eating the cals from exercise?

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darthmolly
darthmolly Posts: 26 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all,

I'm confused about a few things here.
I know it is not helpful to my weight loss to not eat my allotted 1200 cal. That was calculated, I don't need to restrict any more than that, and I am slowly trying to adjust what I am eating to include more veggies/fruit/proteins since I am sort of a sugar and carb lady.

However, I am confused. Should I be eating the cals I gain when I exercise? I am not clear on this. My instinct is that I should not, and I have not been. However, I'm a week in and I have actually gained a pound (I know - not a big deal) rather than having lost anything.
I know that it takes time for metabolism to change, and there are some other eating habits I'm working on, but I'm worried I might be slowing my metabolism down by not eating the total number of calories I have for the day after I exorcise. Thoughts?

Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/729141-exercise-calories-to-eat-or-not-to-eat-results?hl=exercise+calories+psulemon&page=1#posts-10742097


    Read that. Also, with only 30 lbs to lose, set your account to 1 lb per week and I would suggest eating at least 50% of your exercise calories. More than likely, you will be eating 1700-1800 calories a day which is normal for those who are active. Keep in mind that not all weight loss is equal. Fat loss > weight loss (muscle and fat).
  • bradthemedic
    bradthemedic Posts: 623 Member
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    Netting under 1200 calories is not healthy and will cause organ damage over time (brain, kidney, liver, etc) it will also mess up your hormones.

    Make sure to feed your body after exercise by eating the calories back with a healthy post workout shake with greens, protein, and fat.
  • love2growflowers
    love2growflowers Posts: 2 Member
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    Hi Molly,

    Yes, you should be eating the additional calories you burn off exercising. After you enter your activity look at your food page and it will tell you how many calories you have left to eat for the day to reach your goal and how much fat, protien and carbs you should be eating. That is one of the things I am excited about with this program. It is all right there for me to see. It makes it so much simpler than manually trying figure out what to eat. Hope this helps. Good luck!
  • darthmolly
    darthmolly Posts: 26 Member
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    I'm pretty sedentary - I do a lot of sit down stuff and I have a desk job, so that is why it set me at 1,200. Is this too low? I've seen a lot of yes/nos in the forums.
  • darthmolly
    darthmolly Posts: 26 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/729141-exercise-calories-to-eat-or-not-to-eat-results?hl=exercise+calories+psulemon&page=1#posts-10742097


    Read that. Also, with only 30 lbs to lose, set your account to 1 lb per week and I would suggest eating at least 50% of your exercise calories. More than likely, you will be eating 1700-1800 calories a day which is normal for those who are active. Keep in mind that not all weight loss is equal. Fat loss > weight loss (muscle and fat).

    Thank you so much - that is very helpful!
  • darthmolly
    darthmolly Posts: 26 Member
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    I try not to eat under the 1200 - thanks for the advise!
  • darthmolly
    darthmolly Posts: 26 Member
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    Hi Molly,

    Yes, you should be eating the additional calories you burn off exercising. After you enter your activity look at your food page and it will tell you how many calories you have left to eat for the day to reach your goal and how much fat, protien and carbs you should be eating. That is one of the things I am excited about with this program. It is all right there for me to see. It makes it so much simpler than manually trying figure out what to eat. Hope this helps. Good luck!

    So essentially just follow the guide and trust in it....ok, we'll try that! lol Thanks!
  • darthmolly
    darthmolly Posts: 26 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/729141-exercise-calories-to-eat-or-not-to-eat-results?hl=exercise+calories+psulemon&page=1#posts-10742097


    Read that. Also, with only 30 lbs to lose, set your account to 1 lb per week and I would suggest eating at least 50% of your exercise calories. More than likely, you will be eating 1700-1800 calories a day which is normal for those who are active. Keep in mind that not all weight loss is equal. Fat loss > weight loss (muscle and fat).

    Thank you so much - that is very helpful!

    That feels much better to me to - honestly I was getting a little frantic with not eating those calories - feeling very hungry. :( Yay for the support of myfitnesspal!
  • LadyRhodes01
    LadyRhodes01 Posts: 88 Member
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    Hi. Listen to your body if you are still hungry, eat. I don't consume all of my exercise cals. I may do 50%. With that said, I have had to increase my cal intake 3 times since starting MFP, by doing that I lost more. I also had to increase my workout time or speed reguarly to continue to see results. Your body gets use to the same routine. You gotta change it up sometimes. Congrats! That you don't consume under recommended amount. You sound like you're doing an a awesome job on this journey. Keep up the good work.
  • kellicci
    kellicci Posts: 409 Member
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    Hello,

    Yes with only 30 to lose 1 pound a week is a better goal. also have you figured out your BMR? There's a calulator on here under the aps tab. BMR is the amount of calories you need for you body to function....to keep your heart and lungs going and all tht other stuff you forget burns calories even if you don;t move a muscle. From you profile info if you are average height your BMR is over 1400. I thinkit's best not to go under that. So for you 1200 may jsut be a little too low. If you've been feeling tired or hungry all the time try adding 50-100 every couple days up to your BMR and see if that feels better. *note your BMR goes down as you lose weigth so check it again after abotu 10 pounds lost*
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
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    My opinion: Don't do it. Don't eat more because you exercised more.

    If you do, I'd be very cautious about it - maybe only do that IF you've burned an ultra huge amount of calories and get hungry.

