My doctor vs MyFitnessPal and calories

WifeofPJ

I have a serious issue on my hands my doctor has me on a 900-1100 calorie diet MFP wants me not to go under 1200. However, on days I exercise which is 4-6 days a week and I burn 500-800 and MFP wants me to eat back all of those calories. My doctor (who does specialize in weight loss)says no! She says of course if I feel hungry eat, but I should not "force myself" to eat all of them back if I am not hungry just because "the computer tells me so." But I have seen so many post that my weight lost will stall which it seems like it has. I am down 16 pounds my first month but in the last 2 weeks I have lost 4 so most of the weight I lost was in the first few weeks. I am really concerned that my weight lost will stall. My body fat is dropping so I am not losing muscle which is good. It is really hard to eat back that much calories.

So the question really isn't who to listen to, but more does anyone NOT eat all their exercise calories back and still have steady weight loss?

I do agree that you should maybe get a second opinion because eating 900-1100 calories is going to be hard to stay on. But as far as your weight loss stalling it hasn't if you lost 4 lbs in 2 weeks that's great. The average person looses at a rate of 1-2 lbs per week. Don't expect quick results, it may be quick right away but it will slow down.

Good Luck!

shayleac

Hi there,
the 1200 cals/day equals one pound per week. To maintain your weight, you would be eating around 1700/day. The 500 cal difference adds up to 3500cals/week which is a pound. If you are eating the 1200cals/day AND exersizing, the "exersizing calories" only contribute to your next pound loss.

I have a similar workout plan where I burn 500-800 calories. I'm only 5'1 and it's almost impossible to eat the 500+ calories most days. I feel like you need more energy while working out so much, so I usually eat around 50% of my excersize calories or less.

I'm losing consistently, the approximate 1 pound per week. However, i'm only 5'1 and started at 131lbs in January. I'm now at 114.8lbs. Someone that is taller and bigger may lose more calories than me.

smalls9686

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Thanks this was the REAL type of help I needed. Not useless random opinion of how I should or shouldn't just listen or not listen to my doctor. I really just wanted to know what people have tried in reguards to eating back the exercise calories and stalling or not stalling of their weight loss. Thanks!
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I wasn't going to throw in my useless, random opinion until I read this. When you ask something on a website, you are bound to get responses that you feel are useful. You will also get responses that you feel that are useless, random opinions. Just take the advice you feel is useful to you. No need to make negative comments to others that may feel that their comments are trying to help you.
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My issue is that so many people have been flat out passive aggressive and just RUDE. This is supposed to be a supportive place I didn't come here to get bashed and wasn't rude with anyone so see no reason why anyone would be rude to me and talk to me like I am an idiot. I didn't say I wanted anyone to tell me what to do. All I asked for was if their were others who didn't eat back all of their exercise calories and what kind of results they had. I didn't ask for lectures on why I should or should eat them back there are already hudreds of posts on that as I stated in my original post. I in no way was trying to be negative to anyone that honestly was trying to answer my question ans am sorry if you found it offensive in anyway.

lehmann75

I think you pay for a doctor who gives recommendations based on her training and your specific needs, while MyFitnessPal is a free tool that plugs you into an equation. Track your food through MFP, take advantage of the depth of the database here, and listen to your doctor.

As for my personal experience, I did great with MFP's calorie recommendation for about six months, then plateaued. Then I got a Fitbit, which nearly always recommends less than 1200 (it varies day by day according to my activity) and started losing again. I still use MFP to track calories, but I ignore the 1200 calorie minimums. MFP is a great tool but it is not medical advice, nor is it the end all be all of weight loss programs.

stumblinthrulife

If you don't trust your doctor, get a second qualified medical opinion (from another doctor board certified in the relevant areas).

