To eat, or not to eat? That is the question!

tessjordan88

I've heard from several people that I "should" be eating my excercise calories. "It will boost your metabolism and make you lose weight faster!" they told me. I must say, it sounded like a good idea the way it was explained to me, so I gave it a try. It was hard. I stayed too full. I even got to the point where it was so hard to eat my goal calories plus about half my excercise calories. I felt full and bloated all the time. BUT I noticed that since I made that change, I stopped losing weight. I even started gaining it back, and struggling with trying to keep it down, even though I was gradually increasing my excercise to nearly 1,000 calories! Depressing thought, right? Especially since it was working for almost everybody else! :noway:

This week, I decided to go back to eating between 1,200 and my BMR, still excercising, but just not eating the excercise calories. Guess what? I sneaked a peek at the scale this morning and it's beginning to go down again! :happy: I also don't stress too much if I'm not quite reaching the "minimum" 1,200 daily calories, sometimes going as low as 1,000; as long as I'm not hungry, I don't force myself to eat. I don't try to make this a habit, but if that's how it happens, I just trust my gut (pun intended.) I also don't fear the dreaded "starvation mode" anymore, but I do eat a healthy, balanced, nutrient-rich diet and I watch my intake vs. the nutrition guidelines. I also researched "starvation mode" and found out it's VERY rare, and you would have to eat LESS than 600 calories/day for SEVERAL months for that to happen. First of all, I NEVER drop that low, and very rarely go less that 1,200/day for more than one day at a time.

So, what is my point? What works for some may not work for everybody. For me, eating the excercise calories is not a good thing. It sends my metabolism the wrong way. If it works for you, by all means, DO IT! But please don't jump down my/others' throat/s and try to scare me/us fat! Do what works for YOU and stop trying to "fix" other people's weight problems by offering a frightening assumption as Gospel truth. (Yeah, I'm feeling cocky today. PMS... deal with it!)

I feel it coming now... Let the rants begin...

heyitsmekatie

I've always wondered why so many people are preaching the need to eat your exercise calories. i'd agree if a person really wanted to stick to just the 1-2 lbs per week weight loss they've plugged into their goals, but for anyone who's okay with losing a bit more quickly why eat what you just worked so hard to work off?

lockedonna

Funny you should write about this because on the nights that I have bellydance class, I burn an extra 1000 calories in the day and at first I was so excited that I would be able to eat more that day. But this week, when it actually came to the day of eating extra calories...I had no desire to do so. I ate a well-balanced diet and was close to my maximum calories for a usual day but didn't eat any extra to offset my exercise. I'm heavier than I look and although I know it SAYS I can have extra calories...I don't eat them unless I'm actually hungry because the more days I stay at my minimum...the more days I actually lose.

tessjordan88

Thanks, Ladies! I thought I'd immediately have 20 responses contradicting my post! Great to know I'm not alone!

tessjordan88

Also, on another note, I read a quote from a fitness trainer/nutritionist. She said, "Unless you're excercising more than DOUBLE your BMR calories, DON'T eat the excercise calories."

tessjordan88

I also copied/pasted/blogged it here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/tessjordan88

Go "vote" for it if you'd like!

sleight119

I cant eat mine most days

kittyinaz

I find that days I exercise, I get full WAY faster and can't eat all my calories. But today, I didn't exercise, and I went over my calorie goal by 100. Weird!

Unknown

This content has been removed.

hellen72

I think the reason why some people don't lose when they eat the exercises cal is that Mfp over estimates exercise, we over under estimate what we eat and Mfp may have maintenane cal over what they really are

Pre trying to lose weigh I had been gradually putting on as I run a lot and thought I could eat what I want.

I worked out that I was prob eating 2500 a day. I was running 60 miles a week as well as cycling about 20 miles and doing 2-3 sessions at the gym.

Mfp gives me over 7000 calories for that so that means an 1000 cal a day. My maintainane cal are 1900 so i would hace to eat 2900 a day, i put on on 2500 so would def put on on 2900

I have now alteres the figures and give myself 80 per mile and use 1100 as my target for the day based on the fact i thnk my maintenance is 1600 so if i break e ven it means a 500 déficit, i rarely eat lesa than 1500 cos i earn through exercise

spaboleo

Also, on another note, I read a quote from a fitness trainer/nutritionist. She said, "Unless you're excercising more than DOUBLE your BMR calories, DON'T eat the excercise calories."

Simple math following:
My BMR 2300kcal/day.
Double BMR: 4600kcal

1 hour on the stationary bike with moderate effort: ~600kcal
--> 8 hours of exercising to burn 4600kcal.
I would fall from the bike after 4hours, because of undernutrition...

My common sense tells me that this fitness trainer's "rule" is not anywhere near an healthy advice.


