Week 1 of not eating Activity Calories....

3dogsrunning

The problem is, in the short term, it will work. It may even work better, at first. It is the longer term effect of eating too few calories that is my concern, that is the loss of muscle mass and the lowered metabolism.

TrophyWifeSass

The problem is, in the short term, it will work. It may even work better, at first. It is the longer term effect of eating too few calories that is my concern, that is the loss of muscle mass and the lowered metabolism.

THIS. Oh, the things I have learned. Love being able to fuel the machine and keep my muscles.

taso42

What does this mean, that you've made your calorie deficit bigger? What is your daily or weekly calorie deficit now? That's what governs your weight loss.

hiker282

I always find it amusing (and when I say amusing, I mean extremely annoying) when people say they are seeing 'little or no progress' and still list pounds and inches lost. The weight didn't appear there in six weeks, why should it come off that quickly? Have some balls and keep working it. You're obviously doing something right. It's better to go low and slow than fast and heavy when it comes to weight loss.

fakeplastictree

The first 25 pounds of my weight loss came from not eating back my exercise calories, however I didn't gain any muscle hardly.

So yes, you will lose quickly by not eating back your exercise calories, but you will lose muscle at the same time. :frown: This is why they tell you to eat back your calories, because your muscles can't grow without nutrients.

If you stick to eating back your calories, you will gain more and more muscle which will in turn burn more calories for you naturally.

The only reason I didn't eat back my calories from the first part of my weight loss is because I didn't know I was supposed to to gain muscle, I know now though :blushing: Unless you want to be "skinny fat" I would suggest eating back your calories, that's just my opinion though!

Good luck! :happy:

^this!!

Bentley2718

I lost a lot of weight by not eating them back and doing 2 x 700-800kCal workouts a day and setting my goal to 1630 (0.5lb loss) So never felt hungry either. Plus it meant that i was probably not losing more than a dangerous rate in reality but it was easier to be motivated by the numbers without thinking, I have no calories spare or small deficits...

So you're saying you burned 1400-1600 calories a day, and only ate 1630 calories per day, and you weren't hungry, and you didn't get sick. Even if the calories burned estimate is twice what it should be, that still means you're netting 830-930 calories a day. That doesn't seem realistic or sustainable to me.

Nopedotjpeg

I really don't give a **** what unhealthy things you do to your body. But why do you need to post it on the forums like it's something great?

Phrak

What i gather from this site is people over-estimate the calories they burn from exercise and most of the time their logging practices are off.

rawheeler38

I have been eating the activity calories, and ended up gaining 4 pounds. I have now learned my lesson ( but I am new to this) So even though I am discouraged today, I am sure I will do better for now on. I have gained 43 pounds in the last 11 months after quitting smoking. I am determined to now get in shape. I will have to remember to not go past the 1200 calorie mark.

paj315

The first 25 pounds of my weight loss came from not eating back my exercise calories, however I didn't gain any muscle hardly.

So yes, you will lose quickly by not eating back your exercise calories, but you will lose muscle at the same time. :frown: This is why they tell you to eat back your calories, because your muscles can't grow without nutrients.

If you stick to eating back your calories, you will gain more and more muscle which will in turn burn more calories for you naturally.

The only reason I didn't eat back my calories from the first part of my weight loss is because I didn't know I was supposed to to gain muscle, I know now though :blushing: Unless you want to be "skinny fat" I would suggest eating back your calories, that's just my opinion though!

Good luck! :happy:

^this!!

I agree as well.

I feel your pain , my weight has come off REALLY slowly too. (As in 16 pounds since September)

But I guess how you approach weight loss is all in what your final goal is. If your goal is just to be skinny, then go ahead and starve yourself skinny. But if your goal is too preserve muscle and burn fat then feed your body correctly.

I eat 1600-1800 calories a day (and some days that's probably too low even), the way I look at is that I am eating right now the way I want to eat for the rest of my life, so hopefully when I reach my goal weight, maintenance won't be an issue for me, because I will have not been "dieting" to lose the weight. It may take a while, even years, but I'm ok with that. I'm not looking for a quick fix.

Good luck to you and I hope you get the results you are looking for :-)

hlcook

So, for the last 6 weeks I've eaten some or all of my Activity Calories, and had very l-i-t-t-l-e progress.

I feel stronger and my endurance has increased, however, my clothes still fit the same, and my weight dropped 3 lbs, and about 1/2 " in my hips and waistline....ugh!

SOOOOOO, new week, new strategy! I will NOT eat Activity Calories!

I'll check in next week to let you know my results. Hopefully, I will be much lighter in the next couple of weeks!

I don't want you to take this the wrong way, as I'm not trying to be rude but....you've lost 3 pounds, an inch in hips and waistline and you're stronger...that's not "little progress."

I have to agree. That sounds like great progress to me!

Yep - that is great progress!

maryjay51

So, for the last 6 weeks I've eaten some or all of my Activity Calories, and had very l-i-t-t-l-e progress.

I feel stronger and my endurance has increased, however, my clothes still fit the same, and my weight dropped 3 lbs, and about 1/2 " in my hips and waistline....ugh!

SOOOOOO, new week, new strategy! I will NOT eat Activity Calories!

I'll check in next week to let you know my results. Hopefully, I will be much lighter in the next couple of weeks!

I don't want you to take this the wrong way, as I'm not trying to be rude but....you've lost 3 pounds, an inch in hips and waistline and you're stronger...that's not "little progress."

i agree..that was great progress.

Nopedotjpeg

What i gather from this site is people over-estimate the calories they burn from exercise and most of the time their logging practices are off.

This is one of the most logical conclusions I've ever seen on these forums.

heathermarie517

Per MFP, I'm alotted 1370 calories a day. Below is caloric intake and the activity I participated in this past week.

Day 1: 1452, burned 472 spinning
Day 2: 1245, burned 476 spinning
Day 3: 1907, burned 800 spinning & strength class
Day 4: 1384, burned 500 spinning
Day 5: 1885, no burn
Day 6: 1600, burned 750
Day 7: 1700, burned 500 spinning

Results: 1.3 weightloss this week. I will take it!

So, my plan was not to eat Activity points. But, when I look at this, I am undereating on most days. In my mind, I felt like I was overeating, but now I look at this, and it is clear, I need more fuel.

I hear all of you who are telling me to feed my muscles, and this I SHALL do this week! Thank you for all of your input. All of our bodies are different, and I truly respect your feedback (minus the punk who suggested to grow a set of balls...LOL!). I appreciated your input, too, but not the useless commentary.