Don't take medical advice from strangers on the internet with no idea about your specific health issues, and no stake in your success. The advice you'll get on forums is predominantly motivated by furthering the particular way of eating a person has chosen (whether it be paleo, vegan, IIFYM, etc...). Don't take medical advice from a website that cannot take into account your various health issues to which your doctor is privy and can work around.

MFP is an incredible service, and I'd not be without it. But the 'advice' it gives is generic - designed to apply to the widest group possible. If a medical professional I trusted, with appropriate credentials in nutrition and weight loss, told me it wasn't right for me for medical reasons, I'd dump it in a heart beat.

ken_hogan

Thanks this was the REAL type of help I needed. Not useless random opinion of how I should or shouldn't just listen or not listen to my doctor. I really just wanted to know what people have tried in reguards to eating back the exercise calories and stalling or not stalling of their weight loss. Thanks!
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I wasn't going to throw in my useless, random opinion until I read this. When you ask something on a website, you are bound to get responses that you feel are useful. You will also get responses that you feel that are useless, random opinions. Just take the advice you feel is useful to you. No need to make negative comments to others that may feel that their comments are trying to help you.
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My issue is that so many people have been flat out passive aggressive and just RUDE. This is supposed to be a supportive place I didn't come here to get bashed and wasn't rude with anyone so see no reason why anyone would be rude to me and talk to me like I am an idiot. I didn't say I wanted anyone to tell me what to do. All I asked for was if their were others who didn't eat back all of their exercise calories and what kind of results they had. I didn't ask for lectures on why I should or should eat them back there are already hudreds of posts on that as I stated in my original post. I in no way was trying to be negative to anyone that honestly was trying to answer my question ans am sorry if you found it offensive in anyway.
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Thanks for clarifying. I think you may of taken others the wrong way, like I may have taken you the wrong way. I didn't take anyone as being rude, but that was just the way that I took them. Good luck to you in your weight loss journey!!

smalls9686

I have about the same amount to lose as you do. I got my primary doc to refer me to a nutritionist, so my insurance will cover our visits. I am being realistic and trying to create a life-long change, so it's a lifestyle I can stick with. We are working on about 1 pound per week of weight loss. She has me eating 1700 calories a day, with 60 minutes of cardio 3-4 times per week, and weights 2 times per week. No eating back the activity calories. When I stick with her plan, I lose consistently. (It's only my weeks of slipping up, going out to eat and having cocktails and crappy food for several days in a row that I don't lose).

The problem with those seriously calorie restrictive diets, is that they are hard to maintain long term. Right now your body just needs a reduction in calories and an increase in activity. When you lose some good weight, then you will readjust your calorie intake, to continue creating that calorie deficit. You should definitely have a realistic conversation with your doctor about how feasible this is to maintain long term and that you'd prefer to do something a little more manageable.

Good luck with it! Keep focused on you and your health. This is a life's journey, not a quick fix. You are working to change old habits and create new ones. We're all working for that. That takes serious time and long-term commitment.

Thanks, I appreciate your comments and you sharing your journey, good luck on yours! I too saw a dietician one who specialized in E/D but it just didn't work for me I was gaining weight and for someone with E/D it was really frustrating and I left after 2 months and gaining 10 lbs. For me activity has never been and issue I have pretty much maintained a fairly active lifestyle...balance for me is the key between too much exercise and of course the food (and the drink) =-)

But I agree I am not looking for a quick fix...long-term and as I said for me balance I am an extremist it's finding the balance and that is number one for me.
Thanks again!

jonnythan

I think either you or your doctor is misunderstanding something, but at the end of the day only a total idiot ignores their doctor's advice because of what some anonymous people on an online forum say.

As stumblin says, if for some reason you don't like or trust your physician's advice, don't ask an internet forum about it. Seek the advice of another physician.

