Food vs. Excerise Calories

LittleSpy

I knew this was going to happen - CHILL OUT

Those numbers are the product of very specific circumstances one of which being pushing myself to a personal best in the cardo department. First of all i could not pull that off everyday if I tired - hell if I was paid to make it happen everyday I don't think I could pull it off for consecutive days. Second you people assume any damage from not eating and exercising is anything i give a rip about - I'm not gonna eat them! I never eat more than a few of my exercise calories!

By the way - I did lose 30 pounds in my first 30 days on MFP!

I'm going to do my next weigh in on Sat. and while I doubt by the standard of your quote I will be a liar again - I hope to hell you seriously doubt me

Maybe you'll find yourself in a place where you can't eat all your exercise calories someday.

You have a LOT of weight to lose, so yes, you can get away with not eating your exercise calories. As can I for now. Our bodies have a LOT of extra body fat so we're extremely unlikely to go into "starvation" or "survival" mode.

If you just had 10 or 20 pounds to lose, it would be different. Since most folks here don't have 170 pounds to lose like you did when you started (or 120 to lose like I did when I started), it's unwise to advise them that eating 900 calories a day and burning 2000 is a good thing. Because it's not for folks who don't have as much weight to lose. Because, first of all, burning 2000 calories in a day when you're just slightly overweight would be an extreme task in and of itself -- bigger people burn more calories with *everything* they do. I weigh 231 and I very often burn around 1000 calories with cardio each day of the week with under 60-90 minutes of cardio. If I weighed 130 and tried to get that burn number each day, I'd likely be completely exhausted (Think -- running 10 miles a day at 130lbs).

BrendaLee

I knew this was going to happen - CHILL OUT

Those numbers are the product of very specific circumstances one of which being pushing myself to a personal best in the cardo department. First of all i could not pull that off everyday if I tired - hell if I was paid to make it happen everyday I don't think I could pull it off for consecutive days. Second you people assume any damage from not eating and exercising is anything i give a rip about - I'm not gonna eat them! I never eat more than a few of my exercise calories!

By the way - I did lose 30 pounds in my first 30 days on MFP!

I'm going to do my next weigh in on Sat. and while I doubt by the standard of your quote I will be a liar again - I hope to hell you seriously doubt me

Maybe you'll find yourself in a place where you can't eat all your exercise calories someday.

There are quite a few people on this site that are quick to jump and tell you that what you are doing is not right OR unhealthy OR not up to their standards OR not their practice of how they lost weight...WHO CARES.
Do what works for you and if you want to have ONE day where you eat 900 calories and burn 2000.....KUDOS TO YOU!!!
I've lost weight not eating my exercise calories and sometimes I do eat them and sometimes I eat half...EVERYONE HERE IS DIFFERENT but a lot of people want to have a standardized rule for EVERYONE...doesn't work that way. What works for them may not work for you and vice versa.

And there are others on here who are quick to jump in and tell everyone that any weight loss is good weight loss- doesn't matter if you starve yourself for a week, if you lost it, it's awesome and wonderful. If people on MFP are quick to point out when someone states proudly that they've created a MASSIVE calorie deficit for his/her self, it's because MFP has guidelines to follow for healthy weight loss, and most of us try to follow them- that's why we're here. Many of us have tried eating a lot less calories than our bodies need, and that doesn't work. Will it be fine for a day? Sure, but you'll probably end up starving the next day and compensate for the calories anyhow. If a day was OK, would it be OK to starve myself for a week? Not so much. But I received so much encouragement and applause when I did it for a day...do you see how that might be dangerous to encourage?

We're all well aware of the dangers of anorexia and other eating disorders these days, so there's no excuse to pat someone on the back when they're practising dangerous eating habits. They may post something wanting praise, but it doesn't mean you're a "hater" if don't agree with it. Obviously, if you post a comment like that, you're opening yourself up to other's opinions.

My point was- if you have that many extra calories left- enjoy some food.

MercuryBlue

I would like to point out that a statement like

"I burned 2000 calories today and only ate 900 - I just had to brag!"

troubles a lot of people, simply because you didn't state anything about how you did it. Most of the people on here have practiced (or know someone who has practiced) unhealthy dieting in the past. Whether that be by extreme calorie deficits, some wacky diet, or pills/surgery. Seeing the above statement prompts a lot of people on here to be concerned, and worried for newer members that may not know any better.

In other words, it's up to you how you will lose weight, but if you're going to make statements about what is normally considered unhealthy diet types unless given by qualified professionals, please at least mention why your doing it so you don't confuse people.

