Confused about Calories and disheartened

marianne_s

I have also never understood the mindset of eating back what you've burned off (especially ALL of it!). I typically eat close to my calorie limit for the day and stay under, even before adding in my exercise calories. I rarely eat back any of my exercise calories (maybe half of them depending on how much I worked out and how hungry I am) and I've lost 13.6 pounds this month. So I guess what works for some doesn't work for others.

Bcause you have over 100 pounds to lose, your body can cope with a large daily deficit in calories - basically you've got a lot of fat stored.

But someone who only has less than 30, maybe even 50 pounds to lose, will end up losing some of their muscle mass - remember muscle burns calories at rest. This in turn will slow down their metabolism.... which in turn will slow down the wright loss.

MaximalLife

I can not get my head around this whole eating your exercise calories, I know this may sound stupid and naive but it just does not register in my head. I like to eat within my range and then if I exercise that is a bonus! Something is not working though because I am not loosing pounds. One week I will loose then the next nothing! I would love it to just be steady!

Can anyone explain why I would eat my exercise calories...

Please no "you are stupid" comments, not in a good mood today as the scales didn't move this morning

MFP has calculated our total calories required each day WITHOUT exercise to lose 1lb per week.
And after we log in our exercises, our calorie limit goes up.
Why?
Because it's telling us to eat our exercise calories.
Large deficits are unhealthy, because while you will lose weight, what's the quality of the weight loss?
In many cases you'll lose lean body mass - MUSCLE - which LOWERS your metabolic rate, making weight loss harder.
Then you have to lower calories even more to compensate, and the cycle continues.
Be smart.
Exercise well both cardio and resistance, and eat back the calories.
The exercise will RAISE your metabolism and burn more fat at rest.

Beezil

This gets to me a bit after reading it as a topic 5-10 times a day on here... not that I don't understand the confusion. I didn't get it at first either, but some of the responses are... Meh.

Anyways, think of it this way - as it was what made me finally understand the logic of eating back exercise calories. If you use up all the fuel you have for the day, then exercise, where exactly do you think your body is going to get energy from? It will start taking it from your muscle tissues before it will take away from your fat stores. Do you really want to lose lean muscle mass and be left with a flabby, weak body? I think not.

Sure, one day here and there of not eating back all your exercise calories is fine. But not eating them back at all, or only half of them consistently is not good. That's when your body's metabolism will eventually start to slow down to conserve the stores that are left in your body. "Restarting" a slow metabolism is not an easy thing to do, either. Hope this helped, best of luck to you!

Kelly_S

My rule has always been to eat half of my exercise calories. It gives you enough for your body to get through, but you still get that extra weight loss kick.

I would have to agree here too! I should eat 1500 a day and if I burn 400 through a run I'll eat about 1700 - 1800 depending on how hungry I am. I can totally see how its confusing but eating 1700 even if it means burning my exercise cals is probably less than I'd eat if I wasn't watching what I was eating and the exercise burns fat and cals AND boosts your metabolism. Why not try eating half the exercise cals back for one week and see if it makes any difference? Maybe try veg and lean protein (carrot sticks and humous) instead of say an extra slice of toast...

chellekoren

You are going to get a lot of responses on this question. From my experience, and I am still tweaking my diet and my needs change like the season, apparently, you need to try the recommended settings while eating back most of your calories. Log every bite, sauce, raisin, chip, etc. Keep on the same track for a while, probably two or three months. See what happens. If nothing, evaluate how many pounds you are trying to lose and make sure you aren't trying to lose too many too soon. If you see a possible discrepancy try that for a while. Try looking at WHAT you are eating and tweak that. Maybe your body works best on higher protein or on more vegetables. It's a guessing game and once you find a solution, the game changes on you!!! You plateau and you need to change your workout, make it more intense or just try something completely different to surprise your body.

My body seems to be smarter than I am and it is frustrating. I am not giving up though. There is a lot of information on this site alone, not to mention other sites.

Oh and last thing. I agree what others say, get some sleep. It really does make a difference. Then you get exercise harder and longer.

marianne_s

I am in the same quandary! I exercise 7-8 times a week. It's like an addiction. I burn anywhere between 350-1000 calories a day. I am not about to work that hard and then eat it right back. No thank you! I lost 12 lbs so far and may eat close to my calories once a week. I have seen many posts that say you should and many that say you shouldn't. Patience, exercise, and healthy eating are my own directions to follow. Keep doing you and eventually your body will adjust.

