My take on exercise calories (please read if you are new!!)

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  • mazg61
    mazg61 Posts: 4
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    bump
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Lovely explanaton, well done :)
    I think people miss the fact that mfp has already given you a calorie deficit, so they get defensive about eating exercise cals.
    I'll be referring people to this!
  • PinkAndSparkle
    PinkAndSparkle Posts: 324
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    Ok, this may be an atypical example, but what if you are trying to add calories from your original intake? I was only eating approx. 600 calories a day when i gained weight. I am currently eating around 1200 a day, and burn approx 500 4x/wk at the gym. I'm confused as to what I need to eat, because I am not losing any weight....I'm 5'3, around 133ish. I only need to lose 5-10 lbs, but nothing is happening
  • Celo24
    Celo24 Posts: 566 Member
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    Ok, this may be an atypical example, but what if you are trying to add calories from your original intake? I was only eating approx. 600 calories a day when i gained weight. I am currently eating around 1200 a day, and burn approx 500 4x/wk at the gym. I'm confused as to what I need to eat, because I am not losing any weight....I'm 5'3, around 133ish. I only need to lose 5-10 lbs, but nothing is happening

    You are answering your own question. If you are eating 1200 in a day and burning 500, your body is surviving on 700 NET calories. That's not enough. That's causing your metabolism to slow down and your body to store the extra calories, rather than burning them because it is afraid it won't have enough fuel.

    The other thing is that we really don't have enough information to truly answer your question completely. When are you eating your calories? What are you eating? How's your water intake? How much sodium are you consuming? What kind of workouts are you doing?
  • PenguinPrincess
    PenguinPrincess Posts: 101
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    This makes way more since now that you've explained it lol THANKS A BUNCH! I think you've just explained why my weight loss has come to a halt since I started exercising.
  • tlp8rb
    tlp8rb Posts: 556 Member
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    There is so much emphasis on all of our threads on calories. It isn't how many calories you're ingesting - it's where those calories are coming from.

    For example... if MFP gives you 1400 calories a day, and you eat six Three Musketeer candy bars, you're already 147 calories over your allowance but you've gotten absolutely no nutrition.

    If you're going to do strength training, you have to up your protein as it is protein that aids in building muscle. Eat 6 quality small meals a day and try to get at least 30 g of protein in each meal - that's 180 g of protein a day. You should also be eating complex carbohydrates in each meal.

    Fuel up before you work out - half hour to an hour before, and then - most importantly - eat right after your workout when your muscles are broken down and need help to rebuild.

    And please - none of us are here to loose weight - we are here to loose FAT.
  • PinkAndSparkle
    PinkAndSparkle Posts: 324
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    You are answering your own question. If you are eating 1200 in a day and burning 500, your body is surviving on 700 NET calories. That's not enough. That's causing your metabolism to slow down and your body to store the extra calories, rather than burning them because it is afraid it won't have enough fuel.

    The other thing is that we really don't have enough information to truly answer your question completely. When are you eating your calories? What are you eating? How's your water intake? How much sodium are you consuming? What kind of workouts are you doing?
    [/quote]

    I understand that, but if there is no deficit to begin with like you explained, is it the same idea? I know I am probably not eating enough--it is a tough pill to swallow for those of us who are starting on the other end!
    I will make my journal public so you can take a look at it--I try to eat every 3 hours or so.
  • kmshred
    kmshred Posts: 393 Member
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    just makes me wonder, what's the point of working out if you're eating the calories your burning? just so you can eat more? i know i know it's all good for your heart and body and all that.. but when talking about weight loss?
  • Celo24
    Celo24 Posts: 566 Member
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    just makes me wonder, what's the point of working out if you're eating the calories your burning? just so you can eat more? i know i know it's all good for your heart and body and all that.. but when talking about weight loss?

