To Those Who Have Lost 30,40,50 lbs+

fishndad

I have read several articles about eating & or not eating your exercise calories. I understand why you should when explained, but goes against everything I've learned in the past. Even my Dr. said watch portion control. If I eat my exercise calories, I'm eating between 2500 & 3000 calories a day. Seems like a lot. I've really tried hard to make them all good calories & balanced, but still seems like a lot. My original question to those who have been successful in losing a lot, Do you eat your exercise calories?? I'm so confused. Any help would be appreciated..............Mike

Scidoc

I have lost close to 60lbs since September 2010. I have never eaten my exercise calories. Always kept it at around 1200 calories/day. Of course I hit some plateaus along the way, but I think that is normal since your body has to adjust to its new size.

jrlenig

I eat them for sure ( not all of them!) but your body needs fuel to keep building and burning!

Robyn1733

I have lost 82lbs, and only eat around 1200 -1500 cal per day. I never eat back my exercise calories (unless a very special occasion). I too have hit plataeu's but just keep pushing through. I would strongly recomment decreasing your calorie intake.

Taneil27

Yes! Definitely eat them! Myfitnesspal already includes a deficit to help you lose weight, so if you don't eat those exercise calories, you won't be eating enough! :-)

melodyg

I eat mine if I am hungry. That being said, I have my calorie intake set to lose less than 1 pound a week. If I had it set to lose 2 pound a week I would DEFINITELY eat back my exercise calories. I also still have about 70 pounds to lose, so I feel comfortable having a larger calorie deficit (not eating back exercise calories). Closer to goal... I think it is more important to eat back the exercise calories. Maybe not every single one (to account for small fluctuations in calories burned), but most.

Shannon7713

I have lost 31 lbs so far, and I dont eat all of my exercise calories.... Thats just way too much to eat, and after all, thats how I got heavy! LOL.... They say you are supposed to eat them all, but i only dip in to no more then 200, and thats if I am really hungry from working out alot..... Thats just me tho

tross0924

Depends on how I feel. Some days I eat all and even over some, most days I eat about 2/3 of them, but some days I don't eat any. Depends on how hungry I am, and what I feel like that day.

77LouLou

I dnt eat mine...but if I decide to have a drink or go out and splurge I do.

FoamyRiver

I've lost 37lbs since August and I always eat at least some of my exercise calories. If I'm going to a special event and I know I'm going to eat more than my usual alloted calories I make sure to get some exercise in to allow for the extra calories I'm going to consume.

kenrae

I eat some of them most days. I have lost 44lbs since Sept 2010. I too have hit some plateaus but I just stick to the plan. I also have one free day a week where I can have what ever I want guilt free. This seems to work for me. Good luck.

pmarti5

i stay at 1,200 or below a day, or i do not lose. maybe a lil more on weekends but i try to always stay under 1,400 a day.

MochaMixAZ

I do both. I've lost over 200 pounds, and it depends on how hungry I am. I find I need more with heavy workouts... so I try not to eat all of the calories back, but I frequently eat some.

It's kind of trial and error - what works for one of us, won't work for all.

Best of luck! If you're finding yourself hungry, consider eating a few back. If you're comfortable and don't need them, then stick to your baseline.

nickyb632

some days i do, some days i don't, when i hit a plateau i have noticed that upping my exercise and then eating most of those calories back kicks me back into it, i definitely try to keep my net at 1200, sometimes that can be hard though

ImperfektAngel

I make sure to eat 1600 calories a day and have lost 60 lbs since May 2010. The only thing is that I eat more carbs on days I work out and less carbs with more good fats on days I do not workout but the calories need to always stay the same!

kimcat73

I totally agree with eating them but somedays it's not possible. I try to budget accordingly. I like having that buffer at the end of the day. I eat them most of the time, most of the calories and it works for me:) Good luck!

bentobee

I think whether you need to eat them or not depends on the kind and amount of exercise you are doing. If you're only "earning" 200 exercise calories a day by taking the dog for a walk you'll do just fine - better than fine - not eating them back.

If you are sweating your tail off with hardcore cardio and weight training, burning 500+ calories a day, then you really should be fueling your body more.

I wear a BodyMedia Fit armband, so my daily calorie burn is monitored 24/7. I know quite precisely how much I am burning and can gauge whether I need to eat back more of my exercise calories or not. Some days I don't eat them back and end up with a 1000 calorie deficit, other days I HAVE to eat them otherwise I'd end up with much too high of a deficit. Yesterday, for example, I ate back as many as I could, but I still ended up with over a 1200 deficit. If I had not tried to eat them back my deficit would have been in the 1800 range which is way too much of a deficit, IMO!