@ Topic-starter:
Eat you calories if you are hungry. – Yes, it's that simple...listen to what your body tries to tell you.
You don't have to come right to the net-calorie goal...it is even fine if you are a little bit beneath.
It is still just an advice

sincitylulu

That is a good point you make. I too don't eat back my exercise calories. If I do I gain weight. I consider exercise a bonus and more for my psychological state and over well being.

kdiamond

First off, we need to debunk the starvation mode myth. There is no such thing as "starvation mode", it is merely a decrease in metabolic levels causing your body to need to burn less food to "survive".

People on here GROSSLY overestimate their exercise calorie burn, then use that as an excuse to overeat.

Should you eat more when you're exercising? YES, you need more fuel to build muscle. [General not directed at OP personally] Should you be eating 1,000 calories extra a day because your treadmill tells you that you burned that? NO, and that is when the questions like "Why am I GAINING weight when eating my exercise calories?" come flying in at all angles.

Bottom line people, use common sense, unless you're running a marathon would you need to eat a substantial amount more (and even then! nothing like 1000 calories!)

1 hour on the stationary bike with moderate effort: ~600kcal
--> 8 hours of exercising to burn 4600kcal.
I would fall from the bike after 4hours, because of undernutrition...

And if people are exercising 8 hours a day, it is clearly too much

jane77

Just a thought if your not measuring EVerything by grams, if you don't compair 3 to 5 different calorie burned web sites, HRM. than it's all just numbers. Some guess high, some guess low it may not be about exercise calories but about the way you look and measure things.

spaboleo

First off, we need to debunk the starvation mode myth. There is no such thing as "starvation mode", it is merely a decrease in metabolic levels causing your body to need to burn less food to "survive".

People on here GROSSLY overestimate their exercise calorie burn, then use that as an excuse to overeat.

Should you eat more when you're exercising? YES, you need more fuel to build muscle. [General not directed at OP personally] Should you be eating 1,000 calories extra a day because your treadmill tells you that you burned that? NO, and that is when the questions like "Why am I GAINING weight when eating my exercise calories?" come flying in at all angles.

Bottom line people, use common sense, unless you're running a marathon would you need to eat a substantial amount more (and even then! nothing like 1000 calories!)
[...]

You miss the point...

Burned calories must not be eaten back generally.
For example: A healthy human, who is at his ideal weight, without ambitions to lose much weight shouldn't eat every burned calorie back

But the danger is that most people here already are on a drastically decimised diet with a low calorie-intake! (I guess 98% of the users here set "-2lbs/week" as their goalsetting...)
If I take me as an example: BMR 2300kcal, MFP's dieting goal 1300kcal.
Which means my calorie intak is reduced to only ~56% of what my body needs on a daily basis to just sustain.

Most of the users here are in addition very eager to do sports and workout. As I can see in my News-Stream on the startpage of MFP a lot users burn around ~600 additional kcals a day! Not eating a good part of that back makes it get very dangerous.

This is why I highly recommend eating your calories back! As long as you don't overeat...stop if you are no longer hungry.



And Starvation mode is not a myth.
I commited this mistake by myself and now have to bear the consequences.
I put myself on a very strict diet the last year and exercised eagerly (burned additional 3500kcal/week) and I fasted at least two complete days every week, too. As a result I starved myself with an average calorie intake of only about 700kcal a day (only 30% of my BMR).

I gained about 9kg (~20lbs) with eating only healthy (but way too less) on my diet and working out at least 10 hours a week and fasting two days. Feeling tired and weak all the time and being unhappy with seeing no results (e.g. muscle growth) or lost weight on my scale.
Don't do that to yourself. Get to reason and content yourself with the still pretty healthy advised ~2lbs/week.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

tessjordan88

Still missing my point. I never said I doubted that starvation mode exists. It does exist, in extreme cases, HOWEVER, it is extremely rare and has not happened to ME.

I also said, if eating back the exercise calories works for you, by all means do it! It does NOT work for me, so I will stop eating when I am full. I am getting proper nutrition in what I eat, I feel satisfied and full, but not over-full, and having some success in losing weight. Therefore, I will ignore the advice that does not apply to me. It doesn't matter if someone says I "WILL STARVE!" I know my body and just because someone says something threatening or scary doesn't make it so!

aecryan

yeah, i am having a difficult time eating all the extra calories added by my exercise and it will only get worse... i am training for a half marathon, so in about a month I will be burning over 1200 cal a workout. sounds like i should just listen to my belly.

Retiree409

Thanks for your comments on the exercise calories. I understand your point of vew. I am new to myfitnesspal and was confused about the exercise calories. It didn't make sense to me to eat calories I work hard to lose.

spaboleo

Spaboleo, do you mean you gained 9kgs while eating 700cals a day, fasting 2 days a week and and burning 3500cals a week through exercise? Or that you gained the 9kgs after you stopped doing that?

