For those confused or questioning "Eating your exercise calo

Banks, you can't just give a link to the Mayo Clinic's website that explains metabolism (sort of) and say it's citing your cause.
*sigh*
"Weight gain is more likely due to an energy imbalance — consuming more calories than your body burns. To lose weight, then, you need to create an energy deficit by eating fewer calories, increasing the number of calories you burn through physical activity, or preferably both."
...that doesn't prove your claim!

I'm hesitant to jump in here but what the heck

Maybe you're misunderstanding--No one is talking about eating more than what your body burns in a day. What is being referred to here is that if someone has already cut down their caloric intake to below their daily basal metabolic rate to create a calorie deficit, then even if they don't exercise they will lost weight.

So, if you add exercise on top of that, you are creating even more of a daily caloric deficit by now burning up even more of the calories that you have eaten. Thereby, reducing the amount of caloric energy available to your body to function.

Most people seem to reduce their caloric intake to 1200 a day when trying to lose weight--even though for most people that is too large a deficit. But....if they then exercise and burn up, say, 300 calories, now they are only giving their body a total of 900 calories to function that day. And that ain't good. Too long at that low level of calories will cause problems.

Some of us, like me, who over a large amount to lose (still got over a 100 pounds to go personally) can get away with fudging on how many a day to eat and how much of our exercise calories to eat. We've got enough fat for our body to draw on for energy. BUT FOR MOST--like you who have a relatively small amount to lose, it's not advised by most doctors to ever ever ever go under 1200 a day.

Not sure if any of this makes sense.

I will tell you this--I have lost 30 pounds in a little over 2 months--I eat at least 90% of my exercise calories every day. I feel great, I'm losing weight, and I'm not starving. Proof is in the pudding, I guess. I've tried this before "your" way--by exercising the heck out of my body, eating barely 1000 calories total a day, and I starved all the time, and did bad things to my body.

Frankly, I prefer the way I'm doing it now--eating healthy, exercising, and eating most--if not all--my exercise calories.

But, do what you want when it comes down to you.

Banks, me, and many others on here have lost weight eating our exercise calories. If you disagree, fine. But don't question how others have lost weight, as long as they did it by being healthy.

People come on here to get help, support, and suggestions--and I tend to listen most to those who have been the most successful AND have done it in a healthy manner--but that's me.

From my own experience (JUST MINE)....

I was losing steadily since September and around the beginning of the year I thought "Hey, let me start working out a lot more and lower my calories more"....so I did, thinking it would give me an even bigger boost....well, the opposite happened. I started burning A LOT of calories (like 700 at a time) and only eating around 1500..which means my net calories were 800 cals. I didn't think anything of it and thought I was doing the right thing.

At that exact time, my losses that were anywhere from 2-4 lbs a week (averaging 3)...slowed..to like 1 lb or even stopped. Coincidence????

So, I started eating more and my losses started again. I am down 88 lbs. I lost 1 lb this week, 2 lbs last week...2 lbs the week before that. Yes, I maintain sometimes..but I lose pretty regularly. On days I don't work out (which is 3 days a week), I eat around 1460 caloris. On days I do work out, I eat around 1800 calories. I don't eat ALL my exercise calories but I do eat some of them back.

Obviously my height, weight, age and activity level will make my calories different from someone else...but the point is that eating at least some of my exercise cals back has got me back on track.

For what it's worth............

-Tami

Banks, you can't just give a link to the Mayo Clinic's website that explains metabolism (sort of) and say it's citing your cause.

*sigh*

"Weight gain is more likely due to an energy imbalance — consuming more calories than your body burns. To lose weight, then, you need to create an energy deficit by eating fewer calories, increasing the number of calories you burn through physical activity, or preferably both."

...that doesn't prove your claim!