And just a gentle reminder to everyone, most of the people on this site make comments because they care about everyone on here, about the community, and about the topic of health and weight loss. Please take everything in that context, and try to remember that when you post.

I completely agree.

I just wanted to say KUDOS on burning 2000 in cardio. I have no idea how on earth that would be possible! I'm not calling you a liar, I'm just saying that is so far outside the realm of something I could do at this point in my journey that that completely boggles my mind. And secondly, having one day where you burn 2000 and eat 900 probably isn't going to kill you... but I agree with other posters that this is potentially unhealthy (and even dangerous) long-term.

No, we don't know your starting stats (I would be curious to know that, by the way!) and people can be quick to judge but as others pointed out, a lot of us have taken bad paths in the past and we genuinely want to know that everyone here is reaching their goals- but doing it as safely as possible. Congratulations on your 30-pound weight loss! That is a big accomplishment. If you were on TBL, you probably would have kicked butt! But I do have to echo some of the concern in this thread. I'm glad you're doing well, just want to know that you're not going to hurt yourself.



To answer the original question: The reason why we're told to eat our exercise calories (and please correct me if I'm wrong anyone- I'm still a newbie to this! Just going off what I've learned so far!) is because MFP already calculates a daily calorie deficit for us when we sign up. They're telling us how many calories to eat per day based on our weight, activity level, and goals. They will only tell us how to lose 2 pounds per week as it's generally not considered healthy to lose more than that. So as long as you're following those calorie guidelines, you should lose weight.

Now, if you're exercising, you're creating even MORE of a deficit than what MFP has created. Yes, this can potentially cause you to lose more weight but, in the long-term, could be (potentially) harmful and even push your body into what is called 'starvation mode', which basically means your metabolism is f-ed up, and you won't see the progress you want. This is why we're guided to eating our exercise calories- to keep a good balance and protect ourselves from hampering our own success down the line.

Of course, there are LOTS of threads around here (Read the sticky threads at the top of the General Weight Loss forum- they were SO HELPFUL to me!) that will explain that better than I just did. Please take a look around, I'm sure you'll find the answers you're looking for.

CrystalT

jhb090107, I was reading an article on CNN about Very Low Calorie Diets yesterday. They do work for a lot of people who have considerable amounts of weight to lose. But there are health complications that can come about from eating that low of calories on a day to day basis. I'm not telling you that eating that low is good or bad for you. That isn't my decision to make. I just hope that if you typically eat that low, you are seeing a doctor regularly. Here' a link to the article.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/12/15/very.low.calorie.diets/index.html

spicy618

"30 Pounds Lost in 30 Days = FLABBY in my opinion."

Whoa now let's not all gang up on him...I looked at his profile and he has 170 lbs to lose so it is definitely plausible that he lost 30 in 30 days without being flabby. Just think on the Biggest Loser they lose 30 lbs in one week (of course this is with medical supervision), and they look dang good!

So many things can be taken out of context when you can't see someone else's facial expressions or body language. Let's all play nice now and you guys can continue with your debate but I'm outta here :glasses:

Who made you the MFP police?

In YOUR OPINION, Biggest Losers "look darn good". I don't agree.

I'm making a statement based on experience. Thank you Very Much.

I didn't state "HE is FLABBY".

"Reading is Fundamental"...

iplayoutside19

I know jhb, and I'm I'll vouch he's telling the truth. However get gets the weight off at this point IS healthy. He just has to be comfortable enough to get the rest of the weight off.

I doubt someone with that much weight to lose could have the stamina to burn 2000 calories in a day.

This comment is the one I take offense too. Calories are a measure of energy, not a measure stamina. Even at my heaviest I bet on a weekend in the summer I could easily burn 4000 calories plus still have my maintenence calories. At 336 lbs you're talking about a round of golf with a cart, an afternoon in the pool, and a 30 minute walk. Yes, you would be extremely tired at the end of the day but it's certainly in the relm of possibility.

On mornings that I run it's not uncommon to burn 1000 calories before breakfast. I try not to eat them, but I'f I'm hungry I'm eating them...I usually don't eat all of them.

Big Dudes burn big calories, you're frame of reference is a lot different than mine. I don't know how many times I've restrained my self from commenting in the omni-present "OMG I ate an 800 calorie Lunch" thread. I eat an 800 calorie lunch almost everyday. But I don't comment because their situation and my situation are totally different.

The bottom line is everyone here has different goals, bodies that react differently to different things.