I gained the 9kg while doing that!


Now that I have stopped that madness and since I am watching my calorie intake with MFP I have already lost 2kg again. (Working out even a little less and eating really twice as much. I just try to decree the net-calorie goal.)

Unknown

This content has been removed.

Bridgetc140

I eat back my calories, but if I didn't I would be going below 1200 calories. I exercise every day and I would feel tired if I didn't eat enough. I think people forget that their bodies require fuel to function properly.

spaboleo

Yes I am serious.

There were moments of binge eating yes, every two weeks or so...but even at these days I didn't eat more than 2000kcal. (As I found out by calculating my intake with MFP retroactively.)
But that binge eating was a signal of my body I should have noticed!


I think the situations we are in are different.
If I look at your goal weight (47kg), I assume that you are rather small (maybe around 155cm (~5')?) and were really overweight with 74kg. I mean you nearly aim to halve yourself
(I suppose 47kg is still a healthy goal weight with a reasonable BMI.)

At first I lost weight, too. But after half an year of living with that unhealthy "diet" I reached my ideal weight and were really lean. I wanted to maintain that weight and overall body condition. So I continued the "diet" (and workouts and fasting).

As I already mentioned above, all that lead to the fact that I was always tired and weak and lacked of concentration. I didn't accomplish much on all my days. It makes sense...without the required energy intake there is not enough fuel if most of your fat cells are already burned


The 9kg weight gain happend as a slow process of gaining a little, but not losing all that again.
Let's say I was at my ideal weight in Januar 2010. I gained around 3kg until November 2010. After that the gaining speed increased rapidly! All the rest (6kg) I put on in the last three months!


Even if such a lifestyle might work in the beginning, but it will do more harm than help you in the end.
As you are at around 60kg now I would recommend you to slowly increase your calorie intake again and slow down your weight loss.
Otherwise you'll encounter the problems I am having :ohwell:

Unknown

This content has been removed.

ameaston22

I don't make it a point to eat my exercise calories, BUT I know that when I exercise that I can eat a little more than the base 1200 calories and that it's probably better to eat additional snacks when you have or are going to work out. I used to try and deprive myself and stick to a firm calorie count and MFP's way of doing things has worked SO much better for me. I eat what I like in moderation and I know that if I work out, I can eat more than if I do nothing at all. I definitely don't think that anyone should try to eat ALL their exercise calories back if they are trying to lose weight. In my mind, it's better to have that calorie deficit.

kkellam1

I was glad to read this post, because I have a lot of the same questions in my head. I feel like I am eating all throughout the day, just making WAY better choices than before. My usual intake is 1200-1600 calories per day and I never eat back exercise calories. I typically feel full and know that my diet is rich in nutrients and such. Why would I eat more when I am not hungry? Isn't that one of the bad habits that got me this heavy in the first place? Aren't I supposed to be training my mind to eat only when my body signals hunger, instead of the emotional cues that caused me to overeat?

I am of the mindset that there is so much belly fat to burn that dropping the weight fast now is ok. For smaller folks, this scenario might not be good. Personally, I have 100 pounds or so of excess that needs to go. Should my wife (who complains about needing to lose 10 pounds) be running this kind of deficit? No, that would be crazy. I have the fuel to burn off, she doesn't.

I understand the down side to rebounding and gaining it all back. But since I am having great results (so far 20 pounds and two inches around the waist), it just seems contrary to intentionally slow that down. I am assuming that it will eventually slow itself down as the available fuel (that is spelled FAT) is less available. It's not my plan to lower my intake any farther than I have, this seems like a pretty comfortable area for me. In fact, at some point my intake will probably go up naturally, as I get to the point where I allow myself to have foods with higher calorie contents. Like french fries. Someday, they will be allowed back in my life - only then as an occasional treat.

So, I guess my overriding thought is that it depends on two things-how overweight we are when we start and the way we approach the eating. Lowering eating to where you are not comfortable would be bad, fasting is bad. Eating and snacking all day long on heathful choices seems to be good and forcing more food into your system just to reach a calorie goal seems contrary to the whole mission.

Of course, my opinion may be worthless because I am not at all a health expert, trainer or medical professional. Just an overweight guy who is trying to shed a bunch of extra pounds.

spaboleo

So... You lost weight at first, and then gained it back? I could be wrong, but I'm guessing that you were eating more/binge eating more when you gained the weight back...?

So your are wrong.
The only thing I "binged" was Nutella the last year...no fastfood, no eating out and my meals at home were very strictly planed.
And yes, only on occasion every two weeks and yes I can calculate that back.

