Eat back all of your exercise calories or you WILL DIE.

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  • jfan175
    jfan175 Posts: 812 Member
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    What is this business about starvation mode? I find myself wrapped up in these "debates" with people telling me that eating 1200 and not eating back my calories from exercise will make me starve. Not everybody eats their calories back, and they are fine. Is this just another example of people thinking they know everything and they know it best, or is this a legitimate concern?

    It seems pretty arrogant and self-centered of you to come to this website and rag on the plan.....which has helped an awful lot of people safely achieve their goals. The testimonies and pictures don't lie. Why are you so wrapped up in "these debates" when you know the type of diet and calorie monitoring that this site supports? If you don't like it, start your own website and plan. Do other methods work? Sure they do, for some people. So does binging and purging. But there are many other people that follow a "net less than your BMR" plan and run into trouble. That's why a lot of people come here. The methods on this site prevent that from happening.
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
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    If i'm hungry I eat them back. If I'm not hungry I don't. Listen to your body.

    How dare you go and be all reasonable and stuff...
    Because of course most people here have no problems just "listening" to their bodies...am I right? :indifferent:

    But the point is they're "allowable" calories. Eating them is not "cheating"... so if you're hungry, eat them. If you want them all, EAT THEM. If you're saying to yourself, "Wow I'm still hungry after eating 3500 calories today... I think I'll have a snack," you either ran a marathon or you need to stop listening to your body. But if those are exercise calories you burned legitimately, eat them if you want.

    Personally, I want to eat as much food as I can and still lose weight at a healthy rate. This keeps my metabolism fast and keeps my mouth happy. But that's me...
  • chattipatty2
    chattipatty2 Posts: 376 Member
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    Now if one eats all their exercise calories back than how is someone loosing weight?
    I am doing Jamie Easons lifefit plan and I sure a daisy don't eat all my exercise calories.
    Lost 9 pounds so far, and with her eating plan, even with less calories your body does not have time to get starving.
    Not to be rude, but if you are following another plan, why are you here? This is a plan. It's called MFP and is designed differently from other plans. I try to stick to it like the bible. Just like someone would treat Weight Watchers. Do what works for you! But don't bash what works for others.

    Now where in the world do you read me bashing anything????
    I just do something for a while that has worked for some people I know.
    I did not know it was forbidden to talk about another weight loss approach.
    Ok, well the first 3 posters talking about how they don't follow MFP the way it is designed. Which is fine, but you're on MFP. That would be like going to a weight watchers meeting and arguing that MFP does it better.
    You are already in a deficit when you start MFP. So if you eat those cals back, or at least most of them, then you will still lose weight. If not, then either something wrong, or plan not for you, which is fine. But, If you believe in MFP, then you follow it, right?. If not, then, you either 1.don't understand it, or 2. you do, but disagree with it.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
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    The main thing is that eating back exercise calories preserves lean muscle. If you don't you'll still lose weight but a portion of it will be lean muscle. Not everyone cares about having lean muscle, sure, a lot only care about fitting into the next dress size down or the number on the scale. But for those of us who are concerned with lean muscle, yes, it's necessary.
  • lengirl75
    lengirl75 Posts: 153 Member
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    If i'm hungry I eat them back. If I'm not hungry I don't. Listen to your body.
    This...
  • chattipatty2
    chattipatty2 Posts: 376 Member
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    What is this business about starvation mode? I find myself wrapped up in these "debates" with people telling me that eating 1200 and not eating back my calories from exercise will make me starve. Not everybody eats their calories back, and they are fine. Is this just another example of people thinking they know everything and they know it best, or is this a legitimate concern?