A_New_Horizon

I have lost close to 30 lbs, and I eat some of my workout calories (not all of them). I have found if I don't eat some of them then my body goes into starvation mode. I usually eat anywhere from 1300 to 1500 calories a day. Also, make sure you are getting enough water in your system. You need to keep yourself hydrated.

leedyc

I lost 80lbs doing P90x and Insanity. These workouts take a huge amount of fuel pre-workout in order to get through the whole days workout. It takes cutting about 500 calories a day from your BMR in order to burn a pound a week, double that if you want to lose 2 pounds a week. Myfitnesspal accounts for this based on your BMR and your daily activity level. Any more than 2 pounds a week is unhealthy for you body to withstand even though many of us have done it.

I lost 40lbs from August to November but ended up in the hospital with blood clots in my lungs. I don't know if the dramatic weight loss was the exact cause (my doctors never figured out the true cause, someone call Dr. House right?) but maybe my body just couldn't handle the stress. When I lost those 40lbs I was doing P90x 6 days a week and eating about 1800 calories a day since I found it harder to eat over that amount while eating healthy foods.

So I guess the short answer is it would depend on your workout and lifestyle. To lose weight in the healthiest way however you should only omit about 500 calories out of your diet a day. So that means burning 250 calories and eating about 250 calories less a day should put you in good shape, no pun intended.

BrandNewMia

I have lost 30lbs since January, and every day I eat SOME of my calories back. In fact, I exercise every day because I need the extra calories to eat what I want! I don't always eat all of them back, it depends on how hungry I am, I won't force food on myself if I don't want it. I actually see bigger losses on the weeks that I zig-zag calories - eating over my goals 1-2 days per week and making sure I leave a bigger deficit on the following days to make up for going over. I know it sounds strange, but it works for me

♥Violette♥4Ever♥

I have lost over 30 pounds and leave a 500 calorie deficit. The only time i eat all my calories (1200) is on the day I rest.

abyt42

Though I'm frequently under my goal for calories, I eat back some (to all) of my exercise calories. Some days it's super easy to do that, other days, it's a challenge to break 1000.

MandaLee8908

I only eat mine back if I'm hungry. Listen to your body. If you're truly hungry, then eat them. If you're not and you are simply giving in to the taste or smell of food, then don't.

deeharley

Wow - those answers cleared things up. haha

katerinab

I don't eat them back, for the most part. Today I ate a few back, just because I felt so dang hungry all day, but most of the time I don't. It no longer feels natural to eat over about 1200-1300 calories per day regardless if I've earned exercise calories in addition to my daily amount.

clioandboy

Hi! I think it is clear that you have to find what works for you, we experts are experts only on what works for us! Lol! In my case I eat my exercise calories, all of them, BUT NOT the amounts given by mfp, which are massive numbers compared to my heart rate monitor..... I believe my hrm so those I eat and it is working for me. One little complication to my expertise is that I lost most of my weight eating back the mfp calories lol!!!!! Soooooo I was eating 2/300 cals OVER my allocated net 1200 AND LOST maybe 20 lbs.... As I say find what works for you, and remember that we are trying to find a sustainable alternative to being fat not a slim down to rebound when we revert to old ways.... Good luck

kimmrdodge

I do not and have never eaten my exercise calories....the real key is making sure you get enough nutrients if you are you do not need to eat them, plateau's tend to happen not because of too few calories but due to not enough nutrients which can look the same.

gailygail99

i dont eat mine back. it says that i can have 1600 calories and then i get whatever i earn from exercise. stil like to stay around 1300-1400 max. some days i am even more towards 1200. i assume that i should atleast be eating the 1600, but i just cant seem to get my brain to let me. haha! things have been ok so far. Good Luck!

EricMurano

A lot of the daily calorie allowances people are quoting here sound extremely low!

ramseyrose

A car cannot run without fuel and neither can your body. You need to eat AT LEAST the amount of calories that your BMR gives you - ie the calories needed to lie in bed and do nothing all day. That is the basic amount your body needs to fuel your organs. If you exercise on top of that you need to top up your fuel tank, so your body can run efficiently.

ramseyrose

A lot of the daily calorie allowances people are quoting here sound extremely low!

I agree. MFP calculates my BMR at about 2000. On Monday I wore my HRM from getting up to going to bed. I burned 3000 calories which included 200 from exercise. It was a very sedentary day; mainly on the computer but sorting a bit of laundry, cooking meals etc. When I am at work I am walking about all the time so my calorie burn would probably be higher.