NurseEmmyRN

On calories that low, I would eventually expect a stall in weight loss. HOWEVER, with a medical perspective in mind, that's not what your doctor is probably worried about. The four-month supervised weight loss trial is going to see if you legit need a procedure or if your condition can be managed via lifestyle changes. Obviously, your doctor did a physical and checked your overall health with your labs and everything and so going that low in caloric deficit would not pose a medical problem so long as you keep checking in with your doctor to be positive you are not having negative effects (like a high degree ketoacidosis or something fun like that). I'm noticing a lot of people calling your doctor stupid...s/he is not. After the initial four month supervised trial s/he will probably put you on a higher calorie diet depending on what s/he thinks is best for your overall health.

So...yeah...I'd expect plateaus. When I was going below 1,000 calories/day I lost a whole lot of weight in the first couple weeks and then felt like I had to struggle like crazy to go down just a half of a pound. I didn't start losing again until I increased calories, which came with an initial weight increase before finally settling into a slow, steady weight loss.

jonnythan

I guess you missed the parth that this is a medical doctor that SPECIALIZES in nutrtition and weight loss.

Out of curiosity, does this physician hold a board certification in some nutrition-related specialty? Is (s)he an MD or DO?

Physicians can "specialize" in pretty much whatever they want without necessarily being trained in it. That's what board certifications are for. MDs and DOs get fairly little education in weight loss nutrition, and any GP can hang a sign outside the door that says "specializing in weight loss."

Achrya

I'd be skeptical of any doctor who told me it's okay to exist on what amounts to 300-500 calories a day (what you eat-hour workouts=300-500 calories a day.) I'm not saying your doctor is wrong, just that perhaps something has been missed in translation.

btwinkles

Sorry, I do not eat back the calories I've burned. Although I do increase past the 1200 minimum if I feel hungry. I do eat 5 small meals a day and I eat what satisfies me. Things like salmon, sardines and eggs, a piece of toast once in a while, I drink milk I eat cheese lots of veg. and I find that I do just fine with my weight loss. 1 to 2 pounds a week is satisfying to me. I put the weight on one pound at a time so I don't mind taking it day by day to get it off one pound at a time. The only thing I watch out a lot for is my daily intake of carbs. I try to keep it between 75 grams to 125 grams which gives me enough energy to run my daily 4 mile run and other necessary daily activities.

Ultimately, the important thing is to listen to your body. don't try to lose the weight too fast or take shortcuts. Go from week to week logging in your food and see how your body responds. Be willing to make adjustments until you find what's comfortable for you because, at the end of the day, you have to be able to keep up with your new lifestyle. If not, all of this will be for nothing. It's not a one size fits all.

wareagle8706

First of all, you are losing muscle. You're losing both fat and muscle. Whenever people "lose weight" it's both.

Secondly, well... I don't have a secondly.

Tewsy87

I would suggest getting a second opinion from a dietitian. Its really hard to get all the nutrients your body needs in so few calories.

JDY36

I had a lap band and had it taken out. It doesn't guarantee success and I had some problems. I think you're doing great if you exercise and stick to your calories. Don't give up on doing it naturally, the band didn't help me that much, unfortunately.

servilia

Personally I don't believe in the whole stalling because you're not eating enough bs but many will disagree with me (I still eat my exercise cals back and keep losing though). If you're not hungry then don't eat them back. You're seeing a specialist so I would trust him/her. But try to get enough protein and take a multivitamin.

eddierichardson73

you are not stalled if you lost 4 lbs in 2 weeks. That is where you need to be. Mfp set you up to lose 1 to 2 lbs a week. Yes you will lose more at first but as long as you are losing that is a positive. I do think you need to eat more then 1200 a day.

Mosley35

I don't understand why people are responding on rather she should go with her doctor or MFP because that was not her inital questions. She just wanted to know if you ate back your calories from exercising and if you did was you still able to lose weight. The rest of her information regarding the doctor was her just giving you some background information. Read, comprehend and then respond.

jonnythan

I don't understand why people are responding on rather she should go with her doctor or MFP because that was not her inital questions. She just wanted to know if you ate back your calories from exercising and if you did was you still able to lose weight. The rest of her information regarding the doctor was her just giving you some background information. Read, comprehend and then respond.

