Eating 2000 calories.

Mateo1985

Hello guys,

Have a question here. I'm currently eating between 1900-2000 calories maintaining my weight at 140 pounds. I lost a lot of weight recently by being on a 1200 calories a day diet for a few months and then gradually getting back up to eating the amount of calories that I eat now. During this time I didn't not exercise even a little bit.

In two weeks I plan to hit the gym and do some weight lifting. If I was to do that when eating 1200 calories then I would of course eat the exercise calories to make sure my net intake is still at 1200 so my body doesn't starve. So here is my question. Since I'm eating around 2000 calories a day now should I eat the exercise calories? I mean my net intake is still going to be above 1200 so my body isn't going to starve or anything.

Thanks a lot for the input in advance guys.

bjshields

Are you a guy? That would be a factor. And if you are, 1,200 calories is not going to cut it! If you add in strength training, you definitely need to add calories, especially more protein. Good luck!

RatBoyGL

You need to use the BMR calculator to calculate approx. how much your body will burn at rest.

Then, if you burn 300 at the GYM, I would think that you would want to stay around BMR + Burned to maintain.

I have a question for you.

You state that you lost "a lot of weight recently" by doing a 1200 calorie diet and no exercise.

How long and how much did you lose?

I almost feel like I should be doing a bit better than I am doing and I am exercising 6 days a week and not going over hardly ever at all.

But I am eating what MFP tells me to eat (BMR + Exercise - 500).

thecanface

this link helps alot..

by Taso42

http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/

erickirb

Hello guys,

Have a question here. I'm currently eating between 1900-2000 calories maintaining my weight at 140 pounds. I lost a lot of weight recently by being on a 1200 calories a day diet for a few months and then gradually getting back up to eating the amount of calories that I eat now. During this time I didn't not exercise even a little bit.

In two weeks I plan to hit the gym and do some weight lifting. If I was to do that when eating 1200 calories then I would of course eat the exercise calories to make sure my net intake is still at 1200 so my body doesn't starve. So here is my question. Since I'm eating around 2000 calories a day now should I eat the exercise calories? I mean my net intake is still going to be above 1200 so my body isn't going to starve or anything.

Thanks a lot for the input in advance guys.

No, you would not have to eat them, unless you are burning over 500, then you may want to eat some of them. That being said, if you goal is to maintain and not lose anymore, then yes you will have to eat them or you will lose weight. For example if you burn 300 calories 5 days per week and don't eat the exercise calories, you would lose 1 lb every 3 weeks.

So it depends on your goals, if you have a fitness goal, not weight related, you will perform better if you eat more. So if your goal is to lift heavier, or run faster or farther, your results would be better if you eat your exercise calories as your body would be getting 100% of what it burns back.

erickirb

You need to use the BMR calculator to calculate approx. how much your body will burn at rest.

Then, if you burn 300 at the GYM, I would think that you would want to stay around BMR + Burned to maintain.

I have a question for you.

You state that you lost "a lot of weight recently" by doing a 1200 calorie diet and no exercise.

How long and how much did you lose?

I almost feel like I should be doing a bit better than I am doing and I am exercising 6 days a week and not going over hardly ever at all.

But I am eating what MFP tells me to eat (BMR + Exercise - 500).

Your calculation is wrong. It is BMR plus an activity multiplier + exercise to get maintenance.

If you are sedentary your maintenance would be BMR x 1.2. As BMR is the amount your body would need to maintain its weight in a coma, as soon as you wake up you burn more than BMR even at rest with no exercise.

RatBoyGL

this link helps alot..

by Taso42

http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/

Awesome!!! :laugh:

lutzsher

To maintain 140 pounds I would ensure your total NET calories (so yes, including exercise calories) are no less than 1800. Of course it all depends on your personal items as well, age, activity factor, etc., so this is just a "ballpark" guess.

Mateo1985

Hey guys,

Thanks a lot for the input. To answer some of the questions I'm a 26 year old male. 5 foot 8. I started losing weight on October 12th at 185 pounds. That's when I signed up here on MFP.

When it comes to my goals I don't really wanna lose any more weight. I'd still want to lose some more fat and replace it with muscle though.


hahahahah loved that: http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/