Be a HELP not a HINDRANCE!

BrattyLori

Hello people who have only a few lbs to lose! I mean anyone who is starting their weight loss program at ONE hundred and anything.

PRETTY please quit telling obese people to "eat back their exercise calories". That's just MEAN. Obese people need to go into your imaginary starvation mode. We're not trying to lose a few lbs to look better in a bikini, we're trying to LIVE. We're also in this mess because we're in deep, deep denial about what we're doing and what we NEED to do and we're looking for all the excuses we can to continue to do that. I'm tired. I dont have time. My whatever hurts. I dont want to go into STARVATION mode.

Quit handing out excuses for obese people to OVEREAT. No medically trained doctor will tell an obese person to eat back exercise calories. They advise obese people to eat balanced, nutritious meals, but never eat back exercise calories. They say, "Good job being healthy and losing weight properly!"

Eating back exercise calories is called MAINTAINING.

I will concede that someone at or very near their goal weight, or a growing child or a pregnant woman probably needs to eat a bit more to lose weight healthfully while exercising more, but otherwise, your advice is just hindering your obese friends.

Cut it out.

amydcarlson

Do you know that MFP automatically cuts 500 calories from what your body actually needs for the day. Therefor, if you eat back your exercise cals, you are still not eating that 500 calories of the original deficit. I'm just sayin', because I didn't know that at first, either.

shaunshaikh

Eating back exercise calories isn't maintaining if you've already built in a deficeit into your calorie goal. That is, if your maintainance calories are 2,500 calories and you set your goal to 1,500 in order to lose 2 lbs per week. If you burn 500 calories during a workout and don't "eat back" your calories, that's a 1,500 calorie deficeit per day. Obese people can roll with larger calorie deficeits than people who have less weight to lose though.

I think starvation mode only comes up with someone's weight loss stalls even though they only eat 800-1000 calories per day and workout every day. The people who think starvation mode doesn't exist don't have a way to explain this phenomena.

erickirb

Actually if you set your goal to 2bls/week, you must eat your exercise calories to lose 2bls/week. If you don't eat them you may lose more, but if you goal is 2lbs/week, you must eat them. It is based on a math calculation 1000 cal deficit below maintenance will yield a 2 lb/week loss, if that is your goal and you burn another 500, that should lead to 3lbs/week based on a 1500 cal/day deficit (1000+500). If you want to lose your goal of 2lbs, and not more, you have to eat the 500 back to get your deficit to 1000 (-1500+500)

No doctor would tell an obese person to eat 1200 cals/day, most likely they would say 1600, which would be the same as if you goal was 1200 and you burned 400 through exercise, and ate those cals for a total of, you guessed it 1600, the amount the doctor told you to eat. MFP is set up the way it is for a reason, it works. Not eating exercise calories on MFP would be like going to WW and not bothering to count points, they are the main components of the programs.

Eating back calories would only be maintaining if you chose maintenance as your weekly goal, if you chose 1 lbs and ate exercise cals you would lose 1 lb and it is all about the deficit I mentioned above.

We are here to help people do this in a healthy way and a biggest loser way.

AdamATGATT

I would respectfully disagree.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6832-eating-all-of-your-calories-bmr

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

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

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/777-why-is-starvation-mode-so-bad

grlaurie

This post really made me laugh. Everytime I see that eat your calories back I think not a chance. I need to lose so much weight that any cal deficiet is needed. Also staration mode, I firmly believe that it would not happen until several weeks if even then. I love this site and i dont think anyone means to be harmful...

amyindm

I guess I'm confused? If you're eating a set number of calories each day that is recommended for your weight, then if you expend an additional 500 calories then you're essentially in a place where you're not taking in enough to sustain your body. I know that when I was on weight watchers they focused on basically the same idea.

The problem that people, including me, have often had is when we think that exercise is a license to eat "whatever". But honest journaling of calories and accurate calories burned through workouts doesn't seem to be something that excludes a particular category of people who are trying to lose weight. Am I wrong? I'm fairly new to the MFP model.

