WHY DO PEOPLE EAT BACK THEIR EXERCISE CALS?!

Because I'm hungry, duh.

I am SO over this EAT MORE crap!

Eating more is what made us all fat in the first place!

The idea isn't to gorge yourself or eat as much as you did when you got fat, it's to get enough calories and nutrients for a high performing body. If you think the idea of "eating enough" is BS, check out the people who are doing it.

Congratulations on being in the negative calorie zone. You're not losing muscle yet because you have fat yet to lose. Sorry if that sounds harsh. It's a different game when you're going for performance rather than weight loss.

Because I'm hungry, duh.

LOL

Person A. "Stop doing meth to Its bad for your body and for your health, you'll eventually lose your teeth and your hair will fall out"
Person B "Well its working for me, I lost of ton of weight and fit into my size 4 jeans, and I still have my teeth and hair so why would I stop?"

sorry, if im hungry i will eat some of my exercise cals

I am in maintenance, and if I don't eat my exercise calories, my daily calories are 1520. That's not much, imo. Many days, I don't eat my exercise calories back, but, some days I do.

because they are yummy?

Doesn't this end up being debated at least once a week on the forums?

I didn't always eat them back when losing..but now at -108 lbs, obviously my calorie budget for a deficit is smaller than when I began.

I work out HARD, I put in everything, every single time, and I also lift hard. Some days I find myself sooo hungry, and I listen to my body. I eat back calories until my body feels satisfied. While this doesn't mean I always eat them all back, I definitely don't feel bad about eating any portion of them back. In fact, I see really good changes in my body when I do this more often. It allows my body to be fueled better for exercise, and weight training along with intense cardio, my fat melts off, while my muscles are preserved. Although, gaining muscles while in a calorie deficit is somewhat difficult, I most certainly have gained some muscle, and gained a LOT of strength.

Example: I have a friend that has lost weight that weights 35 lbs less than me....but because I'm a beast and lift heavy weights AND eat at least my BMR, and try to cycle my days with eating back calories, etc.... I was the same size as her 15 lbs ago... (When I weighed FIFTY 5-0 lbs more than her)

So while, yes, not eating them back might cause a quicker loss...eating them back sometimes, or eating some of them back will help your goals in the long run. Because your goals are in fact to lose weight for health, AND for looks right? You are always going to look better when you are healthy. Don't force your body to feed off your muscle...force it to melt off the fat! I am not the type to "cheat" but if I have a day where I have multiple plans with people, go to eat, have a cocktail, etc, my body gobbles up those splurged calories, and for a year now, I have yet to gain a pound from eating back calories or eating at maintenance or a tiny bit above occasionally.

For those like me who had or have a large amount to lose, it is sabotage to net the smallest amount of calories the entire time...because after a while our bodies will adapt and start trying to preserve the stored energy (fat). I can say with confidence that I can give credit to my consistent weight loss for an entire year to 2 main things: Consistency/dedication, AND the fact that I have been very careful to preserve my metabolism and keep it at an optimum level.

Rollover!

Whoop Whoop.....Now I don't have to see this thread anymore!

I dont cause i need to lose weight

Eat a set level of calories daily, and have a consistent weekly activity sced. If you're losing weight, carry on. If you're not, drop that set calorie amount a touch until you're losing weight.

So how low would you have suggested I go years ago when I was eating around 700-800 calories a day and only losing a half pound every other week? Should I have kept shaving off more and more calories?

I fully agree with eating a set level of calories, but not if you're using the calories that MFP suggests because your exercise is NOT included in your calorie goal until you do it and log it.

I will lose weight if I eat 1900 calories a day and keep on exercising like I am. Or I can have MPF set my calories to 1500 and earn more calories when I exercise. The calorie total will be about the same. But I like the extra motivation of earning extra calories. It's positive reinforcement. It might seem over-complicated to some... but those of us with basic math skills know how the numbers add up.

I will go back to what I said earlier....

Make things easier on yourself don't eat and don't exercise then there is no concern then you also don't have to worry about counting or not counting!

.....then you have tons of free time on your hands!

If i eat 1200 and I burn 1200 calories then I have zero calories for the day; goal accomplished! Right?

People....a 1200 calorie diet (for women) is based on NO exercise; this is what you need to function and live a healthy life. When you burn the calories it is like you never ate them; therefore, you must eat more to meet the 1200 calorie daily intake. When the doctor or nutritionist tells you to "eat" 1200 calories this is based on NO exercise so if you exercise you have to eat more to start with OR eat back your calories!

Lets' say it takes 3 logs to keep a fire going; if they all burn to ashes what will happen to the fire if you don't replace the logs???

I didn't account for any exercise calories then, because I was always under the (misguided) impression "eat less, move more." I had a very physically demanding job at the time. That was, as I said, YEARS ago. But I know what I ate, and it was admittedly crap. A 90 cal granola bar for breakfast. Something microwavable for lunch (250-300 cal?). Another granola bar for a snack (90 cal) and maybe a banana (100 cal). And another frozen dinner for dinner (250-300). I ate a little more on the weekends. And yes... I did trash my metabolism.

Like I said, that was YEARS ago. This time around, I ate an average of 1800-2000+ calories or more during my entire weight loss, and never once had to drop my calories. Instead, I increased them as my goal got closer. I started at 1200 plus exercise calories for maybe a month, then 1350, then 1450, then 1500, then 1600... with a typical burn of 300-600 calories.

1700 and under for a total calorie goal would suck donkey scrotums.