Maybe it's because the thread title is "My doctor vs MyFitnessPal" and the OP amounts to "is it OK to do what my doctor says, or should I do it the MFP way?"

faedreamer1

My partner went to a doctor about her weight and was told that unless she stuck to an 800 calorie a day diet she'd never lose any weight. I was horrified.

I got her on MFP and tracking and walking every night with me and she's lost 20 pounds in just a couple of months, eating around 1600 calories a day per MFP recs. And yes, we both eat some of our exercise calories back. Not all, if we're not hungry, but probably about half of them we do eat back and lose weight just fine so far. I can't say if that will work long term, cause we just started really, but from what I've read, it seems to be the general consensus.

ingraha

I have been very terrified of eating all my calories back. However, I have been working hard to do so and I find I have more energy and feel better. I actually think I can burn more and my metabolism is better because I have high enough energy and it feels like an upward swing.
I think its important for the doctor to fully understand the fitness pal and be on board with it and then if he/she is truly versed in nutrition then that doctor can help, especially since it sounds like he/she recommended mfp in the first place.
Good luck. It is scary to eat the calories but I find it really makes me feel healthier.

ironanimal

If what your Doctor suggested isn't working, and following the MFP setup potentially will help you get out of your stall... why don't you just try it?

Neither your Dr. or MFP are you, and at the end of the day you need to make the judgement.

cwolfman13

OP...MFP is a NEAT method calculator (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis). This is why when you set your activity level, it says nothing about what kind of exercise you do...just description of your day to day job, etc. Because it is a NEAT calculator, exercise is extra activity that is unaccounted for and needs to be fueled.

NEAT method calculators are commonly used with individuals who are new to exercise and fitness and do not have a consistent routine...tend to miss workouts, etc. It is designed to allow you to lose weight without any exercise whatsoever as the calorie goal includes a deficit for weight loss without exercise being included in your activity level.

It also promotes exercise in that the extra activity needs to be fueled...thus the individual is allotted more calories....thus the individual can eat a bit more. You do have to be careful that you aren't underestimating consumption (common pitfall) and/or overestimating calorie burn with exercise (also common pitfall). Most people who say it doesn't work for them commonly do both of those things and/or have an underlying medical condition which makes any of these calculators irrelevant.

I commonly ate back around 70-80% of my exercise calories when I was "dieting" and lost consistently and steadily according to my goals. I always had ate at least 50% of those calories back. The biggest issue with not eating them back is severe calorie deficits which result in the loss of a lot of lean body mass in addition to the fat. Many people who achieve goal weight on large calorie restrictions are often unhappy with the outcome because they still have a higher BF% relative to that weight because they've lost so much muscle in the process.

ken_hogan

You can take my advice or not, but try googling something to the effect of 'eating less than 1200 calories a day'....I found that 1200 calories is the bare minimum that should be eaten on a daily basis. Just because a Doctor has 'a degree' doesn't mean that what that ONE person says is gospel. I went to my doctor, who has a medical degree, with some discomfort 'below the belt' and he said everything was okay. I got a second opinion. Ended up I had testicular cancer. Not to compare weight loss to what I went through, but just because someone has a degree doesn't mean that they are 100% right 100% of the time.

timpicks

I set my activity level to sedentary and generally tried to eat back my exercise calories when I was losing weight (I'm in maintenance mode now after losing 22 pounds in four months--I'm 5'9" and 162 pounds). However, I didn't eat those calories back when I didn't feel like it. On a weekly basis, I was usually slightly under my calorie goal with exercise calories added back because I wanted a margin of error to account for portion measurement, incorrect listings, and other data errors. Not eating when I wasn't hungry helped me do that.

