I tried eating back my exercise cals and it's bs!

laura328

So for several weeks I tried to switch it up by increasing my cals and eating back my exercise cals. Absolutely DID NOT work! I am no back to sticking at 1200 cals whether I work out or not and almost immediately noticed the scale going down! I knew eating more to lose weight sounded too good to be true. Here's what works: eat less, move more. Period.

skonly

So for several weeks I tried to switch it up by increasing my cals and eating back my exercise cals. Absolutely DID NOT work! I am no back to sticking at 1200 cals whether I work out or not and almost immediately noticed the scale going down! I knew eating more to lose weight sounded too good to be true. Here's what works: eat less, move more. Period.

It depends on what you eat also. Do what works for you. It won't be long before everyone starts slamming you on here. Ignore them. I hit the ignore button on a few people on another thread so I can't even see the hateful comments towards me. lol.

Everyone is different. Age affects people too. Make good food choices and move more. Can't go wrong with that.

paperducks

It all depends on what works for you and your body. If you feel like you have more energy sticking to what you've been doing all along then go for it. Do what makes you feel good. I try to eat back the calories that I burn and it seems to be working for me. Our bodies are all different so everyone has their own unique plan to getting in shape.

Congrats on your weight loss, by the way. That's quite an accomplishment Be sure to treat yourself every now and then.

Iceman1800

That has never made sense to me. The whole point of exercise is the burn calories so why would anyone eat them back on purpose?

laura328

Absolutely agree with you both! Everyone is different and the key is finding that perfect balance that works for YOU! Also noteworthy is the age thing! I'm 44 and weight loss is completely different for me now. So much more of a struggle. Thank you both for your comments :flowerforyou:

murphy612

Welcome to the evil eating 1200 calorie a day and not (gasp) eating exercise calories back club :-)

karenechurch

i dont eat back my exercise calories, but I try not to over exercise. I eat 1200 a day and have 3 to 400 exercise cal a day. I have only been of MFP since july 26 and I have lost 10 pounds and I feel great. As long as you feel good, do what works for you.

postrockandcats

So for several weeks I tried to switch it up by increasing my cals and eating back my exercise cals. Absolutely DID NOT work! I am no back to sticking at 1200 cals whether I work out or not and almost immediately noticed the scale going down! I knew eating more to lose weight sounded too good to be true. Here's what works: eat less, move more. Period.

Except that it works for a LOT of people, myself included. I don't know why it didn't for you specifically, but if you found something that does that keeps you healthy, then good for you.

DaveyGravy

I'm the opposite, I find if I don't eat them back I don't lose or don't lose as much. Strange but i guess everybody is different.

skonly

Welcome to the evil eating 1200 calorie a day and not (gasp) eating exercise calories back club :-)

We should have club. lol.

I certainly have been getting a lot of messages and friend requests since I posted on another thread about it. Soon as I made the comment about alcohol being the difference in my diary and some others I've been getting requests like crazy. I've ignored so many people all their snippy comments about me will never be seen. I find it so funny.

lyttlewon

I don't eat my exercise calories back, because I eat halfway between BMR and TDEE every day regardless of working out, which means I spread out the exercise cals over the week. Some days I eat up to TDEE. But, I eat at least 1800 cals a day and I lose. I would never last eating 1200 cals a day.

a5ian_ang3l10

It depends on body, age, and other factors so everyone is different. I can't say what works for me will work for you. I am naturally more hungry if I exercise so I eat back some of my exercise calories. All I can say is that the scale isn't a perfect measure of losing because it goes up and down (at least for me). If I eat a lot of salt, I weigh higher because of water retention. So depends on what types of food you're eating.

I'm not going to talk about starvation mode and all but netting less than what your body really needs will make you lose weight faster but it's not the healthiest way to go about it. True fat loss takes time and effort. I personally don't care what the scale says, I care what my body fat % is.

MSeel1984

I am wary of going over my calories. I eat some, but not all, back. It worked but the progress is slow.

murphy612

Welcome to the evil eating 1200 calorie a day and not (gasp) eating exercise calories back club :-)

We should have club. lol.

I certainly have been getting a lot of messages and friend requests since I posted on another thread about it. Soon as I made the comment about alcohol being the difference in my diary and some others I've been getting requests like crazy. I've ignored so many people all their snippy comments about me will never be seen. I find it so funny.

