Does it work to do extra calorie burning if you're over your

EmmaRankmore

There are a lot of different opinions, but I've been personal training for a long time and the hardest thing to get straight is peoples diet. Think of it like this, if you eat 2000 calories one day, but burn 2500 calories with cardio and daily activity, then the next day eat 1200 calories and burn 1800 calories in only daily activity, which sounds better? Controlling your diet is the best option. I'm not saying that on occasion you can't do the extra if you go over, but consistency, or at least relative consistency is key to management of weight loss in the long run.

But then we get into the whole 'should I eat my exercise calories' discussion - which has been talked about ad nauseum on here and the conclusion is yes. And thats basically what I'm doing - making sure I'm eating enough. So if I start with 1200 calories, then exercise 500, thats 1700 I should be eating, right? If I eat 1800 for the day and realise that when I log it in the evenings, I do 100 more calories burned on my bike, which brings it to even.

I'm sure I will get it right, I'm just trying to get as much info as I can to help me understand

WarmDontBurn

I would try to stay within your goal calorie intake before any cardio exercise is put in. You want to keep a caloric deficit in your diet to lose weight. All your cardio is like "bonus" calorie burn. You still lose weight if you consume less calories than what your daily caloric burn is through normal day-today activities, but you want that deficit to be as much as possible without going under 1200 calories consumed. Varying your intake is beneficial so that your body doesn't adapt to a set amount, but definitely try to keep in range of your goal calorie intake. One thing I do because of the way it subtracts cardio calories from your net, is wait till the end of the day to add my cardio. This way I stay on track with my goal calories, and can really see at the end of the day how the "bonus" calories benefit. Hope this helps! If you have any other questions, shoot me a message.

See this is where I get confused lol. :P Take today for example. My net calories consumed after cardio was 1400 so I did some more cardio to bring that back down to 1200 net calories intake. Am I doing the right thing?

This sounds right...As long as your NET doesn't go below 1200 and you are eating what is allowed for you. I just found out that I was eating below my NET. I was focusing on my goal which was 1200 calories....then I would burn 200 and only eat back say half so I was still below the 1200 NET. I have since upped my calories to 1320 and have been staying as close to that as possible but never under 1200 now. I figure MFP long time users must know what they are talking about...lol. I think people tend to forget to that MFP already factors in a deficit so if you yourself are creating one it might become to great.

Sounds like you are on the right track and doing well!! Keep up the good work!

EmmaRankmore

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This sounds right...As long as your NET doesn't go below 1200 and you are eating what is allowed for you. I just found out that I was eating below my NET. I was focusing on my goal which was 1200 calories....then I would burn 200 and only eat back say half so I was still below the 1200 NET. I have since upped my calories to 1320 and have been staying as close to that as possible but never under 1200 now. I figure MFP long time users must know what they are talking about...lol. I think people tend to forget to that MFP already factors in a deficit so if you yourself are creating one it might become to great.

Sounds like you are on the right track and doing well!! Keep up the good work!
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This is the problem I had too - I was creating too much of a deficit, thinking I was doing the right thing by being heaps under my calorie limit. I plateaued with my weight loss so I started exercising more and eating more as well but not going over with eating my exercise calories (apart from the few times) and not going under 1200 net calories consumed. I havent been doing this thing long enough to notice too much of a pattern yet so this is why I'm asking

EmmaRankmore

And thankyou for the kind words

Alphastate

No, I know it's tough through messaging on posts, but bottom line, if your goal calorie intake is 1200, you should only eat 1200. Don't add your cardio in till the end of the day, if at all. You want to stay under your daily activity caloric burn at all times. If you go over that, then you have to work even harder to burn it off. It's taxing your body unnecessarily. I typically don't even tell my clients to equate for their cardio on here because of this. It confuses the body way too much and it puts you at risk of not being able to maintain your weight loss if you ever stop exercising because it can make you want to consume lots of calories again.

WarmDontBurn

RatBoyGL posted an awesome breakdown..thought it might help here too

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/196238-frustrated-consuming-all-of-my-calories-too-many?page=2#posts-2598718 I think I was the last post and I quoted him so it should be easy to find!

HTH

EmmaRankmore

RatBoyGL posted an awesome breakdown..thought it might help here too

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/196238-frustrated-consuming-all-of-my-calories-too-many?page=2#posts-2598718 I think I was the last post and I quoted him so it should be easy to find!

