Do i eat 1200 calories PLUS ones ive earned exercising??

dmalbrand

OK...so im confused. Everyday i do AT LEAST 30 minutes of exercise (running...walking..elliptical...etc). So with this, im earning 100-500 extra calories in a day. Am i supposed to eat those calories???? It says to stay under 1200...but when you get all these extra calories from working out am i allowed to eat them too??? It says when im too far under in a day that i can put my body into starvation mode which will prevent me from loosing.....anyone have any answers????

forgiven4life

Yes you are supposed to eat your exercise calories. You don't have to eat all of them, just experiment and see what works best for you. Some, half, or all. Everyone's different, but you do need to eat at least some of them. HTH

Yurippe

Yes.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

Also reading the rest of the links in this thread will help you.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

Angelgranny2007

Technically you are supposed to eat those calories, but personally, I don't always. I just don't see a need to "force feed" myself the extra calories if I'm just not hungry. I read that if you switch up and eat more calories one day and less the next, it tricks your body and keeps you from going into starvation mode. (Zigzag diet) :flowerforyou:

SHBoss1673

assuming that picture of you is recent, you are no where near obese (more like a healthy weight), and in most cases where that is the case, yes you should eat your exercise calories.

Not knowing how tall you are, I can't make an accurate judgement on whether 1200 calories is to little. What did you set your goals at?

ProTFitness

Your body requires a set amount of calories to function. So by adding in extra workouts you need more. Never drop below 1200 calories not safe and the calculation BMR depends on you age height weight and activity level that is the Magic Number you stick to to loose. I have the formula Because I am a certified personal trainer. So I know how to figure out the magic Number. Plus all calories are not created equal. Eat fresh fruits veggies, Nuts beans protien lean ect. YOu should not be hunrgy when your feeding your body the right way. Remember Feed the Muscle Burn the Fat. Make sure you are training with weights. One of the best ways is circuit training and HITT training.

Dyma

Yes.......Eat those. With the exercising you've done, you've burned off calories, so in reality you need to eat more to compensate for what you've burned off. That was confusing to me at first too, but I found the more I exercise, the hungrier I really am. Also........I've noticed that after I've worked out really hard I don't want to eat junk. I want to replenish my body with healthy, all natural good stuff. So........my advice to you would be to use those extra calories they're giving you for fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and healthy grains. You've earned it, but make it count! Good Luck!

dmalbrand

Thanks for your help! i just started about 3 weeks ago and i feel like the scale has stopped moving...i thought maybe i was doing something wrong.

dmalbrand

Shboss- that pic is from a few months ago. ive put on about 15lbs since then. im only 5'1 and my goals are set at 1200 calories a day. i just feel like nothing is working!

dmalbrand

Dyma- Yeah i think thats part of my problem. i figure since ive earned an extra 400 calories i can go home and eat a cheeseburger and fries because 'i earned it'.....i need to stop eating the crapy food. I do manage to always stay under my 1200 calories though...so does it really matter what you eat as long as u stay in that range?

DancingDreamer

Technically you are supposed to eat those calories, but personally, I don't always. I just don't see a need to "force feed" myself the extra calories if I'm just not hungry. I read that if you switch up and eat more calories one day and less the next, it tricks your body and keeps you from going into starvation mode. (Zigzag diet) :flowerforyou:

this is exactly what i was going to say.

TabiHerbalifeCoach

If you are eating only 1200 calories then you do need to eat some of them back, however keep in mind the calories burned include the calories you would have normally burned so I would not suggest eating all of them back, if you want to be accurate there are websites where you can plug in your information and they can tell you how many calories you burn at rest during an hour divide that by half and subtract that number from your work out calories what you are left with is the calories you should eat back. Otherwise I would eat half back.

TabiHerbalifeCoach

/Quote Dyma- Yeah i think thats part of my problem. i figure since ive earned an extra 400 calories i can go home and eat a cheeseburger and fries because 'i earned it'.....i need to stop eating the crapy food. I do manage to always stay under my 1200 calories though...so does it really matter what you eat as long as u stay in that range? /Quote


some say its calorie in calorie out but if all your eating is junk you're body isn't going to get what it needs and your going to burn out easier and crave the crappy food more which makes it easier to fall prey to your old habits. Remember this is a lifestyle change so you don't want to never eat a cheeseburger again, however its not healthy to associate food with rewards nor eat cheeseburgers everyday.

Fitnesschica

Wish I was a little more clear on HOW many of those extra calories I should eat.
I had the same question. I'm afraid that there may be a fine line between not losing weight from not eating enough and not losing from over eating all the calories from exercise. But I agree, you should never feel that you earned a cheeseburger. Just choose one meal per weak to splurge and stay in check the rest of the time. I also think it's good advice to eat those extra calories healthfuly. When I'm low on carbs I eat more veggies, and so on.
I'm working out at least 5 days per week. several days of weight lifting just doing a specific part at a time, two days of abs, and atleast 6 hrs. of cardio (moderate to high intensity) per week. If I consume my extra calories will I still lose weight? How much of that should I eat to stay healthy and still lose???

SHBoss1673

dm, even at 5'1" with "15 lbs" that still may not be enough. You have got to remember, 2 lbs a week isn't right for someone slightly over weight. I don't know your numbers so can't guess if it is right for you, but personally, if you have 15 to 25 lbs to lose, I would set my deficit at between 250 and 400 calories and eat all of my exercise calories back. This is a slightly conservative approach, especially if you haven't done so in the past, but it should work for you, it'll take a little while to lose the weight, but once it's gone you'll already be in the right mindset for eating healthy, and there won't be a big shock to your body when you move from weight loss to maintenance, which is where many people falter.

If you really want my advice, the best I could give you would be, go have a professional body fat % test done. If you're above 25% then you can concentrate on losing fat mass (this can be done with a small deficit), if you are above 30% then you could probably have a larger deficit (about 400 to 600 calories per day), if you're below 25% then you have to look at a very small deficit or even no deficit combined with a diverse and very vigorous activity schedule.

Of course nutrition is going to be the main thing in any case, eating not only the right amount of calories, but the right types is crucial as you near your goals, you can be the worlds best calorie counter, but if you continue to make bad choices with the calories you are given, then you'll really have a difficult time losing additional fat mass.

dmalbrand

thanks for all your help :happy:

diamondigrl

Such a good question I've been wondering the same thing!

Dyma

dm......Try eating the cheeseburger one day, then try a big (healthy) salad another day. You will feel the difference. I really believe you are what you eat. I love the way healthy eating makes me feel, and I used to think you couldn't fill up on the healthy stuff, but through A LOT of research and cooking the things my family & I love in a healthier way, I've realized you can fill up, and it's a different kind of feeling than filling up on a cheeseburger. I love the way my food tastes now and I'm more in tune to that, and I love the way I feel. Good Luck!