I ignore most of the snippy comments as well, especially the over dramatic "starvation mode" ones. I'm under the care of a dietician/nutritionist and non-surgical bariatric doctor, so I'm leaning toward their advice on my health The key to low calorie is eating the right foods and as long as I do that I'm never hungry. If I need some extra calories for a difficult workout or if I'm feeling extra hungry then I eat more, it's not a huge deal. I lose on average 1lb a week, my body fat % continues to go down and my strength is increasing. Must be working ok for me, but might not for others.

natalie412

Absolutely agree with you both! Everyone is different and the key is finding that perfect balance that works for YOU! Also noteworthy is the age thing! I'm 44 and weight loss is completely different for me now. So much more of a struggle. Thank you both for your comments :flowerforyou:

To each her own, I guess I'm 42 and lost 35 pounds eating back all my exercise calories. I started out at 1200 and then eventually increased to over 1400 during the last 10-15 pounds, always eating back my exercise cals. I even lost another 5 pounds on maintenance at over 1600 plus exercise cals. Had a TON more energy on more cals and did not feel at all deprived.

AzhureSnow

It worked for me for a little while, but then I stalled for over a month and only started losing again when I was eating a total of 1500-1800 calories a day. I set my limit at 1500, and I eat that, plus some of my exercise calories on most days. Now I'm back to losing consistently again.

Everyone is different. It also depends on how intensely you workout. If I do a full strength workout, I feel famished if i eat less than 1500. If I just do a 20 minute run, I don't feel a need to eat those back.

zestyzaftig

Everyone's body works differently. I wish I could do the strict 1200 calorie regime, but nearly passed out yesterday when I tried it. I have really high metabolism (I'm severely hyperthyroid), so have a genuine physical need for more than 1200 calories- any extra of which is burned off in exercise. But I totally respect and am a little envious of those who are capable (both physically and emotionally) of consuming only 1200 calories per day. Why would I knock my fellow weight loss brethren for finding something that works for them? :-)

TheRealParisLove

I eat some of my exercise calories back, but try to stay under 1200 net most days. Losing weight is much harder after 40, and in general most people's calorie needs decrease with age.

jendraka

I've done it both ways and it's worked for me. I think it's been more a thing of changing things up when I've hit a wall. I went for a long time with not eating the calories back and fell into a routine and then I sort of hit a plateau after a while. Then I just changed up everything about my diet and fitness routine, including my calorie goals and whether I would eat back calories and *poof* wall broke through.

It's not that something just doesn't work. It's that certain routines are better suited for certain people at certain times. You may well find that what may not work now, may work later, and what may be working now may not work in a few months and you may find yourself having to be open to trying what didn't work before. If that ramble makes sense.

parias1126

I just looked at your diary. You haven't even eaten 1200 calories/day. There are some days where you are under 1,000. You are totally lacking whole foods. It will make it more difficult to lose on tortilla chips, pudding, Fritos, Tootsie pops, etc. You need more veggies and protein. It's always good to eat a protein with complex carbs as well. I was at a 3 week plateau and took my MFP friends advice and changed my settings to lose 1.5/pounds/week instead of 2. I now have 1,500/calories to eat instead of 1270 like before. It's hard to get all those calories, especially eating lots of veggies since they don't have a lot of calories, but I'm doing it. And this morning, the SCALE MOVED!! I was so excited! I'm just hoping it continues to work for me. Seriously though, just get rid of the packaged foods and eat your calories. You will do great! The weight may come off now with such a low calorie count, but it will stop eventually and you will have to up your calories anyway. You might as well start now.

AmyRhubarb

So for several weeks I tried to switch it up by increasing my cals and eating back my exercise cals. Absolutely DID NOT work! I am no back to sticking at 1200 cals whether I work out or not and almost immediately noticed the scale going down! I knew eating more to lose weight sounded too good to be true. Here's what works: eat less, move more. Period.

You say eating back exercise cals is BS and declare the only thing that works is to eat less and move more. Period. And no other way will work! LOL

I'm living proof that eating back exercise calories and then some works just fine. :bigsmile: Everyone is different, but in my own experience (and for heaps of other MFPers), eating more works well. I tried the 1200 for a while, and even with eating my exercise calories back at that level I was hungry, tired, grouchy, and didn't lose much. Eating more worked wonders for me.