    Because when you work out, you are building muscle and burning fat so you - over time - are effectively replacing fat with muscle. That will make your body work more efficiently and burn even more calories at rest since muscle requires more fuel than fat. So, you are changing the makeup of your body to become a much more well-oiled machine and put the fuel you give it to better use.
  • jacksonde24
    jacksonde24 Posts: 103
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    Thanks for the post and making this simple to understand!!!!
  • lolabugs
    lolabugs Posts: 141
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    I really appreciate your explanation. I do have a question for you or whoever can answer it. When I first started losing weight I didn't realize that I was supposed to be eating back the calories I burned at the gym. When I started eating more I ended up gaining weight. I always made sure to stay within my allotted calories. What could have caused this? It probably depends on what I was eating, but I wasn't eating a lot of simple carbs or saturated fats.
  • Celo24
    Celo24 Posts: 566 Member
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    I really appreciate your explanation. I do have a question for you or whoever can answer it. When I first started losing weight I didn't realize that I was supposed to be eating back the calories I burned at the gym. When I started eating more I ended up gaining weight. I always made sure to stay within my allotted calories. What could have caused this? It probably depends on what I was eating, but I wasn't eating a lot of simple carbs or saturated fats.

    Hard to say without more info. How much water are you drinking? How's your sodium intake? What kind of things are you eating? One thing that is always helpful is opening up your food diary - at least to your friends - so people can see what you are doing and give you suggestions.
  • jaysvw
    jaysvw Posts: 11 Member
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    Great thread Celo! Eating back exercise calories is essential.
  • CARNAT22
    CARNAT22 Posts: 764 Member
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    I would say that for 90% of the time I have stuck to my calories (when I have gone over it's been by a few hundred cals) and I eat my exercise calories too.

    I have lost 8lbs in 5 weeks so at present this works for me and I am sticking to it! I have already hit the mini goal I set myself for 31st March :-)
  • rydn4h2o
    rydn4h2o Posts: 255
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    bump
  • TanyaLee122175
    TanyaLee122175 Posts: 67 Member
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    bump.... that was a really helpful explanation thank you
  • ruckerlk
    ruckerlk Posts: 2 Member
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    awesome! i've only been doing this for a few days...and i thought I wasn't supposed to eat back my exercise calories...
    good to know I can allow myself a little more than a salad for lunch and yogurt for breakfast (i only have 1200 cal for a normal day)
    thank goodness, because I'm a long distance runner...and I thought that was odd. 1200 calories, and trying to do a 10km every other day.....it didn't add up.

    thank you!
  • anna6500
    anna6500 Posts: 6 Member
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    Thanks for the information. I'm only on my 3rd day here, so I'm glad to have read this before I got a chance to hit a plateau. I can now continue on this journey a lot better informed than when I began.
    Thanks again!
  • HartJames
    HartJames Posts: 789 Member
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    This theroy does not work for everyone and I have been trying to track down exactly why. One thing I found was a study explaining why obese people can live off of fewer than average calories during dieting and still not cannbalize muscle. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15615615 Interesting. I also wonder if some of the problem may lie in the calculations of an individuals BMR and how accurate that may be. It can only at best be an average, what if you fall to the extreme end of the average (as I do) in for instance your resting heart rate (very low in my case)? It MUST play into you caloric needs. Anyone here have some real answers explaining why "eating back" calories may not work for everyone I'd be glad to hear it!

    That said, I do agree it is the most sustainable way to lose weight (if it works for you beyond the first 10-20 pounds most will lose from simply reducing sodium and comsuming healthier food alone but may mistakinly judge as attributed to whatever method they are applying?) and begin your weight loss jouney. To me it means you get to eat more when you exercise and that would make weight loss easier (for me anyways, I LOVE to eat!). But, where to go when/if it stops working? I have had to cycle through zig zagging cals, adjusting macro nutrients, eating cleaner, working out differently, taking a diet break, decreasing /increasing cals many many times and something different eventually works everytime. Right now I am back to trying the eat back calories theroy and so far I am stuck. Frustrating to say the least.
  • jeneren
    jeneren Posts: 10
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    I've only been here for a few days and have seen this written about alot. I must say it's the first time I've ever been advised to eat back my exercise calories - this is a whole new concept! Not sure what to make of it...clearly it is working for many of you.

    So much conflicting advice over the years, so many diets, so many theories!

    Good clean whole food and cardio/strength training is the answer - how much of these vary from person to person I guess.

    Getting it right for ourselves is what we are all trying to do.

    Thank you for the info & explanation.

    Jen

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