Do you always eat the calories you earn??

mamitosami

This was bad timing responding to this thread I guess! I have started a new eating program, a new lifestyle of eating (just to keep me interested--I've been doing this for a lonnnng time, so I was getting a little careless with my eating and I have overeating/bingeing tendencies). Because I started the program midweek, it's not a typical week. So my calories have been really low this week (I will be making up for it over the next few days and week. If you take a weekly average of my calories it will be normal (with a deficit built in so that I can lose some body fat--I'm trying to reduce my body fat %, I may lose some weight, but that's not my ultimate goal at this point).

Normally, and in the next week I will be eating all of my exercise calories because my deficit is already built in. When I finally reach maintenance I will also eat my calories. When I don't, I cannot run, I cannot train for my races and my lifting really suffers. So I use the calories as fuel and fuel my muscles and body adequately. I DO NOT want to lose any precious muscle that I've worked so hard for!

Thanks to those of you who came to my defense--I do really appreciate it.

Pamtwist

if you are allocated say 1300 calories per day and you eat 1300 then you exercise and earn another 300 that means you have only eaten 1000 cals. you have already stated how much you want to lose per week say 2lb so they have given you less calories to eat in order to do this. if you don't eat the proper amount of calories allocated, your body will go into starvation mode and you will not lose weight, it might work for the first few weeks but you will eventually hit a wall. eat as much of your exercise calories as you can but eat healthy. good luck with it

Pamtwist

if you are allocated say 1300 calories per day and you eat 1300 then you exercise and earn another 300 that means you have only eaten 1000 cals. you have already stated how much you want to lose per week say 2lb so they have given you less calories to eat in order to do this. if you don't eat the proper amount of calories allocated, your body will go into starvation mode and you will not lose weight, it might work for the first few weeks but you will eventually hit a wall. eat as much of your exercise calories as you can but eat healthy. good luck with it

I agree with this!!

ThisisMiss

I add in my breastfeeding calories and I HAVE to eat those. As for the exercise ones, sometimes I do, but I try to keep it healthy and nutrient rich..sometimes I feel guilty eating them!

HartJames

I will be eating back weekends only and only 75%. As my weight drops into the high end of normal range I will begin to do that daily and eventualy switch to maintenance calories. For now, all the research I have done has told me that eating back cals is not something useful for people 40+ pounds overweight or more so I'm sticking with that.

tmfpartyof4

This is why you should eat them back...

First off, you should know your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). That's the amount of calories your body needs just to keep all your organs functioning... your lungs breathing, your heart beating, your kidneys and liver filtering, your spleen doing... whatever it is spleens do. It's what you'd burn if you were completely at rest, as if you were in a coma. The second you wake up, the second you get out of bed, you burn more than that. Your BMR plus the amount of calories you burn in a normal day, is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure).

You need to eat less than your TDEE to lose weight. If you go into your "goals" page - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/my_goals - it will tell you what your body burns from normal daily activity. As a lightly active, 5'5" 39 year old weighing 133#, my BMR is only 1,279, but my TDEE is 1730.

Generally speaking... If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal (1000 calorie deficit). If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal (750 calorie deficit). If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal (500 calories). If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal (500-250). If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal (250).

If I wanted to lose one pound a week (in theory... I know I can't lose that much now and it would put me below my BMR), I'd eat 1230. That's 500 calories less than 1730. If I exercise like I did Friday, burning about 400 calories, my TDEE for the day is 2130. If I only ate 1230, my calorie deficit for the day would no longer be 500 calories, it would be 900, and that's way, way, way too much.

With too large of a calorie deficit, your body thinks, "Hey! What the hell are you doing to me?" It might decide to hold onto your fat. It might decide to slow down your other body functions as a way to preserve energy (ie, slow your metabolism). It might decide to use your muscle for fuel.

