Eating 1200 calories vs netting 1200 calories

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Terpnista84
Terpnista84 Posts: 517 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
This isn't one of "those" posts. I understand the concept behind net calories and goal calories and such :)

What I want to know is if it has the same effect on weight loss. My diary is open so you can see what I have eaten today. As you can see I'm just over 1245 calories. I'm about to eat my second lunch of chicken and string beans for the gym and I'm having egg whites and turkey bacon for dinner. The problem is, I do plan on working out today but I don't want to add more calories. However, I am being very cautious of netting too low. My goal is to eat 1,500-1,600 calories on my workout day.

So my question is: is it just as effective to eat 1,200 calories and not workout as it is to eat 1,600 calories and burn 400 from working out. Is it better to do the latter and receive the benefits from a raised metabolism and such? Mind you, I'm only doing cardio today anyway.

Replies

  • mollymcaldwell
    mollymcaldwell Posts: 4
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    Good question! I don't know the answer but would like to...
  • janetsalley
    janetsalley Posts: 122 Member
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    BUMP
  • schnarfo
    schnarfo Posts: 764 Member
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    Exercise has other health benefits than just burning calories, it makes your body look good and you feel better too! :)
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
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    From purely a weight loss stand point, there isn't much difference.

    The difference that there is will come from maintaining lean body mass vs. losing lean body mass. When you lift weights and do strength training, you are more likely to maintain your lean body mass which will keep your BMR higher than if you were to lose some percentage of lean body mass as you lose weight.

    From a health standpoint, obviously there are a ton of other benefits to exercise that have little to do with weight loss.

    As far as weight loss is concerned, if you overestimate your burned calories, it could slow it down and if you work out enough to cause soreness, you will retain some water to repair those muscles which will make scale readings a bit wonky. Still totally worth it.
  • Terpnista84
    Terpnista84 Posts: 517 Member
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    Absolutely. But that isn't my concern. I really enjoy working out for those benefits.

    But I'm also trying to keep my macros and micros in check so if I exercise I will have to eat more which may throw me off.
  • Terpnista84
    Terpnista84 Posts: 517 Member
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    From purely a weight loss stand point, there isn't much difference.

    The difference that there is will come from maintaining lean body mass vs. losing lean body mass. When you lift weights and do strength training, you are more likely to maintain your lean body mass which will keep your BMR higher than if you were to lose some percentage of lean body mass as you lose weight.

    From a health standpoint, obviously there are a ton of other benefits to exercise that have little to do with weight loss.

    As far as weight loss is concerned, if you overestimate your burned calories, it could slow it down and if you work out enough to cause soreness, you will retain some water to repair those muscles which will make scale readings a bit wonky. Still totally worth it.
    I finally got a HR monitor and used it yesterday. While it isn't the best kind, it gave me an idea of how much calories burned can be overestimated. I got a 175 cal reading from doing 30 minutes if HIIT on the elliptical. That doesn't seem right to me but I went by that instead of the normal 300 just to be safe.
  • Terpnista84
    Terpnista84 Posts: 517 Member
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    I'd like to add that I do exercise 6 days a week. I'm not trying to switch over and eat 1,200 calories in lieu of exercising. I'm just saying that on certain days (maybe once per week at the most) when I'm satisfied eating 1,200 calories should I push myself to workout and eat 1,600 calories.
  • peggysue218
    peggysue218 Posts: 126 Member
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    Nah, don't eat 'em back if you don't want to.
  • toaster6
    toaster6 Posts: 703 Member
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    I'd like to add that I do exercise 6 days a week. I'm not trying to switch over and eat 1,200 calories in lieu of exercising. I'm just saying that on certain days (maybe once per week at the most) when I'm satisfied eating 1,200 calories should I push myself to workout and eat 1,600 calories.

    As long as you eat at a deficit you are going to lose weight. You could probably eat at 1600 either way and lose, it will just take more time is all. If you are getting all your nutrients at 1200 and aren't hungry then you don't need to force yourself to eat more.
  • Terpnista84
    Terpnista84 Posts: 517 Member
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    I'd like to add that I do exercise 6 days a week. I'm not trying to switch over and eat 1,200 calories in lieu of exercising. I'm just saying that on certain days (maybe once per week at the most) when I'm satisfied eating 1,200 calories should I push myself to workout and eat 1,600 calories.

    As long as you eat at a deficit you are going to lose weight. You could probably eat at 1600 either way and lose, it will just take more time is all. If you are getting all your nutrients at 1200 and aren't hungry then you don't need to force yourself to eat more.
    I just know that I'm not going to eat more than 1245 calories today as all my meals are accounted for. I don't want to stall any progress because I am undereating and working out because I had that problem when I started. On days I do workout I still eat well below my TDEE so I just don't want to overwork my body. I love exercising, but I don't want to do it if it will wind up being counterproductive.
  • krhale11
    krhale11 Posts: 8
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    If you really want your weight loss to be as accurate as possible I suggest getting a Fitbit or BodyBug. Really the only way to know for certain your calories in vs. out. Trust me I have a Fitbit and it's excellent. It really works. Having said that I do need 1 day every week to 2 weeks where I go over my calories (based on what it tells me) to change things up. Seems to be a good routine so far. Lost 8 pounds in just a couple weeks.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    If it's once and awhile, it probably wont' effect you too much. But you do have the ability to eat more the next day or later that week to make your net calories over the week is good. A larger deficit doesn't always mean more weight loss as there are many factors that can prevent weight loss. I do believe in eating everything you can as it will fuel your workouts.

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