do i have to consume the calories i earn from exercise?

mazjarvis

I have been a member of MFP for a while but if I'm honest this is my first week of using it properly. I have found that this is great for keeping track of what i am eating and my daily calorie goal is 1200. I have been exercising most days and have earned extra calories from it. Do i have to use these calories up or still just stick to the 1200 calories. Am i putting my optimum potential weight loss at risk by not using these calories earned. I'm so confused as to what i am meant to do.. any advice people?

sweebum

You should. Mainly because you have 42 lbs to lose, so you're going to have a huge deficit even without the exercise. If you were eating say, 1500 I wouldn't worry, but 1200 is the very bare minimum and a huge shock to your body, making it harder to sustain.

mazjarvis

will i still loose weight though by having all of my calories from the exercise as it seems like a lot.... but hey i suppose that's why i'm asking.

kwin91

To be honest your going to get a million people telling you what to do, do what I did and go to a nutritionist. I printed out a month worth of MFP logging and they told me what to fix and how to loose right. Honestly instead of being confused and on my finished diary for the day, people would leave comments saying I wasn't eating enough but my nutritionist told me I was fine. Everyone thinks they are a nutritionist on here, well put it this way they are here for a reason and didn't know before so how do they really know unless they've talked to a professional person.

kikilorain

You have to find what's right for you. Some here eat their calories back and some don't. They both lose weight.
I have eaten my calories back and still have lost 15 pounds in about 2.5 months... although, I've opted to lose 1lb. per week so that I don't feel deprived.... and I don't. Good luck!

sweebum

As long as you're in any kind of deficit, you will lose weight.

It depends on how you're measuring your exercise calories (a heart rate monitor, or my fitness pal for example)

What is your weight/height? What do you do for exercise?

NoAdditives

Yes. You should.

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TexasRattlesnake

Some days I do, some days I don't... and I've lost weight under both circumstances.

Find what works for you and allows you to sustain.

Jayneopopsidoodle

Yeh you'll still lose weight by eating your calories back. By following 1200 calories you'll have a deficit of what 800 calories, then if you exercise your making that deficit even bigger so you should eat them back to stay at the 800 calorie deficit at the very minimum. You'll defo lose weight, even if you ate at 1800 calories you'd lose wieght all be it a little slower. xxx Good Luck x

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Bobby_Clerici

No, but MFP recommends it, so why not?
Others here are on some gloomy program of deprivation where they eat less to get the same result along with their stifled metabolisms. Just stick with MFP suggestions regarding this issue, and all will be well.

When we exercise, that green number goes up, because MFP expects us to eat back your exercise calories to keep your net daily calorie intake steady; that's how MFP works. Read this to learn more.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
Follow the recommendations on this site for safe, steady and lasting results.
You could lose weight faster, but what kind of weight would it be?
Muscle! And that stifles metabolism.
No, eat right, exercise - both cardio and resistance, lose weight in such a way that maintains health and preserves lean body mass which burns more calories at rest.
Good luck to you.:flowerforyou:
All Is Possible!

Bobby_Clerici

To answer your question. It depends if you believe in the "starvation mode". If you do, then you eat your exercise calories. If you don't, then you don't.

Number one benefit of believing in "starvation mode" is that you get to cheat a lot. I love to cheat thus I believe. In medicine, we call this "secondary gain".

^^^^^^^^
THIS - my kind of doctor!:drinker:
I BELIEVE BROTHER!

And I get great results and have more fun.
Life is to be lived...

MrsFolk

Keep a record here on MFP for a while then take a printout to a nutritionist. You'll get mixed answers from many users here. Some swear by eating their exercise calories, others don't. A nutritionist will be able to take your height, weight and other measurments and get you on the right track Good luck to you!

Will_Lift_4_Shoes

I did the 1200 calorie thing for a while. I hated it and I plateaued. I wasn't eating back my exercise calories. MFP builds the deficit in to your goal. If you work out you need more fuel for your body. Once I backed off the 2 pound a week idea and started eating some (some times all sometimes not) of my exercise calories I have steadily lost weight. If you are hungry eat. If your not don't. This is about a lifestyle change. Life includes cake and naughty foods. Count it all if it goes in your mouth it goes on the log. Its going to take some trial and error but you will find what works best for your body to lose and you still enjoy life.

CyberEd312

To be honest your going to get a million people telling you what to do, do what I did and go to a nutritionist. I printed out a month worth of MFP logging and they told me what to fix and how to loose right. Honestly instead of being confused and on my finished diary for the day, people would leave comments saying I wasn't eating enough but my nutritionist told me I was fine. Everyone thinks they are a nutritionist on here, well put it this way they are here for a reason and didn't know before so how do they really know unless they've talked to a professional person.

At 560 lbs. and unable to walk I too went to a nutritionist and she set my calories and macros according to the plan she wanted me to follow.. We agreed if my deficit to lose 2 lbs. a week was built into my daily caloric intake than my calories burned was to be eaten back because we did not want to created to large of a calorie deficit.. This wasn't a race to lose weight, it was a lifestyle change to create a manageable weightoss by losing at a pace that I will be able to keep it off long term. So I bought myself a Polar FT60 heartrate monitor and started logging everything... I eat back 85% of my exercise calories, leaving 15% for logging errors and whatnot and have manage to lose a few pounds over the course of the last 3 years... I don't exercise to created a larger deficit, I exercise to improve my cardiovascular health, my lung capacity, my over all health, and to maintain lean muscle mass... It has nothing to do with the weight loss side of my equation, being in a calorie deficit takes care of the weightloss.. I exercise for me and my overall well being... Best of Luck!!

cari4jc1

You're going to get about a million opinions, but there are many factors to this. Depends on your height, weight, activity level. How many calories you're burning per workout etc. If you are eating 1200 calories and you see that you're losing weight and you don't feel hungry and don't have any fatigue/headaches then you're probably fine. If you aren't seeing the scale move and/or are having physical symptoms like constant hunger, fatigue, headaches etc then you might want to consider upping your calories by a couple hundred.

