A civil debate here please.

iAMaPhoenix

Question:Question: How do you determine how many calories to eat back. Is it 100%, 50%, or 25% of your exercise calories? Is it based on the type of exercise you do? Do you base it on whether you heart rate was in the fat burning zone or not? Do you do it daily, or average it out after a few day, week, month...etc? Here is an example!!!

If I do absolutely nothing at all, I burn an average of 2810 calories a day. That is about 117 calories an hour. Of course I burn more awake than when I am asleep but let's use 117 for now. If I walk for an hour, I will burn about 350 calories, give or take a few. Do I subtract the 117 I would have burned anyway to sustain life giving me a surplus of 232, or do I eat back the entire 350. Just curious as to what most people do.

aa1440

I don't worry about it too much. I eat and exercise almost everyday. I don't eat all of my calories back. I usually leave 500 - 800 calories un-eaten. If I go over it's no big deal.

cparter

The calories calculated on the site are based on total calories to sustain you based on your life style minus the calories deficit you need to lose weight based on your settings for weight loss goal (1 to 2 lbs per week) and exercise.

So, if your daily requirement is 2810 you intake 2600 and your output from exercise is around 350 your deficit left over is 560. Do you have eat an additional 560 calories? Many would say yes and many would say no because there is no true science to it because it all depends on the individual.

The key is do what works for "you" and when you start meeting weight reduction walls adjust. Adjustment may mean eating more of your calories back because you have somehow gotten into the starvation mode and the body is craving those calories or redefining your current weight and cutting further back on calories. Also, remember inches lost is considered monumental milestones so although you may have a wall in the way things are still moving in a positive direction.

As long as you are not rediculous low on your calorie deficit (i.e., 2810 required, 1000 taken in and 1000 burned) you should be safe.

cparter

Also, you should average your goal over a week and not a day. Getting hung up on one day at a time and stressing because you went over is self defeating. Set your goal for a week and maintain it daily.

iAMaPhoenix

Also, you should average your goal over a week and not a day. Getting hung up on one day at a time and stressing because you went over is self defeating. Set your goal for a week and maintain it daily.

I don't know what just happened. My wife must have edited my post.

I usually don't eat back much. I don't worry about it too much. I exercise almost daily and eat whenever I am hungry. If I go over one day, I don't stress cause I set a goal to burn about 5000 calories a week, so I am usually good with my average. I also have stopped weighing in for the past 3 weeks, so I don't feel defeated if the numbers are not there. I feel good, so that is all that matters. I figured I did not weigh myself 7 times a day when I was gaining the weight, so why the hell would I torture myself with numbers when I am losing it. It works for me..