srsly, what the heck?

MissAnjy

This makes no sense to me. I'm eating 1200 a day, but if i want to work out & burn 400 calories. I have to eat those back (is what i'm told) so if I'm burning & eating, why do i just NOT burn & NOT eat?

Why don't i just eat 1200 calories and NOT work out if i'm just supposed to eat back everything i burn anyways.

what's the point?

AlynnP1005

I know what you mean.....thats why I dont really log my workouts on here. I will punch them in to see the cals burned, then not save it. Or if I do, I will ONLY eat my 1500 allotted calories. I refuse to eat back the calories I burnt off, it seems ridicuously redundant and pointless.

herky

well if you don't work out but eat less, you will weight less, but you need to work out to get your heart pumping, boost your metabolism, and tone your body!

Mindful_Trent

Exercise is very important - it keeps you from losing muscle, lowers cholesterol, strengthens bones, helps with depression... the list goes on and on and on! Personally I love being able to eat more when I exercise - I don't feel like I'm dieting or depriving myself at all.

Check out these links:

7 benefits of regular physical activity: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/HQ01676

The incredible benefits of regular exercise (geared toward teens but applies to everyone): http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/benefits-of-exercise

Top 60 benefits of exercising: http://www.busywomensfitness.com/exercise-benefits.html

mccorml

because its a way to build muscle and lose fat but still lose weight say my lean body mass is 160 if i workout and make my lean body mass 165 that will mean 165 pounds of me is muscle and blah blah blah get it like requiring you to lose less weight and look more muscular make sense?

binary_jester

I have to exercise to get the protein I need in.

NoAdditives

You can totally do that. That's why your calorie deficit is built into your daily calorie goal.

But, exercise is good for you. Cardio is good for your heart and it burns fat. Strength training is good for your muscles and helps stave off osteoporosis. Exercise (and eating your exercise cals) also helps prevent your body from burning muscle instead of fat.

Mindful_Trent

I know what you mean.....thats why I dont really log my workouts on here. I will punch them in to see the cals burned, then not save it. Or if I do, I will ONLY eat my 1500 allotted calories. I refuse to eat back the calories I burnt off, it seems ridicuously redundant and pointless.

MFP already gives you your calorie deficit to lose weight in that 1500 calories/day. When you burn more, you're increasing your deficit - possibly to unhealthy levels. That is why you're supposed to eat most of your exercise calories. Over time, having too high of a deficit can slow your metabolism and cause health problems. Please read this post: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/69708-calorie-deficit-for-dummies-a-little-long

Suzy12

I know what you mean.....thats why I dont really log my workouts on here. I will punch them in to see the cals burned, then not save it. Or if I do, I will ONLY eat my 1500 allotted calories. I refuse to eat back the calories I burnt off, it seems ridicuously redundant and pointless.

Ditto!!

NoAdditives

I know what you mean.....thats why I dont really log my workouts on here. I will punch them in to see the cals burned, then not save it. Or if I do, I will ONLY eat my 1500 allotted calories. I refuse to eat back the calories I burnt off, it seems ridicuously redundant and pointless.

Depending on how many calories you burn through your exercise, you may be getting less nutrition than you need. The body needs a certain amount of calories to function properly. If you get less your metabolism will slow, you stop burning fat, start storing it instead, and you will also risk damage to your organs. Eating your exercise calories is extremely important if you want to remain healthy.

heathersmilez

Thank you accountant-boi for putting an end to this....

DUPLICATE POST!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH




Fuel your body otherwise it will stop running. 90% of people here on MFP will tell you they hit a plateau or didn't lose any weight until they ate back their calories. Unless you are very petite, just EAT BACK most if not all of them.

rclemens1221

You need to burn more then you put in.......The food that you do put back in should be something low calorie that your body is going to use (Like Proteins, Amino Acids or good carbs)........

jennylynn84

The point of working out is not simply weight loss. You can and will lose weight just eating at what MFP says and not exercising. The point of working out is general health. For your heart for one. And because if you're able to get your muscles going you'll see things tighten up more than you would if you simply ate less. In addition "skinny fat" (I did not make this up, it's literally skinny out of shape people) is not necessarily good either, as most "skinny fat" people tend to have more fat around their internal organs rather than just around hips. The fat surrounding your organs is actually the WORST fat for your body.

