Do you add your exercise calories daily?

Valori22

Obviously my fitness pal allows you to add your burned calories daily but is it best to add them on? I've recently stopped adding them and just stay within 1200 calories a day but I'm not sure if it's a good idea.

NorthCascades

1,200 calories is the absolute minimum and you're going below that. It's not a dire problem like you're going to fall over tomorrow, but what you're doing is bad for your long term health.

cxbush

I do add them in. I like to see them sitting there throughout the day knowing that (1) i have accomplished my goal for the day and (2) if the hunger monster shows up, I have those 600 calories in reserve.

Valori22

Well I've read information saying if you go below 1,200 calories your weightloss can be stalled due to your body thinking it's in starving mode so it holds on to your stored fat. Is this true?

NorthCascades

No this isn't true. If you go too low on calories (it's different for every person, and more importantly what kind of nutrients come along for the ride with your calories) you'll lose weight, and maybe you'll also lose some of your hair. And muscle, etc.

Weight loss and gain comes from calories, and nothing else.

"Starvation mode" is a myth. If you don't have enough calories, you will lose weight. (Just please don't do it in an unhealthy way.) If you don't believe that, you can look to history for examples of prisoners of war who were not given much food; they didn't get fat, they withered away to nothing. Because starvation mode is a myth.

It's hard to know exactly how many calories you burn with exercise, but you really do burn them. Your body needs fuel, too.

cxbush

Valori22 wrote: »

Well I've read information saying if you go below 1,200 calories your weightloss can be stalled due to your body thinking it's in starving mode so it holds on to your stored fat. Is this true?

It is true. Just like your body starts to retain water if you do not drink enough your body will hold onto weight because it believes it will need those carbs/fat/calories due to lack of fuel.

sijomial

Valori22 wrote: »

Well I've read information saying if you go below 1,200 calories your weightloss can be stalled due to your body thinking it's in starving mode so it holds on to your stored fat. Is this true?

No it's a myth - if your body needs fuel (calorie deficit) it will take fuel from your fat stores.

Agree with NorthCascades - it's a really poor choice to eat the least amount of calories if you want to lose weight in a healthy and sustainable way. Fuel your body, fuel your exercise.

Worth a read.....
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1

pdm3547

cxbush wrote: »

Valori22 wrote: »

Well I've read information saying if you go below 1,200 calories your weightloss can be stalled due to your body thinking it's in starving mode so it holds on to your stored fat. Is this true?

It is true. Just like your body starts to retain water if you do not drink enough your body will hold onto weight because it believes it will need those carbs/fat/calories due to lack of fuel.

What is this?

NorthCascades

cxbush wrote: »

Valori22 wrote: »

Well I've read information saying if you go below 1,200 calories your weightloss can be stalled due to your body thinking it's in starving mode so it holds on to your stored fat. Is this true?

It is true. Just like your body starts to retain water if you do not drink enough your body will hold onto weight because it believes it will need those carbs/fat/calories due to lack of fuel.

If it didn't need them right now, it could save them for later. Calories are kind of like fire wood, you can stack them up in the shed and around your belly, or you can burn them. But not both. And if you stop chopping wood, you have to start burning from your stack to stay warm.

Trouble is, you can see it immediately when you throw a log in the fire and you don't have it anymore. If we ate properly and saw the difference in the mirror the next day, this would be a lot easier to understand and no one would ever have motivation problems. With food and exercise and health and fitness, there are more variables and it takes longer to see, but the same thing is still going on.

xvolution

I usually add in my strength training exercises, but not the cardio as my Fitbit is fairly accurate when measuring that.

vms4evr

NorthCascades wrote: »

If it didn't need them right now, it could save them for later. Calories are kind of like fire wood, you can stack them up in the shed and around your belly, or you can burn them. But not both. And if you stop chopping wood, you have to start burning from your stack to stay warm.

Trouble is, you can see it immediately when you throw a log in the fire and you don't have it anymore. If we ate properly and saw the difference in the mirror the next day, this would be a lot easier to understand and no one would ever have motivation problems. With food and exercise and health and fitness, there are more variables and it takes longer to see, but the same thing is still going on.

That is an excellent analogy. I'm going to save that answer. Thanks.

middlehaitch

Always ate my 1200 cals plus 150-200 exercise calories.
Doing that-
kept my energy levels up,
my performance in the gym on point,
let me take a day or a week off exercise without stalling my weight loss,
and gave me a good knowledge of my calorie needs when I hit maintenance or wanted to switch my routine up.

I always advise eating back exercise calories- I can't think of a good reason not to.

Cheers, h.

Basilin

NorthCascades wrote: »

No this isn't true. If you go too low on calories (it's different for every person, and more importantly what kind of nutrients come along for the ride with your calories) you'll lose weight, and maybe you'll also lose some of your hair. And muscle, etc.

Weight loss and gain comes from calories, and nothing else.

"Starvation mode" is a myth. If you don't have enough calories, you will lose weight. (Just please don't do it in an unhealthy way.) If you don't believe that, you can look to history for examples of prisoners of war who were not given much food; they didn't get fat, they withered away to nothing. Because starvation mode is a myth.

It's hard to know exactly how many calories you burn with exercise, but you really do burn them. Your body needs fuel, too.

First time I tried to lose weight I ate 1100 - 1200 calories a day while going to the gym, never adding back calories, and didn't believe people who said that was too little because I didn't feel that hungry or I thought I was supposed to be hungry. I did that for about three weeks. I lost 20 lbs. Thought I was a rock star.

Then a clump of hair came out while I was showering. It was as terrifying as those dreams of teeth falling out. I upped my calories immediately, but hair kept falling out in clumps for a while afterwards and I got scared I was going to have bald spots; thankfully, it stopped. I'm glad I didn't do that for longer than I did.

Seriously, eat at LEAST 1200 calories, unless your doctor approves of less. A good doctor.

miteyme

I am a bit disappointed. I have been working at walking and feeding my livestock for 3 or 4 hours a day for the last week, as my husband has been away (he usually does this work). So I added calories back on my weight loss regime, for the time spent working. My weight actually went up this week, not down as i would have hoped. I think that I will have gained muscle this past week, but do you think that I added too many calories back and gained fat too?

malibu927

miteyme wrote: »

I am a bit disappointed. I have been working at walking and feeding my livestock for 3 or 4 hours a day for the last week, as my husband has been away (he usually does this work). So I added calories back on my weight loss regime, for the time spent working. My weight actually went up this week, not down as i would have hoped. I think that I will have gained muscle this past week, but do you think that I added too many calories back and gained fat too?

Females don't gain muscle very easily (about 1/4-1/2 a pound a month under optimal conditions). Weight loss isn't linear either...it may just be water weight, especially if this activity is out of the norm for you.