WHY DO PEOPLE EAT BACK THEIR EXERCISE CALS?!

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  • rogerheffington
    rogerheffington Posts: 9
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    The man is right. Don't eat unless your hungry. Also, it's OK to go low on food "occasionally". You just don't want to make a habit of it. Long term is bad-occasional good. fact is, everybody is different. The rules that have been set up are "guidelines" that cover the majority of people. Just make sure you're getting your essential vitamins/minerals, stay hydrated, and go for it. After all, there are millions of people in the world that fast on a routine basis and they seem to be fine...
  • kducky22
    kducky22 Posts: 276 Member
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    Because MFP already figures in a reasonable to high calorie deficit when you choose your weight loss goals. If you are shooting to lose 2lbs/wk, and you don't eat back exercise calories, your deficit becomes higher than well established safe limits. You can only lose so much fat in a day, so pushing the boundaries means your additional weight loss beyond a reasonable deficit is going to come from your muscle mass. Not a good choice.

    NOT TRUE, you won't start using muscle until your below 6% body fat.
    That's absurd. Everyone on a deficit loses some muscle- the goal is to preserve it as much as possible. It's impossible to lose 100% fat. I think you're confusing losing muscle with starvation (not starvation mode, true starvation).
    Here's typical weight loss, per my exercise physiology textbook.
    percentweightloss.jpg

    WOW that is a great graph! very educational!
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    I will disagree with you. In front of me is my weight loss spreadsheet for the last year. In which, I lost 75.6 pounds of fat and gained 2.8 pounds of muscle.

    Yes, people normally DO lose muscle, but that is because they don't work out and they don't fuel the machine properly. My diary is open, feel free to look. I eat back my exercise, and I lose weight.

    All the proof I need.


    actually it depends more on how you were before you stared losing weight. people who never lifted or worked out can build some muscle. people who have will lose. i was in the latter group (i've always weight lifted since i was a teen) and even though i still followed a strength training program, i lost muscle mass. mainly because the amount I had to begin with my body couldnt support it any longer since i wasnt eating maintenance.
  • EllieNewOrleans
    EllieNewOrleans Posts: 16
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    bump
  • randomnennie
    randomnennie Posts: 84 Member
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    my two cents :)

    i typically eat about half of my burned calories back.

    lost 24 pounds in four months.

    it's also about the QUALITY of the food. 400 calories in fatty foods is a lot different that 400 calories in veggies or fruit.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    Because the research says that healthy diet and a calorie deficit cause healthy weight loss. Exercise keeps you healthy in lots of ways, MAINTAINS weight loss, and makes you look fantastic and toned. But it ain't gonna make you thin unless you do the calorie deficit.

    1200 (what you said they recommended) - 600 calories is too little to maintain. Research also suggests it will not help you lose faster than eating 1200 because of how your body compensates for excessively low net calories.
  • meli_medina
    meli_medina Posts: 594 Member
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    You look great...just curious - how tall are you?

    Im 5'5, 187 lbs.
    Im supposed to be 140lbs MAX (according to my doctor)

    I'm 5'5", 150 pounds... my doctor says anything 130lbs - 155lbs is within a healthy range. Doctors typically go by BMI for weight range. I can assure you that I have a lower BFP now at 150lbs than I did in college at 139lbs, and my BMI was lower then.

    Go by what YOU feel is healthy. Also, do not shoot for 2lbs loss at that weight. At 180lbs, I was eating 1500-1800 calories per day, working out everyday, burning about 200-400 calories, and losing quickly. The problem I ran into was when I got into the 150s, my body freaked out and I've been on a 5lb roller coaster ever since.

    And honestly, a longer, slower loss is healthier. Your body (aka skin) will adjust better and you will find yourself feeling less deprived as time passes.

    And I eat 1800-2000 calories per day... if I exercise, you better bet I am going to eat more, depending on my burn!

    I am not obese, but I get b!tchy when I'm HUNGRY! lol
  • icesk8ermom
    icesk8ermom Posts: 82 Member
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    Because MFP already figures in a reasonable to high calorie deficit when you choose your weight loss goals. If you are shooting to lose 2lbs/wk, and you don't eat back exercise calories, your deficit becomes higher than well established safe limits. You can only lose so much fat in a day, so pushing the boundaries means your additional weight loss beyond a reasonable deficit is going to come from your muscle mass. Not a good choice.

    NOT TRUE, you won't start using muscle until your below 6% body fat.



    One would think I would weigh nothing and look great right???

    ......Wrong not only did I gain weight (yes I said GAIN) but I lost all.....ALL of my muscle mass in my toned and very strong legs. And it showed on the soccer field. I could hardly kick the ball any more. I used to be able to kick the ball 40+ yards easily. Now I could hardly do 10-15 yards. I began to get injured quite regularly, bad painful injuries too. I didn't realize how bad I was or connect the dots until I went to physical therapy. They did basic strength tests in my legs (resistant tests) to see how much I needed to build and where to set the weights for training etc.