BUT your body needs fuel. Say you're set on sedentary (like me) and get 1600 calories a day for a half a pound a week loss. I work out and burn 300 calories and I eat them back. What is the essential difference between that and if I had entered in "active" or "Lightly active" keeping my exercise regimen in mind? Pretty much nothing except it (IMO) better accounts for the days when I don't work out.

Exercise calories are no different than your original calories. More activity, more food.

I definitely recommend working out and I definitely recommend eating more when you do.

amymeenieminymo

You're already eating less, MFP figures in a calorie deficit, most likely around 500. So say you need 1700 calories a day to MAINTAINE your weight, you need to eat 1200 calories a day to lose 1 pound a week.

So since you're already eating less, if you didn't eat back what you burn, your body would get THAT MUCH LESS food, and to our bodies, food = fuel. If you burn 400 calories but don't eat them back while eating a 1200 calorie diet, your body is only getting 800 calories and that is not enough to function on and you can actually stay the same or gain weight because your body will be hanging on to every ounce of fat it can to survive.

Sure you could just eat 1200 calories a day and not exercise, that may make you skinny, but you won't be healthy, and you'll likely have flabby skin and no muscle. Plus, knowing you can eat back your exercise calories serves as a good motivation for many people (myself included) to get that work out in.

angebean

This is confusing, but I'm gonna give it a shot.

MFP gives you the daily caloric intake allowed based on the amount of weight you want to lose/week. It already considers the deficit for you. Once you go below a certain level of calories that your body needs to function, you risk putting your body into starvation mode, which has the opposite effect of losing weight. Your body freaks out and thinks it's starving so it stores everything you put into it. I always try to eat at least 1/2 of my exercise calories back. You can play with this and see what works best for you, but I, in fact, did send my body into starvation mode and it took a LONG time to get it back to losing mode and it sucked. Once I started eating some if not all of the exercise calories back I started to lose again.


On a separate note, exercising is great for your body in so many ways. The more you workout, the more muscle you build. The higher your muscle mass, the more calories your body needs and expends.

jenblair82

One pound = 3,500 calories

So if you want to lose one pound per week, than you have to eat 3,500 calories less a week and/or burn that many calories with exercise. If you workout, you can eat some of the calories back, but you don't have too. If I have a really intense workout, I might need more than 1,200 calories that day. I think that is why that feature is built into this program.

If you don't eat the calories back, you will lose weight faster but you do not want to starve yourself! If you burn 3,500 calories a week through working out and eat 1,200 calories a day, you will probably lose 2 pounds a week.

Hope this makes sense!

nursevee

I know what you mean.....thats why I dont really log my workouts on here. I will punch them in to see the cals burned, then not save it. Or if I do, I will ONLY eat my 1500 allotted calories. I refuse to eat back the calories I burnt off, it seems ridicuously redundant and pointless.

Really? What a shame. Physiology, like a lot of things is incredibly complex. If it was a straight shot answer, no one would get overweight in the first place. Right? So, given that it's an exact science, (and more importantly) different for everyone you might conclude that if what you are doing is working for you then that is great. At some point though, you might plateau and that could quite possibly be your body saying that your daily intake isn't quite substantial enough.

...but ridiculous and redundant? You must have done a lot of research. Carry on.

cardigirl

There are a number of links in a folder saved at the top of the General Diet and Weight Loss thread that explain why it is recommended that one eats one's exercise calories.

You can lose weight through dieting alone, but it can mess with your metabolism. Exercise helps to ramp up the metabolism, making it easier to burn fat.

