Q. For people on 1200Kcal a day and exercising

feathers1981

Hi,

I am relaitively new on here and looking to lose my last 7ish lbs for my wedding. Im 5ft 4 and 133lbs and would love to be 126 for my wedding in July. Lost about a stone last year and have now maintained it for a year - despite trying to lose more ( I am really struggling to lose the last bit of weight so thought I would give this a proper go. It has me on 1200kcal a day which is do-able for me I think (if I don't intend to go out and eat and drink on a weekend that is!).

Today I will have eaten 1190 (close enough!) but I have earned 250-300kcal in exercise. I tend to exercise 5 times a week and burn 250-500 depending what I am doing. I also do some weight training and an abs class that I don't 'count'. Today my after exercise my 'net' calories are 940. So my question is do you eat your exercise calories? If so do you eat them everyday? I have read the stuff on hear about the need to eat them it's just that 'normally I have been eating around 1400-1500 6 days a week and 2500-3000 one day a week to maintain (with the same exercise) so I don't feel I would be chnaging much?!

Am desperate to get the weight off but am so confused as nothing seems to work, have been getting quite upset by it actually....

Thanks

Feathers

CARNAT22

In a nutshell yes you do need to eat back your exercise calories.

1200 cals will help you lose weight without exercise - if you are working out you need to eat those extra cals to keep yourself at 1200 per day.

This is my understanding (although I have not been here that long)

Also I only really log my proper work outs and eat back those calories. I walk 40 minuts per day (only slowly though) and tend not to log that as it is part of my pre-weightloss routine.

I lost 2lbs week one, will see how I get on this week before I decide if I need to log my daily walking etc..

But burning up to 500 cals (5 times per week) def means - IMO at least - you should be eating back cals to keep you at 1200!

Kate_UK

You'll get lots of different opinions on this site about eating exercise calories or not. You have to find out what works for you. I tend to find that if I eat more than half of my exercise cals I don't loose.

clioandboy

hi
I do eat my exercise calories BUT not the number MFP gives, my HRM offers me at best half of the calories as MFP so I do eat those,
find out what workd for you, good luck!

mariemarrero

I am on the 1200 calorie diet and work out 5-6 days a week earning and extra 500 to 800 calories, depending on what I do. I DO NOT eat the extra calorie. I've noticed that I continue to lose 1 to 1 1/2 pounds per week when I stick to this.

I, too, am trying to lose weight for my wedding in April. I have 8 pounds to go and feel that if I stick to what I'm doing I will get pretty close if not lose more than that.

I hope this helps a little and good luck with your weight loss and your wedding!:happy:

Enchantica

You'll get lots of different opinions on this site about eating exercise calories or not. You have to find out what works for you. I tend to find that if I eat more than half of my exercise cals I don't loose.

I would agree with you Kate. I've read quite a few threads on this subject and the general opinion seems to be see what works best for you. Some people swear by eating them all, others stick to their 1200 calories and don't eat exercise calories. A case of no easy answer - just experiment with what works for you. Personally, I use my exercise calories as a buffer. I use a portion of them but never all of them. Pre diet I would eat and eat and eat. Since logging my 1200 calories a day sometimes I've struggled to eat them all and haven't felt hungry which has really surprised me!

Netty

danmullen

You should definitely eat exercise calories as weight loss is due to the calorie DEFICIT you have. If you eat 1200 but burn 300 through exercise, your deficit is bigger than your daily target. That could lead to extra weight loss, but you also risk your body going into starvation mode. If you're aiming to lose 2lbs a week, then a net deficit of 1000 calories a day should achieve this. Good luck

trudypickles

I have been eating my exercise calories back... I think it is A) Healthier
it encourages me to exercise daily so that I can eat more, I struggle sticking to 1200 calories/day, I love my food! I eat back healthy calories generally.
C) Im still losing slowely and building muscle. my shape is changing! wieght is just a number.
D) It keeps me on the wagon so to speak....stops me binging because I am too hungry.

Of course it is personal and what works for you! Good luck
I too only have 7-9 lbs to lose and even that is debatable, need to lone thighs and buttocks....if I tone with no weight loss thats fine by me x

Dom_m

The crux of the issue is that if you eat to your target NET calories (ie: "eat back all your exercise calories) then what you're doing is maintaining a constant, self determined calorie deficit. If you eat GROSS calories (ie, the same amount of food each day) and exercise different amounts each day but don't 'eat your exercise calories back' then the calorie deficit will be different each day.

The advantage of targeting constant net calories is that its a net calorie deficit that generates weight loss. You don't have to keep the same net calorie goal each day if you prefer to change it up, but targeting net calories at least means your targeting something that directly determines weight instead of leaving the final result up to chance (like how much you happen to work out on a particular day).

cerysrhi

I was always told to eat my exercise cals but find on times that I can't and I don't intend to force my self. if you go on to the community pages heading diet and weight loss help there are some posts with thumb tacks I'm told they are written by the creators one says newbies read me and there is an interesting article about someone who only ate 700 cals a day and was obese there is also one headed newbies read me pt 2 that will explain about exercise and eating your cals x

olymp1a

I had the same question. I am on 1290 calories per day but I exercise burning even 800 calories in a single day. On these days I usually each a little more (100-150 more calories) but I definitely cannot eat all of my calories cause it is so late when I get home that I need to go to sleep. So I only each a fruit or drink a glass of milk.

