My calories for the day, and exercise for the day.

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diannholland1965
diannholland1965 Posts: 782 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
SO today I got without going over or even under a few calories EXACTLY 1200 calories. THE FIRST TIME EVER THAT I HAVE DONE THIS! RIGHT ON THE MONEY! Then I added my exercise for the day in, and it tells me that I am UNDER my caloric goal for the day. SO, How does THAT work. If you goal food wise for the day is 1200, and you EAT THAT but work off 700 calories, and to make up those 700 calories you eat more, It stands to figure, AT LEAST FOR ME, that you would not GAIN any weight, but you would not LOSE any weight either... THOUGHTS?
Mind you I am aware of the metabolism shutting down with out enough calories. and I am losing weight. AND it is not like I am starving to death or anything, I EAT, I EAT A LOT! Mostly fruits and veggies, (ANY IDEA HOW MANY FRUITS AND VEGGIES YOU HAVE TO CONSUME TO EQUAL 1200 CALORIES????) My pantry looks like a fruit stand!

Replies

  • AmandaJ
    AmandaJ Posts: 1,950 Member
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    MFP already has a daily 500 calorie deficit built in so by eating your daily calories and your exercise calories you will still lose. I eat my daily calories and then some or all of my exercise calories but I like to eat. :laugh:
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    If your daily goal is 1200 calories you definitely want to eat those exercise calories. You don't want your net calories (calories eaten minus calories burned) to be less than 1200. The average caloric intake goal (for a person not trying to lose weight) is 2000 calories. So if your daily goal is 1200 you're already down 800 calories. You will definitely be burning fat and losing weight, even if you eat back all your exercise calories!
  • LovingMe19
    LovingMe19 Posts: 380 Member
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    Everybodys body is different. You might have to experiment with the numbers a little to find where you will lose weight the easiest. But no one should be eating under 1200 calories. If you consume that many calories and then burn 700, you have technically only consumed 500 calories for the day which could then put your body into starvation mode. I read somewhere that those of us on the 1200 calorie a day limit should be losing weight fairly easy, and then when we hit our goal weight we're supposed to eat around 1500 to 1700 calories a day to maintain that weight. But like I said everyones body is different and it might take some experimenting to figure out what is right for your body.
  • eillamarie
    eillamarie Posts: 862 Member
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    1,200 calories is a 500 or 1,000 calorie deficit from what your body burns just surviving your daily life (500 if you chose 1lb per week, 1,000 if you chose 2lbs per week). I know it's sometimes hard to eat those calories, but @ least try! A protein shake after your workout is a good way to do this :)
  • Stewie316
    Stewie316 Posts: 266 Member
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    1,200 calories is a 500 or 1,000 calorie deficit from what your body burns just surviving your daily life (500 if you chose 1lb per week, 1,000 if you chose 2lbs per week). I know it's sometimes hard to eat those calories, but @ least try! A protein shake after your workout is a good way to do this :)


    This isn't exactly true; it depends on the person. For me, 1200 calories is what my body needs just to survive and 1500-1600 to maintain. If I stuck with eating 1200 a day plus my exercise calories, I would be lucky to lose a third of a pound a week.

    Everybody is different. As long as you're not starving yourself, do what works for you. I only eat 1200 calories/day and don't eat my exercise calories and I lose a pound or more most weeks. I don't see the point of working out just to eat those calories right back, unless I'm maintaining. But it doesn't mean you can't eat them back. If you need more calories, you can eat those calories back and still lose weight because MFP has already set a deficit for you.
  • diannholland1965
    diannholland1965 Posts: 782 Member
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    My point, as I stated, was that I am SO NOT STARVING! I eat Fruit, and Nuts and Veggies. A small piece of meat for Dinner. And my cup of oatmeal in the morning. I eat so many times during the day that it seems like I ALWAYS have food going into my mouth. I AM NOT STARVING! In fact with the nuts, I am ALWAYS OVER MY PROTEIN goals for the day, So a protein shake after a workout is not needed. Today my after treadmill meal was, One banana, one apple, 5 almonds, and a 1/2 cup of grapes. Personally I do not trust what a company may have added to their protein shake. Unless I make my own Yogurt smoothy, which I do a lot as well...
    AGAIN, I AM NOT STARVING!
    But I digress.
    I guess my question if you can call it that got lost in translation. I was more less stating that it was ODD that I would be AT those calories, and then be told I was below after my workout, Which was walking at a brisk pace on my treadmill.
    My statement was more a Isn't it ODD how the human body works?
    AND I will say it again! YES I UNDERSTAND HOW THE METABOLISM THING WORKS! 8-D
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    In my case I wasn't hungry either. As I said, I was netting 400-700 calories a day but I never felt hungry. I had been at that point for a while and my body just got used to it. It was very difficult at first to eat enough calories. But ultimately, you've got to do what you've got to do. Your body will readjust and you'll feel normal eating more.
  • tjradd73
    tjradd73 Posts: 3,495 Member
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    I FULLY believe that you should not eat your extra exercise calories!!! in my opinion...why would you work so hard to burn them just to put them right back in your body?! a lot of people say that you should eat half of them to replenish your body after the workout...i disagree! i think they are there if you need them but i always try to stay as close to my "before" calorie goal without going over!!
  • Stewie316
    Stewie316 Posts: 266 Member
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    I FULLY believe that you should not eat your extra exercise calories!!! in my opinion...why would you work so hard to burn them just to put them right back in your body?! a lot of people say that you should eat half of them to replenish your body after the workout...i disagree! i think they are there if you need them but i always try to stay as close to my "before" calorie goal without going over!!

    I agree. I don't see why we would treat the 30 minutes of walking on a treadmill any different than the other calories we burned throughout the day. They're just extra to help with your weight loss and becoming healthier.
  • howardrw
    howardrw Posts: 80 Member
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    I fully agree with you in that you should not eat your exercise calories.
    I am on the 1200 calorie per day and usually I am always under due to my workouts (burn between 700- 1000 calories per day).
    I don't eat my exercise calories, but everybody body is difference and you do have to experience a little to find your comfort zone.
    I am usually full after eating all of my meals.

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