Here's link to one of the threads that has been saved in the folder labeled, Newbies Please Read Me...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

edorice

Now that everyone has stated the reasons for eating back your exercise calories and the health benefits of exercising let me illustrate another reason. Make your choice. You can start to do it now or try to play catch up later.

jimmydeanbakker

You don't actually have to workout to lose weight; however, the experts claim that people who do workout tend to stay on the health kick longer than people that don't workout. Eating only 1200 calories a day gives you a sizable calorie deficit, and you will lose weight. On the other hand, you do need an hour and a half of physical activity a day. Exercise is a subset of physical activity. The quickest way to get in that physical activity is through exercising. The amount of calories you need to stay at your current weight is BMR X physical activity. Exercise helps out your heart, makes better use of your oxygen, tones up the body, and does a lot of other good stuff, but it won't cause you to lose weight. Weight-loss comes from the calorie deficit you create. If you're set to lose 2 pounds a week, this means your calorie deficit is around 1000 calories a day. If you exercise and don't eat those exercise calories, you're increasing that deficit even more, and that can be dangerous. So, if you refuse to eat those exercise calories and you're already dealing with a calorie deficit of a 1000, maybe you should think about not exercising for safety reasons. The last thing anybody wants is for you to pass out behind the wheel of your car from starvation.

Remember, to all the people angry about eating those exercise calories, losing the weight is only the beginning of the battle on keeping fit. When you've lost all the weight you've wanted to lose, you have to begin the maintenance mode; and if you're not practicing safe practices in the weight-loss mode, then I doubt you will be able to maintain your current weight. Eating those exercise calories should be treated like a reward and not a punishment for doing a good job. Eating right is 80 percent of your weight-loss battle and physical activity is 20 percent. Exercise, a subset of physical activity, ensures that you get the required amount of physical activity needed for the day.

kacylaine

:happy: Muscle burns more calories!

AdamATGATT

You don't actually have to workout to lose weight; however, the experts claim that people who do workout tend to stay on the health kick longer than people that don't workout. Eating only 1200 calories a day gives you a sizable calorie deficit, and you will lose weight. On the other hand, you do need an hour and a half of physical activity a day. Exercise is a subset of physical activity. The quickest way to get in that physical activity is through exercising. The amount of calories you need to stay at your current weight is BMR X physical activity. Exercise helps out your heart, makes better use of your oxygen, tones up the body, and does a lot of other good stuff, but it won't cause you to lose weight. Weight-loss comes from the calorie deficit you create. If you're set to lose 2 pounds a week, this means your calorie deficit is around 1000 calories a day. If you exercise and don't eat those exercise calories, you're increasing that deficit even more, and that can be dangerous. So, if you refuse to eat those exercise calories and you're already dealing with a calorie deficit of a 1000, maybe you should think about not exercising for safety reasons. The last thing anybody wants is for you to pass out behind the wheel of your car from starvation.

Remember, to all the people angry about eating those exercise calories, losing the weight is only the beginning of the battle on keeping fit. When you've lost all the weight you've wanted to lose, you have to begin the maintenance mode; and if you're not practicing safe practices in the weight-loss mode, then I doubt you will be able to maintain your current weight. Eating those exercise calories should be treated like a reward and not a punishment for doing a good job. Eating right is 80 percent of your weight-loss battle and physical activity is 20 percent. Exercise, a subset of physical activity, ensures that you get the required amount of physical activity needed for the day.

Very well said, especially this part: "Eating those exercise calories should be treated like a reward and not a punishment for doing a good job."

MissAnjy

Okay, so I've decided to try to eat more & make SURE that my net calories are 1200+ after exercise for an entire week. Just to see the difference. Thanks guys.

edorice

Okay, so I've decided to try to eat more & make SURE that my net calories are 1200+ after exercise for an entire week. Just to see the difference. Thanks guys.

ESPECIALLY if you want to do the Insanity workouts.

Tobi1013

Okay, so I've decided to try to eat more & make SURE that my net calories are 1200+ after exercise for an entire week. Just to see the difference. Thanks guys.

You are making a good decision to eat those cals back, but I would strongly suggest that you do this for at least a month if you really want to see the true impact. It is almost a guarantee that you will see your weight increase in the first week before your body adjusts and you begin to lose again.

