Eating back calories counterproductive to weight loss

FearAnLoathing

So how many calories are you eating a day on the HCG diet? How many are you netting after exercise? How much weight have you lost and how much do you want to lose? I'm just curious.

I researched the HCG diet last year when my neighbor started it and swore by it. He lost 45 pounds really fast (in about 2 months) by sticking to a 500 calorie per day diet and using the placenta hormone drops to subdue his appetite. He was exercising everyday and not eating his calories back and he looked great. But when he stopped taking the drops and began eating about 1200-1400 calories per day he gained 60 pounds back within 3 months. Needless to say he isn't too happy with the long term results. I never got into it because I couldn't stand the idea of putting placenta juice in my mouth.

I thought I heard your not supposed to exercise on hgc?I could be wrong.

llansdowne

I do believe that eating back calories is counterproductive. For myself when I eat back calories I gorge so it is better just to leave back calories where they are, in the past.

**this is just my opinion.**

mikeyml

I thought I heard your not supposed to exercise on hgc?I could be wrong.

That's I'm not sure about. You probably aren't supposed to. But this guy is really active...especially in the summer. So he probably just kept doing what he would normally do and didn't think about it.

Rworthy

So how many calories are you eating a day on the HCG diet? How many are you netting after exercise? How much weight have you lost and how much do you want to lose? I'm just curious.

I researched the HCG diet last year when my neighbor started it and swore by it. He lost 45 pounds really fast (in about 2 months) by sticking to a 500 calorie per day diet and using the placenta hormone drops to subdue his appetite. He was exercising everyday and not eating his calories back and he looked great. But when he stopped taking the drops and began eating about 1200-1400 calories per day he gained 60 pounds back within 3 months. Needless to say he isn't too happy with the long term results. I never got into it because I couldn't stand the idea of putting placenta juice in my mouth.

I'm not on the HCG diet , I was just using the concept as an example explaining if you eat back your calories, you're just balancing out exercising with food. In a nutshell, in order to lose weight significantly, there has to be a deficit in calories, so your body will burn off the fat you have existing on your body.

Rworthy

So how many calories are you eating a day on the HCG diet? How many are you netting after exercise? How much weight have you lost and how much do you want to lose? I'm just curious.

I researched the HCG diet last year when my neighbor started it and swore by it. He lost 45 pounds really fast (in about 2 months) by sticking to a 500 calorie per day diet and using the placenta hormone drops to subdue his appetite. He was exercising everyday and not eating his calories back and he looked great. But when he stopped taking the drops and began eating about 1200-1400 calories per day he gained 60 pounds back within 3 months. Needless to say he isn't too happy with the long term results. I never got into it because I couldn't stand the idea of putting placenta juice in my mouth.

LOL. If you mean over the counter drops, containing "HCG", those are just placebo drops...not placenta juice! lmao

mikeyml

Sorry i guess I misread what you wrote and thought you were on that diet. And I guess I'm naive...I firmly believed he was dropping actual placenta juice in his mouth lol.

sarabellum

Tara - you're not the only one!!!

kimmerroze

So how many calories are you eating a day on the HCG diet? How many are you netting after exercise? How much weight have you lost and how much do you want to lose? I'm just curious.

I researched the HCG diet last year when my neighbor started it and swore by it. He lost 45 pounds really fast (in about 2 months) by sticking to a 500 calorie per day diet and using the placenta hormone drops to subdue his appetite. He was exercising everyday and not eating his calories back and he looked great. But when he stopped taking the drops and began eating about 1200-1400 calories per day he gained 60 pounds back within 3 months. Needless to say he isn't too happy with the long term results. I never got into it because I couldn't stand the idea of putting placenta juice in my mouth.

I'm not on the HCG diet , I was just using the concept as an example explaining if you eat back your calories, you're just balancing out exercising with food. In a nutshell, in order to lose weight significantly, there has to be a deficit in calories, so your body will burn off the fat you have existing on your body.

you just stated what other people have stated here. MFP alread gives you a deficit so eating up to the deficit is JUST FINE! if your maintainece calorie goal was 1200 then your point would make sense, in this case you wouldn't eat your burned calories. But your maintainence level is NOT 1200 calories. It is higher. So by denying your body the maintainence level of calories you are already eating a DEFICIT you will still lose that one pound per week.... by Denying your body even more of a deficit than what is ALREADY put in place by MFP you are not feeding your muscles enough nutrience to repair themselves.

which is what the poster on the first page said. Which is what the article you posted is saying.

ajbeans

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1574882/starvation_mode_dispelling_the_myths.html?cat=5
http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2009/03/mtyhbusters-starvation-mode.html

Just as a point of fact, as a former writer for Associated Content I can tell you that you should NOT believe everything you read on that site. They're not fact-checked at all, and many of the articles are posted for free, meaning that an editor never even looked at it before it went live. There are a lot of false "facts" roaming around that site. Always double-check anything you read there.

Rworthy

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1574882/starvation_mode_dispelling_the_myths.html?cat=5
http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2009/03/mtyhbusters-starvation-mode.html

Just as a point of fact, as a former writer for Associated Content I can tell you that you should NOT believe everything you read on that site. They're not fact-checked at all, and many of the articles are posted for free, meaning that an editor never even looked at it before it went live. There are a lot of false "facts" roaming around that site. Always double-check anything you read there.

Thanks, as a former journalist, I agree with fact-checking. I used this article as my supporting evidence.

http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/a/secretweightlos_5.htm

hellen72

If I don't eat my exercise calories I would starve BUT I don't eat them all and have made adjustments as Mfp was giving me 100 per mile which is too much. I changed it to 80.

