Too much exercise? Too many calories left over?

1julietax

Sigh, I so need help here. I love working out. So some days I will have anywhere from 400-1100 calories left over for the day on MFP. I know the calories given on MFP for exercise are a bit much, so how many calories of those earned through exercise do I need to eat back? In the last 30 days I've lost only 3 pounds. So I'm getting a bit frustrated. Anyone? Thoughts? Ideas? Seriously bumming here....

corkmandy

same happened to me stayed same for 4 weeks, have now started to eat more, some days I was cancelling myself out with exercise I lost 2lb this week, know what you mean really hard when your doing loads of exercise and nothing happening you have to eat some of your exercise cals, i was eating 1200 no matter what id done, now im eating 1300 to 1500

bathsheba_c

Just to clarify, you have 400-1000 calories left over because you are not eating any exercise calories back?

I actually find the MFP estimates to be pretty accurate, so I eat all my exercise calories back, but if you are worried about that and not interested in buying a heart rate monitor, then I would start with eating 75% back.

runrogrun

I'm exactly the same, I am exercising alot - ataround an hour fairly vigorous exercise a day, mainly running but also gym work, personal trainer sessions and horseriding at the weekend. I net between 1200 and 1500 calories a day - maybe a bit more at weekends.
So far I have put on two pounds!! (not muscle!)
I am getting married in April and have about 10 pounds to lose.

I am begininng to panic about whether I can do it or what I should do!

jacksonpt

Do a search for exercise calories. There are variables to determine if and how much you should be eating back... there is no 1 right answer.

lrob100

In 5 1/2 months I've lost 80 lbs totally through exercise, 1200 calories a day and logging every bite into MFP. I almost never ever eat back exercise calories. Only on special occasions or holidays or when I have a 'cheat' day. I think they are wwaaaaaayyyy overestimated on MFP. I tried eating them back for awhile, and the weight loss stopped. That's just my experience. I know everyone is different. But I eat 1200 and 1200 only, no matter if I exercise to burn 0 calories or 1000 calories.

dare2love81

Either eat back your exercise calories, or exercise less. I know this is a hard concept...I LOVE LOVE LOVE my gym time - to the point where I'd spend 2-3 hours a day working out, but there was no way I'd be able to eat back enough calories to make up for it so I finally cut back on the cardio and focused primarily on weight lifting - the scale (and measurements) are responding much more favorably.

My1985Freckles

What are your current goals set at? 1200? My guess is that it is probably too low. Up your calorie intake.

Oh and LOVE your pic! I have a Rottie/Shepherd mix. He is my baby boy. I was giving him kisses via pushups last night. He LOVED it LOL

1julietax

Just to clarify, you have 400-1000 calories left over because you are not eating any exercise calories back?

I actually find the MFP estimates to be pretty accurate, so I eat all my exercise calories back, but if you are worried about that and not interested in buying a heart rate monitor, then I would start with eating 75% back.

Yes, that's right. I eat my food calories but not my exercise calories.

1julietax

In 5 1/2 months I've lost 80 lbs totally through exercise, 1200 calories a day and logging every bite into MFP. I almost never ever eat back exercise calories. Only on special occasions or holidays or when I have a 'cheat' day. I think they are wwaaaaaayyyy overestimated on MFP. I tried eating them back for awhile, and the weight loss stopped. That's just my experience. I know everyone is different. But I eat 1200 and 1200 only, no matter if I exercise to burn 0 calories or 1000 calories.

First, let me say congratulations on the 80 pounds lost. AMAZING....My goal for the day is 1470 calories to eat. I am always with in a 20 or so calories, with anywhere from 400-1100 calories earned in exercise. With only 3 pounds in the last 30 days lost. My thought was to work out less this week and see if that helps. Just going crazy to find that "fit" for me.

1julietax

What are your current goals set at? 1200? My guess is that it is probably too low. Up your calorie intake.

Oh and LOVE your pic! I have a Rottie/Shepherd mix. He is my baby boy. I was giving him kisses via pushups last night. He LOVED it LOL

Thanks for the advice. The puppy is not mine but a pic I found. I just adore his snarky little face.. and LOVE dogs...

AmyRhubarb

Depends on what your calorie goal is. If you're set at 1200, which is considered the bare minimum for the average female, and you're burning 500 calories in exercise, that only leaves you with 700 net calories for the day - not much fuel for basic functioning, let alone hard workouts. Can lead to exhaustion, burn out, grumpiness, and loss of lean body mass, not just fat.

If your goal is higher than that, then eating all the exercise cals back isn't as critical. The tricky part is getting the best estimates of your BMR, TDEE, and calories burned through exercise. For the first two, I found this topic to be very helpful: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

And for better estimates of calorie burns, get a HRM - Christmas is coming, add it to your list!

But check out that topic - great information there that is helping heaps of MFPers figure out and fine tune their calories, and getting the results they want.

1julietax

Thank you so much for the help and advice...Totally appreciate it.