Karleyyy

So many people are eating back exercise calories, including myself, and I lose almost 2 lbs a week. I started in the 170's. if it didn't work it wouldn't work.

kirstinlee

Thank you.
I've been wanting my mom to join this site, but after seeing the debate about eating back exercise calories, I've backed off.
She's obese and doesn't know how to choose healthy foods, so if she was informed to "eat back her exercise calories" she would most likely exercise and then make up for it with pizza or McDonalds. I'm not saying that that's what everyone would do, but it is what she would do.
I can understand if she was limiting herself to, say, 1200 calories a day period, and then exercising on top of that... I would want her to eat more, too. Those 900 net calories wouldn't support her. However, that isn't the case. It would be hard work for her to limit herself to 2,000 calories a day, let alone a low enough number that she would enter into starvation mode.

BrattyLori

There isn't ONE person on planet earth who is officially obese who is exercising a ton and eating 800 to 1000 calories per day and on a plateau.

FearAnLoathing

what works for you dosent work for everyone

bethvandenberg

I don't think that people who tell others to eat back their exercise calories are being mean. I think there are a bunch of different factors at play here. People have their own opinions about it. I think that this isn't an exact science as until you're tested how do you really know what your real BMR is? How do you know if you should eat them back or not?

As we've all seen people feel strongly about that subject on here. To eat them or not I believe is the person who's trying to lose the weight's decision.

I know when I first came on here I was at 1290 cals a day and then I got tested and truly have a BMR of 1800. I was eating way to little to keep my body going. I've up ed my calories now and am losing again. I do eat back some of my exercise calories b/c sometimes I'm hungry. If I'm not then I don't.

erickirb

There isn't ONE person on planet earth who is officially obese who is exercising a ton and eating 800 to 1000 calories per day and on a plateau.

Maybe not but they are probably losing as much muscle as they are fat, not the point of losing weight, most people mean lose fat. If your goal is 2lbs, why would you want to lose more than your goal, it is your goal for a reason.

dmmsquared

OK... Here's a response from someone who hasn't been ONE hundred and anything in a while, but working on it.

What is being said about eating your exercise calories is 100% CORRECT! You don't wan't to go into starvation mode, because you will NOT lose weight that way and it is NOT HEALTHY.

No one is telling you to OVEREAT. They are saying to keep with the net calories you are told will help you lose weight.

If you put all your information into MFP and you are told to eat 1,200 calories a day to lose weight and do that, and then you exercise and burn 500 calories, you are netting 700 calories. That is not healthy. You need to replace some of those calories you burned to still get to the 1,200 calories... AND YOU WILL STILL LOSE WEIGHT and be healthy.

It's not going to come off fast. We didn't gain the weight fast, so it's going to take work, effort and a lot of encouragement from people here and your friends/family.

I can't say that I always eat back all my exercise calories, but on the days that I exercise, yes I do eat back most and so far I've lost 20 pounds and I will continue to eat this way until I reach my goal weight.

Please check out the link in my signature. There's a lot of helpful information in there.

amydcarlson

I mean, depending upon your goal, MFP has built in a deficit for you. For example: Mine has me set at taking in 1200 cals/day. (I'm 5'1) With my goal of 1 lb. per week of weight loss, the 1200 is right because in order to "maintain", someone that is my size, age, and sex actually needs 1700 cals. So If I exercise "away" 400 cals, I can eat those back for the grand total of 1200. This way my metabolism stays revved up, AND there is still a 500 calorie deficit, so I will continue to lose weight. It's working so far....slowly, but surely. :happy:

bethvandenberg

There isn't ONE person on planet earth who is officially obese who is exercising a ton and eating 800 to 1000 calories per day and on a plateau.

Now how do you know that? Really not one person on earth? Do you know everyone on earth? I think you speak in pretty large generalizations. I'm just saying. So it doesn't work for you. We get it. Relax.

Naomi91

There isn't ONE person on planet earth who is officially obese who is exercising a ton and eating 800 to 1000 calories per day and on a plateau.

Maybe not but they are probably losing as much muscle as they are fat, not the point of losing weight, most people mean lose fat. If your goal is 2lbs, why would you want to lose more than your goal, it is your goal for a reason.

Exactly. Thank you. We are on a quest to lose FAT right? not muscle and fat? There is such a thing at a fat skinny person. I would like to be lean and mean thank you.

PeachyKeene

My doctor said for me to eat 1200 calories, and I don't have to eat those exercise calories. If I eat 1200 calories, that keeps my body from ever going into Starvation mode. I can exercise all those calories away and have enough fat to fuel my body. I totally agree with this post!!

erickirb

what works for you dosent work for everyone

math is math, if know your BMR is correct and you are measuring food and exercise calories burned correctly, then it would be the same for everyone that does not have a thyroid issue. 500 cals/day deficit = 1lb/week loss.

