The people who are losing weight are not eating their exerci

dieseljay74

The only time I eat mine back ( and then some! ) is after heavy weight training sessions. I do not do much cardio at all either.

I just got my six pack back after 4 months of strict eating and heavy weight training...with virtually no cardio...except mountain biking on the weekends.

butterfly_lvr

I am 54, currently at 167 (hoping that changes before weigh in Sunday) and am just now learning how to try and at least eat back a good portion of my exercise calories. I was always used to just watching what I ate, keep certain numbers in check but I was doing no exercising. Now I work out 2x a day for 5 days a week and then 1x a day on weekends so am going to have those "eat back calories" every day. My goal now is to find a plan that works for me. I know the weight did not go on overnight and certainly won't come off overnight as hard as I will it to. but I want to do this the healthy way and make it a life long change not just a quick fix that I will be looking at fixing again down the road. My husband is completely on board with me (cept he does 1 workout per day as he works physical lable 5 days a week); he has lost roughly 8 pounds in 21 days. I have officially lost 5 since the beginning of March but only 2 are logged in on here.

karenyg

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with this I have a hard time eating my 1200 calories including workout calories burned. That's my whole dilema for not loosing like I want. I try very hard, but not working. I seem to loose if I don't work out, I know this sounds crazy but it's true.

ladyhawk00

To a few of those people, this is not an April Fool's Joke. What kind of crappy joke would this be anyways? lol.

Thanks everyone for your help. I'm still confused about what my body wants and needs to lose weight but I guess I should be more patient.

As mentioned, many of the people who don't eat them and lose are people with large amounts to lose (60+ lbs). They can withstand a larger deficit than someone with less to lose.

You may have your settings incorrect. You didn't say what they are, but many people make the mistake of going for too high of a loss/week goal. That can make not eating exer cals even worse, if you're already at too high of a deficit. These threads might help you determine a healthy/realistic goal/deficit. Good luck with it!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

And, yes, I eat mine and lose consistently.

rockabyesarojane

i have always eaten mine and have been doing well with my loss. then i hit a plateau and it turns out that i neeeded to be eating even more so i changed my weight loss goals to increase my daily calorie goal. now i'm back to losing.

the ppl who are losing and not eating those calories back are going to hit a VERY VERY frustrating and intense plateau that will take a LOT of time and effort to break out of.

see this blog:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/206045-busted-my-3-month-plateau-here-s-how

BigBoneSista

Me personally I don't get into the whole numbers thing. I eat healthy, I exercise. I don't care about exercise calories...whether to eat them or not. I don't starve myself and I listen to my body and what it tells me. Not what MFP says and not what others say. I've learned to be observant of me. I make changes where I see they are needed.

I've noticed that both sides tend to spit out statistics and blah, blah, blah...all it does is confuse people more and the ones that are already tettering on the fence eventually fall off because of such debates like these.

Eat 3 balance meals. Eat two healthy snacks. If you need a 3rd after dinner then grab 1. Get in your fresh fruit/frozen veggies.Try to eat leaner cuts of meat and limit your process foods. Please watch your sodium intake. Sugars from fruits are fine.

Be realistic to your lifestyle change. Do what you can manage. Sometimes if we go all in at one time it can become overwhelming before we have even developed a solid foundation. Stay focus and committed. One bad say doesn't mean failure. It means there is a area that needs to be worked on.

To those of you that are still confuse on this subject please take everything with a grain of salt. This debate will always arise. Try to learn your body. If it requires more calories then give it more calories. If it doesn't hold steady till it does. On days I strength train my body needs more food and it tells me so I oblige it. On days that I just do cardio it doesn't require as much so I just give it a few extra calories than the norm.

Anyway...this is me. This is my advice. Agree or not. It works for me.

ladyhawk00

Me personally I don't get into the whole numbers thing. I eat healthy, I exercise. I don't care about exercise calories...whether to eat them or not. I don't starve myself and I listen to my body and what it tells me. Not what MFP says and not what others say. I've learned to be observant of me. I make changes where I see they are needed.

I've noticed that both sides tend to spit out statistics and blah, blah, blah...all it does is confuse people more and the ones that are already tettering on the fence eventually fall off because of such debates like these.

Eat 3 balance meals. Eat two healthy snacks. If you need a 3rd after dinner then grab 1. Get in your fresh fruit/frozen veggies.Try to eat leaner cuts of meat and limit your process foods. Please watch your sodium intake. Sugars from fruits are fine.

Be realistic to your lifestyle change. Do what you can manage. Sometimes if we go all in at one time it can become overwhelming before we have even developed a solid foundation. Stay focus and committed. One bad say doesn't mean failure. It means there is a area that needs to be worked on.

To those of you that are still confuse on this subject please take everything with a grain of salt. This debate will always arise. Try to learn your body. If it requires more calories then give it more calories. If it doesn't hold steady till it does. On days I strength train my body needs more food and it tells me so I oblige it. On days that I just do cardio it doesn't require as much so I just give it a few extra calories than the norm.

Anyway...this is me. This is my advice. Agree or not. It works for me.

