Eating calories back and other things!!

Mfp automatically puts people on a caloric deficit depending on if they want to lose .5 a lb, 1 lb, 2 lb if they cut themselves into a further deficit by not eating back some exercise calories they may lose too much weight too fast for their liking. Slowly losing weight is the best way to retain muscle mass on a caloric deficit.

Because quick weight loss is unrealistic and very hard to maintain. yes you will lose it and yes you can keep it off, but if you can never again eat more then 1200 calories in a day, it's no going to be maintainable and you'll just put it back on. I struggle with this daily. I am not hungry for all the calories I should be eating. I don't eat them back, but my goals are set to include eating more on exercise days. this site set you at 1200 which is the min required to properly fuel your body if you never moved or did anything other then eat. Doctors will put most comatose patients on a 1600 calorie diet and they don't gain weigh, because this is what your body needs to function. I have a hard time eating above 1200 but i try very hard. I exercise a lot. So i'd net negative calories if I didn't eat more. that's in essence starving myself while still eating. Weird but true. I have been making very large effort to up my calories in the last few weeks and I starting losing weight again. I've been stuck for a bit now yoying between the same 5 pounds. Today I am down (but my day to log and track weight is tomorrow so it's not on here yet lol) and I am super happy! I even ate a ton of food last weekend and a cookie today and i'm still down in weight.

Proof positive that eating more helps you lose weight. :~) Take it or leave it.

Why would anyone eat their calories back i never have, Than you have to go through the work of wearing a heart moniter ever single time you exercise, Isnt that the point of exercising is to burn calories if your severely overweight your body will go and use your fat stores So why eat the dang calories back hmm!??!

If you follow MFP, they account for daily activity only and don't factor in exercise in the equation. When it gives you your calorie goal, that is already a deficit. For a number of reasons, it is recommended that you keep your calories deficit moderate. So when you work out, you are creating a larger deficit. If you "eat those calories back" you are maintaining a moderate deficit.

I don't use a heart rate monitor. I log less than what I did and I am critical of the numbers given. Just because MFP says I burned 1000 calories doesn't mean I believe it. As long as I am eating extra, I am good.

Other formulas account for exercise. If you go to a nutritionist, dietician or a trainer (depending on the trainer), they will figure your daily requirements for calories, INCLUDE exercise, then create a deficit from there. You don't "eat back" those calories but they are already factored in. Its not a silly idea, it is what a lot of professionals recommend.

In the end, I have found both formulas, if done correctly, end up in the same spot. I like using MFP's because I work out a lot, but if I miss a few workouts, I just eat less to compensate.

I eat my exercise calories back because they taste extra yummy, and because I'd like to keep my energy level up, in order to work out more. Also, I'd like to preserve the LBM that I have.