Phoenyxtears

There isn't ONE person on planet earth who is officially obese who is exercising a ton and eating 800 to 1000 calories per day and on a plateau.

No, but they are screwing up their body's systems in doing so. I only eat back whatever amount it takes to reach 1200ish net cals if I have the time.

BrattyLori

There isn't ONE person on planet earth who is officially obese who is exercising a ton and eating 800 to 1000 calories per day and on a plateau.

Now how do you know that? Really not one person on earth? Do you know everyone on earth? I think you speak in pretty large generalizations. I'm just saying. So it doesn't work for you. We get it. Relax.

Relax? Sister, I'm about as tightly wound as they come. ;D

erickirb

My doctor said for me to eat 1200 calories, and I don't have to eat those exercise calories. If I eat 1200 calories, that keeps my body from ever going into Starvation mode. I can exercise all those calories away and have enough fat to fuel my body. I totally agree with this post!!

So you can eat 1200 cals, burn 1200 from exercise and another 2000 from normal daily activity and be fine, I doubt it. That would be a daily deficit of 3200 cals, which would be a pound every 28-32 hours, way too fast of a loss. Most doctors have very little nutrition training.

ladyhawk00

There isn't ONE person on planet earth who is officially obese who is exercising a ton and eating 800 to 1000 calories per day and on a plateau.

Just because someone has a large amount to lose does NOT mean that losing at a faster rate or eating insufficient amounts to obtain necessary nutrition is HEALTHY. Yes, an obese person can withstand a larger deficit, but losing weight too fast has MANY adverse effects - gallbladder problems, liver problems, issues with hair, issues with menstrual cycle, skin flaps - and the most common - NOT keeping it off.

MFP is designed to assist everyone - even obese people - with healthy weight loss. Not crash diets. Saying that encouraging people to eat a healthy amount of healthy food is giving them an "excuse to overeat" is simply ignorant.

Please educate yourself on the hazards of rapid weight loss and Low Calorie Diets/Very Low Calorie Diets (especially without the supervision of a doctor/dietician) and how metabolism works. Faster is not better.

mallorybriann

For one month I have been doing fitness boot camp and eating less. I did not lose a POUND that whole month! Here I am working my booty off everyday and eating better and I saw no difference on the scale/measurements.
I was not eating enough. I was at 1400 cals per day and burning about 500+ at boot camp. So my net was 900 calories.
This week I upped my cals to 1600 per day and made sure to keep my net around 1600 and TA-DA I lost weight, first time in a month. I am eating more and losing weight!

JHoersten2

The problem is that you're ignorant in your calorie goal structure. Obviously you don't understand what MFP is doing, and you create your own theories to suit that ignorance.

If your goal is to lose 2 lbs per week, and you have set MFP to reflect that, then YES, you eat your exercise calories back. Let's dumb this down so you can understand, and I'll use myself as an example:

My body needs 2,710 calories/day to maintain weight. ZERO weight loss.

My MFP goal is 1,710 calories/day to LOSE 2 lbs per week.

If I exercise 500 calories, and eat my goal, I'll be at 1,210 calories. THIS IS BELOW MY GOAL OF 2 LBS PER WEEK. Losing massive quantities of weight per week us UNHEALTHY. Not only that, but you generally gain it back when you stop your low-calorie intake. Why? Because you're body is trying to conserve the fats due to needing 2,710 calories per day.

SO, and follow along, because this is what you dont understand, I eat my exercise calories back, putting me at 1,710 per day. This enables 2 lbs per week lost and a stable, healthy diet.

Please stop influencing others that they need to cut every calorie from their diet and drain their body of nutrients. You're doing more harm than good, and hurting people in the process. You don't understand this system, and I get that, but before you start spewing fitness and dietary information, get a degree in it. Thanks. Before you even try to question MY credentials, I'm simply spelling out the processes of this website. It's common sense, so use some logic.

we're looking for all the excuses we can to continue to do that. I'm tired. I dont have time. My whatever hurts. I dont want to go into STARVATION mode.

Those are YOUR excuses, not ours. Don't generalize overweight people. I'm overweight, and I'm hitting the gym every day. In fact, I look forward to it and plan accordingly. If you have problems getting motivated to lose weight, do work, eat right, etc., perhaps that's something you need to examine on a personal level. MFP has many great people who have embraced their goals to succeed and aren't moping around their house feeling sorry for themselves.

