conflicting info. re: exercising back?

Dottie27

I get the basic math and concept of exercising back. However, it is easy to find many respected, medically-based organizations that will advise women to eat 1200-1400 calories AND exercise 5-6 days per week without adding calories to accommodate for calories burned during exercise. So, why is there so much conflicting information about this subject on so many trusted sites?

Dornroschen

Agreed. This is what my doctor told me to do. Even though I weighed 250 at the time, she said I should eat 1200 calories per day and continue to burn my 750 calories average per day doing my sports/workouts, etc. She also said that I could eat 1200 calories worth of donuts per day and still lose weight. This is a general practice medical doctor, mind you.

jellybaby84

As far as I can work out MFP is rather an anomaly in the industry by telling you to eat caories to a NET of 1200. Most other people/companies/doctors seem to say eat 1200 for weight loss and any exercise you do is an added bonus.

It seems to work for plenty of people here so I wouldn't necessarily knock it but it's definitely not for me.

Dcass100

I believe the conflict lies in the way doctors feel about the rate of weight los. Most don't reccomend more than 1-2 lbs per week.

montana_girl

I honestly believe this is one of those things that is up to the individual. Some people can lose weight without eating their exercise calories and other people (me included) cannot lose weight unless I eat my exercise calories.

Just one of those things you have play with and tweak to figure out what works for you.

meli_medina

MFP isn't the only place that tells you to eat your exercise calories. Weight Watchers also recommended eating your earned exercise points. Some people find it doesn't work for them, but if you create too big of a deficit, especially when you weigh less, you will see your weight loss either stop or reverse. I'm not saying this is true for everyone, but I have noticed it is true for me.

stormieweather

The more you have to lose, the bigger your deficit can be. So if you are seriously obese, with 50+ pounds to lose, you can afford to support a larger deficit (ie: your body will get a larger portion of it's energy from your fat stores). But the amount of fat your body can utilize is capped, so if you have more fat in your body, your deficit can be larger.

MFP can't possibly know what everyone's BMI is, so it sticks to what is safe in general for everyone. A nice, steady 1-2 pound per week loss, and eating enough to get your nutritional needs met.

http://baye.com/calculating-the-daily-calorie-deficit-for-maximum-fat-loss/

hbrekkaas

This is a very individual thing. Personally I don't eat exercise calories back, unless I'm hungry. But lots of people swear its the only way they can lose, others eat back half....you jus thave to experiment and see what works for you.

erinem182

It does not make any sense to eat back the calories you have burnt through exercise "just because". If you are hungry - yes, if you are weak from lack of energy- yes, if you have a particularly low calorie intake goal - yes... but just because you burnt them? Absolutely not.

stormieweather

It actually does make sense to eat part of them back. Think of your body as something that needs fuel in order to GO. Food is our body's fuel. Without it, we can't exercise or function effectively. If you are going to put your body through the strain of working out, then you need to make sure it has fuel. On MFP, we already have a deficit built in. The idea is to maintain that deficit exactly, not increase itthrough exercise to potentially unsafe and unsustainable levels.

bjajdtk

For myself, I find a middle ground to be best. I have found that if my net is less than 1200 I have trouble. So while I don't eat all my exercize calories back, I do need to keep a minimum net to keep my weight loss going steady. KWIM? Everyones body's work different and everyone has a different lifestyle as to what they eat and how they consume their calories.

bcattoes

A lot of it can depend on the individual, which is why you always hear the advice "check with your physician". There are many factors that can influence what is the healthiest way for any on person to lose weight. Starting weight, age, underlying medical conditions, starting physical condition (i.e. how much exercise are getting to start with), family history, daily schedule, etc. A trusted physician who is familiar with your personal medical history can give good advice on what is best for you. Someone who is morbidly obese with insulin resistance and long history of sedentary lifestyle would likely be given very different advice than someone who is 40 lbs overweight with a mildly active lifestyle and no known physical ailments, even by the same physician.

myofibril

http://baye.com/calculating-the-daily-calorie-deficit-for-maximum-fat-loss/

Great link for a great site. I have regularly consulted Drew Baye's site for many years now.

By the way, I also think Livestrong calculates calorie needs in the same way as MFP....

Dottie27

Thanks everyone! Great advice, as always, from MFPs!

bcattoes

This is a very individual thing. Personally I don't eat exercise calories back, unless I'm hungry. But lots of people swear its the only way they can lose, others eat back half....you jus thave to experiment and see what works for you.

Yeah, this may be true, but since I'm old enough to have done the diet thing for decades before terms like "starvation mode" and "eating exercise calories" back I can honestly say I've never known anyone who could not lose weight by eating less. I just don't understand how anyone can live happily on 1200 calories a day for long.

Nikkiairforcewife

That is way too low. Listen to Fat2Fitradio podcasts and you will hear, repeatedly, that you should eat at 20% above your BMR to sustain weight loss, NOT lose muscle, and keep your metabolism in check. I'd take a wild guess that for you that might be 2200+ calories a day, exercising 3 days a week, and eating back the calories. Check it out for yourself.

If you're losing more the 1% of weight in a week, you're losing muscle too. That muscle is what helps your body burn fat efficiently. You need it!

If you were only eating 1200-1500ish calories a day now, you would drop weight fast, but then plateau because your body thinks it's going into starvation. You don't need to worry your body and you don't need to feeling like you're starving to lose weight. Check out their podcasts. You won't regret it.