Confused!

Lacigirl11

So i noticed that everytime you lose so many calories that it adds it to the calories that you can have per day? how does that work isn't it kinda pointless to eat what you just burned off?

dawnkitchen

If you do a search for "calorie deficit" you'll find tons of posts and information.

Generally: Don't eat into your gained calories from exercise.

sd59940

This was recently given to me. It’s painful to read but breaks it down on why they add extra calories……Good luck!


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

meggonkgonk

Generally: Don't eat into your gained calories from exercise.

Generally: False

Read sd59940's link.

julsdolphin

Your body needs fuel to run. Ifyou are already at a colirc intake to indice weight loss, you still need to eat what you burned in calories or else your body will want to hoard what fat it has because it thinks you are trying to starve it.

I know it seems counterintuitive to eat the calories you just burned, but better to keep your body fueled and ready to work than to put it into starvation mode.

kpepper07

what ever happened to the burn more than you take in? That was always the rule in losing weight. I thought if I am trying to maintain my weight I would eat those lost calories...........................still confusing!

glassyo

You're still burning more than you're taking in if you eat your exercise calories. When you set up your calorie goal on mfp, you set it to lose 1 or 2 lbs a week. You already have a calorie deficit before exercise.

(The only time you wouldn't is if you set your calorie goal to maintain your weight and used exercise for your deficit.)

Shamrock40

Basically, MFP has calculated the number of calories you would burn sitting on your butt doing absolutely nothing, just existing. The daily caloric intake they suggest has already reduced the number of calories you are taking in, so if you did nothing but reduce your caloric intake (no exercise) you would still lose weight. However, if you eat their suggested calories, then burn off an additional 300-500 calories without replacing them, your body goes into a different mode - survival mode. It holds onto all of your calories and stores them as fat to, essentially, take care of you. There is a range of calorie intake, in which you're burning your fat stores and sugars that you take in (fuel,) and not storing as much. Your body knows it's okay to get rid of/burn those fats/sugars/calories because it knows it's going to get more. You're actually hurting your weight loss chances if you don't replace those calories.

Understand?