Eating your calories

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fkim13
fkim13 Posts: 19 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
What I am getting confused with is when you eat all your caloires I then excersise. Am I ment to eat the extra calories that I get after I have done my excersise, because when I put my excersie down it keeps telling me that I am not eating enough.

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  • dreamingdaughter
    dreamingdaughter Posts: 34 Member
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    Short answer is that it's probably best if your goal is at 1200, at least eat some of them back - I'm on a 1200 calorie plan at the moment and I was burning off around 500 daily and not eating them back, although it had no great physical effect on me (no tiredness etc) I did plateau early and am now having to eat back some of those extra calories burnt off in hope to budge the scale. Good luck on your journey :) I'd also like to see everyone else's responses to this too :3
  • Ophidion
    Ophidion Posts: 2,065 Member
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    Short answer yes eat back at least 1/2 to 2/3 of your exercise cals back, longer answer read these and feel the warmth of knowledge...

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html
  • Druidor
    Druidor Posts: 29 Member
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    I would agree with the above, don't starve yourself and eat back 1/2 2/3 of your exercise cals.

    I cycle and Endomondo throws up some high burned compared to Strava so err on caution

    e.g. 32.5 mile ride
    Strava 1292 calories
    Endomondo 2689 calories
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    MFP's calorie GOAL has a built in calorie deficit for weight loss. This calorie GOAL is NET of exercise...meaning that when you set your activity level, you do NOT include exercise as part of your daily activity...just your day to day hum drum. Then you add exercise later which requires add'l fuel.

    The reason this confuses so many is that many calculators include an estimate of exercise activity in your activity level...thus, that activity is accounted for and your deficit goal would already include some calories to fuel that exercise. Also, many plans and PTs will have you trying to create a deficit with exercise...in either case, eating back exercise calories would completely defeat the purpose. With MFP, this is not the case because that activity is NOT accounted for in your activity level. It is meant to be a motivational tool to not only diet, but also get off your *kitten* and exercise. If you exercise, you are rewarded with add'l calories...but if you fail to exercise, you don't get dinged...you just eat to your calorie GOAL and still lose.

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