MrsSanthoff

My doctor said for me to eat 1200 calories, and I don't have to eat those exercise calories. If I eat 1200 calories, that keeps my body from ever going into Starvation mode. I can exercise all those calories away and have enough fat to fuel my body. I totally agree with this post!!

I like the doctors advice over hundreds of confused people. I agree with you. You need fuel but I want my body taking some of that fat and using it as fuel too! :happy:

hpsnickers1

This post really made me laugh. Everytime I see that eat your calories back I think not a chance. I need to lose so much weight that any cal deficiet is needed. Also staration mode, I firmly believe that it would not happen until several weeks if even then. I love this site and i dont think anyone means to be harmful...

Actually "starvation mode" starts after a few days to a week. But yes it is true that obese people can get away with more of a calorie deficit than the smaller people. 1-2 lbs a week is the safest way to lose weight.

And the BMR that MFP gives you is what you would burn just sitting all day. It doesn't factor anything in except your Activity Level. So even your BMR has a calorie deficiency.

I'm 5'2" and 124 pounds. I did a test with my HRM. I kept it on for 24 hours. I didn't exercise that day. I sat in front of the TV all evening. I burned and estimate of 2300 calories that day.

mallorybriann

BRAVO!!!!!!

The problem is that you're ignorant in your calorie goal structure. Obviously you don't understand what MFP is doing, and you create your own theories to suit that ignorance.

If your goal is to lose 2 lbs per week, and you have set MFP to reflect that, then YES, you eat your exercise calories back. Let's dumb this down so you can understand, and I'll use myself as an example:

My body needs 2,710 calories/day to maintain weight. ZERO weight loss.

My MFP goal is 1,710 calories/day to LOSE 2 lbs per week.

If I exercise 500 calories, and eat my goal, I'll be at 1,210 calories. THIS IS BELOW MY GOAL OF 2 LBS PER WEEK. Losing massive quantities of weight per week us UNHEALTHY. Not only that, but you generally gain it back when you stop your low-calorie intake. Why? Because you're body is trying to conserve the fats due to needing 2,710 calories per day.

SO, and follow along, because this is what you dont understand, I eat my exercise calories back, putting me at 1,710 per day. This enables 2 lbs per week lost and a stable, healthy diet.

Please stop influencing others that they need to cut every calorie from their diet and drain their body of nutrients. You're doing more harm than good, and hurting people in the process. You don't understand this system, and I get that, but before you start spewing fitness and dietary information, get a degree in it. Thanks. Before you even try to question MY credentials, I'm simply spelling out the processes of this website. It's common sense, so use some logic.

kjensen15

what works for you dosent work for everyone

Exactly! You have to find what works for YOUR body. If you're morbidly obese, over weight, or just hanging on to a few vanity pounds no one body reacts to food and excercise the same way. I'm wanting to lose a few "vantity pounds" but I find it hard to shed anything if I eat back all my excercise calories. However, I've seen people my exact size, weight, and age that can eat 1800 calories while excercising and drop weight. I just can't do it that way! So really I think everyone on here needs to not lump people together and assume that the same things will work for everyone!

skinnyme125

Starvation mode does NOT mean that you are starving. It means that your body is used to getting so many calories a day and when you cut that back you can not cut it back beyond what it needs to function properly and give you engergy and a clear mind through the day. When you burn more than you are aloted then your body will think it is starving and start storing as many calories that it can. This is why heavier people need to eat more calories than the skinnier ones. They need more to maintain there energy. It takes alot more energy to move around a 200lb person or larger than it does to move around a 150lb person. It is simple. Yes once your body hits starvation mode it will then eventually give up on you providing it with what it needs and start taking it from the place it will get the most energy. Guess what that wont be the fat. It will be your muscle and that is real bad on the heart. This will also cause your body to go into ketosis. NOT GOOD> Please if you want to lose weight and do it in a healthy way do it like MFP says to do it. They are right and do know what they are talking about. I think what you said about the DR. is off as well. IF you are really honest with him or her they will tell you that you need a certain amount of calories to stay healthy. LOsing wieght too fast is unhalthy and damaging to your body. YOu will always gain it back doing it that way as it is not something you can maintain for life without it killing you eventually. Talk to a nutritionist if you don't believe me.

hpsnickers1

There isn't ONE person on planet earth who is officially obese who is exercising a ton and eating 800 to 1000 calories per day and on a plateau.

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