I guess you should see what works best for you. Your body will let you know. If you lose weight but you feel worn out then you will probably need to add some more calories during your exercise days.

kps1104

IMO I say you should at least eat half of your exercise cal. A few weeks ago I was working out and logging everything on here and I could not figure out why I was not losing the weight, but I did notice that it would always tell me I was eating too few cals. Anyways, I was putting my body into starvation mode, not realizing it and therefore even though I was doing everything right, I thought, I was not losing the weight. I was so frustrated. Finally I decided to try hard to eat my cal so that I wouldn't get that message, and wouldn't you know I have finally lost 2 lbs and counting (since I only log in my weight once a week)!

So for me, I do zumba 3 times a weeks for 1 hr at night so I do a protein shake or something similar, since I am normally not hungry after a workout and then it's super hectic once I get home since it's bedtime routines, clean up...you know. So instead of skipping that meal I do a shake which gives me the calories I need and I eat sensibly in the day (also on the 1200cal/day) so in the end I tend to eat most of my cals before my workout and with zumba I burn about 800-1200 cal, so the shake gives me the added cals I hope all this makes sense. This is what I have found finally got my body and that scale moving :P Good luck!

Hotbottom

I'm 5'3" and I find if I eat my exercise cals I don't loose weight. I find the taller girls and boys are fine munching away on them though.

charity_

I work out 4 days a week and I log all my workouts but I only eat my calorie burn for my saturday workout so that I can go out to dinner and have a drink with my family and not feel guilty. That has worked out for me so far. Good luck.

shardown

From my personal experience, I say eat them. I eat back my exercise calories and have been able to lose an average of 2 lbs weekly. My gross calories is 1220 a day so I try to net at least 1200. Some days I go over, some days I'm under but for the majority, I keep to my net of 1220.

Do what's right for you but don't put your body in a situation where it may force itself to hold on to fat instead of losing it, aka starvation mode.

marialy21

I used to eat back my calories but I am now trying to log in my exercise in at the end of the day before I go to bed so that I don't feel "entitled" to a cheeseburger. Maybe do a couple of months of giving yourself the option to eat the burned off calories and another couple months where you don't and see how you feel.
Keep us posted on what you found worked for you!

krr246

i am on 1220 a day and eat some but not all of my exercise calories back.. try to keep it at 1200 at least and not fall below that and you should be ok..listen to your body if you become tired eat a little more..

mideon_696

you should eat them back. your target is 1200 NET per day, 1200 total intake per day. So if you go ahead and eat 1200, then burn 800 at the gym, then your NET is 400...sure, you'll lose weight, but it will slow down, and it will be muscle no doubt (or atleast a decent % will be muscle)...your body will enter starvation mode. and you'll be left wondering why.

Nutrient timing is also as important as NET caloric intake. Spread your meals right you not already are (im assuming you are, so ignore?). eating every 3 hours is pretty optimal in my opinion. and getting a good balance in each meal.

If your exercising in the mornings, getting the food right is quite easy really.
Eat > take your 1200 cal's plus your exercise cal's (500 or whatever) = 1700. and split that up into 5 or 6 meals.
Do this, and you will shred weight like its going out of fashion. You'll be lighting a furnace (your metabo!), and it wont stop until youi stop following your plan. You'll eventually find you can up your NET to 1300 or even 1400 and still continue to lose fat.

dont beleive me? I eat 2400 NET per day, and my weight does not move.
I drop to 2100, and it will move 1lb per week if i want it too. 2100 NET!!!
I only weigh 181lbs.

Conclusion: IT IS NOT HEALTHY TO GET 400 NET cals per day. It just isnt.

Elle408

It seems simple... I have been on 1200 a day since mid December and in that time have lost a good, 14lbs or so. And that's without a single bit of exercise. So if i'm losing weight on 1200 without exercise, surely adding exercise means I should add the extra calories? I got scared though reading all these exercise calories threads and the very differing opinions and have decided to just eat half. I input my exercise and what ever MFP says I burnt, I halve it and change the cals burned to that. I get to eat on average an extra 200-250 cals (I try to eat them in protein before my exercise) I've only been doing it for just shy of two weeks now so I can't say if it's working. The main thing is I have enough energy to get through my exercise and I don't feel like i'm going over the top.

I guess i'll re-evaluate in a few weeks if i'm not losing.

kwardklinck

Depends on what works for you. Try 1200 with exercise and if you lose, great. If you're not losing, try eating some of your exercise calories. Everyone's different.

mideon_696

if anyone is going to stay at just 1200 GROSS cals/day, then that person should be eating as clean as possible...
no rubbish carbs...like rice, bread, fruit, starchy stuff etc. and spread em out over 6 meals of 200 cals...every 3 hours. each meal with a balance of each macro split equally. enter the zone diet...this way you'll get what you need to function fully...but you cannot eat **** stuff at this level of cal's. you just cant.