eating workout calories?

mgullette

Yeah I listened to her too and she said if you were close to your goal weight (5-10 lbs of vanity weight) then you didn't need to create as big of a deficit. However, if you are more than 10-15 lbs overweight, your body doesn't need as much fuel because it has reserves ( think she said something along the lines of 5 tanks of reserves) so you can get by on very few. When you are really big, I think like the BL contestants, it's more important just to get the weight off than maintain muscle mass because their bodies are under so much stress from all the extra weight.

Basically, you have to play around with it. The beauty of MFP is that you can go back and look at your food diary and see what you were eating when you were losing weight and if you changed something or not.

:drinker:

Good luck!

mrsyac2

Yeah I listened to her too and she said if you were close to your goal weight (5-10 lbs of vanity weight) then you didn't need to create as big of a deficit. However, if you are more than 10-15 lbs overweight, your body doesn't need as much fuel because it has reserves ( think she said something along the lines of 5 tanks of reserves) so you can get by on very few. When you are really big, I think like the BL contestants, it's more important just to get the weight off than maintain muscle mass because their bodies are under so much stress from all the extra weight.

Basically, you have to play around with it. The beauty of MFP is that you can go back and look at your food diary and see what you were eating when you were losing weight and if you changed something or not.

:drinker:

Good luck!

Yes you can play with it- but she also said nothing about eating exercise calories-- She told the woman that just had 10-15lbs to lose to eat 1600 calories and to work out she didn't say eat 1600 + exercise calories and workout- she said 1600 forever and to workout-

And if you have more to lose you can eat less calories a day but to NEVER EVER go under 1200 a day- Mind you thats for a female- And also workout.


For men with alot to lose eat 1600 and workout and to not go ess than 1600 -- and for a man with 10-15lbs to lose it would be different-

She also put a man who was close to his goal at 1800 calories a day and to workout-

mgullette

Yeah I don't believe you need to eat your exercise calories...I don't. Before joining this site I'd never heard such a debate over it. Now I see one almost every day.

mrsyac2

Yeah I don't believe you need to eat your exercise calories...I don't. Before joining this site I'd never heard such a debate over it. Now I see one almost every day.

never heard it before this site either.

Dave198lbs

Yeah I don't believe you need to eat your exercise calories...I don't. Before joining this site I'd never heard such a debate over it. Now I see one almost every day.

there have been a few recent threads that started out JUST wondering where the concept of eating them all came from and the thread ALWAYS turns into a defense of the concept

the consensus seems to be...noone knows where it originated....I am not knocking it but it seems to be one of those things that people will follow because they are told to...now ...some will post it works for them..I agree..I agree ..it can work...but it is not the only way

tennetubbie

if you burn 1100 cals at the gym you should be eating your 1200 PLUS the 1100 you burned. 1200 already puts you at a deficit, and if you exercise and don't eat those calories back you're creating an even larger deficit- in your case a DANGEROUSLY large one. Think of it this way: you give your body 1200 calories to function on. You use 1100 of those working out. That leave 100 measely calories for your body to perform ALL other functions (ex- breathing, digestion, heartbeat, blinking, moving, talking, thinking, EVERYTHING). Yep, you eat back exercise calories. If you can't eat 2300 calories in a day, do less exercise.

this is ONE theory..there are others,,,,,read the archive posts, some eat them all and some do not
get several opinions

that's true, some people don't eat them ALL. But generally, those are not people that are already set at 1200 cals per day. TamTastic for instance doesn't eat all hers, but she does eat some. She has also stated on MANY occasions that she's never eaten as low as 1200. It makes a difference. a woman should never eat below 1200 cals a day whether she's exercising or not. Therefore, in my theory, your net calories should never fall below 1200 either. Let's say you were set at 1500 instead of 1200. So you eat 1500 and you excercise say 300 away. You're still at 1200, so I don't feel as strongly about the need to eat those back. Does that make sense? Also keep in mind the bigger you are (I'm talking about those in the obese range, as I used to be) can stand to eat fewer calories than someone say... in the healthy range. Because they have a lot of energy reserves (fat) to draw from. Otherwise yes, eat them back. There's no need to burn 1100 everyday but if you do you should eat those calories back.

