Important variation on the eating your exercise calories que

MelissaGraham7

Okay -I've seen the raging debate about whether or not to eat the exercise calories. Typically I eat about half of mine. Obviously to me, I've been in a plateau for months and months so it is time to rethink things. I was looking at the diet profile settings - where you select your lifestyle (i.e. I am sedentary with a desk job) and pounds you want to lose (for me, 1 pound/week) and then how often you exercise. FOr me, 3 days a week, 1 hour a day. SO, it comes up with 1270 calories and says I will burn X amount with exercise (1100 or so, I think) and should eat 1270 calories. So, on thinking over those statistics, I thought, well, it is already taking off the calories for those 3 days a week when it computes my calories....so, IF I eat them back, or even part of them, aren't I messing with the formula? I could see that if exercise extra days then I could eat all of some of them but if I eat them when those 3 days of exercise are built into the formula, well it seems that is messing with my success.... does that make sense? Well, for the new year I have got to try something new anyway because I have been stuck in a plateau for EVER - so I'm going to go back measuring every single thing, etc. and maybe not eating any of those calories..... I still have 20 pounds to get to goal. Common sense says that what I've been doing hasn't worked to get out of the plateau . I have tried EVERYTHING else in the last year from manipulating calories/calorie cycling, upping the amount, lowering the amount, changing activities....Since I"m in this forever, I don't really want artificial means for getting these but I would like to get to goal. In 2012, I'm going to add strength training to my running and cross training, and continue the Weight Watchers/healthy eating. SO, I"m open to comments, suggestions, etc. Advice is welcome, just try to be gentle. LOL.

ElizabethRoad

well, it is already taking off the calories for those 3 days a week when it computes my calories

It doesn't factor that into anything. Try changing it and you will see that it doesn't affect your calorie allowance. The only time it gives you extra calories to eat is when you actually do it and log it.

MelissaGraham7

Thanks for your input, ElizabethRoad. I must have misinterpreted. Anyone else with additional thoughts?

dad106

I think when you add strength training then you'll see the weight start to drop.. along with the inches.

It's important to strength train so you retain what muscle you have, and thus avoid the "skinny fat" look. Muscle also burns more calories than fat at rest.. so the more that you have, the more you burn without even doing anything.

As far as the calories eaten goes, think of it like this.. if you eat 1270, then exercise off 300-400, thats leaving you with between 870-970 calories for you're body to run off of.. which isn't much. With 20 pounds to go, a lot of people drop the loss to half a pound per week. It's important to feed you're body so it knows it can drop fat.. 1270 doesn't seem like it's nearly enough anymore.

melizerd

I think dropping to 1/2 a pound a week for those last 15-20 is most realistic. Adding in strength training becomes more important as well, so while you don't really get a lot more calories to eat with strength training the TYPE of calories you eat becomes really important, especially the amount of protein you're eating. If you're using MFPs protein default you'll need to up it because it's really set too low.