Confused with calories I need to eat

kimi233

Hi everyone, I am fairly new here, and I am extremely confused on how many calories I need to eat to make sure I am eating enough calories. I am currently doing the Turbo Fire program and on average probably burning around 550 calories a day, on 6 days a week. So do I eat only 1200 calories, or do I eat the calories that I earn from the exercise?? This past week I have been eating those extra calories and still staying under my calorie goal (and I ate junk too, so that is partial to blame) but I gained 1 pound. So should I stop eating the calories I earn from working out?? But I don't want to send my body into starvation mode either?! LOL I'm so confused, please help!

sexylonglegs

Eat your calories you earned by working out.

sarahliftsUP

Eat your exercise calories! Or at least as much as you can without going over.
Remember the added weight could be muscle gain. Take your measurements to keep your sanity! )

LaraeTX

if you eat the calories you burned then why bother working out? if you burn 500 calories, and eat an extra 500 calories they cancel themselves out. I never eat my exercise calories, and have lost 40 pounds, so I must be doing something right. There is always a lot of debate about this topic, but to me it makes absolutely NO sense to eat what you just worked your butt off to lose.

looby1968

Yeah, stick to eating all the calories you gain from exercise. You just have to watch the fat intake too! Mine goes over cos I think I can eat a bag of crisps!!!!!
If you stick to just 1200 cals, and exercise, you'll be on crash diet mode. Some days I would only survive on 700 cals f I didn't eat the cals I'd burned for exercise!

sallyLunn

It does make sense to eat them if you are limited to 1200 and you burn 600 in a workout. You could send yourself into starvation mode in a heartbeat, not to mention a fainting spell.

Eat them and don't forget to drink lots of water.

Raina0512

I eat less than half of my exercise calories... If any. Find out what works for you because everyone is different.

stormieweather

Actually, eat part of them. That way you have a cushion in the event you overestimate your exercise calories, underestimate your food or have a fast/slow metabolism. MFP has a deficit built in and the reason it adds back your exercise calories is to maintain that deficit exactly and make sure you are fueling your body.

Mindful_Trent

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

Check out this post - it links to several good posts that explain things to new users, including explaining why you should eat your exercise calories.

ashlee954

if you eat the calories you burned then why bother working out? if you burn 500 calories, and eat an extra 500 calories they cancel themselves out. I never eat my exercise calories, and have lost 40 pounds, so I must be doing something right. There is always a lot of debate about this topic, but to me it makes absolutely NO sense to eat what you just worked your butt off to lose.

This is false. The goal of 1200 has already figured in a deficit for your target weekly weight loss. Working out does burn x-tra calories but then only limits your caloric intake to 650 if you burn 550 cals. You are not supposed to eat less than 1200 NET calories a day. This means 1200 that are not burned through exercise. Doing so can put your body into starvation mode where you can actually slow your metabolism and gain weight. If your goal was higher than 1200 then not eating all of your exercise calories would speed up weight loss without the starvation mode aspect. 1200 really should be the minimum consumed ON TOP of anything burned through exercise.

LoriT129

I eat 100-200 of my exercise calories. If I try to stick close to my calorie goal (not net cals) I will plateau or gain. If your daily calorie intake is 1,200 and you gain an extra 550 from exercise, then try to mix it up a little....say eat 1,400 one day and then the next eat 1,300 and then the next 1,500...etc..etc...if you mix it up some it keeps your body guessing. Everyone is different so find what works for you but do mix it up some to see what happens. Good luck!

knittygirl52

I TOTALLY agree with those who tell you to eat your exercise calories. I always do, and I am losing weight at a faster rate than MFP says I will. (I only have it set for 1/2 pound per week and I've yet to lose that little in a week.) Food is fuel. Perhaps you need to concentrate more on "real" food than "junk" food, but you need the fuel, the fiber, the water that comes from food.

A single week weight gain can be so many things: water retention, muscle gain, the fact that the jammies you are wearing are heavier than the jammies you wore last week (okay--unless you are weighing naked). Give it one more week and see if you lose that pound. If not, then I would switch to eating, say, half of them. But one week is not a long enough trial. Many years ago I was a lecturer for Weight Watchers (obviously, from my current size, it was many years ago). We frequently had people come in, eat really faithfully that first week and show a one or two pound weight gain, which was very frustrating for them. If they stuck with it for another week, they invariably saw a loss, and sometimes a large one. Give it more time.

Mindful_Trent

Actually, eat part of them. That way you have a cushion in the event you overestimate your exercise calories, underestimate your food or have a fast/slow metabolism. MFP has a deficit built in and the reason it adds back your exercise calories is to maintain that deficit exactly and make sure you are fueling your body.

I second this!

gupton11

It depends on your BMR you need to make sure that you're meeting your body's nutritional needs, and then try to burn off enough calories to loose weight.

My BMR is around 1800 so I try to eat between 1200-1800 calories and then burn at least 500 calories a day. I do not eat the extra calories I earn from exercise. If you body needs more calories for energy it will get them from what is in your body's fat stores.

I use eat-stop-eat with a balanced diet and I have never felt better.

http://www.eatstopeat.com/

It seems gimmicky but it is working for me, and they back up their claims with science.

Also keep in mind your body weight will shift pounds throughout a day and from day-to-day. If it were graphed out you would see peaks and valleys rather than a consistent downward trend this is normal. I wouldn't worry about 1lb. That could be muscle or water weight.

astridfeline

It also depends on how much weight you have to lose. Obese people can sustain a larger deficit than can people who are closer to their goal weight. Read the links accountboi mentioned. Start with your BMR (calculate yours under the Tools tab). It's recommended to not eat below your BMR (although MFP will give you a calorie lower than this!). Not everyone should be eating 1200 calories! This amount is for petite women. Eat part of your exercise cals.

edorice

I burn 700-980 on Insanity. I eat only some of my exercise calories.