do you eat back your exercise calories?

Ashlea82

if you do when did you start?
im a little confused by it really ive only just started out on this journey and have already realised i was going very wrong but have adjusted my intake and now feel im making better choices
but am still wondering should i be eating my calories back or not
im around 276 lbs started at 287 and about 5"3
im currently trying to do 1250 calories per day
and usually only average around 300 calories burned
at this weight/body size i find exercise very uncomfortable..

chevy88grl

Yes, I eat them back. When I don't, my body gets very grumpy. I know that in order for me to maintain (or lose weight when I was actively losing) - I NEED the extra calories that eating them back gives me.

rockerbabyy

yes! thats the way MFP is designed.
basically, you tell MFP you want to lose 1 lb/week. it says ok, in order to lose 1lb/week you need to eat X amount of calories without exercising. then you decide to exercise and burn 400 calories. mfp says hey! i told you to eat X to lose weight without exercise, now youre going to lose too fast and thats not ideal. now you need to eat x+400.

im 5'6, 247.. my calories are 1550 and most days i eat close to 2000 and net between 1200 and 1550.

Beezil

I have been since last Tuesday - simply because I haven't really been exercising much, if at all. I'm in the process of healing an injury, so I want to make sure I'm getting plenty of nutrients. Normally I don't eat back my exercise calories though, unless I'm starving. I definitely lose weight faster if I don't eat them back - or at least most of them. :P

colombiana444

i never did consume them back. it just never worked for me but you have to see what works for you since everyone is different. maybe you may need only a few exercise calories as oppose to all of them. the imporatant thing is that u feel good and energized to carry on with your day and exercise.

yesiamaduck

I don't eat them all back most of the time, but I'll treat myself to a ruddy big chunk of something naughty as a reward

DakotaKeogh

I don't necessarily eat back all my exercise calories. I occasionally use them to go a little further if I'm hungry.

Here's the deal, is this a diet or a life change? If you're in a hurry, pick a formula and hope for the best. If it's a life change, eat clean, work hard and let the changes happen when they happen.

This whole "starvation mode" myth about eating too little is exactly that. A myth. Math is math. If your body needs X to get through the day, and you only give it Y, it will lose weight. Yes, there may be a temporary effect of retaining fat. But, at the end of the day, it's impossible to burn more than you consume and not lose weight. The interesting thing about people who are really starving is, did you ever see a picture of an obese one? There is no such thing as starvation mode.

So you choose what you want to do. Eat them back. Don't eat them back. Your body will change if you are consistently under your daily need. If this is a lifestyle change and not a short term goal, you'll get to where you want to be.

Remember, none of us get to intellectually decide when our bodies will have a healthy weight and shape. We all took years to pile on the weight and neglect our health. Now our bodies decide how long it will take to forgive and forget. You can do this. Don't set dates for yourself. Don't worry the fad notions about eating it back or not. Just do what works for you and have the patience to let it work itself though.

Best of luck to you!

Milaur

Yes, I like to call it calorie shopping. When I work out it's like a treat that I get to eat a little more that day. When I know I'm in the mood for something for dinner and I know I don't have enough calories left I will work out until I can have what I wanted.

Shannonigans84

Yup! I'm not doing myself any favors netting low.

insidelane

if you do when did you start?
im a little confused by it really ive only just started out on this journey and have already realised i was going very wrong but have adjusted my intake and now feel im making better choices
but am still wondering should i be eating my calories back or not
im around 276 lbs started at 287 and about 5"3
im currently trying to do 1250 calories per day
and usually only average around 300 calories burned
at this weight/body size i find exercise very uncomfortable..

You are eating a ridiculously low amount of food for someone of your weight. Also how do you measure the calories burnt in your exercise? I wouldn't trust whatever you read on the eliptical.

You really need to focus on eating right first, and finding what a comfortable calorie goal is. I would concentrate on logging your cals religiously for a week or two and noting how you feel after each day; if you feel tired etc add 100 cals the next day and see how you go.

Ashlea82

i mostly do wii fit and it tells me.. i guess its hard to tell if its right or not...
i was told 1250 by a doctor im unsure if they are a wise one or not lol

olymp1a

Well, for me it depends on the type of exercise I do each day.

