Do i HAVE to eat the calories ive burned??

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  • rlw911
    rlw911 Posts: 475 Member
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    To over simplify, think of it this way:

    Your body needs 1200 calories a day just to survive. If you eat 1200 calories and burn off 800-1000, that doesn't leave much for you to live on, does it? By burning off that 800-1000 calories, you're not truly eating 2200 calories a day. Does that make sense??
  • EcHoOoOoO
    EcHoOoOoO Posts: 89
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    To over simplify, think of it this way:

    Your body needs 1200 calories a day just to survive. If you eat 1200 calories and burn off 800-1000, that doesn't leave much for you to live on, does it? By burning off that 800-1000 calories, you're not truly eating 2200 calories a day. Does that make sense??


    Yes that makes perfect sense but im having such a hard time getting it in my mind that i excersize to get in shape and lose weight but im going to eat all that up that i just burned...seems like that is what im suppose to do but mentally very hard for me :sad:
  • hiddensecant
    hiddensecant Posts: 2,446 Member
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    It's time to start thinking of exercise as a means of improving your metabolism and feeling better than just a way to burn calories.
  • sassiebritches
    sassiebritches Posts: 1,861 Member
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    Think of it this way, you eat 1200 calories......you burn 800 yucky calories off, you then eat back 800 calories from great foods. Then you burn some extra cals from working out, and replace with good stuff...not mcdonalds....Like I said I personally eat NOW 1500 and that is that, I only eat exercise if I am hungry.

    Good Luck
  • FitnessGeek
    FitnessGeek Posts: 487
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    Yes that makes perfect sense but im having such a hard time getting it in my mind that i excersize to get in shape and lose weight but im going to eat all that up that i just burned...seems like that is what im suppose to do but mentally very hard for me sad

    I can totally understand that. I used to have this notion that dieting was eating as little as possible and exercising as much as possible. It never really occurred to me to think of food as fuel, or that my body actually needed more food when I exercised.

    Try to remember that you are not just eating-away all your hard work at the gym, you are working hard at the gym to earn the right to eat more! Enjoy that extra food. Also remember that MFP is already giving you a daily calorie deficit. So even if you eat 100% of your exercise calories, you are still eating anywhere from 300-500 less calories a day than you actually burn.
  • rlw911
    rlw911 Posts: 475 Member
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    Yes that makes perfect sense but im having such a hard time getting it in my mind that i excersize to get in shape and lose weight but im going to eat all that up that i just burned...seems like that is what im suppose to do but mentally very hard for me sad

    I can totally understand that. I used to have this notion that dieting was eating as little as possible and exercising as much as possible. It never really occurred to me to think of food as fuel, or that my body actually needed more food when I exercised.

    Try to remember that you are not just eating-away all your hard work at the gym, you are working hard at the gym to earn the right to eat more! Enjoy that extra food. Also remember that MFP is already giving you a daily calorie deficit. So even if you eat 100% of your exercise calories, you are still eating anywhere from 300-500 less calories a day than you actually burn.

    What Fitness Geek said! ^ ^

    After dieting all these years, it's a strange concept. That's why I'm calling this my weight management program, and looking at it as a lifestyle change. No more dieting for me!
  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,716 Member
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    One way to think about eating exercise calories is this: on non-workout days, do you usually eat 200-400 calories total?

    HUH? I don't get this question?

    Bahaha. Below is what I was really trying to say. Sorry :tongue:
    Your body needs 1200 calories a day just to survive. If you eat 1200 calories and burn off 800-1000, that doesn't leave much for you to live on, does it? By burning off that 800-1000 calories, you're not truly eating 2200 calories a day. Does that make sense??
  • Normandy
    Normandy Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi everyone, i'm Yvonne newbee!!

    I am in a bit of a dilema too about the calorie situation!! I am new to the site only my second week. I sturggle to eat all my calories as I go to the gym at least 4 times a week. Tonight for instance its telling me I have 900 calories spare but how am I possibly supposed to eat that at this time of night. My problem is also that I am trying not to eat late at night but by time I go to the gym after work and get home I dont really have much choice!!!!!!
  • tizzykay
    tizzykay Posts: 10
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    are you sure that you are burning that many calories? most people burn way less than they actually think
  • jeffwyeg
    jeffwyeg Posts: 105
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    do you think this "EAT YOUR BURNED CALORIES" applies to everyone?? I started this on monday and its wednesday and already lost 4 lbs by burning 1000 and eating 1200, is it possible that different things work for different bodies or will this catch up with me? and if i eat all my burned calories over the weekend will i gain it since i dont eat them during the week?? ugh this is hard lol.