Ok, can I explain the difference between MFP and any other calorie controlled diet.

Most calorie controlled diet clubs will advise you to eat your BMR + daily activity calories, and then exercise to create a deficit, without eating the exercise calories back.

For example -
BMR = 1600 calories
Exercise = 400 calories
Daily Total = 1200

Whereas, MFP generates a BUILT IN CALORIE DEFICIT to allow for weight loss, without any exercise.
So, when you exercise you are creating a larger deficit - which some would consider a good thing. But it isn't when you get closer to goal, as you will end up losing muscle mass and possibly slowing down your metabolism.

star87cc

Its something I have been endlessly reading into to try and understand too! I can completely see arguments from both sides, but the one thing I have gathered from all of this is that .... everyone is different, the same as someone can sit and eat chocolate and burgers and rubbish and not gain a ounce, whereas some of us just have to look at chocolate and put on weight! So not eveything religiously applies to everyone. I've decided to mix things up a bit this time, keep my body guessing I suppose, see how that works, one week I only went to the gym twice and I ate my cals each day - I lost 3lb, the next week I went to the gym 6 days I was strict with my cal's and again I lost 3lb, this week im going to go gym 6 times again but im going to try eat back half my exercise cals (mainly because im too full normally and do struggle to eat my alloted cals) I havent even started on changing my food types yet lol! but I guess its about trying and finding out how your body works best

marianne_s

Its something I have been endlessly reading into to try and understand too! I can completely see arguments from both sides, but the one thing I have gathered from all of this is that .... everyone is different, the same as someone can sit and eat chocolate and burgers and rubbish and not gain a ounce, whereas some of us just have to look at chocolate and put on weight! So not eveything religiously applies to everyone. I've decided to mix things up a bit this time, keep my body guessing I suppose, see how that works, one week I only went to the gym twice and I ate my 1200 cal each day - I lost 3lb, the next week I went to the gym 6 days I was strict with my cal's and again I lost 3lb, this week im going to go gym 6 times again but im going to try eat back half my exercise cals (mainly because im too full normally and do struggle to eat more than 1200 cals) I havent even started on changing my food types yet lol! but I guess its about trying and finding out how your body works best

It's not an argument per se - it's a question of trying to explain so people can fully understand how MFP works and then apply it correctly to themselves.

The post below clearly explains how to set up your own details on MFP and why.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics


We already know the detrimental causes of over-eating, but people need become more aware of the potential (long term) issues that can come from not eating enough (calories).

star87cc

Its something I have been endlessly reading into to try and understand too! I can completely see arguments from both sides, but the one thing I have gathered from all of this is that .... everyone is different, the same as someone can sit and eat chocolate and burgers and rubbish and not gain a ounce, whereas some of us just have to look at chocolate and put on weight! So not eveything religiously applies to everyone. I've decided to mix things up a bit this time, keep my body guessing I suppose, see how that works, one week I only went to the gym twice and I ate my 1200 cal each day - I lost 3lb, the next week I went to the gym 6 days I was strict with my cal's and again I lost 3lb, this week im going to go gym 6 times again but im going to try eat back half my exercise cals (mainly because im too full normally and do struggle to eat more than 1200 cals) I havent even started on changing my food types yet lol! but I guess its about trying and finding out how your body works best

It's not an argument per se - it's a question of trying to explain so people can fully understand how MFP works and then apply it correctly to themselves.

The post below clearly explains how to set up your own details on MFP and why.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics


We already know the detrimental causes of over-eating, but people need become more aware of the potential (long term) issues that can come from not eating enough (calories).

I agree, and I understand the MFP calculations, I've done all the BMRs, BF% and BFS so that I could have all the data to me, and I've done weightwatchers in the past where you do best when eating your allocated points etc I'm just finding what I'm comfortable with, I havent restricted my normal diet as such I was just suiting my Cal's to match. I've also trained my head for example to realise that when I go to the cinema that is the treat, not the popcorn, coke and sweets! (eek this accounted for so much! and so much cheaper now too!) saving me lbs and £'s

Once this week is out I shall however change my Cals to match my BMR as I've learnt alot more since actually reading so much on the forum this last few weeks