My doctor vs MyFitnessPal and calories

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!

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.

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?"

But my question was stated exactly what the poster above you just stated...lol, are you saying people just read the titlte and started answering and just said "F what ever the question is?"

jonnythan

No. I'm saying that despite your quasi disclaimer, the entire question was framed in the title and OP as doctor vs MFP. That's why people are talking about it that way.

TheNewLorrain

No offense but why would a doctor tell you to eat less then 1200 its is NOT healthy to do so. You have a MFP vs your doctor and he or she doesn't want you to use this program.. MY doctor is the one who not only recommended MFP but he is also a client. The first weigh in when I went in for my bloodwork results we even compared our diaries with our devices. It made me feel like he really cared. Obviously people are supposed to listen to their doctors. If MFP is making you feel better look better then by all means go for it. However MFP is not a doctor just a really well planned program for weight loss or maintenance. Many people eat their calories back and others choose not to. I have eaten some back but not all or many . The way I see it is why would I want to eat extra calories other then what was given to me? My goal is to lose the weight not continue to gain with added calories. Kinda defeats the purpose imo

smalls9686

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.

Awesome for you, I am glad it works, and as you said you feel better. I guess if I felt like I had no energy or hungry I would want to eat more too...but I simply am not hungry enough to eat that much food! I know some think 1200 calories isn't that much but if you aren't eating a lot of processed foods it actually quite a bit. I mean I can have 8 oz of fish 3 cups of broccoli and 1 cup of brown rice for less than 400 calories and that is a tremendous quantity of food with high fiber and protein that will keep you satiated and give you energy. I think that is the other thing people are forgetting what you are eating does make a difference too. But if you are eating processed food 400 calories isn't going to go very far...

TAsunder

2 lbs per week is not stalling. Except in very rare circumstances it is quite difficult to sustain the type of weight loss you were seeing in the first month. What you experience is pretty normal for weight loss, IMO. You see a big drop at first, and then a steady drop of 1-2 lbs per week as you continue with your plan.

As long as the doctor is keeping an eye on your body's overall health regularly, and as long as you are feeling physically ok, I would do what your doctor tells you. Use MFP to track calories and exercise and ignore what MFP tells you as far as net calories.

I don't believe in eating back calories in the sense that many on MFP do. I will sometimes eat more on days of heavy exercise because I feel depleted. I don't do it just because MFP tells me I am under my goal.

smalls9686

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.

True, true indeed my question simply was how not eating all the exercise calories was working for others. I have been on the site for a little over a month and have seen several 100 posts about the "dangerous" of not eating bac your exercise calories and the risks of starvation mode. So I just wanted to know what "real" people experieance I wasn't looking for advice or others to tell me what to do. Lol, I am adult I make my own choices but I wanted information to make an informed decision based on real results not scare tactics.

From what I can tell:
1. everyone is different.
2. MFP is not medical advice
3. MFP is generic not specific to individual needs
4. Not eating ALL of your exercise calories WILL create stalls but your body will eventually adjust you just have to be prepared for them and nor freak out when you hit a plateau and know your body will eventually catch up.

I weighted today and lost another 3 pounds so I think it will all level out in the end.

askeates

First (and I'm not being disrespectful), I would be concerned that any Dr would tell you to eat less than 1200 calories a day! There may be a medical necessity for you to be AT 1200 calories a day, but under is dangerous (that comes from many of my own Drs being frustrated with me not reaching 1200 calories a day and constantly gaining weight).

Second, you should really follow what your body is telling you to do. Only you and your body know what is right for you. If after a workout you are hungry then eat. Pick wisely is my best advice, and make sure you are staying well hydrated during your workout.

Please, please, please talk with another Dr about a healthy calorie intake for you!!!!!

Zwoman3598

To answer your question ... I rarely eat my exercise calories back. I try not to since when I do I don't seem to lose anything. I have lost 74 pounds so far and while I have had a couple of frustrating plateaus I have found that if I just keep at it I tend to average 1.5 - 2 lbs per week lost with eating 1100-1200 calories a day and not eating back the exercise calories.

Good luck!

mystarwillshine

My opinion is to get a second opinion from a certified nutritionist and/or dietician. As stated before, everyone is different, but I have also read that 1200 is the bare minimum. You will lose on 800-900 calories, but will gain the weight back much faster once you start maintaining. Good luck and God bless!

ken_hogan

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.

True, true indeed my question simply was how not eating all the exercise calories was working for others. I have been on the site for a little over a month and have seen several 100 posts about the "dangerous" of not eating bac your exercise calories and the risks of starvation mode. So I just wanted to know what "real" people experieance I wasn't looking for advice or others to tell me what to do. Lol, I am adult I make my own choices but I wanted information to make an informed decision based on real results not scare tactics.

From what I can tell:
1. everyone is different.
2. MFP is not medical advice
3. MFP is generic not specific to individual needs
4. Not eating ALL of your exercise calories WILL create stalls but your body will eventually adjust you just have to be prepared for them and nor freak out when you hit a plateau and know your body will eventually catch up.

I weighted today and lost another 3 pounds so I think it will all level out in the end.

I think everyone pretty much understood what your question was, but with the added info about eating less than 1200 calories a day and adding the exercise on top of it, people were just being concerned, not rude, etc. I gave my example of doctors not always being 'right' all of the time just because they are 'experts' or have a medical degree. It almost seemed that you only wanted to hear what you wanted to hear, not additional advice, etc. that others may have had from past experiences. Again, good luck to you on your weight loss journey...