    Keep in mind that the quick weight loss could be "water weight" (I dropped 7 pounds in my first week and then leveled out to 2 pounds per week). I've been eating back my burned calories and it seems to be working out for me alright (22 pounds in 9 weeks).

    As for your last line, "ugh this is hard lol"...yep! You're right! There's no easy way to do this...you didn't gain the weight all at once, so don't expect to lose it all at once :)
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    Before you eat your exercise calories, make sure they are accurate. This site is better than some but it still tells me I'm burning more calories in exercise than I actually am. Well, except for one thing I do where it says I'm burning less. :laugh:

    But overall it wildly over-estimates my calories burned from exercise.
  • EcHoOoOoO
    EcHoOoOoO Posts: 89
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    Before you eat your exercise calories, make sure they are accurate. This site is better than some but it still tells me I'm burning more calories in exercise than I actually am. Well, except for one thing I do where it says I'm burning less. :laugh:

    But overall it wildly over-estimates my calories burned from exercise.


    I am getting calories burned from the machines at the gym after i enter weight and age. I actually choose the hardest machine and try to stay at MAX for 30 min. I think they are accurate because im completely drenched afterwards and ive been going to the gym for a couple years and kinda learned the what kinda machines burn what amounts of calories. If its not accurate im sure its not to far off and i ususally estimate low.
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    I am getting calories burned from the machines at the gym after i enter weight and age.
    The machines at my gym are off too. They don't take into account what level you have the machine on. How lame is that?!
  • whatabelighter
    whatabelighter Posts: 58
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    thanks everyone,

    I have been wondering about this topic since I starting with MYP.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    So ok, I'm going to hate myself later for posting in this topic, but .... can't.... stop.... typing. :tongue:

    Here's MHO.

    The site asks you what you'd like to lose per week as a goal, it's a dumb tool, by that I mean it doesn't really check to see whether that goal is right for you, if you say you want to lose 2 lbs a week, it gives you a 2 lb a week deficit, it doesn't ask whether this is a realistic goal for you. That's up to you to decide. The only thing it does is makes sure your pre-exercise calories remains above the WHO recommended minimum for women (1200 calories).

    Then the site helps you out by trying to keep you within the range that will get you to that goal, that means when you enter exercise calories, it will add those calories to how much you should eat a day, it does that because it's trying to keep you at your goal deficit. If you don't eat those calories, you risk falling outside that range. The body can only sustain a certain deficit before it starts to panic and think you're starving. When it does this, it begins slowing down your metabolic functions and storing fat in earnest, it also starts to canabalize lean tissue (muscle).
    NOTE: it doesn't do this all at once, it takes 3 to 5 days for this to start happening, so you have a little leeway. Also good to note, the MORE fat you have, the bigger this deficit can be. So for someone with say, 80 lbs to lose, they can get by without eating most of their exercise calories because their body has so much extra energy stored, that it just doesn't see the starvation as an issue yet, but don't fool yourself, it eventually will, and the reason why we don't recommend doing it this way is because we aren't shooting for fast huge weight loss here, we're shooting for a long term healthy lifestyle, and that method is not sustainable, half the battle is learning to do this right, if you do, then when it comes down to that last 15 or 20 lbs, you'll have the knowledge of your body, and the tools and wisdom to keep going in a healthy way.

    What you should do is get the knowledge, there are lots of good posts stickied in the general weight loss section, read them, they will give you lots and lots of good information, once you have armed yourself with that knowledge, you can make some informed decisions.

    Side note, McMadame is right, the gym machines are a VERY rough estimate, they can be pretty far off. If you really want accuracy in your calories burned, buy an HRM with a chest strap or arm strap, they give you a far more accurate reading, polar, timex, body bug are all brand names for good HRM's. You can look some up on ebay or amazon and find a good one for under $100, IMHO best investment you'll ever make.

    Hope this helps.

    -Banks
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
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    I'm going to be the one to put it very very simply. eat them=slow, healthy weight loss. don't eat them=fast, unhealthy weight loss with many possible horrible complications including the inability to keep the weight off afterwards.

    You don't HAVE to do anything. It's your body. Choose the above option you like better, and go with it.

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