dr said not to eat exercise calories

antiadipose

As a doc I can vouch for this. Honestly, I think at least those specializing in primary care should be required to learn how to help someone exercise and manage their weight, but instead no one talks about it after medical school and during medical school they just teach about vitamin deficiencies and such. The most we can do is quote studies on how your weight/bmi correlates to diseases and mortality. I consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable about nutrition and exercise, but only because I educated myself on the outside like many people do. I bet the OP's doc has no idea how many calories she eats in a day herself.

i agree 100%! we were taught about vitamin deficiencies, and nutritional abnormalities. but we HONESTLY were never properly given anything about a healthy diet or a way to lose weight!

i remember going to a dr's appt with my dad (who is a diabetic) and i was telling the doc how badly my dad ate. the guy was like thats completely fine! thats what the meds are for! to regulate his blood sugar!
NOO!!!! and my dad eats the same way just because his doc justified it as reasonable.

jrich1

So if I workout like I did yesterday and burn off everything I ate and put myself in the negative calories I should starve my body and not eat any of the exercise calories?

arewethereyet

So if I workout like I did yesterday and burn off everything I ate and put myself in the negative calories I should starve my body and not eat any of the exercise calories?

herein lies the biggest issue in my mind. I usually burn 200 calories when I exercise. Some ppl burn 1200 or 800......so that leaves you with 0 or 400 calories to run the most important engine in your life?

gibbsgirl

I find it funny that this is such an issue on here, while I, on the other hand, just ate 265 calories OVER my exercise calories, lol.

Sharont213

The only thing i know is I have been adhering to the MFP program - when I work out, I eat some/all of my calories so I always net around 1200 and I am losing. And when I was simply dieting (and starving), I wasn't.. for me, it's simple.

brittonymiller

I don't eat my exercise calories, not because I don't think it's a good idea, but because I want to bump my weight-loss up a level. I started on June 28 and have lost 20 pounds. I don't expect my weight-loss to stay at this level since I had a lot to lose in the beginning, but it def. gave me the boost I needed to stick with this new lifestyle during the tough beginning stages. My only advice about eating exercise calories is to be cautious about errors in the database. It may say you have burned 500 calories when you only burned 300. If you eat all 500, you have eaten too much for the day. Otherwise, I say eat those calories and don't feel guilty.

RMX82

Easy solution. Are you losing weight and dropping inches? If so, continue what you are doing. If not, switch things up. Trial and error.

stevendaley

MFP is a great tool and figures everything out for you, You burn calories just by being alive and whatever you put in for your exercise is counted toward your weight loss goal, just be sure to keep up with your goals. A pound of weight is about 3500 calories. Simple math...burn 3500 calories, lose a pound. Now take your daily caloric intake, (eating), then deduct your calories spent, (BMR, Exercise) the result is a loss or gain in weight. Simple. If you burn 100 calories more than you eat, you will lose a pound in about 35 days.

lee112780

It really, really depends on your body...Everyone is different. I am eating my calories, and not losing muchj, so I think I will stop eating mine. If you are losing, don't stop doin what ur doin. If you are not losing, change something

lee112780

I find it funny that this is such an issue on here, while I, on the other hand, just ate 265 calories OVER my exercise calories, lol.

LMAO MEEE TOO!!!!

arewethereyet

I find it funny that this is such an issue on here, while I, on the other hand, just ate 265 calories OVER my exercise calories, lol.

LMAO MEEE TOO!!!!

:laugh:

arewethereyet

Easy solution. Are you losing weight and dropping inches? If so, continue what you are doing. If not, switch things up. Trial and error.

This is true..........but in my situation I had no where to go! I ate my 1200...........lost my weight down to within 15 pounds of 'perfect' and can't go anywhere. Why, because my body is so used to the magical 1200 it is very happy right where it is.

Simple math. If you start at such a high deficit, you will have no where to go when you are at 5-10 pounds.

Not only that, but I was a miserable beyotch when I didn't have enough fuel in my body. Thank God for MFP........

arewethereyet

Ooooh I just remembered this!!! When I started I balked at the 'eat your exercise cals' thought process.

I just went and changed my goal to 1 lbs a week and had 1350 to eat!! Then I exercised about 200 cals a day.

N E Way...........I really need to get back into the groove of things and this thread has my brain going in the right direction

Thanks for starting it and GOOD LUCK!!

alantin

She basically said if I eat more than 1200 cals, regardless of exercise, I will maintain my current weight.

That makes sense if you're about 4' 10", 100 lbs and your exercise is a ten minute walk every other day..

arewethereyet

She basically said if I eat more than 1200 cals, regardless of exercise, I will maintain my current weight.

That makes sense if you're about 4' 10", 100 lbs and your exercise is a ten minute walk every other day..

I remember that it takes approx 15 calories to maintain your weight, so I would be 2070 to maintain (I feel this is HIGH) but ok.....so if you eat 1200 calories a day you would have to be 80 pounds to maintain your weight. Right?

1200 is the MINIMUM>.......kind of like saying the posted speed limit is 65. that doesnt me you HAVE to go 65 mph, that is the fastest you are allowed to go. Using that then the 1200 calories suggestion is the lowest you should go before causing harm to your body.

Again, everyone is different.

Corrie62

Hmmm...lots to think about...It appears to all come down to doing what works for you. I know that MFP cautions against going under 1200, so as long as I am conscientious (sp?) about at least eating that much, and if I continue to lose, I can chose whether I want to eat my exercise calories or not...what ever works.

NotAllWhoWanderAreLost

IMO, it depends on what level of exercise you are doing and the duration of your exercise... I also feel its important to estimate those caloric needs AHEAD OF TIME and eat at least SOME of those calories (if it is 500+ calories you will be burning) so your body will have the fuel it needs to perform at an optimal level. In some cases, you will need to fuel your body WHILE exercising.

I sometimes go on 10 hour hikes in the mountains. I ABSOLUTELY believe i need to eat SOME of the 6000 or so calories it says i burn! Some in advance, and some as i go. Otherwise, i would completely run out of "umph" and would never get to the summit!

When i burn in the 700-900 range, i consume an extra 200-300 calories to be sure i have the fuel i need for energy, but i dont eat ALL of my calories (and have been losing at a good clip now).

Since starting MFP I've become much more aware of my carb/protien ratio: as a semi-vegetarian, i was consistently low on my protein. I try to measure what i eat and to write it down immediately.