If you're having success netting under 1200, go for it, good luck, and more power to ya, no pun intended. But don't declare your way the only way and say that anyone else's method (especially methods people are having long term success with) is BS.

magerum

It's all about the math. The laws of thermodynamics apply to everyone, period. The case, more than likely, is you're not actually tracking your intake and exercise acurately. People tend to under estimate their intake and over estimate their exercise. Establish controls using food scales and the best HRM you can afford. Add in exercise controls (same measured distance for walking/running, same machines etc) and it will absolutley work.

Just because you failed to pull it off don't discount it or dismiss it for other people. You're not a unique snowflake. Establish your controls, dont use guesses, stick with and it will work. Or just give up and have fun starving and being misserable. It's up to you.

Good luck.

CVAB

I feel people make weight loss so complicated when it's not.
Hungry? Eat. Don't eat crap. Exercise often.

FlaxMilk

Maybe not a club but there is a group:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/2584-eating-1200-1300-calories-per-day

Would be great if it were more active

BrianSharpe

Eating back you exercise calories can work......

if your calorie burn estimate is reasonably accurate

if your calorie intake is accurate (keeping in mind that nutrition labels can be off by as much as 20% on some classes of products)

if you set your MFP activity level as sedentary

if your BMR is reasonably close to what the calculators estimate

Lots of "ifs". stick with what works for you.

jenmsu83

I'm not about to slam anyone or get snippy but I am honestly curious. For those that eat 1200 a day and never eat exercise cals - aren't you HUNGRY? I eat anywhere from 1700-2100 calories a day (depending on exercise) and there are days I am still hungry eating that much...

If you get hungry do you just ignore it? Or is 1200 cals worth of food really enough for you to feel satisfied?

I figure it makes sense to eat as much as possible while losing weight so that you can eat more in maintenance mode and not feel deprived.

FlaxMilk

When I feel hungry, I eat more. It's not going to kill me. Generally, though, I am satisfied. I'll gradually increase once I hit goal until I find maintenance and then keep an eye on it. To be honest, I am hungrier the times when I eat more.

MaraDiaz

Right there with you. But there are several possible reasons for it:

A recent study shows that even good heart rate monitors can be wildly innaccurate, especially for women. So that could be an issue, along with innaccurate estimates given by websites such as MFP, that, after all, can only estimate. These websites and HRMs are the best info we have to work with, but they can be wrong. And if they're overestimating your calorie burn, you're overeating when you eat those calories back.

Not measuring food with a scale, measuring cups, and spoons can cause accidental over-intake.

Also, it could be you. If you can afford to get your metabolism checked, by all means, go do it just in case! (I would if I could, losing so slow on so few calories drives me nuts!)

StevenDweeb

It's all about the math. The laws of thermodynamics apply to everyone, period. The case, more than likely, is you're not actually tracking your intake and exercise acurately. People tend to under estimate their intake and over estimate their exercise. Establish controls using food scales and the best HRM you can afford. Add in exercise controls (same measured distance for walking/running, same machines etc) and it will absolutley work.

Just because you failed to pull it off don't discount it or dismiss it for other people. You're not a unique snowflake. Establish your controls, dont use guesses, stick with and it will work. Or just give up and have fun starving and being misserable. It's up to you.

Good luck.

++
Especially on the exercise front. There are too many variables that impact the 'real' number of calories burned. I've found that by comparing specific routes/times/speed/distance what my body "feels" is maximum effort may not be close to reality. That leads me to believe that it is easy for people to far over-estimate their caloric burn. At the same time, it's human nature to fudge on what we are actually eating. I know there are plenty of days where I have a couple of chips or a cookie that I never remember to add to MFP

nataliexxxx

Are you logging your exercise calories correct because sometimes it overestimates on here? I dont eat mine back either though I dont see the point in doing all the work just to eat the calories back, do what works for you:)

MsLilly200

I'm not about to slam anyone or get snippy but I am honestly curious. For those that eat 1200 a day and never eat exercise cals - aren't you HUNGRY?

No actually... When I eat well, without junk food and candy and crap, I tend to not be able to reach 1200 kcal... I think my stomach must be tiny...

My breakfast is usually 200-ish kcal, then lunch and dinner is between 300 and 500...

It's when I'm being an idiot and eat 2 candybars in stead of a meal that I get hungry... Cause 2 candybars are not very filling for 400 plus kcal.
But whenever I do that I tend to just declare it a cheat day and as long as I'm under 1600 kcal at least I won't gain weight.