HELP HELP HELP HELP!! I NEED OPINIONS PLEASE!!!!!!!

Okay it is showing I am supposed to eat 1200 cals a day.... I am exercising about 4 to 5 days a week burning 400 to 550 in cals depending on the day. Then its giving me more calories to eat but I dont know if I should eat them! I want the best weight loss possible!
suggestions?

Thanks!
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Replies

  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    You'll likely be hungry and tired if you don't eat them. Some people can eat them all (or even more) and still lose.

    You might need to play around with how much to eat back before finding the right mix for you. You want to eat enough so that you are not hungry, but are still losing.
  • twridley
    twridley Posts: 2 Member
    Use them and you will still lose weight!!! But if ypu decide not to, you will lose faster. However, keep in mind...you should consume at least 1200 cals/day for heathly living.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    eat at least half of them. MFP has already given you a defecit so tuck in.
  • I eat them back (mostly) and it has worked for me! (on a 1200 plan too)
  • rmhand
    rmhand Posts: 1,067 Member
    If I don't eat enough of mine back I will wake up because I am hungry. I LOVE SLEEP. So I make sure I don't go to bed too far below.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

    To the OP - it may sound counter-intuitive to eat back your exercise calories but if your caloric deficit is too high you end up feeling fatigued which in turn leads to lower workout intensity which reduces the non weight loss related benefits of exercising.
  • I love the website you guys posted!! Okay so the vote from everyone is eat back at least half to all of your exercise cals! Lots of times I have 300 of my calories left over for the day just didnt know what was healthy! Thanks so much guys!!
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Also (and it might seem obvious, but people do sometimes wonder...) you don't have to wait until after the exercise to eat the calories. If you know you're going to do a workout later on, but don't like eating too much at night, you could just have a bit extra for breakfast or lunch. Then you'll have more fuel to do work out. :smile:
  • cinciti
    cinciti Posts: 45 Member
    HAHAHAHAHA! That website it GREAT!
  • thepanttherlady
    thepanttherlady Posts: 258 Member

    This makes me giggle every time I see it. :laugh:
  • sarymil
    sarymil Posts: 1
    If you don't eat enough your body will go into starvation mode and it will slow down your weight loss
  • rgrange
    rgrange Posts: 236 Member
    oh look, it's this thread again.
  • rmhand
    rmhand Posts: 1,067 Member
    Also (and it might seem obvious, but people do sometimes wonder...) you don't have to wait until after the exercise to eat the calories. If you know you're going to do a workout later on, but don't like eating too much at night, you could just have a bit extra for breakfast or lunch. Then you'll have more fuel to do work out. :smile:

    Thanks! I've been thinking about this for the last week and decided I'm just going to have to plan ahead for a great workout.
  • ANewLucia
    ANewLucia Posts: 2,081 Member
    I will tell you this...1200 calories will do nothing but cause somewhat of a loss in the beginning, slow your metabolism down, and when you do finally eat you will hold the weight and the vicious cycle of dieting begins...

    Please do some research on BMR and TDEE and small deficits that allow the body to function at an optimal level but at a deficit to lose the fat.

    I sent you a group invitiation to a group of over 1300 people eating and losing weight..you just don't have to starve to acheive a nice tones slim body... http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/3817-eat-more-to-weigh-less
  • If the program is telling you to consume 1200 calories a day to lose weight, and you're burning 400-550 each work out, you need to make up the lost calories. If you don't take in enough calories your body will think it's starving. Then it'll start storing the fat to survive on, instead of letting it go.
  • Laoch_Cailin
    Laoch_Cailin Posts: 414 Member

    Love it.

    Also make sure that you net those 1200 every day. You could probably handle more on top of that. Have a look at this thread too :

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/538381-in-place-of-a-road-map?error_user_id=6093904&error_username=Laurarun

    Really useful information. Good luck x
  • HotCuppaJo
    HotCuppaJo Posts: 476 Member
    I eat them back, maybe not all, but some...and I have lost 40 pounds in 3 months. You'll still lose the weight. :flowerforyou:
  • jsapninz
    jsapninz Posts: 909 Member
    Eat them. Your defecit is already set by MFP so if you don't eat them you would just be givving yourself a larger defecit, but that is unnecessary.

    As long as you have a Heart Rate Monitor that is giving you an accurate burn. If you are using an average estimator, proceed with caution. :frown:
  • Astacia74
    Astacia74 Posts: 166 Member
    THIS!!!
  • hiker282
    hiker282 Posts: 983 Member
    My opinion: Subject lines typed in all caps are extremely annoying and do not guarantee a response. It's like walking into a room and shouting..."HEY HEY, MY *kitten* IS TOO BIG AND I WANT YOU ALL TO LOOK AND AGREE BEFORE I LEAVE!!"
  • MiChaChelle
    MiChaChelle Posts: 125 Member
    Hey:) I actually tried both. I was working out really hard at first and netting around 600-700. I asked a similar question to MFP users to see what's wrong because i reached a plateau eating 600-700 cals net (i was eating 1200 calories - (600ish calories from exercise) = 600 NET). I got pretty harsh comments but it made me realize that i really was doing such a horrible thing by not eating back at least 80% of my exercise calories. I didn't lose a single pound for more than 3 weeks. I upped my calories and started netting at 1200 as MFP suggests and i lost 7 pounds in 2 weeks! Your body will hold on to all the fat and to everything else you eat and wouldn't let you lose weight properly and even if you do u'll reach a plateau for sure if you don't net at 1200. Eat back those exercise calories..enjoy the extra food and watch that weight come right off.
  • mpizzle421
    mpizzle421 Posts: 80 Member
    Okay it is showing I am supposed to eat 1200 cals a day.... I am exercising about 4 to 5 days a week burning 400 to 550 in cals depending on the day. Then its giving me more calories to eat but I dont know if I should eat them! I want the best weight loss possible!
    suggestions?
    Thanks!

    One of the primary reasons it's recommended to eat exercise calories (as I understand it) is to avoid a slowdown of your metabolism resulting in less calories burned during the day. Some people suggest that your body can go into "starvation" mode and hold onto it's precious stores of fat if your calorie intake is too low hindering progress. Meaning you work harder by eating less, but you lose "efficiency".

    A more practical way of thinking about it is that you want to keep your lbm (lean body mass) loss to a minimum while dieting. You don't really want to lose "weight", you want to lose fat. Eating too little results in a loss of lean muscle, and while your weight goes down, it's quite counter-productive to your over-all goal (of looking good!!).

    ALWAYS remember that. You aren't working hard to lose weight. You are working hard to lose fat. :)
  • tinamina78
    tinamina78 Posts: 241 Member
    My opinion: Subject lines typed in all caps are extremely annoying and do not guarantee a response. It's like walking into a room and shouting..."HEY HEY, MY *kitten* IS TOO BIG AND I WANT YOU ALL TO LOOK AND AGREE BEFORE I LEAVE!!"

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
    Exactly!

    HEY, HEY, HEY, I WANT TO EAT COOKIES ALL DAY AND LOSE WEIGHT!!!! HEEEEELLLLLPPP!!!!
  • hanna6774
    hanna6774 Posts: 225

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

    To the OP - it may sound counter-intuitive to eat back your exercise calories but if your caloric deficit is too high you end up feeling fatigued which in turn leads to lower workout intensity which reduces the non weight loss related benefits of exercising.

    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS!!! BRILLIANT!!!