Our situations may be different, but your assumptions about me are incorrect

Than explain your 46kg goal weight...are you larger and aiming for a BMI of 15? Well than I'll have to tell you that this would be unhealthy, too.

I'm not feeling any negative side effects from the low intake; in fact I feel awesome, lol. I feel drained and listless on the days that I eat more... Like being in a food coma. Or having a food hangover.

Yes, but don't mix it up.
There are not only two extremes, eating nearly none/fasting (result: undernutrition that slows you down) or eating too much (result: food coma).

There is wide range between...and somewhere there is an optimum. MFP calculates it quite good as your net-calorie goal.

And I'll stick too my assumptions about you (being really overweight, when you started and being still not at your ideal weight), as long as there is no clarification...
In that case you still have enough fat stored...


Besided all that...I'm happy that it works for you, but really don't promote a diet that is unhealthy. And yes again, a 700kcal intake is unhealthy (and will ever be).

That's usually how it goes on any diet

Only if you do it wrong...
I think that are your experiences, but it shouldn't be that way...


PS: I think you are not really close to 700kcal/day.



And once again to all those looking for advice in this thread:
Stick to the net-calorie goal suggested by MFP and eat back your burned calories (if you are hungry!) and you'll do fine

spaboleo

I typically feel full and know that my diet is rich in nutrients and such. Why would I eat more when I am not hungry? Isn't that one of the bad habits that got me this heavy in the first place? Aren't I supposed to be training my mind to eat only when my body signals hunger, instead of the emotional cues that caused me to overeat?[...]

And that's the point. If you are not hungry, you shouldn't eat back.
(How often will I have to preach that...?)

But there are enough people in this board that stick to their calorie goal, workout like maniacs and start starving theirselves! That leads to an overall unhealthy lifestyle with a drastically cutback calorie-intake. (Like the effective 700kcal/day I tortured my body with.)


And once again:
EVERBODY should eat their burned calories back, IF you feel HUNGRY.
LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

kkellam1

==============================================================================================
Quote "At first I lost weight, too. But after half an year of living with that unhealthy "diet" I reached my ideal weight and were really lean. I wanted to maintain that weight and overall body condition. So I continued the "diet" (and workouts and fasting).

As I already mentioned above, all that lead to the fact that I was always tired and weak and lacked of concentration. I didn't accomplish much on all my days. It makes sense...without the required energy intake there is not enough fuel if most of your fat cells are already burned "
==============================================================================================



This is an interesting comment and speaks to a couple of things that I have been trying to bear in mind as I head down the weight loss journey. Since you have been through it, I would be really interested in your thoughts.

First, I agree that extreme dieting and fasting are not good. Eating at a healthy pace and consistently are much better. When I look at my "net" calories they are fairly low. I walk 45 minutes twice a day and MFP credits me about 600 calories for that. Eating about 1400 seems OK to me, but looking at the net seems low. But I have been feeling full, feeling heathly, energy level has gone up, I sleep better, etc. I try to eat lots of fruit and veggies, avoid anything processed or fried, etc. Water and iced tea combined equal about 15 cups of fluids a day.

Second, and I think you hit it on the head, is that our approach needs to be different depending on our current weight. Right now, I have the fuel reserves in the form of belly fat. Later (hopefully) that will not be the case. The key may be in recognizing that point in the process and adjusting eating habits to fit the lack of easy fuel for the body to burn. I believe that I am not destroying muscle now, but there is certainly that possibility down the road as I get smaller. And will need to make changes to how I eat then, just as I have made changes now. Thin people (and there are several that have posted here) should probably have a much different approach that those of us that are far, far away from being thin.

Thoughts?

spaboleo

I would sign every single word of that.

The users of MFP differ in nearly every possible way to all extremes:
From under 20 up to 60 years, from under 5' up to 6'-something" and from 300/400lbs down to only around 100.
Some are lazy *kitten* hell and others live a really active life. Some are trained and ripped like body-builders others at a physical state of jello...hehe

What most of the people here miss is that all this has direct influence on how and espcecially how many calories are burned.
They are skimming through the topics roughly and hope for a quick and always applicable rule. But that is not how the body works.

But what I have learned the hard way is that starving yourself (both, knowingly and unknowingly) doesn't work at all in the long term.


I had a look at your food diary, too. And I am really impressed! And it sounds delicious
Because you are a large guy you are able to burn a lot with moderate strain. (Am I assuming walking right as the non-sportive strolling around like taking the dog for a walk? )
You joined in Feb 2011 and already lost 20lbs, which is impressive, too! But don't expect that rate of weight loss until the end, when you reach your goal weight.

But I'm sure you won't misconcept that, as you are already informing yourself
Just always keep an eye on your health and don't force yourself into starvation and hunger.