I don't get it...

Hartbarney05

I'm brand new here! I have a question about eating back your calories. I don't understand how that will help you lose weight? Isn't the idea to stay at or under your calories for the day to lose weight? Can anyone explain that to me? Thanks!

gameovergt

if you are under calories one day then don't make up for it the next. let it go.

biggerpix

I don't get it either. So I don't do it.

2littlebostons

I don't eat back any of my calories, either.
Doesn't make much sense.

alina323

so the skinny is that just by doing nothing or laying in bed all day people burn calories cause all or body functions properly and whatnot

so basically you go into 1000 or so negative depends on your weight and height to gain weight a person must eat MORE then what they fully burn off to maintain you eat the exact amount to loose you eat less!! so lets say me i burn off roughly 1,785 a day without any exercise to loos you eat less most people say 500 less ( but it differs on how much you want to loose) so to loose weight i must eat 1,200. Now if you exercise 100 off you can eat 100 more if you so choose.

staps065

When you set your weight loss goals MFP determines you calories needed to meet that goal based upon your stated activity level and rate of loss you desire. So if you don't eat back at least some of your exercise calories, you may be at a too large a deficit. You'll lose weight at first but you may stall prematurely and even have a slight gain. At least, that's how I understand it.

lisa4131

u exercise off calories that you ate during the day but in order for your body to stay healthy and energized you need to keep it replenished ...a car wont run without gas and your body wont run without food .....eat foods that are good for you and keep you full of energy i posted almost this same question last week i got a ton of answers and i listened because the majority of the MFP community really knows what there talking about.......:happy:

zenchik115

the way I understand it... Lets say your body burns 1300 calories just by sitting around all day...if you eat 1200 calories a day then you are burning an extra 100 calories already...so then if you work out and burn 700 calories but eat and additional 300 calories then you are still -600 calories for the day... I dont eat all of my exercise calories...but if I go a little over I dont worry too much...

chelledmal

Here...read this. I didn't really understand before either. This guy explains it very well. If you don't eat enough calories for your body, then you may go into starvation mode.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

WarmDontBurn

MFP creates a deficit for you so if you log in and put in your goal for example 1200 calories and eat that and never exercise you will lose weight because of said deficit. Now if you exercise you need to refuel and eat back those calories.

Great post here : http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions

Your goal should be to never go below 1200 NET.

bethrs

Okay- here it goes:

MFP has you set at a deficit to lose weight if you don't exercise.

When you do, you increase that deficit and some people eat back up to their reccomended or goal calories in terms of "net" calories.

Today I had a goal of 1380. Then I ran almost 5 miles and got 430 calories. so that bumped me up to a goal of 1810 for the day. If I only ate my 1380 my deficit would jump from 300 to 730- which is a faster rate for losing weight and puts me at lower than 1200 "net" calories for the day.

There is debate about exercise calories and several threads devoted to the subject- but that is the logic.

HTH

ejmcam

The goal is not to be UNDER your calories. The calorie amount they give you is what you would need to be on to lose weight if you were not exercising at all, which is obviously not recommeded. Eating less than 1200 calories can cause your metabolism to slow down and your body will hold on to fat for longer, making it extra hard to lose weight. I know it sounds crazy and backwards but you just have to trust it. You need to eat to lose weight. Your NET calories for a day should not be under 1200 minimum. If you work out, you should eat the calories atleast to get you up to 1200. One day here and there wont hurt, but your body needs to know that it is going to be "refueled" on a regular basis.

stkennedy64

The basic idea is to eat less calories than your body uses each day. When you exercise you burn more calories so you can eat more calories and still consume less then your body used.

alienblonde1

The amount of calories for the day "Goal" are what you are to eat to lose the amount of weight you want to lose whether it be 1lb or 2lbs.

So MFP takes the calories you eat per day and subtracts the calories you burn per day is suppose to equal your net calories and or your goal for the day.

If you are at 1200 calories per day you should actually be at or over your goal each day. You should never go below 1200 or it will put your body in starvation mode.

So I have mine set to lose 1lb a week and MFP has me set at 1490 calories per day. Some days I go over and some days I am under.

xraychick77

people on here will tell you all sorts of things..most of course is just hearsay..ya know what they read on other posts here. a lot of people believe it so it must be true. most of what you read on here are myths..i highly suggest doing your own research and not going on what people say here.

but..here are my two cents since you asked. do what your body tells you. if you are hungry and feel that you are not eating enough to get enough energy for the day, then by all means eat them back, or eat back partially. if you feel full then dont.
i never ate back my exercise calories, and never had a problem. i work third shift, so shoot if anyone should lack energy it should be me..but nope. didnt bother me one bit to eat 1300 calories and burn 300.

ps..1200 calorie limit is a myth..starvation mode is a myth. look it up. the 1200 calorie myth comes from the fact that people who tend to eat at an extreme calorie deficit tend to binge more..hence dont lose weight or actually gain weight. and the starvation mode is a big myth..there was ONE test done on like ONLY 20 MEN. and in their studies a 2000 calorie diet was considered TRUE stavation. (no mention of starvation mode). hence MYTH

baisleac

See my sig.

Tzavush

Its been explained many times on many posts, if you do a search you could get a lot more detailed answers, but the short of it is that MFP already includes the deficit in your calories for the day when you tell the system your current weight etc and how much you want to lose.

If you dont eat back the burned calories, then you are actually increasing the calorie deficit to a much wider margin. Although this may work in the beginning if you have a larger amount to lose, as you start losing, it may become harder and harder to reach your weight goals without adding back some or all of the exercise calories.

Hope this helps..as I said this is the short version.

SaraTonin

http://www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

"When you're doing a calorie restriction program, you are restricting calories to lose a fixed amount of lbs every week by way of a calorie deficit. If you don't eat back your exercise calories, then your deficit is larger than the plan, meaning you are not sticking to the plan. While it may work at first causing weight to come off quicker, you will eventually stall as your metabolism slows. Moreover, you will likely be in a constant state of hunger, which is no good psychologically and may lead to binging later."