I agree --I am allowed 1450 calories a day---but I always add my exercise calories (usually 450 from walking)--to 1200. I sometimes give myself the luxury of eating those extra 250 calories but I ALWAYS eat 1200 PLUS exercise--and so far --it is working---I figure if I don't eat 1450--those 250 calories saved add up to bigger weight loss.

I started on January 2, 2009


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Food Diary

SHBoss1673

OK, I'm never going to call it eating your exercise calories again. Because so many people seem to have a problem with that.

From now on I'm going to say "Creating a manageable calorie deficit based on your specific body"

that way I hope we can avoid the confusion people obviously have.

singfree

Wow! Much ado about nothing! People, stop trying to micro manage this. It's going to cause an ulcer. Listen to your body. Experiment a bit. You will very quickly see what works for YOU. I do appreciate all of the info from everyone, however. SHBoss has done some great research on this. But unless you are a competitive bodybuilder or fitness model, don't sweat the details. Use some common sense, give your body what it NEEDS and enjoy your new body. Believe me, I am learning a lot, too!

fjtcjt

a lot of the replies (and thanks for them!) say to eat back all or some of the calories burned. my problem is, how do i eat an extra 1100 calories healthy? i don't intentionally burn 1200+ cals a day. i work out with home dvds about an hour a day, take a 30 minute walk with the stroller and 2 kids every day, about 20 mins of situps/pushups/etc, and about 30 mins with free weights. (at 5 lbs ea.) when i put in my housework, grocery shopping etc, is how i get to the 1200 cal mark.

I agree with an earlier post. The housework, grocery shopping etc it taken into account when calculating your 1200 calories. Don't count those calories in your exercise calories. I would suggest counting the calories when you are doing the DVD's, and the situps/pushups, even the 30 minute walk probably doesn't burn that many more calories than if you were just at home doing normally mommy activities. So, once you count these exercises, I think you will fnd a more realistic number for calories that you should add to the 1200 to consume.

Hope that make sense.

kerrilucko

OK, I'm never going to call it eating your exercise calories again. Because so many people seem to have a problem with that.

From now on I'm going to say "Creating a manageable calorie deficit based on your specific body"

that way I hope we can avoid the confusion people obviously have.

:laugh: I'm going to call it that too.

I just don't understand guys. If you're so opposed to how it works why choose THIS website. There are many others that do not automatically factor in a deficit and exercise calories. I promote this website the way it was intended to work. period. :flowerforyou: best of luck

Dave198lbs

OK, I'm never going to call it eating your exercise calories again. Because so many people seem to have a problem with that.

From now on I'm going to say "Creating a manageable calorie deficit based on your specific body"

that way I hope we can avoid the confusion people obviously have.

:laugh: I'm going to call it that too.

I just don't understand guys. If you're so opposed to how it works why choose THIS website. There are many others that do not automatically factor in a deficit and exercise calories. I promote this website the way it was intended to work. period. :flowerforyou: best of luck

The calorie tracker on this site is the most user friendly one that I have seen. The people and the resources are helpful and that is why I use this site. Getting an understanding of the theory behind the proper deficit to lose weight can lead to better acceptance. I encourage everyone to question why you are being told to do anything. There are those who can just accept the built in deficit and there are those who would like to have a more detailed understanding since it is not exactly pure logic to eat more to lose more.

Questioning something does not always equate to opposition.

SHBoss1673

The calorie tracker on this site is the most user friendly one that I have seen. The people and the resources are helpful and that is why I use this site. Getting an understanding of the theory behind the proper deficit to lose weight can lead to better acceptance. I encourage everyone to question why you are being told to do anything. There are those who can just accept the built in deficit and there are those who would like to have a more detailed understanding since it is not exactly pure logic to eat more to lose more.

Questioning something does not always equate to opposition.

now THIS I completely agree with. A while ago I tried to request an explaination of the goals section that explains why you set goals, who (generally speaking) should set what for a goal, and why. But it never really got any play from Mike, he's probably too busy just keeping the site running while doing a regular job. So I didn't push the issue.
I don't disagree that the deficit thing is a difficult concept to grasp. Which is almost certainly why there is so much confusion. I just think we're all arguing the same side from different directions.
Wouldn't life be so much better if we could all just project a thought and then let people read that. So much confusion would be eliminated.

kerrilucko

OK, I'm never going to call it eating your exercise calories again. Because so many people seem to have a problem with that.

