How many calories should I be eating?

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  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    i didnt get it completely at first either. basically MFP gives you those calories and has already given you a calorie deficit.

    so they say to you to eat 1200 cal, women normally should have around 2000 so you are havling around 800 cals less than you should already

    now what you burn is like 'free calories' you have burnt them on top so to eat them it cancels it out! if you are on 1200 cals and burn 500 cals and dont eat them then you have only eaten like 700 cals and thats not enough!

    for the first 6 months on MFP i did not eat my exercise cals and the weight did come off fast but now i work out more and have around 7 pounds left to loose so i am eating all my exercise cals back and dont mind loosing slower also im more hungry!

    i think you should as you only have in 30 lbs to loose - i reckon you could loose that in 5 months

    So I am just curious if I want to shed a lot of weight fast right now, would it be in my benefit to not eat the excercise calories back at this time? I usually burn about 300 a day. I have no problem eating them back later but want to get my weight down fast and then slowing down would be fine. Thanks in advance.

    If you want to lose muscle and fat, not just fat, then no you don't have to eat them. If you want to retain muscle, your hair, and have everything function properly then yes, eat them.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/384720-working-out-and-eating-back-calories

    This thread has some good information on why you should eat back your exercise calories.
  • kendelq
    kendelq Posts: 35
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    NM....going to keep out of this one! ;-)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    i didnt get it completely at first either. basically MFP gives you those calories and has already given you a calorie deficit.

    so they say to you to eat 1200 cal, women normally should have around 2000 so you are havling around 800 cals less than you should already

    now what you burn is like 'free calories' you have burnt them on top so to eat them it cancels it out! if you are on 1200 cals and burn 500 cals and dont eat them then you have only eaten like 700 cals and thats not enough!

    for the first 6 months on MFP i did not eat my exercise cals and the weight did come off fast but now i work out more and have around 7 pounds left to loose so i am eating all my exercise cals back and dont mind loosing slower also im more hungry!

    i think you should as you only have in 30 lbs to loose - i reckon you could loose that in 5 months

    So I am just curious if I want to shed a lot of weight fast right now, would it be in my benefit to not eat the excercise calories back at this time? I usually burn about 300 a day. I have no problem eating them back later but want to get my weight down fast and then slowing down would be fine. Thanks in advance.

    Dropping weight fast will kill long term results and it will be a lot more difficult to continue. Also it depends how your body response to not eating exercise calories. Some bodies shed weight fast, some just stop losing so it's risky. You are better off getting an extreme fitness program and eating help to increase muscle mass to burn more fat.
  • kendelq
    kendelq Posts: 35
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    You know, it sucks to feel fat and frumpy after having a baby, adn the urge to "diet" is strong. However, you CAN diet and BF, you just need to add 500 calories to your diet! It can be done. I would never give up BF just to diet.
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
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    I don't understand this because to me it kind of seems contradictive. You excercise and change eating habits to lose weight so why would you eat excercise calories back. I know what you are asking and all, and I have heard that you are correct. I just don't get it.

    That's probably because you think of the exercise calories as "extra" calories. They aren't really, they're just the portion of your regular calorie expenditure that varies the most from day to day and that this website doesn't know you well enough to predict in advance. If they could be sure that you'd burn xxx calories from exercise today, they could include that number in math from the beginning and you wouldn't have an issue with "eating back" exercise calories.
  • _Sally_
    _Sally_ Posts: 514 Member
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    Dear Posters,

    Just a reminder to please keep the discussion mutually respectful.

    Thanks!

    _Sally_
    MFP Forum Moderator
  • taraw0503
    taraw0503 Posts: 28 Member
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    Thanks for all the replies! Some helpful ones.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    One recommendation would be get a HRM to truely understand your calories burned. I will also say, there are other methods where you would calculate caloric needs over a week (incorporating lifestyle and exercise) so you don't have to worry about eating back your calories. If you want to look into your caloric needs, and need help, let me know. It's very possible to set up MFP wrong if you dont' understand some basic rules (like even though you want to lose 2 lbs a week, it doesn't mean it's healthy nor feasible)
  • DixiedoesMFP
    DixiedoesMFP Posts: 935 Member
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    If you just had the baby 7 weeks ago, more than likely a lot of that weight is going to come off regardless of what you do. I would try to eat good "clean" wholesome healthy food and exercise, but 1200 is probably going to give you too few calories to take care of a new baby. Also try to get plenty of rest, as that also helps with weight loss. Congratulations on the new addition!

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