The point is that not forcing yourself to eat when you don't feel like it gives you wiggle room for when you do go over a bit. And while we want to always hit our goals, maybe that is best evaluated on a longer than the one day basis that MFP uses. In any case, I didn't use a solely mechanistic approach that ignored how I felt and it worked fine. Perhaps talk to your doctor to get some clarification so that you know exactly why she made the recommendation, and congrats on your progress--keep it up!

KatLifter

yeah, I think it is time to find a new doc! How much weight are you trying/needing to lose? 900-1100 calories in my opinion is way too low and can cause a lot of other health issues. Your body needs proper nutrition to function every day. Please, I beg of you, go find another dr. Remember that just because they were able to get a degree doesn't mean they are good at their job. I have gone to doctors and actually had to teach them how to read my blood tests. Needless to say, I immediately found a new doc.

Thanks for your concern, not sure how much I "need to loose yet" according to some I need to loose 100 pounds others 70. Lol, I have never been a normal weight as an adult I have been up and down and in between and always dieting or engaging in some unhealthy behavior to maintain some unnatural size so I really am trying to figure out what is a healthy weight I can realistically maintain.

I have been to ALOT of doctors some world famous (I.e. Duke University's Atkin's Diet Clinic its self) and I thought the guy was a complete and total quack. So I hear ya, a degree does not automatically mean anything. But I also, that every medical weightloss clinic I have ever been to calories are far less than any websites suggested and I am not sure if that is b/c a website legally can't suggested that b/c they are medically supervising you or if it's really not safe...you know?

I just want to know if I eat maybe only 1/3-1/2 of my exercise calories back is it going to be detrimental to my weight loss. Is there anyone here that doesn't eat all their exercise calories back?

I'd be careful, I started my weight loss with one of these physician supervised programs. It completely messed me up for the future - it's took me about a year to relearn about healthy nutrition because the people running the clinic had me so scared of carbs (even from veggies) or eating over 800 calories. Two co-workers did the same program and they've pretty much gained back all the weight when they went back to eating normal amounts.

I know you want to lose quickly (we all do!) but that's not always the best way. Slow, steady, and healthy.

bethlaf

OP - you have as many people voicing opinions.
for you so far , you have done what works.
I am not sure why the doctor has you on such a restrictive diet,

other than needing you to eat less for immediate and rapid health issues

this is what i do - and it works for ME-

I set my activity level to sedentary with 2 lb a week weight loss, MFP gives me 1200 cals, for me , at my weight , 1200 cals is plenty, I exercise and workout DAILY
so I do end up with a calorie defecit, a lot of times I dont even worry about eating that back, because well, at 7 or 8 pm , when I log an hour of mountain biking , thats 2k calories. there is no way I am going to eat that all back

smalls9686

I had a lap band and had it taken out. It doesn't guarantee success and I had some problems. I think you're doing great if you exercise and stick to your calories. Don't give up on doing it naturally, the band didn't help me that much, unfortunately.

Thanks for the advice and sharing your journey. I am most def trying to avoid the band if possible. I know a few that have had it done, in fact many of the patients at the doctor's office I go to are people who had the band done =-(

smalls9686

Personally I don't believe in the whole stalling because you're not eating enough bs but many will disagree with me (I still eat my exercise cals back and keep losing though). If you're not hungry then don't eat them back. You're seeing a specialist so I would trust him/her. But try to get enough protein and take a multivitamin.

Thanks, I am doing better about eating at leastsome back. My goal is to try to at least eat half back on days I exercise and I make sure to get at least 35% of my caolories from protein. But I am errible about my mutii-vitamin...I gotta do better about that! Thanks!

smalls9686

I don't understand why people are responding on rather she should go with her doctor or MFP because that was not her inital questions. She just wanted to know if you ate back your calories from exercising and if you did was you still able to lose weight. The rest of her information regarding the doctor was her just giving you some background information. Read, comprehend and then respond.

AMEN, AMEN, & AMEN! Thank-YOu that was what I really wanted to know!