HTH

Yeah that makes sense Okay I'll go with what I'm doing for a while and see how I go. I'm hardly ever over 1300 net calories consumed and very rarely under 1200 net calories consumed so I think I'm in the right area. Thanks for your help!

crazymgpilot

Bottom line, I think you're doing the right thing. There've been many discussions on here about eating back your calories, whether to eat them back or not. Everybody is different but the thing is that your body needs so many calories to function, regardless of whether you work out or not. when you work out you burn many of the calories that your body would normally use to function, your basal metabolic rate, and if you get too low, and MFP uses 1200 as the number to try not to go below, your body goes into starvation mode, especially if this happens consistently. Personally, I eat back many of my calories but not all, keeping a deficit which MFP puts into the calculation. If you eat more, it's obvious that if you then exercise more and burn off those extra calories you'll still be in a deficit. What happens if you don't count your cardio calories is you can actually get into too much of a deficit and begin to store fat, or you'll lose weight, but your body will start burning your muscle for fuel and though you get skinny, you become as MFP says, Skinny fat. That's why they have the 1200 NET. Because your body needs fuel to function.
For example, the other day, I did a massive cardio workout and burned over 1200 calories that day. UP to that point, I'd only eaten 1150 calories. That put me at a huge deficit, in fact it put me at negative numbers. Therefore I had a healthy, though calorie rich, dinner and made up my calories to put me over the 1200 net at a minimum...and I still lost weight that week, and continue to put on muscle, because if you don't fuel the workout while eating fewer NET calories, your body will find the calories from somewhere...usually your muscles.

Therefore, keep doing what you're doing. If you keep it in the green for your net by exercising a little bit more if you go over....you'll continue to lose and won't lose muscle in the process.

stormieweather

There are a lot of different opinions, but I've been personal training for a long time and the hardest thing to get straight is peoples diet. Think of it like this, if you eat 2000 calories one day, but burn 2500 calories with cardio and daily activity, then the next day eat 1200 calories and burn 1800 calories in only daily activity, which sounds better? Controlling your diet is the best option. I'm not saying that on occasion you can't do the extra if you go over, but consistency, or at least relative consistency is key to management of weight loss in the long run.

MFP already calculates a deficit in it's calorie goals. So exercising more (without eating back those calories) actually increases that deficit to potentially unsafe and unsustainable levels. The idea (with MFP) is to maintain that 250/500/750/1000 calorie a day deficit exactly, no matter if you exercise or not. So you can lose weight whether you exercise or not, and so you can sustain the diet long-term.

crazymgpilot

Good answer, and well put!

stormieweather

To the OP (sorry for the hijack), sure...if you're over on calories, a nice workout will bring your calorie deficit back in line

Alphastate

I'm not saying anyone is wrong on here, you will lose weight if you are burning more than you are consuming. But the right way to do it is to stay at your calorie goal. Remember what everyone's reason for coming to this site is, to track our calories and control our food to make sure we're not eating too much. That being said, you shouldn't worry about adding your cardio to this. You should focus on your daily intake of calories. You can burn calories, it's a matter of CONSUMING calories that creates the problem. I will hike for 1500 calories burned, burn 2500 on a daily burn and consume 2500. Does that mean I'm at risk because I'm under net 1200? No. The purpose is to EAT, CONSUME, at least the minimum amount, not to net the minimum amount. I'm a professional, but please, take whatever advise works best for you.

dengarrett

I'm not saying anyone is wrong on here, you will lose weight if you are burning more than you are consuming. But the right way to do it is to stay at your calorie goal. Remember what everyone's reason for coming to this site is, to track our calories and control our food to make sure we're not eating too much. That being said, you shouldn't worry about adding your cardio to this. You should focus on your daily intake of calories. You can burn calories, it's a matter of CONSUMING calories that creates the problem. I will hike for 1500 calories burned, burn 2500 on a daily burn and consume 2500. Does that mean I'm at risk because I'm under net 1200? No. The purpose is to EAT, CONSUME, at least the minimum amount, not to net the minimum amount. I'm a professional, but please, take whatever advise works best for you.

If, as you say, everyone is coming to this site to be completely accurate about tracking calories and not eat too much, then I agree that the "right" way to do it is to be 100% accurate in the order that you record your calories and workouts. But, I think that it may be a bit presumptious to speak for everyone on this site. I come here to lose weight and become fit. So the "right" way for me is whatever accomplishes those goals, and I feel like I am being successful.

ronjaa

When I feel I'm eating too much, I burn more calories then usual. And I eat my exercise calories, not all, I leave about 200. I think it's ok to exercise after eating more then you're suppose to. That way you burn these extra calories.