Des, you know I love you. And I agree with the spirit of what you're saying.

You've been doing this (losing weight) for quite a while and had HUGE success (Yay!) You're a very disciplined, focused person.

Here's the but:
Many people just starting out have bodies that are lying *kitten*. They aren't sending the right signals yet. And for a lot of people, even once the bodies are sending the right signals, they don't know HOW to listen yet. It takes time to learn how to do that. And the way to do that is to eat the right amounts of the right foods for a while. Gradually, for most, it becomes easier to recognize the healthy cues for hungry, satiety, thirst, etc. after they've retrained their bodies. Once people have done it for a while, they may be able to do without a cal goal. But most of the people here clearly don't have that skill yet - that's how they got where they are.

There are some people who simply don't have the focus or awareness to be able to "ballpark it" - and never will. And for someone like me, whose mind simply disagrees with everything my body tells me (thank you ED), I may need to use cal goals and calculations for a long time.

So yes, the ultimate goal is to be able, at some point, to do without a cal goal. But it can take a long time to get to that point and until then, a lot of people need guidance. That's one of the many reasons MFP is such a great tool.

PJilly

I reached my goal and then some eating all my exercise calories. I've been maintaining for a year now, still eating my exercise calories. I've seen a lot of people lose initially by not eating them, but to sustain a loss, and then maintain it, I am convinced we need to eat them.

DaniJeanine

I'm glad to see a post like this because I always battle with "to eat or not to eat" the calories! lol. I think the main reason why I do it is because I'm skeptical about the accuracy of the calories burned according to the website. Do you have a heart rate monitor? I'm going to buy one this weekend so I can feel more confident about the exercise calories is eat back.

ohohraptor

I'd focus on weekly net rather than day to day. My goal is 1200, and I definitely eat back my exercise calories on strength days, and most of my exercise calories on short run days. However I just can't eat 800 calories on long run days. But I tend to overeat on weekends... So it all evens out in the end.

traceytoo

I tried eating my exercise calories for a couple of months, and all I did was put on weight then maintain .. as soon as I stopped eating them I lost weight and have continued to do so .. if I increased my calories now and ate my exercise cals, when Im 5 pounds from goal, I would put on weight, it's as simple as that.

I do not think it's a one size fits all solution, you have to do what works for you whether that be avoiding carbs, avoiding proteins, avoiding sugars or eating exercise cals.

Try both, try combinations .. see what works best.

isabelk

It is normal to feel some hunger before your meals. If you are hungry all the time, I suggest eating 5 small meals a day. I find that to feel more full I have to eat more vegetables.

BigBoneSista

Me personally I don't get into the whole numbers thing. I eat healthy, I exercise. I don't care about exercise calories...whether to eat them or not. I don't starve myself and I listen to my body and what it tells me. Not what MFP says and not what others say. I've learned to be observant of me. I make changes where I see they are needed.

I've noticed that both sides tend to spit out statistics and blah, blah, blah...all it does is confuse people more and the ones that are already tettering on the fence eventually fall off because of such debates like these.

Eat 3 balance meals. Eat two healthy snacks. If you need a 3rd after dinner then grab 1. Get in your fresh fruit/frozen veggies.Try to eat leaner cuts of meat and limit your process foods. Please watch your sodium intake. Sugars from fruits are fine.

Be realistic to your lifestyle change. Do what you can manage. Sometimes if we go all in at one time it can become overwhelming before we have even developed a solid foundation. Stay focus and committed. One bad say doesn't mean failure. It means there is a area that needs to be worked on.

To those of you that are still confuse on this subject please take everything with a grain of salt. This debate will always arise. Try to learn your body. If it requires more calories then give it more calories. If it doesn't hold steady till it does. On days I strength train my body needs more food and it tells me so I oblige it. On days that I just do cardio it doesn't require as much so I just give it a few extra calories than the norm.

Anyway...this is me. This is my advice. Agree or not. It works for me.

Des, you know I love you. And I agree with the spirit of what you're saying.

You've been doing this (losing weight) for quite a while and had HUGE success (Yay!) You're a very disciplined, focused person.

Here's the but:
Many people just starting out have bodies that are lying *kitten*. They aren't sending the right signals yet. And for a lot of people, even once the bodies are sending the right signals, they don't know HOW to listen yet. It takes time to learn how to do that. And the way to do that is to eat the right amounts of the right foods for a while. Gradually, for most, it becomes easier to recognize the healthy cues for hungry, satiety, thirst, etc. after they've retrained their bodies. Once people have done it for a while, they may be able to do without a cal goal. But most of the people here clearly don't have that skill yet - that's how they got where they are.

There are some people who simply don't have the focus or awareness to be able to "ballpark it" - and never will. And for someone like me, whose mind simply disagrees with everything my body tells me (thank you ED), I may need to use cal goals and calculations for a long time.

So yes, the ultimate goal is to be able, at some point, to do without a cal goal. But it can take a long time to get to that point and until then, a lot of people need guidance. That's one of the many reasons MFP is such a great tool.