    I was completely embarrassed to say I had played soccer for 35 years!!!

    So yes, by eating below 1200 calories, will not only make you gain weight but make you lose muscle.

    I have slowly begun to drop my weight. Because I am building my muscle mass back I am not seeing a huge drop on the scale; however, in 2 weeks (from the time I measured) I have already seen a 1.5” drop in my thigh and waist measurements.

    The hardest thing for people (myself included) is to recognize the difference between losing weight and looking skinner. Just because you lose weight may not make you look and skinner or better. You need to eat right exercise and lifts some weights to look skinner (or toned). Sometimes as someone posted above you can actually weigh more or the same and look a million times better!

    So yes you need to eat your exercise calories back or you will lose muscle mass and could actually gain weight which defeats the purpose.

    ~Good luck….if you do things right you can achieve a better looking you!
  • GaryRussell123456
    GaryRussell123456 Posts: 87 Member
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    You look great...just curious - how tall are you?

    Im 5'5, 187 lbs.
    Im supposed to be 140lbs MAX (according to my doctor)
    I'm 6ft and you weigh more than me? Sorry, but judging by your profile pic I call BS.

    Ill post a pic of the scale just for you :)
    No seriously where are you carrying it? I'm not talking a little more than me, it's 19 lbs.
  • planettea
    planettea Posts: 3
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    For people like me who weigh far more. At a 1000 calories a day(2 pounds a week) deficit I still come out to 1570 calories. Thats a safe amount for me, and for others who start off weighing far more.
  • isis2triple0
    isis2triple0 Posts: 106 Member
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    THERE IS NO NEED TO SHOUT!!!!???!

    Because MFP already includes a calorie deficit based on you being sedentary.
    Simples.

    That being said, I burn about 500cal a day running and I only eat about half of that back because I'm just not that hungry. But that means I can afford to go over a little on "hungry" days during the week.

    And that's it in a nutshell!!
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    That's absurd. Everyone on a deficit loses some muscle- the goal is to preserve it as much as possible. It's impossible to lose 100% fat. I think you're confusing losing muscle with starvation (not starvation mode, true starvation).
    I will disagree with you. In front of me is my weight loss spreadsheet for the last year. In which, I lost 75.6 pounds of fat and gained 2.8 pounds of muscle.

    Yes, people normally DO lose muscle, but that is because they don't work out and they don't fuel the machine properly. My diary is open, feel free to look. I eat back my exercise, and I lose weight.

    All the proof I need.
    How exactly did you determine those numbers? It's extremely unlikely, but I suppose it could be possible over the course of a year with calorie cycling and/or preservation of newbie gains. More likely, your 2.8 lbs of muscle gain are within the margin of error for your methods of calculating BF% and LBM. Please don't take the information I post as a personal attack- its not personal, it's just information. If your methods are working for you, keep with it! Your weight loss is impressive. But an n=1 example isn't proof that basic physiology is wrong.
  • cynthiaj777
    cynthiaj777 Posts: 787 Member
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    Im VERY new to this site, and weightloss... I dont understand all of what you guys are saying but now im concerned... I need to lose 44 more pounds.... I eat around 1200 calories a day but most days I burn about 1200 calories... :( but I never eat more tha 1200 calories... I dont want to starve my body... Should I really be eating more?

    Wow....you net 0 calories? Wow....:noway:

    I would be beating people up if I was getting absolutely no fuel to my body. Not to mention, I'd be sleeping under my desk because I'd have absolutely no energy. Wow. Net 0.
  • mermx
    mermx Posts: 976
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    If you don`t want to follow MFP then why be here?



    track food intake

    track food intake good answer! but if you track it and not follow the recommendations...why bother tracking? Why would you track calories etc?
  • girlinnashville
    girlinnashville Posts: 4
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    Here's typical weight loss, per my exercise physiology textbook.
    percentweightloss.jpg


    Thank you for posting this chart!
  • dibdobw
    dibdobw Posts: 89 Member
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    Surely if you are losing weight with eating back, then thats up to the individual?
  • rogerheffington
    rogerheffington Posts: 9
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    No, I see that as being possible. I weigh 184 and there are guys my same height/frame that weigh much less, yet look about the same as me...
  • rogerheffington
    rogerheffington Posts: 9
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    Seriously? Awesome. That explains some thing for me...
  • zumbaklutz
    zumbaklutz Posts: 4
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    ok - now i understand! now - HOW did you get rid of back fat?? i feel like i have a baby koala clinging to me.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
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    Why do people give a crap what other people do?

    There is a deficit built into your calorie intake if you are sent to any of the losing settings - if people want to eat their workout calories back and lose at a slower rate, that really isn't your concern.

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