Should I eat my exercise calories?

I have had much success eating some back, after trying not to for months. Everyone is different. If I were you, I'd eat more.

Have you searched this topic on the threads? There are thousnads of posts / answers to this very same question. Lots of information.

I wasn't losing enough by eating back my calories. So I started eating back just about half and then the weight started coming off. Of course I was doing HIIT and burning 800-900 calories a pop.

But you're at 1200 calories a day? That hardly seems like enough to begin with. Where did you come up with that number? Believe it or not, you might not be eating enough. And you should be doing more than what ever you're doing exercise wise if all you're burning is 200 calories. In my book if you don't do at least 400 calories in a sitting, you might as well have stayed home!

When you are so low to start with I would say for your own health and for healthy weight loss, eat at least some back....

Just make sure you are really logging all your food and the exercise you log is real excerise, not things like work, shopping, gardening, cooking or cleaning.

Best of Luck!!!

I am starting to think I should stick to my 1200 calories even when I earn 200 more through exercise?? Starting to get a little frustrated when I only lose .4 pounds after watching my intake and working out 5 or 6 days a week...What do you guys think?

The average women I know working out that much is eating 1700-2100 calories. And since you only have like 10 lbs or less to go, you should be aiming to lose 1/2 lb per week. Keep in mind it's not weight loss you really want to achieve, it's fat loss. Muscle is tight and lean, so the more you preserve the tighter your body will be. And since muscle is rather inefficient, it takes calories to preserve it.

so either set your account to moderate and not worry about exercise calories, or aim to eat 50% of your exercise calories.

There are a lot of things that factor into this. If you eat too far under your calorie limits you can actually slow down weight loss because your body becomes super efficient at operating on your new number of calories. (Your metabolism slows) Your body can also go into starvation mode. One way to know if this is happening is to take your temperature, if you're running low and you normally don't, your body could have adjusted to the new calorie deficit. (Now if any fitness experts read this, please don't jump all over me. This is what works for my body and the way I understand it.) But what works for me when this happens is to up both my intake and my exercise. Burn a few hundred extra, and eat a few hundred extra. Have a cheat day also. I vary my calories on a daily basis, I have 1200, then 1400, then 1200, then 1600, for example, and I keep my workouts, burning several hundred in cardio.
If you run low temp all the time, and you have an extremely hard time losing weight (IE your body would rather shut down/hybernate than burn the excess fat for energy) you should have your thyroid checked.
I just take kelp supplements because iodine stimulates the thyroid, but if you've never been checked, you should have a doctor take a look. Also avoid unneccessary stress and make sure you get enough sleep.

Before I responded I tried to take a look at your profile to get some more information to help you, but you're not all filled out!!! I really encourage you to fill out your profile and get a profile pic, investing more in this site will help you get more involved, and find people who will push you through when you have those disappointing weeks when the work doesn't seem to pay off.

Oh yeah, check your inches. You could be losing fat but building muscle, which means your progress wouldn't show on a scale. Remember the scale is the least important way to measure your health. Happy losing!

With the amount of weight you have to lose, 1/2 pound a week is right on target. I know we all want to lose the weight IMMEDIATELY but our bodies just don't work like that. Stop worrying so much about what the scale says and focus on your health. Eat right, stay active, take body measurements. Maybe even hide the scale somewhere for a few weeks. Think about how you feel, notice how your clothes are fitting better. Don't put so much credit into what the scale tells you. Also, take a deep breath and have some patience...

1200 calories is likely too low for you. Set your weekly weight loss to 1/2 pound per week and eat your exercise calories back.

Everyone's metabolism is different. Calorie counters, both in and out, are only a mere estimate for the average person. Ask yourself - I am the average person and what does that mean to me. Journals and sites like this are good to use as a reflection of what types of food you are putting into your body. However, 1300 calories a day may not be realistic for you. Add a low calorie, high protein and high fiber snack to your diet to ward off hunger, especially after a rigorous workout. I personally, do not eat back my calories lost from exercise. If I did, I wouldn't see any results or maintain my weight.

BTW OP, here is a thread I created about eating exercise calories. Typically those who create larger deficit through exercise tend to lose more muscle which could have an adverse effect on your goals.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/729141-exercise-calories-to-eat-or-not-to-eat-results?hl=exercise+calories+psulemon&page=1#posts-10742097

average 1300-1500 calories a day. I do not eat back any calories gained from exercise , if you want you can add me as a friend and see what i eat in a typical week..

There are a lot of reasons you may not be seeing the loss you are expecting.

1.) If you recently started exercising 5-6 days a week you may not see much of a change in weight because of water retention.
2.) Are you weighing yourself under the same conditions each time. I weigh once a week early in the morning after peeing and before drinking or eating anything.
3.) Take your measurements. You might be gaining muscle and losing inches, but not lbs.
4.) Maybe your food calories and calories burned from exercise aren't as accurate as you think. You could be eating more than you think.
5.) You could be eating too little.

If you are close to your goal you have to work harder to reach it.

Try changing the type of exercise you're doing. Make sure you drink enough water. Don't eat back all of your exercise calories if you aren't positive that the calorie burn number is accurate. I had a cheat /rest day and lost more weight when I weighed in. Most of all be patient and give what you're doing enough time to work.

*edited for typos smh

MFP is telling me to eat 1200 calories to lose 1 1/2 pounds per week... Sad, huh? Lol!!

1.5 lbs per week is too aggressive with someone that has 7 lbs to lose. It will not supply your body with enough fuel. Below is a good standard to follow when it comes to per week goals. Too aggressive and your body will fight to conserve energy. You will slow down your resting metabolic rate down and burn less calories. Depending on how long you have suppressed calories, it could take 1 - 6 months to reset that. Increasing the intensity of your workout will just increase the amount of calories your body requires. Again, if you create a larger deficit, your body will continue to fight harder to preserve, which will include depleting muscle to create energy.


If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.