That's what happened to me when I ate low calorie and didn't understand that increased activity demands increased calories. Years ago, at 130#, I was skinnyfat with a muffin top and backfat rolls, and wore a size 8. This time around, eating enough to preserve my muscle mass, I'm a little more than 130# (133# at last check) and in a size 2 or 4. And as you can tell by my photos, there's no backfat or muffin top. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/449570-mfp-mythbusters-losing-weight-fast-exercise-calories-girl

so far, this has been the BEST and EASIEST way to understand this "eating back calorie" issue, that I have seen.

THANK YOU. :flowerforyou:

desda

Yeah was wondering as when you put your exercise in your track exercise it gives you more calories you can eat,do you eat them lol x

~ Do the research ... your body needs fuel, in order to maintain muscle mass vs fat loss ... you have to be wise. The estimated calories on MFP are " slightly " exaggerated. Get an HRM or go to other sources to get more accurate burn numbers for your exercise. When dealing with true numbers ... you should be eating as close to that number as possible back.

People will tell you no ... But I have learned that in the beginning you will lose quickly by not eating those calories back ... but it is not healthy and eventually you will hit a plateau that can be devastating. Save yourself the disappointment and start off on the right track !

Best of luck !

Thank you, this is really helpful infomation. I was wondering about the earned calories as well. I did think MFP's earning count was rather high, so I've modified my calorie count to a few below the total earned. An HRM is fab suggestion. Again, thanks for posting!

Alicia_Monique

I don't always eat what I earn, but sometimes I get very, very hungry if I worked out pretty hard, and it's difficult not to just go ahead and eat the extras! I

Msaip

When i started out on here I ate all of them back. Lost about 20 pounds....than left for two months...gained 6 back. My first week being back I didn't eat them back every night but on occasion...I lost 4.6 pounds this week.....So I will continue to only eat them back If I feel I can't make it through the day without the extra cals

vixxy1971

hey wot the heck is an ENDO?

Fergie2154

This is why you should eat them back...

First off, you should know your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). That's the amount of calories your body needs just to keep all your organs functioning... your lungs breathing, your heart beating, your kidneys and liver filtering, your spleen doing... whatever it is spleens do. It's what you'd burn if you were completely at rest, as if you were in a coma. The second you wake up, the second you get out of bed, you burn more than that. Your BMR plus the amount of calories you burn in a normal day, is your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure).

You need to eat less than your TDEE to lose weight. If you go into your "goals" page - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/my_goals - it will tell you what your body burns from normal daily activity. As a lightly active, 5'5" 39 year old weighing 133#, my BMR is only 1,279, but my TDEE is 1730.

Generally speaking... If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal (1000 calorie deficit). If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal (750 calorie deficit). If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal (500 calories). If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal (500-250). If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal (250).

If I wanted to lose one pound a week (in theory... I know I can't lose that much now and it would put me below my BMR), I'd eat 1230. That's 500 calories less than 1730. If I exercise like I did Friday, burning about 400 calories, my TDEE for the day is 2130. If I only ate 1230, my calorie deficit for the day would no longer be 500 calories, it would be 900, and that's way, way, way too much.

With too large of a calorie deficit, your body thinks, "Hey! What the hell are you doing to me?" It might decide to hold onto your fat. It might decide to slow down your other body functions as a way to preserve energy (ie, slow your metabolism). It might decide to use your muscle for fuel.

That's what happened to me when I ate low calorie and didn't understand that increased activity demands increased calories. Years ago, at 130#, I was skinnyfat with a muffin top and backfat rolls, and wore a size 8. This time around, eating enough to preserve my muscle mass, I'm a little more than 130# (133# at last check) and in a size 2 or 4. And as you can tell by my photos, there's no backfat or muffin top. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/449570-mfp-mythbusters-losing-weight-fast-exercise-calories-girl

Thanks for sharing some great info.

My story thus far:
I first joined MFP appx 2 years ago. I was exercising at least 6 days per week (Elliptical and weights) but was eating about 1200-1300 daily for about 1.5 years prior to joining. My weight went from 218.5 - to appx 170, and I was OH so happy to see the weight dropping... though there was still a lot of fat on my body. I was a smaller version of my fat self and what made me happy was seeing the scale move. Then all of a sudden the scale stopped moving. Each week it read the same, so I decreased my food a bit and exercised more until I burned myself out (no fuel). I got discouraged and gave up a bit.

