Eating back exercise calories

thaislcrd

So here it goes:
Ask your doctor, that knows your health and medical history, what is best for you. Remember, "One size does NOT fit all! "

TeaBea

Asked my doctor today and she said 1200 calories is fine if you are healthy, and I am, and that if I eat back my exercise calories I defeat the whole purpose of exercising, unless I want to mantain and not lose.

*I am eating around 1350 cal a day, but I do not eat all of my exercise calories back. I will not force myself to eat if I'm not hungry!

Wow! Incredible.

To me the "whole purpose" of exercise is to KEEP existing muscle mass. I'm over 50 .... so I may need it more than others ... but seriously isn't muscle mass good for everybody no matter your age?

If I eat every single exercise calorie back and lose a little more slowly .... that's fine by me as long as I keep existing muscle mass.

myfitnessnmhoy

Edit: I am all for a second opinion if needed, but the cavalier way people encourage others to ignore medical advice on this site is really disturbing.

Fair enough - but when you've experienced doing exactly what someone's doctor has recommended, and had it fail for you repeated times over decades, and have many friends who have suffered the same failure for the same reason, that's gotta count for something, I'd hope.

Undereating is not a sustainable way to lose weight. I've worked with a number of doctors to try and lose weight, and had many of them give me the same advice - eat VERY LITTLE and exercise A LOT. I end up sick, tired, and disheartened at the prospect of losing more weight. I wasted 30 years trying to follow medical professionals' advice before I finally realized that my doctors were all very well trained at medicine, but not so much at nutrition.

The tools provided by this site espouse a certain technique toward weight loss - setting a specific caloric deficit and maintaining that deficit to lose weight at a steady pace without discomfort. The people who have used this technique successfully are going to champion it.

Anecdotal evidence is anecdotal, but there are enough people here who have lost weight without misery using the technique this site was built to support, I think it's appropriate to encourage that technique.

hbrittingham

Great, another thead where overweight people advise someone to ignore their doctor's medical advise and eat more food. Doesn't that fall under the "encouraging eating disorders" section of the terms of service here?

Actually, no it doesn't fall under that section. Doctors may have gone to medical school, but that doesn't automatically make them nutritionists. Matter of fact, nutrition is a very small part of what they learn in medical school. I personally believe that the doctor is the one who is "encouraging eating disorders" by telling a patient that eating 1200 calories and not eating back exercise calories is the way for them to lose weight.

thaislcrd

Great, another thead where overweight people advise someone to ignore their doctor's medical advise and eat more food. Doesn't that fall under the "encouraging eating disorders" section of the terms of service here?

Actually, no it doesn't fall under that section. Doctors may have gone to medical school, but that doesn't automatically make them nutritionists. Matter of fact, nutrition is a very small part of what they learn in medical school. I personally believe that the doctor is the one who is "encouraging eating disorders" by telling a patient that eating 1200 calories and not eating back exercise calories is the way for them to lose weight.

I think what you are having is a hard time understanding what I wrote. My doctor didn't say set your daily goal at 1200 calories, exercise and don't eat them back. she said as long as I get 1200 calories I'll be fine. That means, if I set my goal to 1500, burn 300 exercising, I'll still have 1200. So if I'm not hungry, I don't have to eat. If I set it to 1400, burn 300 exercising, then I will need to eat at least 100 more.

hbrittingham

Great, another thead where overweight people advise someone to ignore their doctor's medical advise and eat more food. Doesn't that fall under the "encouraging eating disorders" section of the terms of service here?

Actually, no it doesn't fall under that section. Doctors may have gone to medical school, but that doesn't automatically make them nutritionists. Matter of fact, nutrition is a very small part of what they learn in medical school. I personally believe that the doctor is the one who is "encouraging eating disorders" by telling a patient that eating 1200 calories and not eating back exercise calories is the way for them to lose weight.

I think what you are having is a hard time understanding what I wrote. My doctor didn't say set your daily goal at 1200 calories, exercise and don't eat them back. she said as long as I get 1200 calories I'll be fine. That means, if I set my goal to 1500, burn 300 exercising, I'll still have 1200. So if I'm not hungry, I don't have to eat. If I set it to 1400, burn 300 exercising, then I will need to eat at least 100 more.