You know I normally always agree with your logic because you can always give me insight from a different side of the coin and I understand your POV and I believe its solid excellent information. But sometimes I think the solid good info gets lost amongst all the confusion. I dislike all the debate and all the confusion it causes because in most threads there is never a clear right or wrong after reading it...just a bunch of yay and nay sayers with links. If you are someone who doesn't know better or doesn't know your own body where does that leave you? Most people are not like us. They aren't going to actively educate themselves on fat loss. They are looking for someone to hand them the info but even if they do search for themselves or someone gives them their POV there is still so much conflicting info it can be mind boggling. I think for the most part its going to have to be a learning experience and a process of elimination for most people. Just like a child we can give them all the info but they have to be willing to implement it. Some children have to get burned 1st before they learn or see someone they know personally get burned unfortunately.

I just don't want those who are already weak to get lost in the chaos and eventually disappear from the site because they just can't get on track. Thats why I said they need to work on starting a foundation. Start slow. Evaluate themselves regularly and re-evaluate. Make changes where they are needed.

I don't know....usually I don't even read these threads. Why I felt the need to reply to this one in the 1st I don't know. Fustrated with it all I guess.

BLAH!
:flowerforyou:

dawniee

I'll give you my personal experience and hopefully I can give you some answers to help you. Everybodys body is different. This is what works for me....not for everybody. For me I stick to 1200-1300 calories and workout 4 to 6 x a week, with usually a 500- 800 calorie burn. I cannot possibly eat all my calories but if you listen to your body and feel hungry it's probaly because you really need those extra calories, I will eat them but it's always a HIGH protein snack like greek yogurt plain add i add a scoop of protein powder or cinnamon with vanilla and truvia ....Low sodium sliced turkey breast...handful of raw almonds ....tablespoon or organic peanut butter (organic because it has much less sugar), cottage cheese....just a couple of ideas .....FYI things with high sugar or high sodium cause you to bloat and will cause you to have massive cravings feeling hungry all the time ...I tried the whole eating my caories back for a month and I stopped losing, as soon as i went back to the way I was taught by my personal trainer, I don't know why I questioned HER as she is a professional, I started losing immediatley. Its really like a science project, you have to figure out what YOUR body needs to lose weight healthy. Too much sugar will absolutely stop weightloss. Not drinking enough water and too much sodium. ...I never have cravings or feel hungry. I eat every three hours and drink a ton of water. The recommendations on MFP for protein is way too low. I eat about 100 to 135 grams of protein a day. I get my protein from all those snacks I mentioned earlier. I have a protein shake in the morning for breakfast and protein shake after my workout. You can add oatmeal, to your protein shakes to help get more fiber. ground golden flax, wheatgerm or just buy some plain fiber powder. Try to get at least 20 grams of protein for every meal and fiber. This will crush your cravings and hunger. The protein powder is great cuz you can add it to anything. Like your oatmeal for breakfast, greek yogurt.( i buy 6 grams of less sugar only) or just make a shake buy added ice. I only eat 24 grams a sugar a day. I try to stickl to 2000 miligrams of sodium ....Are you drinking at least 80 oz of water? My trainer said to drink half of what you weigh. So if your 150lbs you dirnk 75 oz of water. If you drink anything caffinated beverage that actually is a diarectic and so you must drink another 8 oz of water to get it back. When working out you should drink 8 oz water 1 hour before and of course after. You've probaly sweat out a ton of your water so you need to replace it. If your not drinking enough water this too will cause cravings and bloating and totally prevents weightloss.. I also make sure I eat high protein shake after my workouts....Well, tha'ts all I can think of right now. I hope I've given you some kind of answers to help you. REmember the most important thing is listening to your body!! God bless

Lee1957

I am not sure about eating the exercise calories back. I am type 2 diabetic and mfp has me at 1940 calories but went to 1890 as I have to maintain my glucose levels and even 1840 seems to much with my sugar. I usually have extra calories each day. Hope some one can help me understand. I don't exercise a lot just a couple of times a week because up early and home later. I want to get this right. I have lots weight but I worry about too many calories for my sugar.

5grn9

Everybody's body is different- so we will all lose in different ways, you just have to figure out what is going to work for your body and have patience! It will happen if you stick to it!

arodriguez24

I eat some back, I always try to stay under. Also eating the right foods will tame hunger pangs.

sjdoman

I don't eat mine back. I've been on here for 3 months and have lost 23 lbs. I usually eat 4 meals and a snack and I'm not starving. Yesterday I ate 1500 calories and felt absolutely stuffed.

aippolito1

It's just like Biggest Loser. When you first start out and have a lot of weight to lose, you can create a high deficit and successfully lose weight...for awhile. Read 00trayn's 3 month plateau blog.

Rworthy

Not all calories are equal - if you're not eating back your exercise calories, you should be eating btw 15-30 grams of protein per meal. Eat every 3-4 hours, 300-400 calories. I have been doing this for over a month and I'm not starving. I used to wake up in the middle of the night starving to death - I wasn't eating enough protein. Now I eat what I want and get full quicker, so I have been able to lose even more weight than before when I counted every single calorie.