From now on I'm going to say "Creating a manageable calorie deficit based on your specific body"

that way I hope we can avoid the confusion people obviously have.

:laugh: I'm going to call it that too.

I just don't understand guys. If you're so opposed to how it works why choose THIS website. There are many others that do not automatically factor in a deficit and exercise calories. I promote this website the way it was intended to work. period. :flowerforyou: best of luck

The calorie tracker on this site is the most user friendly one that I have seen. The people and the resources are helpful and that is why I use this site. Getting an understanding of the theory behind the proper deficit to lose weight can lead to better acceptance. I encourage everyone to question why you are being told to do anything. There are those who can just accept the built in deficit and there are those who would like to have a more detailed understanding since it is not exactly pure logic to eat more to lose more.

Questioning something does not always equate to opposition.

I wasn't so much refering to you dave, as you did already mention that you eat your exercise calories.

mrsyac2

OK, I'm never going to call it eating your exercise calories again. Because so many people seem to have a problem with that.

From now on I'm going to say "Creating a manageable calorie deficit based on your specific body"

that way I hope we can avoid the confusion people obviously have.

:laugh: I'm going to call it that too.

I just don't understand guys. If you're so opposed to how it works why choose THIS website. There are many others that do not automatically factor in a deficit and exercise calories. I promote this website the way it was intended to work. period. :flowerforyou: best of luck

I use this website to count my calories so I don't use paper. I don't however use this website like it is a bible and follow everyones things-- Some of the tips here as far as workouts are great as well- But I don't use this website as a weight loss plan- It is solely so I don't have to track my calories on paper like I did before I came to this site which is less work for me.


Just because I don't believe or follow your weight loss plan doesn't mean I am doing it the wrong way nor does it mean that i should find another site to use just because I don't follow your way. You do things your way and I will do mine-

For the record I tried eating my burned calories and didn't lose a pound I actually gained-Probably because I was eating more than I should have been-

But its funny I posted EXACTLY what Jillian Michaels said on her radio show and she said nothing about eating the calories burned-
You want to eat more go ahead I will continue to eat my 1450-1500 calories and workout. To each is own. What works for some may not work for others.

kerrilucko

OK, I'm never going to call it eating your exercise calories again. Because so many people seem to have a problem with that.

From now on I'm going to say "Creating a manageable calorie deficit based on your specific body"

that way I hope we can avoid the confusion people obviously have.

:laugh: I'm going to call it that too.

I just don't understand guys. If you're so opposed to how it works why choose THIS website. There are many others that do not automatically factor in a deficit and exercise calories. I promote this website the way it was intended to work. period. :flowerforyou: best of luck

I use this website to count my calories so I don't use paper. I don't however use this website like it is a bible and follow everyones things-- Some of the tips here as far as workouts are great as well- But I don't use this website as a weight loss plan- It is solely so I don't have to track my calories on paper like I did before I came to this site which is less work for me.


Just because I don't believe or follow your weight loss plan doesn't mean I am doing it the wrong way nor does it mean that i should find another site to use just because I don't follow your way. You do things your way and I will do mine-

For the record I tried eating my burned calories and didn't lose a pound I actually gained-Probably because I was eating more than I should have been-

But its funny I posted EXACTLY what Jillian Michaels said on her radio show and she said nothing about eating the calories burned-
You want to eat more go ahead I will continue to eat my 1450-1500 calories and workout. To each is own. What works for some may not work for others.

I know that's a figure of speech but I'm kind of offended but the "like a bible" line. I don't use anything "like a bible" except for a bible.

kerrilucko

OK, I'm never going to call it eating your exercise calories again. Because so many people seem to have a problem with that.

From now on I'm going to say "Creating a manageable calorie deficit based on your specific body"

that way I hope we can avoid the confusion people obviously have.

:laugh: I'm going to call it that too.

I just don't understand guys. If you're so opposed to how it works why choose THIS website. There are many others that do not automatically factor in a deficit and exercise calories. I promote this website the way it was intended to work. period. :flowerforyou: best of luck

I use this website to count my calories so I don't use paper. I don't however use this website like it is a bible and follow everyones things-- Some of the tips here as far as workouts are great as well- But I don't use this website as a weight loss plan- It is solely so I don't have to track my calories on paper like I did before I came to this site which is less work for me.


