eating calories burned???? really?!? im confused!

Your net should be whatever it says, which is often 1200. I would be a raving famished lunatic if I only ate that much. I exercise so I can eat more and still lose weight.

HTH

Barb

1200 calories I think is hard to stick to..Limitations ...Plus you burn calories you need to replace them...Its like gas in a car if you don't replace guess what it wont move

I eat all of my calories back...almost always, and I've lost 11 pounds in 15 days. Exercising allows me to eat more than my daily allowance of 1600. Allows me to compensate for unexpected meals out or preemptively I can burn some off when I know I have a special occasion.

i keep my exercise calories as a back up...i struggle sometimes to get to 1200 calories..and i exercise every day...i know that if i want something i can eat it..but i dont generally eat back my exercise calories...its been working so far....making healthy choices is a huge factor..and drinking water!!

I never eat back my exercise calories unless I'm really hungry. But since 1200 is so low, I wouldn't be afraid to do so.

I am not one for eating calories back, I work to hard to burn them off. 1400 cals a day seems to be working for me at the moment. I would say talk to your doc or a nutritionist and see what they say!

Exercising also increases metabolism.

People eat because they like food.

Weight loss isn't about eating 1200 calories...it's only about eating less calories than you burn. MFP asks you questions and based on those answers gives you an allotted amount of calories per day. MFP already sets your deficit so if you exercise and create an even bigger deficit, it allows you to eat back those calories.

Weight loss isn't just about eating less. It's eating less but not to the point where you're starving yourself. People gain back weight because they just eat less, but do it by marking some food as "good" food and "bad" food. They either give up on losing because they like pizza and cokes and hate to give it up, or they gain the weight back because they like pizza and coke, but never taught themselves moderation.

If MFP set your calorie goal to 1200 and you think that's too low, then exercise more and eat more. OR set your goals to lose less per week.

Best thing is to test out different calorie intakes, adjusting slightly every few weeks, and finding out what you maintain on, then taking it from there. People often underestimate the intake they can lose on and shortchange themselves. If you can eat more and lose weight it makes sense to eat more and lose weight, rather than risk your body adjusting its metabolism to a lower intake.

It is probably one of the worst myths of weight loss ever and promoted by companies/websites with advertising etc to keep people using their product. If you get your required nutrition without eating back exercise calories - you'll lose weight faster. It's basic science.

It depends on your goals and how fast you want to get there. If you stay at 1200 healthy calories and eat back your exercise you will still lose the weight that your MFP program has projected. 1200 is very hard to maintain for long periods of time. If you don't mind slowing down your weight loss a little (slowing down, not stopping) you can consider upping your calories and still eat back your exercise calories.

I have been on 1500-1700/day for two years, since my twins were four months old. It has taken me this long to lose 37 lbs, but I went slow intentionally. I just started with MFP and it set me at 1200 to reach my goal by Feb. 9th which is the goal deadline I set for myself. I have been plateaued for 4 months so the drop was what I needed for the final push. I actually go about 100 over each day which is what I calculated using the formulas I have learned in personal trainer program. I've been on this since Thursday and already dropped two pounds. Bye bye plateau!
IMHO, slow weight loss is better than fast. It gets you where you are going without stressing you out mentally or physically, and you don't look like the saggy baggy elephant when you are done. Evaluate your goals and adjust to what is best to meet them, but don't starve your body or you will shut down your weight loss entirely.

i do not eat back my excersize calories... i lose an average of 2 pounds a week, and i have 1 cheat day every 2 weeks... i eat 1200 cal a day, and will do so until i reach 45 pounds lost, then i will up it to 1400 calories until i loose another 20 pounds, then will up it again to 1600...

Our healthcare provider gave us an option to talk to their dietitian just once to qualify for a lower rate. I agreed and was surprised about how many calories he told me to aim for each day to loose weight. It was actually about 200 more calories per day than what my fitness pal suggested. He explained that by eating less calories you will loose weight, but your body will go into starvation mode and your metabolism will slow down making it difficult to maintain that weight loss. I decided to try it for one month and I have lost weight. I aim for anywhere between what my fitness pal suggest and what he told me. I don't worry if I go a little over my fitness pals recommended calorie intake, and I am losing weight. He said to add a couple hundred extra calories when you exercise. Again, that is so your body doesn't think it is starving and slows down your metabolism. If I burn an extra 600-800 calories through exercise, I don't eat that many more calories; I just eat a couple hundred more such as a granola bar which is 170 calories.

so, should I be eating 1200 cal if im not exercising and eating whatever i do burn in a day or should i up my cal to 1500 plus eat back my exercise cals? I just dont understand how I will lose this way... i guess in my mind if you eat you gain if you dont you lose lol I know i need to retrain my mind which is why im trying to figure all this out! thanks for your help!!!

Because most people over estimate what they actually burn in one day, if I were you, I would keep my calories at 1200 and eat back exercise calories. MFP figures out what you burn during daily activity, and subtracts calories from that giving you your 1200 calorie goal. You could never exercise and you would lose weight if you stayed at 1200 calories. If you exercise you should eat those back because those are extra calories MFP has not included in it's calculations. If someone is very active, they may be given more than 1200 calories. If your diary is set to sedentary, you would only get 1200 calories. You can't really compare yourself to someone else though because everyone is different.

I highly recommend some sort of tracker that syncs with MFP. I let mine sync and then I eat back the extra calories I earn. I have mine set to sedentary, so I start out with 1200 calories. I have been pretending the gym doesn't exist lately, and I have still lost weight only eating 1200 calories a day. That being said, if I have a day that goes over, I don't freak out unless it goes beyond 1500.

Also, to address the weight watchers comment- WW is pretty much the same as MFP, except they have point systems instead of calories, etc. They also expect you to eat back your exercise points. I did not know this when I did WW, and I never lost weight.