on the type of exercise you do. I personally find that cardio makes me ravenous (I don’t do much cardio though lol so maybe the effect is magnified!), but weight training blunts my appetite a lot. However, the day after training, weight lifting makes me hungrier even if it is a rest day. Implementing more resistance training (like weight lifting) into your routine could also help you to maintain (or build) muscle. While this may also increase your bodyweight, it can alter your body fat percentage.
It’s all about experimenting. I don’t know how active you are or your stats or anything, but I hope you can find your balance soon. It’s really tricky when things like the scale behave in ways we don’t expect. That’s why I don’t really use it as a measure of progress now. :-)