    It seems pretty arrogant and self-centered of you to come to this website and rag on the plan.....which has helped an awful lot of people safely achieve their goals. The testimonies and pictures don't lie. Why are you so wrapped up in "these debates" when you know the type of diet and calorie monitoring that this site supports? If you don't like it, start your own website and plan. Do other methods work? Sure they do, for some people. So does binging and purging. But there are many other people that follow a "net less than your BMR" plan and run into trouble. That's why a lot of people come here. The methods on this site prevent that from happening.
    This is what I was referring to, not so much the other commenters, but this!!
  • DakotaKeogh
    DakotaKeogh Posts: 693 Member
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    Yep. Lots of opinions. Few qualified. I rarely eat back my exercise calories and I'm alive and kickin'.
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
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    I eat back enough to get me to 1200 calories or really close usually, and that works for me. I continue to lose at a steady pace. Some days I do go under after exercise and some days I go over so I think it balances it out.

    So when you get to your goal weight you're going to keep eating 1200 calories/day for the rest of your life? Or do you want to train your body now to burn more so that you can maintain eventually without even thinking about what you eat? It looks like the low calories does work for you, but you said in your profile you put on a good chunk of the weight you lost last year by stopping the diet, no? Set yourself up for success and eat more now... then, you won't have as hard a time maintaining. Unless, of course, you're perfectly happy eating 1200 calories/day for life.
  • minkakross
    minkakross Posts: 687 Member
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    MFP is just a tool, there are lots of members that only use it for the food/exercise journal or heck some even use it primarily for the specialized support groups. I don't eat my exercise calories back and I've found that when I do I stall or gain, so I don't and in the end we all have to make the choice to do what works for us.
  • PurpleAmharicCoffee
    PurpleAmharicCoffee Posts: 13
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    I eat back some to most of my exercise calories, but not all, just in case my calculations are not entirely correct.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    Other people can do whatever they like, but I use MFP because it works for me and it's a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. I always try to eat back as many exercise calories as possible because I want to net the correct amount for my maintenance. It has worked perfectly for me for over a year now so I'm sticking with it. I wouldn't bother to use this site if I thought I had a better way, you know? I'd use something else instead.
  • brittanylock09
    brittanylock09 Posts: 197 Member
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    Now if one eats all their exercise calories back than how is someone loosing weight?
    I am doing Jamie Easons lifefit plan and I sure a daisy don't eat all my exercise calories.
    Lost 9 pounds so far, and with her eating plan, even with less calories your body does not have time to get starving.
    Not to be rude, but if you are following another plan, why are you here? This is a plan. It's called MFP and is designed differently from other plans. I try to stick to it like the bible. Just like someone would treat Weight Watchers. Do what works for you! But don't bash what works for others.

    This is a site to track calories and food intake, not a plan for some people. some people use diet books to go along with this site and log their food. some people have surgeries for their weight loss to track their food. This site is a TOOL not "A PLAN". She wasn't bashing anyone. You're the one bashing her. Basically saying she doesn't need to be here b/c she's using another plan! and when someone starts a sentence with "Not to be rude" is just politely saying, I'm being rude, but please forgive me. Get your panties out of a wad and let people do what they wanna do.
  • NamibianRose
    NamibianRose Posts: 151 Member
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    I have seen this debate in nearly all weight loss communities I've visited lol.

    I think a factor that I've havent seen mentioned (I like to emphasize 'I haven't seen!' not that no one here has mentioned it) is differences in VO2 max.

    Example. A friend and I went and got our BMR and VO2 rates tested. Went to a facility that had the equipment and measures your oxygen/co2 ratio on your exhales or something. Anyhow, one of us had a very high BMR, the other a low BMR. When we did the VO2 max, one of us had a pretty high VO2 max the other, quite a low VO2 max. VO2 max results will tell you how many calories you burn at various heart rates, we got these wonderful graphs that gave us our Cals burned per minute vs a range of heart rates. Well, found out the person who had a high VO2 max, her heart rate monitor was drastically under estimating her calories burned and the person with the low VO2 max, her hrm was drastically over estimated her calories burned. Luckily we had the model of polar hrm's that we could input our VO2 max and get correct estimates.

