Eating back calories from exercise??? -confused-

Your body needs a minimun net of 1200 calories for normal function. aka proper digestion, breaking down/rebuilding muscles, blood cells, etc.

I eat back all my cals most days, sometimes a little bit more on rest/lighter days as I'm hungry and even 1350 net isn't enough for me but I'm still losing 1lb a week and that's with me being 7-9 odd lb away from my target weight. I recommend it.
I guess if I really wasn't hungry I'd eat back a bit less but try and up your protein and calories so that you have enough to maintain/feed your workouts.
Try nuts/protein shakes/bars/greek yogurts.

So, you're eating around 1000 cals a day and burning 1000 cals a day through exercise? If you add in the 1300 (quite possibly more) calories that your body needs to function each day, you are burning 2300 cals in total and only eating 1000.
That means you are creating a 1300 calorie deficit every day which is pretty big, especially if you don't have a lot of weight to lose.

I'd suggest that you need to eat more or exercise less, what you are doing now doesn't sound sustainable.

Hi Angel,

Hope you're having a great day.

Please listen carefully and take this on board: I don't want to scare you, but I have seen this happen before and reading your post has worried me. As above, you are going to do yourself some serious damanage if you carry on the way you are- I had a friend who did the same thing and I ended up visiting her in the hospital- no joke whatsoever.

If you're eating 1000 and burning 1000 in exercise, and let's say you need another 1200 just to keep breathing every day, you're asking your body to continue working without any fuel at all (infact, MINUS 1200 fuel) each day. It's like a car, if there's no petrol in the tank, it won't work.

Effect wise, your skin will get dry and grow fuzzy hairs to keep you warm, you'll get cold, your periods will stop so you can't conceive, your bones with get thin leading to osteoperosis, etc, etc etc.

You need to be eating back all your exercise calories at the very least. If I were you, I would see a good dietician or doctor and make sure you get a solid, sensible eating plan so you can be confident you are going on the right track. Also, as a Personal Trainer, 1000 calories in cardio 5-6x a week is way too much- you're just going to be pounding your joints- see a good Trainer and get a programme.

Wishing you all the best for happiness, health and healthy weight loss!

xx

i'm definitely having a hard time even eating over 1000 calories a day.

Assuming you like either nuts or oily fish you can easily eat back your cals. Almonds are great for rebuilding and high in cals. You cant tell me you cant eat half a handful of nuts throughout the day?

Its not that difficult to fill yourself up with good wholesome cals that contribute to your fitness and well being. As others have said you'll just stall regarding weight loss but more importantly you wont move forward with your fitness.

Your food intake is just as important as your excercise program.

People like me used to forget that and then moan that they weren't progressing.

Then I changed my thinking and have since knocked nearly an hour off my pb marathon time and 30 mins off my half.

Thats what good nutrition does to compliment good training techniques.

Just my opinion.

Tim

i'm definitely having a hard time even eating over 1000 calories a day.

Assuming you like either nuts or oily fish you can easily eat back your cals. Almonds are great for rebuilding and high in cals. You cant tell me you cant eat half a handful of nuts throughout the day?

Its not that difficult to fill yourself up with good wholesome cals that contribute to your fitness and well being. As others have said you'll just stall regarding weight loss but more importantly you wont move forward with your fitness.

Your food intake is just as important as your excercise program.

People like me used to forget that and then moan that they weren't progressing.

Then I changed my thinking and have since knocked nearly an hour off my pb marathon time and 30 mins off my half.

Thats what good nutrition does to compliment good training techniques.

Just my opinion.

Tim

Great post! I totally agree, I'm on here specifically because I wasn't eating enough to just be relaxing all day, plus I was working out every day(ended up with nightly headaches, shakes after workouts, and general fatigue and poor performance) I had no idea what I was doing wrong and why I wasn't looking better(usually my weight fluctuates readily during the summer-swimming yay) I'm eating significantly more now and still exercising as much as I want but I eat enough to fuel those exercises(and I'm actually cutting my cardio some days because I have a hard time eating back everything on a big workout day!) I want my "summer shape" all year round, sure I could dump some poundage pretty quick, but not sustainably. And I feel sooo much better(even if I feel like i'm stuffing my face sometimes lol)

I just spent the last month not eating back my calories and usually coming in under 1200 calories for the daya. The first two weeks I lost 3 pounds but the second two weeks I lost only a pound and a half. My plan the next two weeks (I weigh in every two weeks) per my nutritionist is to eat at least 1300 calories a day plus any exercise calories that take me over 1300 and see what happens.

My nutritionist is adament that 1200 calories a day is not enough food to lose weight on given how active I am.

Everybody is different...

I do not eat them. I burned them for a reason, as long as I can still do 30-40 miles on a bike without bonking, I plan to stay inside of my targeted daily goal. This said, if I am planning a 50-100 mile ride I do pre-fuel heavily and eat like a king on the bike.

Do what makes YOU comfortable and what YOU can sustain. I get to play with 2000 calories so it is relatively easy to be sure that I am getting the macro nutrients I need. With a lower target you will have to listen to YOU to find a balance that works.

As hard as it is not to, try not to over think this....enjoy the journey.

I get confused as well because I read a lot of different answers. What I do at the moment is make sure my net calories are at my daily goal whether I exercise or not. This seems to work for me, but all are different. I just look at the overall net. Above all of that I look at my net for the week.