I am on a 1200 calories diet (I am visiting a nutricionist for my weekly program) and the days I do low paced exercise (like Yoga for example) I burn approximately 200 calories so I do not eat them back.

The days I go for vivid exercise (zumba, jillian's 30 days shred and others) I burn 400-600 calories. These days I make sure I eat back at least half of them, otherwise I will be feeling worn off on the next day.

I guess you have to experiment and see what works for you.

On a side note and without being an expert I think you are consuming very few calories for your current weight and body needs. Maybe you should visit another doctor to get a second opinion?

velarneyraptor

I try to eat them back... otherwise I feel myself heading back into the "OMG GOTTA KEEP CALS AS LOW AS POSSIBLE" failure spiral.... it's just not sustainable.

nikki_fro

I usually eat mine back but sometimes have some left over. I have been eating them back and easily losing 1-2 pounds a week

TavistockToad

if you do when did you start?
im a little confused by it really ive only just started out on this journey and have already realised i was going very wrong but have adjusted my intake and now feel im making better choices
but am still wondering should i be eating my calories back or not
im around 276 lbs started at 287 and about 5"3
im currently trying to do 1250 calories per day
and usually only average around 300 calories burned
at this weight/body size i find exercise very uncomfortable..

i used to eat part of mine back, and now i eat them all back as i am maintaining my weight. a lot of people will say that as you have a lot of weight to lose you dont need to worry about eating them all back, i would say it depends on whether you are hungry or not to whether you eat them all back.

as for the exercise, the more you do it, the easier it will get!

KeegansMomma

Since you just started this weight loss/healthy living, take it slow. I used to eat my exercise calories back...and usually came in under my daily count (even eating those back). Now, I eat less of the exercise calories back...as I'm finding I'm eating more filling foods and no longer need those extra calories each day. I think it's a shock to our bodies when one day out of the blue we're suddenly taking in less calories than we had been giving it. Which is why MFP highly recommends starting your weekly weight loss goal at 1lb a week. It eases you into the lifestyle change gradually. And when you're comfortable, you can change the weekly weight loss goal to 1.5 pounds or 2 pounds. (The first 2 weeks I was on here, I was at 1 pound a week; the last two weeks I've been at 1.5 pounds; what it does is slowly decreases the amount of calories I need to take in to lose weight and maintain my weight.)

I also think 1250 calories is low for your current weight/height. I am 5'5 and started this journey out at 269 pounds. And according to MFP, my daily calorie intake to lose weight without exercise was just over 2000 calories. Not that I'm down to 263 pounds and changed my weekly weight loss goal to 1.5 pounds, my daily calorie intake to lose weight without exercise is a bit over 1800.

On the other hand...1250 calories sounds right if you were at your ideal/healthy weight. But only taking in that amount of calories right now is going to starve your body of nutrients it needs to lose weight in a healthy manner and will only make it harder on you to stay on the weight loss path. Trust me...I've tried just cutting my calories down to what I would need to simply maintain my healthy weight...and failed so many times. But now that I truly understand the way this website is set up to work, I'm losing weight, decreasing my calorie intake in a healthy way...and am now on week 5 of my lifestyle change. Not to mention I'm down 6 pounds.

If I were you, I would fill out your profile here on the site and set your weekly weight loss goal to 1lb a week. It's going to take dedication and hard work...but as long as you account for everything you put in your mouth every day, you'll start to see weight loss. When you are seeing that you're not eating even your exercise calories back, increas your weekly weight loss goal to 1.5 pounds. And again, when you see that you're not eating your exercise calories back, increase your weekly weight loss goal to 2 pounds (which I believe is the max amount MFP allows on the site).

Also, regarding exercise, invest in Walk at Home DVD's. I LOVE them. I have a 1 mile walk, a 2 mile walk, and a 3 mile walk. I'm currently on the 2 mile walk (it's more intense and you "walk" 2 miles in a half hour). You don't have to have a ton of room to do the DVD's either...and it beats going to the gym and using a treadmill (I feel ya there...I not comfortable going to a packed gym with all the gym rats and walking on the treadmills).

You can do it!