Well, I'm glad you clarified that. You are saying that she says you should net 1200 right? That's not how it read and what I, and many others, were responding to.

Asked my doctor today and she said 1200 calories is fine if you are healthy, and I am, and that if I eat back my exercise calories I defeat the whole purpose of exercising, unless I want to mantain and not lose.

wackyfunster

Wow, so the medical professional was right after all! Who could have seen that coming? My money was on the internet nutritional gurus :P

P.S. There are many cases where low-cal is appropriate and commonly prescribed. Without going into detail, I've had a few morbidly obese friends who has been basically told "you are going to die within 5 years if you don't lose a ton of weight" who have done <1000 calories under medical supervision (and these are huge guys whose BMR has to be >2000), and had great results. One friend has gone from a 179/120 blood pressure (i.e. one point higher and he would have been sent to the hospital) and pre-diabetic to 125/85 and healthy blood sugar in 4 months on such a diet. He is now doing Crossfit, and, while still clinically obese, all his health measures are either normal or slightly elevated. I can't tell you how proud I am of him... he has made huge lifestyle changes, and is seeing unbelievable results. The fact that the same here would tell him "don't eat under your BMR" or "don't eat under 1500 calories if you're a guy" and "ignore your doctor, he doesn't know what he's talking about" and support the lifestyle that nearly killed him really bothers me. The fact that you think of yourself as more of an expert on healthy weight loss than a medical professional is also disturbing.

hbrittingham

Wow, so the medical professional was right after all! Who could have seen that coming? My money was on the internet nutritional gurus :P

The fact that the same here would tell him "don't eat under your BMR" or "don't eat under 1500 calories if you're a guy" and "ignore your doctor, he doesn't know what he's talking about" and support the lifestyle that nearly killed him really bothers me. The fact that you think of yourself as more of an expert on healthy weight loss than a medical professional is also disturbing.

I am just going to have to assume that you are talking to someone else and not me since I never said for the poster to ignore her doctor. I said that I personally would find a new doctor if mine told me to only eat 1200 calories and not eat back exercise calories, which is what the poster actually said and then clarified. So, no, I didn't and wouldn't tell anyone to ignore their doctor.

And I am really sorry that it disturbs you so badly that some of us realize that doctors are not the be all end all of nutritional needs and healthy eating. There are plenty of them out there that will whip out the prescription pad and write a prescription for appetite suppressants or meds that can be used as diet pills.

sa11yjane

I love the way that threads always turn into 'debates'...for want of a friendly term!!! Thank you so much to each and every one of you who has responded to my query. I have upped my daily calories from 1200 to my BMR of 1350 and may or may not eat back some of my extra calories earned through exercising depending on whether or not I am hungry. If I don't lose weight then I will rethink!

I love this site and I love you all for your helpful/thoughtful/provocative comments (read whichever one is appropriate!). Good luck with each and every one of you on your own personal journey and thanks again x

davegrs1

My doctor is the one that encouraged me to start using MFP and she said not to log the exercise at all. Calculating calories burned is a tricky business, and you can wind up "eating back" far more calories than you actually burn, thus negating any of the calorie deficets you generate.

My $.02.

thaislcrd

I love the way that threads always turn into 'debates'...for want of a friendly term!!! Thank you so much to each and every one of you who has responded to my query. I have upped my daily calories from 1200 to my BMR of 1350 and may or may not eat back some of my extra calories earned through exercising depending on whether or not I am hungry. If I don't lose weight then I will rethink!

I love this site and I love you all for your helpful/thoughtful/provocative comments (read whichever one is appropriate!). Good luck with each and every one of you on your own personal journey and thanks again x

Love your point of view! Good luck on your journey and don't be discouraged by what you hear or see or for lack of results. If you exercise you might build or strengthen some muscles and since muscles weight more than fat but has less volume, you may weight the same for a while as your body adjusts, but still lose inches in some areas. Above all, do what works for you, and not what works for others! :happy:

sa11yjane

Just to confirm what the guy earlier said, eating back exercise calories is risky. To all of you who do eat back all your calories BEWARE- my exercise bike and walking pedometer always give my calories earned as at least half of those that this site gives (so I change the calories manually)