I, personally, couldn't do the 1200 calories. Yes, I was at a deficit, but I wasn't losing anything. I had extreme fatigue and headaches everyday. I tried upping my calories and immediately started seeing progress. I also have more to lose than you do and I exercise hardcore so I need those extra calories. However, now that my calories are higher I don't eat back my exercise calories. (Every once in a while I eat back 100 or so if there's something that I specifically want, but it's not a daily practice.)

Anyways, if you're doing good and it's working for you then why rock the boat?

mazjarvis

thank you so much for the links... read them and it really helped. will eat my extra calories.:flowerforyou:

kwin91

And I'm not disagreeing with you its just that most people on here think that they know everything. And if people aren't happy with what a nutritionist sets for you then talk to a dietitian. I also exercise to be healthier and lose weight at the same time as are most people. But I personally don't like taking advice from people on here because you ask a simple question and get 16 different answers. I want facts from a pro. That's all I'm saying, because people ask and don't know how to move forward with all this info that they don't know whether its right or not.

fsmalley

To be honest your going to get a million people telling you what to do, do what I did and go to a nutritionist. I printed out a month worth of MFP logging and they told me what to fix and how to loose right. Honestly instead of being confused and on my finished diary for the day, people would leave comments saying I wasn't eating enough but my nutritionist told me I was fine. Everyone thinks they are a nutritionist on here, well put it this way they are here for a reason and didn't know before so how do they really know unless they've talked to a professional person.

At 560 lbs. and unable to walk I too went to a nutritionist and she set my calories and macros according to the plan she wanted me to follow.. We agreed if my deficit to lose 2 lbs. a week was built into my daily caloric intake than my calories burned was to be eaten back because we did not want to created to large of a calorie deficit.. This wasn't a race to lose weight, it was a lifestyle change to create a manageable weightoss by losing at a pace that I will be able to keep it off long term. So I bought myself a Polar FT60 heartrate monitor and started logging everything... I eat back 85% of my exercise calories, leaving 15% for logging errors and whatnot and have manage to lose a few pounds over the course of the last 3 years... I don't exercise to created a larger deficit, I exercise to improve my cardiovascular health, my lung capacity, my over all health, and to maintain lean muscle mass... It has nothing to do with the weight loss side of my equation, being in a calorie deficit takes care of the weightloss.. I exercise for me and my overall well being... Best of Luck!!

Sounds like sound advice Ed. I think it's very important, especially for those who have large amounts of weight to drop, to make sure that your weight loss efforts are monitored, and endorsed by, a medical professional.

mcarter99

I have been a member of MFP for a while but if I'm honest this is my first week of using it properly. I have found that this is great for keeping track of what i am eating and my daily calorie goal is 1200. I have been exercising most days and have earned extra calories from it. Do i have to use these calories up or still just stick to the 1200 calories. Am i putting my optimum potential weight loss at risk by not using these calories earned. I'm so confused as to what i am meant to do.. any advice people?

On your Goals page (I think), what does MFP say you are set up to lose per week at that 1200 calories? It could be less than a pound. I don't think you have to eat back if you want to lose a little faster. The general recommendations are that it's safe to lose up to 2 lb/week. If you need to exercise to create that large of a deficit and eat at 1200, that's safe, too.

People here are correct that "your deficit is built in" but what they don't realize is that if you're at 1200, that means MFP capped your deficit level because they (rightly) want you to get adequate nutrition. How much you move (assuming you don't rack up deficits over 1000/day on average) is not related to your nutrition needs. It IS related to calories, which come from body fat in addition to daily intake.

suziecue66

I have been a member of MFP for a while but if I'm honest this is my first week of using it properly. I have found that this is great for keeping track of what i am eating and my daily calorie goal is 1200. I have been exercising most days and have earned extra calories from it. Do i have to use these calories up or still just stick to the 1200 calories. Am i putting my optimum potential weight loss at risk by not using these calories earned. I'm so confused as to what i am meant to do.. any advice people?

On your Goals page (I think), what does MFP say you are set up to lose per week at that 1200 calories? It could be less than a pound. I don't think you have to eat back if you want to lose a little faster. The general recommendations are that it's safe to lose up to 2 lb/week. If you need to exercise to create that large of a deficit and eat at 1200, that's safe, too.

People here are correct that "your deficit is built in" but what they don't realize is that if you're at 1200, that means MFP capped your deficit level because they (rightly) want you to get adequate nutrition. How much you move (assuming you don't rack up deficits over 1000/day on average) is not related to your nutrition needs. It IS related to calories, which come from body fat in addition to daily intake.

If you feel good eating at 1200 and exercising and start losing then keep it up. So start at that amount and see how you go. No need to kill yourself with exercise, a moderate amount is sufficient. Don't know your height but I think 1200 will be okay particularly if short.