Just because I don't believe or follow your weight loss plan doesn't mean I am doing it the wrong way nor does it mean that i should find another site to use just because I don't follow your way. You do things your way and I will do mine-

For the record I tried eating my burned calories and didn't lose a pound I actually gained-Probably because I was eating more than I should have been-

But its funny I posted EXACTLY what Jillian Michaels said on her radio show and she said nothing about eating the calories burned-
You want to eat more go ahead I will continue to eat my 1450-1500 calories and workout. To each is own. What works for some may not work for others.

I know that's a figure of speech but I'm kind of offended but the "like a bible" line. I don't use anything "like a bible" except for a bible.

did you even read my posts? I specifically made mention to people that eat MORE than 1200 then don''t eat exercise calories back. I have noticed this in the past too. People get really defensive about things I "said" when really I don't think they ever read what I wrote.

mrsyac2

No what you said was to Dave when he responded that you weren't responding to him because he mentioned he eats his exercise calories- So what I get from that is that your comment was to be directed to the people that DON'T eat them and I am one of them that don't eat them.

I eat 1450-1500 calories a day and burn a min of 500 calories at the gym.

kerrilucko

that's true, some people don't eat them ALL. But generally, those are not people that are already set at 1200 cals per day. TamTastic for instance doesn't eat all hers, but she does eat some. She has also stated on MANY occasions that she's never eaten as low as 1200. It makes a difference. a woman should never eat below 1200 cals a day whether she's exercising or not. Therefore, in my theory, your net calories should never fall below 1200 either. Let's say you were set at 1500 instead of 1200. So you eat 1500 and you excercise say 300 away. You're still at 1200, so I don't feel as strongly about the need to eat those back. Does that make sense? Also keep in mind the bigger you are (I'm talking about those in the obese range, as I used to be) can stand to eat fewer calories than someone say... in the healthy range. Because they have a lot of energy reserves (fat) to draw from. Otherwise yes, eat them back. There's no need to burn 1100 everyday but if you do you should eat those calories back.

the above post is the one that I'm referring to. The one you didn't read. For the record I don't care if you or anyone else eats their exercise calories. What I do care about is that a new member gets accurate information about why it's important. I agree that different things work for different people, that's why there are a million and one diet plans out there, they all work, but not for everyone. I do find it rude for someone to advocate unhealthy practices to a new member simply because it "worked for them" (ps- just because someone loses weight not eating those calories back doesn't make it healthy. Of COURSE you'll lose weight if you eat 100net calories a day, how could you not? but is it sustainable? is it maintainable? probably not.) I'm not saying you're doing that, I'm talking about the original poster, to whom my original answers were directed. If you want to post about how YOU are doing this excellent, share your view, but do not assume things about me, especially without even going so far as to read my original posts. And please (this ones not for you) never encourage another member to go with a method of weight loss that is proven to be unhealthy. If they choose it on their own that's fine, it's their body, but no one should be advocating that to others.

There. said my peace, leaving it alone now.

mrsyac2

OK, I'm never going to call it eating your exercise calories again. Because so many people seem to have a problem with that.

From now on I'm going to say "Creating a manageable calorie deficit based on your specific body"

that way I hope we can avoid the confusion people obviously have.

:laugh: I'm going to call it that too.

I just don't understand guys. If you're so opposed to how it works why choose THIS website. There are many others that do not automatically factor in a deficit and exercise calories. I promote this website the way it was intended to work. period. :flowerforyou: best of luck

The calorie tracker on this site is the most user friendly one that I have seen. The people and the resources are helpful and that is why I use this site. Getting an understanding of the theory behind the proper deficit to lose weight can lead to better acceptance. I encourage everyone to question why you are being told to do anything. There are those who can just accept the built in deficit and there are those who would like to have a more detailed understanding since it is not exactly pure logic to eat more to lose more.

Questioning something does not always equate to opposition.

I wasn't so much refering to you dave, as you did already mention that you eat your exercise calories.

Thats the post that you were reffering to now this is the one that I was responding about you said your piece and I said mine.

I don't think anyone should eat little calories- I think 1400-1600 is plenty of calories and there isn't a need to go lower than that-

as far as like a bible it is a figure of speech. so sorry if you took offense