On days when I do about an hour of running I tend to eat most of my calories as I couldn't survive on such low calories in a day. If I run 10+ miles then I will not eat them all otherwise I would put on, I try to keep below 2000 on those days but if I am doing 15+ miles I dont worry if I go over 2000.

Last weekend I did 50 miles. The day before I allowed myself to go over ( think it was by about 1000 which I didn't like). On the day of the race I consumed about 3000 ie was way under then the day after I went over by about 1000. Over the 3 day period I was still under. Sometimes it is necessary to look at a weekly view.

I think a bit of trial and error is needed. If u don't eat them and are starving the next day then maybe try eating half

AdAstra47

Everyone is talking about eating *back* their calories. As in, they exercise, and then try to make up the deficit by eating later. My doctor would have a fit!

If you're going to exercise, your body needs the fuel BEFOREHAND, not afterwards! If you go to exercise, and your body doesn't already have enough fuel on hand to fund that exercise, it will burn muscle as well as fat (because the chemical process that turns fat into energy requires three parts fat to one part protein). That's why a lot of people feel like they're starving right after they exercise: they are!

For maximum fat-burning, and to avoid muscle loss, my doctor recommends figuring out ahead of time roughly how many calories you're going to burn. Eat something with that many calories (or slightly fewer, 'cause you do want to burn some of the fat you already have, right?) but eat it IMMEDIATELY BEFORE you exercise. Then, after you exercise, drink a protein drink or eat something with protein in it, just in case, to keep your metabolism "up" and in fat-burning mode for as long as possible.

When it comes to losing weight, it's not just about counting how many calories you eat. That's a gross oversimplification of the very complex processes in your metabolism. If your doctor is telling you "just eat fewer calories than you use," find a new doctor. Because a big part of weight loss is also what kind of calories, and when you eat them.

zyarnykh

No matter what, I cannot stick to the 1200 limit, with or without exercise. Most days I end up with 2500 calories. I need help on strategies on how to stick to the MFP calorie guidelines! I have been doing this since the beginning of Feb. 2011 and I have gained weight. Even 1400-1500 would be fine, I think I'll be able to lose weight with that, but I just don't know what to do anymore. Any suggestions?

AdAstra47

@zyarnykh: I would post this question as a separate thread, start your own topic, you'll get more relevant answers that way.

My two cents: it's not about how *many* calories you eat, it's about *what kind* of calories they are and *how* you eat them. I've been exercising hard and eating calorie deficits all my life, and still gained about 10 lbs a year my entire adult life. Counting calories just doesn't work for everyone. I would go to different doctors, and they just didn't believe that I was doing everything they told me to do and still gaining weight. They basically accused me of being a lazy, undisciplined liar.

But I finally found a great doctor a few weeks ago who analyzed my metabolism, found out that I had a metabolic abnormality, & figured out the ratio of carbs/fat/protein that my body needs in order to burn fat efficiently. I recommend you find a doctor who will do that, 'cause that ratio will differ for everybody. But the most important thing is to eat plenty of protein. Protein you don't use won't be stored, it just passes out of your body. But the process that turns fat into energy (I won't bore you with the biochemistry details, you can look it up if you're interested) requires three parts fat to one part protein. So if you're not feeding your body enough protein, it will take the protein from your muscles, which decreases your muscle mass, and you don't want that! Try eating or drinking something with protein in it every three hours throughout the day, and see whether that helps keep you from being hungry & keeps you from "cheating" too much on your calories.

ImperfektAngel

Am I the only one who gets hungry after excercise?

I have a post workout snack and then dinner about 2 hours later

JohnnyNull

Don't Overcompensate for Anything

^ Fixed it for ya.

As I eat mine back, I must be getting HUGE!

hellen72

Everyone is talking about eating *back* their calories. As in, they exercise, and then try to make up the deficit by eating later. My doctor would have a fit!

If you're going to exercise, your body needs the fuel BEFOREHAND, not afterwards! If you go to exercise, and your body doesn't already have enough fuel on hand to fund that exercise, it will burn muscle as well as fat (because the chemical process that turns fat into energy requires three parts fat to one part protein). That's why a lot of people feel like they're starving right after they exercise: they are!

For maximum fat-burning, and to avoid muscle loss, my doctor recommends figuring out ahead of time roughly how many calories you're going to burn. Eat something with that many calories (or slightly fewer, 'cause you do want to burn some of the fat you already have, right?) but eat it IMMEDIATELY BEFORE you exercise. Then, after you exercise,

Generally I am in deficit before I run/ go to gym as i exercise in eve so really i am exercising my food calories back! I think that is prob the case for a lot of people even though we still use the phrase eating back our exercise cal!

If I am doing a big run then the day before I will go way over ( I hate doing that) to stock up. If a medium one, say 20 miles, I will have a big meal the night before rather than eating loads all day

It is a pity mfp can't carry deficits/ surpluses over as it really messes with my head it going 1000 red!

zyarnykh

Thanks so much for your response!
I will try to do the protein thing.

MyNameIsNotBob

It is a pity mfp can't carry deficits/ surpluses over as it really messes with my head it going 1000 red!

I know. I'd love to see a weekly calorie-count option, for example. Seeing the weekly reports does help get a better overall sense of calories consumed.

Clonekuh

I think different things work for different people. I ate calories back and gained weight, while other people eat them back and lose faster. I saw the most success just eating my MBR and then counting exercise as extra burning. But that's just how my body works, apparently.