Consuming calories I just burned

tamsimms

I am 50 yrs old and want to lose 10 lbs. I have been tracking for 2 1/2 weeks and exercising no less than 1 hr. per day, 5 days a week. I have lost a disappointing 2 pounds and I am not feeling a difference in my clothes yet.
My question: Any time I enter my exercise "calories burned" it adds those to my calories I should consume.
I have been sticking to my 1200 a day intake, sometimes under a little bit. Am I supposed to consume the calories that I am burning off in my workout? I am already losing very slow...I'm afraid to consume even more calories.
HELP!!! Please, any suggestions would be appreciated!!

Lesley2901

IMO 2lbs in 2 1/2 weeks is good, especially if you only have 10lb to lose. As it is not recommended that you eat less than 1200 calories/day you should really eat back the calories that you burn in your workouts

SophieC19

I also agree that a 2lb loss in 2 and a half weeks is good. Don't be so impatient

crystalflame

MFP calculates a deficit for you when you set it up. By not eating back your exercise calories, you're creating a deficit that may be too large. Your body needs fuel to function. Make sure you give it enough and eat the exercise cals back.

2 lbs in that amount of time is good, you should be happy with that! Still, make sure you're logging everything accurately (weighing and measuring) and accurately calculating how many calories you're burning with exercise.

knowwhentoshutup

You need to be patient and eat to fuel your body.

Learn more here and read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Find out your BMR and TDEE, and eat between those numbers. Let your metabolism work for you. Don't train it to slow down by under eating.

LizReeb

Definitely eat back those calories! You'll likely sabotage your metabolism if you don't. You'll hear this a lot on here - I know the 10lbs is your goal, but there's a lot more than the scale. Measure your inches if you're working out that much, a lot of times people who work out gain a LOT of tone but don't lose a ton of weight.

That said, 2lbs in that amount of time - if all you're trying to lose is 10lbs - is actually very good. Unfortunately it's just not a super quick process. Sounds like you're doing things right, just make sure you eat those calories back!

gogigirun

I was having trouble losing the weight. In fact, after the first couple of weeks losing a small amount of weight, I found that the scale was going in the wrong direction. I was sticking to the 1200 calories + eating what I was exercising. I decided to go a couple hundred over the 1200 calories + whatever I was burning in exercise a few days a week. That still kept me at a deficit for the entire day. This seems to have helped. I finally had the scale move down. I have only been doing this for a couple of weeks so I don't know if it will continue to work.
I have done a bit of reading on this subject. It seems to be a common problem. Some say you need to vary your calorie account each day so your body doesn't know what to expect. Others say if you aren't eating enough then the body goes in starvation mode and your metabolism slows.
I share your pain!

Hbazzell

1200 calories is the bare minnimum. Eat back your workouts. At 10lbs to lose you should be at 1 lbs a week for your settings. or minus 10% TDEE

tamsimms

Thanks for all of the feedback. This is really helpful and I will take everyone's advice. As far as calories burned, it would probably be a good idea to get some sort of "tool" to give me a more accurate count of calories burned. I did eat more than my 1200 calories yesterday and saw an 1.5 increase on the scale. I know this can fluctuate, so I will not let it discourage me...but damn. In the past, I always dieted without exercise and saw more of a loss. I know this isn't exactly a good thing and is probably the reason my metabolism is screwed up.
I am thinking it will take my body some time to adjust. One thing I know for sure....I am eating right, and exercising and I feel really good. I just want to make sure I am doing everything I can to get my metabolism going. Eating more just doesn't feel like the thing to do to lose weight, but I know it is what I have to do. I just have to change my mindset. Keep the advice coming....I am getting a better understanding.

kg4ulu

Get a heart rate monitor. Polar makes some great ones. I use the F4 and absolutely love it. It gives you an accurate measure of the calories burned. And definitely eat back at least some of those calories. Like everyone else said, your body needs something to burn. Don't starve it

kaitybugg33

I had this same question and I still think it's counterproductive to eat them back. If I go into my goals and change my activity level from the lowest to the highest, it still tells me to eat 1200 calories a day! You should have a 1000 calorie deficit, the difference between how much you eat and how much you expend. 1000 is the highest deficit MFP lets you go, and it should equal to 2 lbs. a week. (3500 calories gone equals about a pound of fat.)

So for me, I normally burn 500 calories a work out according to the machine. Switching from sedentary to Active in my goals, upped my calories expended from daily activity by 350 calories, but still tells me to eat 1200 calories a day. So instead of eating back all 500 exercise calories, I would eat back 150. If I only burn 350 at the gym that day, I don't eat back anything. Also, it is all estimates, so even though there is math behind it, math with estimates is still an estimate.

It may be different for men or more overweight people who start out with bigger calorie requirements than me, but I would up your starting activity level and don't log your exercise.

MollyKurland

I don't log my exercise because I don't want to eat extra calories - I want to lose weight. But if you're eating 1200 calories a day there is a likelihood that your metabolism will adjust and you'll lose weight mire slowly. Now, here's something you can try. One day a week, perhaps the day after you weigh in, allow yourself to eat anything. Anything. Go crazy for one day. Then the next day and the five days following be back on your 1200 calorie regime. I did this while on the Tim Ferris low carb diet and I still lost weight every week. This method allows for 2 things. One, it boosts your metabolism so they you keep burning calories the rest of the week at a good rate. Second, it lets you indulge so that you don't feel deprived. I didn't really overdo it too much on that day, but I would go out and treat myself to a dessert or to something that was more calories than I would normally eat. If there was something I was craving during the week I would know I could have it on my "off" day. I was always amazed that six days later I would still be down another pound.

tamsimms

Let me make sure I am understanding this correctly.
When I started MFP, it said if I sat behind a desk all day (at work), I would be considered "sedentary".
I do sit behind a desk, but started going to the gym every day. Should I change the settings in MFP, and it will adjust my calories because of my activity level?
Sorry for all of the questions, but I am slowly getting a better understand ..thanks to all of you that posted.

JesterMFP

Let me make sure I am understanding this correctly.
When I started MFP, it said if I sat behind a desk all day (at work), I would be considered "sedentary".
I do sit behind a desk, but started going to the gym every day. Should I change the settings in MFP, and it will adjust my calories because of my activity level?
Sorry for all of the questions, but I am slowly getting a better understand ..thanks to all of you that posted.

Either:

1. set MFP to a higher activity level - perhaps moderately active, and do not eat back your exercise calories. or
2. leave your setting as sedentary, and log your exercise and eat back those calories.

In theory, whichever way you choose should give you a similar calorie goal. You told MFP you are sedentary, so it gave you a goal based on that, on the assumption that for any extra exercise logged - you would eat back those calories.

2.5 lbs in 2 weeks is plenty with only 10 lbs to lose. Honestly, it's not a good idea to lose faster than that at the stage you're at.

Your overnight gain of 1.5 lbs is not a gain in fat - it's likely due to extra food/waste in your system, water retention from extra carbs, or extra sodium, or any number of other reasons for water retention.