    So anyway, this would explain why some people gain weight when they eat back their exercise calories, perhaps they have a low vo2 max. And what their hrm tells them is really way too high. And perhaps they have a lower BMR than what websites tell them as well. Who knows. Unless your tested these things are all unknown and why people will be equally vocal about opposing views on this.

    As for my friend and I, the one with the low BMR had a high vo2 max and vice versa for the other.

    Also these tests aren't perfect either lol. There are variables that can affect the results and cause inaccuracies.

    Sorry for typos or nonsensical sentences. On my phone and very hard to proofread and edit.
  • kiwipez
    kiwipez Posts: 144
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    Ok, not to get too off topic, but how is mfp a plan? I always thought of it as a tool to track what you eat on whatever diet/exercise plan you choose.



    I just love the neverending exercise calorie debates...
  • bethb4
    bethb4 Posts: 48
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    you're gonna die either way. no one gets out alive.

    in other news, TDEE, BMR, and "calorie deficit". look up these terms and it will all make sense.
    LOL:laugh:
  • SweetxCatastrophe
    SweetxCatastrophe Posts: 593 Member
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    Ummmm...this site is a TOOL, not a plan. No where does it have meals and exercise plans..unless its in a secret spot I have yet to find :indifferent:
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
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    I have seen this debate in nearly all weight loss communities I've visited lol.

    I think a factor that I've havent seen mentioned (I like to emphasize 'I haven't seen!' not that no one here has mentioned it) is differences in VO2 max.

    Example. A friend and I went and got our BMR and VO2 rates tested. Went to a facility that had the equipment and measures your oxygen/co2 ratio on your exhales or something. Anyhow, one of us had a very high BMR, the other a low BMR. When we did the VO2 max, one of us had a pretty high VO2 max the other, quite a low VO2 max. VO2 max results will tell you how many calories you burn at various heart rates, we got these wonderful graphs that gave us our Cals burned vs a range of heart rates. Well, found out the person who had a high VO2 max, her heart rate monitor was drastically under estimating hr calories burned and he person with the low VO2 max, her hrm was drastically over estimated her calories burned. Luckily we had the model of polar hrm's that we could input our VO2 max and get correct estimates.

    So anyway, this would explain why some people gain weight when they eat back their exercise calories, perhaps they have a low vo2 max. And what their hrm tells them is really way too high. And perhaps they have a lower BMR than what websites tell them as well. Who knows. Unless your tested these things are all unknown and why people will be equally vocal about opposing views on this.

    As for my friend and I, the one with the low BMR had a high vo2 max and vice versa for the other.

    Also these tests aren't perfect either lol. There are variables that can affect the results and cause inaccuracies.

    That's definitely a piece of it. And the other debate being MFP is incorrect with its calories burned estimates. Yes. Yes it is. Or it isn't. Depends on you.

    I wanna go get my V02 Max tested. Just cuz.
  • WestCoastPhoenix
    WestCoastPhoenix Posts: 802 Member
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    Exercise-Calories-Why-must-you-taunt-me-so.jpg
  • dosmundos
    dosmundos Posts: 64
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    MFP is just a tool, there are lots of members that only use it for the food/exercise journal or heck some even use it primarily for the specialized support groups. I don't eat my exercise calories back and I've found that when I do I stall or gain, so I don't and in the end we all have to make the choice to do what works for us.

    Thank you. Someone understands.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    Ok, not to get too off topic, but how is mfp a plan? I always thought of it as a tool to track what you eat on whatever diet/exercise plan you choose.

    True. It's more of a calculator. But it attempts to separate exercise out of the TDEE equation, and is set up to have the user add them back. It's designed this way to keep the calorie deficit constant regardless of the volatility of daily exercise. In this regard it's kind of a "plan". Well more of a "program" really.

    But as you can see, even in this very thread. A large percentage of users don't even comprehend the basis of how it's supposed to work (see above, and below). Whadayagonnado

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