    Thing is: Any calories you burn from exercise that you don't eat back will make your weight loss journey that much easier.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    My opinion: Don't do it. Don't eat more because you exercised more.

    If you do, I'd be very cautious about it - maybe only do that IF you've burned an ultra huge amount of calories and get hungry.

    Thing is: Any calories you burn from exercise that you don't eat back will make your weight loss journey that much easier.


    This isn't true. If you are morbidly obese, yes it may work initially as you have a significant amount of fat stores but it doesn't work like that for normal weight people. Just last week alone I answered 10 different plateau threads. Do you know what they all have in common? Women who eat very little calories. Also, if you don't get your energy from food, your body will get it from muscle (they are the two options). When you lose muscle, your metabolism will slow down (making your weight loss journey more difficult), you will provide a weaker frame for your body (like using a 1x2 to build a house instead of 2x4's), your immune system will be weaker and so much more. If you look at the fit people on this board (especially the younger ones), I would be you that over 95% of them are eating a good amount of calories. I only know one person on this board that is ripped that is eating 1200 calories and she has gone through menopause and is older.
  • darthmolly
    darthmolly Posts: 26 Member
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    Hello,

    Yes with only 30 to lose 1 pound a week is a better goal. also have you figured out your BMR? There's a calulator on here under the aps tab. BMR is the amount of calories you need for you body to function....to keep your heart and lungs going and all tht other stuff you forget burns calories even if you don;t move a muscle. From you profile info if you are average height your BMR is over 1400. I thinkit's best not to go under that. So for you 1200 may jsut be a little too low. If you've been feeling tired or hungry all the time try adding 50-100 every couple days up to your BMR and see if that feels better. *note your BMR goes down as you lose weigth so check it again after abotu 10 pounds lost*

    Oh my goodness you are right! I looked at it, and it was off. I've increased it now. Phew. Thank you and everyone for the help! This feels much better - I had serious doubts about the number of calories suggested. I think it was because I had it on loosing 1.5 instead of 1.
  • darthmolly
    darthmolly Posts: 26 Member
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    My opinion: Don't do it. Don't eat more because you exercised more.

    If you do, I'd be very cautious about it - maybe only do that IF you've burned an ultra huge amount of calories and get hungry.

    Thing is: Any calories you burn from exercise that you don't eat back will make your weight loss journey that much easier.


    This isn't true. If you are morbidly obese, yes it may work initially as you have a significant amount of fat stores but it doesn't work like that for normal weight people. Just last week alone I answered 10 different plateau threads. Do you know what they all have in common? Women who eat very little calories. Also, if you don't get your energy from food, your body will get it from muscle (they are the two options). When you lose muscle, your metabolism will slow down (making your weight loss journey more difficult), you will provide a weaker frame for your body (like using a 1x2 to build a house instead of 2x4's), your immune system will be weaker and so much more. If you look at the fit people on this board (especially the younger ones), I would be you that over 95% of them are eating a good amount of calories. I only know one person on this board that is ripped that is eating 1200 calories and she has gone through menopause and is older.


    Thank you for your opinions! I'm still trying to figure things out and look at the science of this stuff. I'm leaning towards the eat at least 50% of what you burn as a metabolism thing considering my age and weight loss needs. The dietician that I work with is echoing what I am being told about eating at least some of what I burn due to how our bodies will interact with fat/muscle and overall trends.
  • darthmolly
    darthmolly Posts: 26 Member
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    Hi. Listen to your body if you are still hungry, eat. I don't consume all of my exercise cals. I may do 50%. With that said, I have had to increase my cal intake 3 times since starting MFP, by doing that I lost more. I also had to increase my workout time or speed reguarly to continue to see results. Your body gets use to the same routine. You gotta change it up sometimes. Congrats! That you don't consume under recommended amount. You sound like you're doing an a awesome job on this journey. Keep up the good work.

    Absolutely! I am all about intuitive eating! The only thing I'm trying to do is sort of shift the balance of what I'm eating since I have such an imbalance of when I eat/what I eat. I'm aiming for more frequent smaller meals, with more protein and veggies since I'm not getting much of that now. I'm excited, actually excited to do this! lol
  • erinsueburns
    erinsueburns Posts: 865 Member
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    My opinion: Don't do it. Don't eat more because you exercised more.

    If you do, I'd be very cautious about it - maybe only do that IF you've burned an ultra huge amount of calories and get hungry.

    Thing is: Any calories you burn from exercise that you don't eat back will make your weight loss journey that much easier.

    There are two ways to do it. One is to set your goal pretty much to maintenance levels, then DON"T eat back your exercise calories (this only works if you are exercising regularly AND you are only logging REAL exercise instead of daily activities as exercise). Or set your lbs per week loss goal and DO eat your exercise calories back.

    Honestly though, the most fool proof method for me is to make sure my NET calories is at least over BMR the majority of the time.
  • jnetholmer
    jnetholmer Posts: 30
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    I feel your pain. If I eat the calories from exercise, I don't lose weight. I know it is important, so if I do eat back my 50% I try to only eat good protein and vegetables. That way, I know that the carbs will not get me! It seems to do the trick when I actually lose weight. It seems to work for me. I also never eat back calories on just activity around the house. I don't log house work or mowing the lawn, just work outs. And of course, if my body thinks it needs food, I will eat. Good luck!
  • darthmolly
    darthmolly Posts: 26 Member
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    Well I will certainly keep everyone updated!

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