As of Nov 2011, I am back to logging my foods and doing it right. I started at 200.8 In January, after reading two post from men who share similar stories as above, I finally understood and calculated my BMR mid-January at 188 lbs.

I am 5'6" and 188.

Exercising 60 minutes Daily. which is about standard for me. My caloric needs are:

2467 to Maintain [stay at 188]
1973 [to begin Fat Loss]
1504 [for extreme Fat Loss]

It seemed high to me because of course, my body was used to the near starvation mode it was in. Nonetheless, I decided to do a bit more research and had to believe that science was correct. Although I was a bit afraid, I upped my calories to 1500-1650 daily. The first week 2 weeks I lost nothing, but felt stronger and was able to exercise more efficiently. I am now back to losing.

Since my calories burned daily are not 100% accurate, I don't eat all back, but I surely would never keep myself at 1200 anymore. Once I finally understood how the human body works. to get the extra I tend to drink two protein shakes as snacks.. I add a piece of fruit with the shakes and eat good healthy meals for the other three .. spacing my meals 2-3 hours apart.

I do understand those that truly have thyroid problems are different, but in general most of us do not have thyroid issues.

Just wanted to share, but also understand that we have to do what we believe is best for us and we all learn as we travel on this road of health and wellness.

Best of luck to all!!!

HelloRevvie

On an average day, no. I do not eat back my exercise calories!
On a special occasion, however, I'll work out a little extra so I can have that little piece of birthday cake or that yummy brownie :P

tmfpartyof4

hey wot the heck is an ENDO?

Endocrinologist.

(I have one for my Thyroid issues)

ksyrnyk

Good for you! The nerve of some people!

Pebble321

I eat most of them - because I recognize that if I exercise more, then my body needs more energy. If I'm already eating at a reasonable calorie deficit, why would I want to make that any larger? This isn't a race for me, it's a process.
In January last year i started on MFP and I wanted to lose weight steadily and keep it off.
I didn't ever see the need to find the absolute lowest number of calories I could get away with to keep me alive and functioning - my goal was to learn to eat moderate portions of the food I like and that is good for me. In other words I wanted something sustainable.

I suspect that a lot of people don't understand the way MFP calculates your calorie goal, and that it is different to a lot of other methods because it calculates your goal without including exercise, and assumes you will add those cals on when you workout.
Or maybe it's just human nature to see everything as a competition and every task (including losing weight) as something to be completed in the shortest possible time.

So, to the OP (and anyone else who is debating this issue), I suggest that you read some of the sticky posts about how MFP works and then consider what is going to be best for your body and your particular situation.
For me, that meant maintaining a moderate deficit and losing weight slowly, steadily and relatively easily.
You may have different goals - good luck in figuring it out!

Way_2_a_Healthy_Mel

I eat most of them - because I recognize that if I exercise more, then my body needs more energy. If I'm already eating at a reasonable calorie deficit, why would I want to make that any larger? This isn't a race for me, it's a process.
In January last year i started on MFP and I wanted to lose weight steadily and keep it off.
I didn't ever see the need to find the absolute lowest number of calories I could get away with to keep me alive and functioning - my goal was to learn to eat moderate portions of the food I like and that is good for me. In other words I wanted something sustainable.

I suspect that a lot of people don't understand the way MFP calculates your calorie goal, and that it is different to a lot of other methods because it calculates your goal without including exercise, and assumes you will add those cals on when you workout.
Or maybe it's just human nature to see everything as a competition and every task (including losing weight) as something to be completed in the shortest possible time.

So, to the OP (and anyone else who is debating this issue), I suggest that you read some of the sticky posts about how MFP works and then consider what is going to be best for your body and your particular situation.
For me, that meant maintaining a moderate deficit and losing weight slowly, steadily and relatively easily.
You may have different goals - good luck in figuring it out!

This is exactly how I feel. I want a steady loss, not trying to lose so quick, because my health is more important, my overall health. And, losing too fast could hurt my health in the long run.


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