DangerRanger

You don't actually have to workout to lose weight; however, the experts claim that people who do workout tend to stay on the health kick longer than people that don't workout. Eating only 1200 calories a day gives you a sizable calorie deficit, and you will lose weight. On the other hand, you do need an hour and a half of physical activity a day. Exercise is a subset of physical activity. The quickest way to get in that physical activity is through exercising. The amount of calories you need to stay at your current weight is BMR X physical activity. Exercise helps out your heart, makes better use of your oxygen, tones up the body, and does a lot of other good stuff, but it won't cause you to lose weight. Weight-loss comes from the calorie deficit you create. If you're set to lose 2 pounds a week, this means your calorie deficit is around 1000 calories a day. If you exercise and don't eat those exercise calories, you're increasing that deficit even more, and that can be dangerous. So, if you refuse to eat those exercise calories and you're already dealing with a calorie deficit of a 1000, maybe you should think about not exercising for safety reasons. The last thing anybody wants is for you to pass out behind the wheel of your car from starvation.

Remember, to all the people angry about eating those exercise calories, losing the weight is only the beginning of the battle on keeping fit. When you've lost all the weight you've wanted to lose, you have to begin the maintenance mode; and if you're not practicing safe practices in the weight-loss mode, then I doubt you will be able to maintain your current weight. Eating those exercise calories should be treated like a reward and not a punishment for doing a good job. Eating right is 80 percent of your weight-loss battle and physical activity is 20 percent. Exercise, a subset of physical activity, ensures that you get the required amount of physical activity needed for the day.

Totally agree with the above post!

mccorml

Okay, so I've decided to try to eat more & make SURE that my net calories are 1200+ after exercise for an entire week. Just to see the difference. Thanks guys.

ESPECIALLY if you want to do the Insanity workouts.

i second that

Natural

there are people that lose weight and people that lose weight and look great in their clothes. exercise is important for the body, regardless of weight loss.

if you don't like to exercise, find an activity that you love doing and see if that gets you motivated. i ate back my calories, not all but some. it's fuel for the body...trust your body to work it out..it will reward you and the weight will come off for your efforts.

MissAnjy

there are people that lose weight and people that lose weight and look great in their clothes. exercise is important for the body, regardless of weight loss.

if you don't like to exercise, find an activity that you love doing and see if that gets you motivated. i ate back my calories, not all but some. it's fuel for the body...trust your body to work it out..it will reward you and the weight will come off for your efforts.

i love working out, that's not my problem. I love the burn from exercise. My problem is having to eat more because i've exercised. I have a hard enough time eating 1200 calories as it is. I can't imagine having to eat 500+ calories (i usually burn anywhere from 500-700) that's a whole extra meal a day. Where am i going to fit that in?

mirahonthawall

Okay, so I've decided to try to eat more & make SURE that my net calories are 1200+ after exercise for an entire week. Just to see the difference. Thanks guys.

ESPECIALLY if you want to do the Insanity workouts.

i second that

and i third that. i look forward to pounding food after my Insanity workout...which i'm about to do shortly

mirahonthawall

there are people that lose weight and people that lose weight and look great in their clothes. exercise is important for the body, regardless of weight loss.

if you don't like to exercise, find an activity that you love doing and see if that gets you motivated. i ate back my calories, not all but some. it's fuel for the body...trust your body to work it out..it will reward you and the weight will come off for your efforts.

i love working out, that's not my problem. I love the burn from exercise. My problem is having to eat more because i've exercised. I have a hard enough time eating 1200 calories as it is. I can't imagine having to eat 500+ calories (i usually burn anywhere from 500-700) that's a whole extra meal a day. Where am i going to fit that in?

well that's the whole point of planning your day. if you workout in the afternoon and you know it's gonna be a big one, eat a big breakfast and/or lunch, so you're not overwhelmed at dinnertime, which I am sometimes, but i'm a nighttime snacker so i guess those extra calories are comforting.