Exercise calories, should I eat them all?

melmargirly
melmargirly Posts: 59 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been exercising like a crazy woman, burning between 600-1000 calories a day. My daily calorie intake is 1,200. Should I consume the extra calories I have burned during exercise or does that not matter?

In the past week I have tried to stay at exactly 1,200 regardless of how many calories I've burned during exercise and I have been drinking as close to a gallon of water daily as I can. I got on the scale this morning and I didn't gain or lose an ounce!

I just want to know if what I'm doing is wrong?!?!?!

Thanks in advance for all your help!

Replies

  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
    Yes, eat back your exercise calories. Especially if your daily goal is only 1200 calories. 1200 is far too low unless you are incredibly small/short... not consuming those exercise calories back will cause more harm than good as you will not be allowing your body enough to function (and even 1200 cals is not enough).

    From your ticker it looks like you have only about 34lbs left to lose. With that left to lose your weekly loss goal should be 1lb per week. 1200 calories is not leaving your body enough to function. Try checking out BMR and TDEE. BMR is how many calories your body will burn at rest when you are doing absolutely nothing all day long. You shouldn't really be netting under that amount.

    Try to up your calories and eat back your exercise calories. Consuming far too little for too long will result in a greater amount of muscle loss than if you were eating at a proper deficit.
  • traveljunkie523
    traveljunkie523 Posts: 5
    First off if you are getting those burned calorie numbers from the machines at the gym, they are usually over-compensated. You need to factor your activity level into your TDEE which would include workouts and daily activities to find out how many calories you actually need. Are the 1,200 calories a day set up to lose .5lb/week or 1lb/week etc?
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,422 MFP Moderator
    Yes, eat back your exercise calories. Especially if your daily goal is only 1200 calories. 1200 is far too low unless you are incredibly small/short... not consuming those exercise calories back will cause more harm than good as you will not be allowing your body enough to function (and even 1200 cals is not enough).

    From your ticker it looks like you have only about 34lbs left to lose. With that left to lose your weekly loss goal should be 1lb per week. 1200 calories is not leaving your body enough to function. Try checking out BMR and TDEE. BMR is how many calories your body will burn at rest when you are doing absolutely nothing all day long. You shouldn't really be netting under that amount.

    Try to up your calories and eat back your exercise calories. Consuming far too little for too long will result in a greater amount of muscle loss than if you were eating at a proper deficit.

    This.. plus read the below thread.


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/729141-exercise-calories-to-eat-or-not-to-eat-results?hl=exercise+calories+psulemon&page=1#posts-10742097
  • soozaninpa
    soozaninpa Posts: 3
    This is what I used to set my macros and calorie goal, I hope it helps.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • melmargirly
    melmargirly Posts: 59 Member
    Thank you everyone! This has been VERY helpful!!!!

Categories