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Do you eat back your calories exercised?
bellaconfusa
Posts: 11
Hi, all - just looking for a general idea of what people do!
I find that eating 1200 calories is a little too unrealistic for me. I usually consume around 1400 -1500 a day. When this happens, though... I typically head to the gym and try to bang out at least 30 minutes on the elliptical. I'm ok with being 50 or 100 calories over my "1200 target" because I know that I'll probably still lose weight.
I have a friend who just met her weight loss goal after trying for about 7 months. She looks great, but I think she stays in that 1200 range. She told me she tries not to eat back her calories.
What have you done to be successful? I don't want to starve myself, and having a boyfriend and eating 1200 calories a day when we're constantly going to restaurants seems almost impossible for me. I do want to see some progress though. Any words of wisdom you have are welcomed!
I find that eating 1200 calories is a little too unrealistic for me. I usually consume around 1400 -1500 a day. When this happens, though... I typically head to the gym and try to bang out at least 30 minutes on the elliptical. I'm ok with being 50 or 100 calories over my "1200 target" because I know that I'll probably still lose weight.
I have a friend who just met her weight loss goal after trying for about 7 months. She looks great, but I think she stays in that 1200 range. She told me she tries not to eat back her calories.
What have you done to be successful? I don't want to starve myself, and having a boyfriend and eating 1200 calories a day when we're constantly going to restaurants seems almost impossible for me. I do want to see some progress though. Any words of wisdom you have are welcomed!
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Replies
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"Do you eat back your calories exercised? "
Usually. Sometimes I'm not hungry enough so I don't.
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I'm curious about this as well! It's hard to find healthy food to eat up all those calories!0
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That's perfectly reasonable. I usually eat back about 1/3 - 1/2 of my exercise calories, but I always try to hit the minimum of 1200.0
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I eat my calories back. Im not worried as much with the number on the scale as much as I am with my body composition.0
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I don't eat them back. I see them as buffer sometimes if I go over the 1200 calories. I also follow a very low carb diet. Keeping my carbs low helps with appetite suppression for me. I've been eating this way since July 2012 and I'm down 72 lbs and counting! I exercise 6 days a week. I do strength training 3 days and I run 3.5 - 4 miles 3 days a week.0
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I don't eat back my calories, I as many of you already said try to stay on 1200 cal. range per day. I feel like if I'm working out more that day and burn over 1000 calories I will go over some. But I feel like if I eat back my cal. excercise that would be maintaining my weight, and I'm here doing this because I am trying to lose the weight. Maybe I am wrong , but thats how I do it 0
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Had a discussion about this at my gym today and they suggested eating 1/2 of your calories back.0
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I don't eat anything back. I burn between 2,000 and 3,000 calories a day from exercise so eating that back and doing it cleanly would be a nightmare.
Everyone is different so experiment to find out what works for you.0 -
I don't eat back my calories, I as many of you already said try to stay on 1200 cal. range per day. I feel like if I'm working out more that day and burn over 1000 calories I will go over some. But I feel like if I eat back my cal. excercise that would be maintaining my weight, and I'm here doing this because I am trying to lose the weight. Maybe I am wrong , but thats how I do it
I do the same thing....0 -
I don't, but because I do TDEE-20% (or I'm trying to, at least) so my activity is already accounted for in my allowance. I do track it so I can organize my workouts and have some idea of how much I'm burning, but I don't change my food intake around my workouts. I tend to eat a bit less if I haven't been working out but that's about it.0
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My daily intake is around 1,600 - 1,700 and that is based on my TDEE (minus 15% to lose some fat). Since my TDEE takes into consideration my 'daily routine', such as walking, working, exercising... I do not eat back my exercice calories. I usually put 1 as my 'calorie burn' when logging my workouts.0
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There is a lot of discussion about this, I do eat some back sometimes, but I am 5 foot 2 inches and have 2 # left to go to my goal from a yr ago. I found I changed my body composition more by lifting wts and increasing my overall calorie intake to 1300 a day, so less hungry less often, eating a little more on my exercise days than others. If you eat back all your calories - it would seem logical to say your progress will be a little slower, not impossible.0
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Yep but im burning 500 plus when Im sometimes eating between 1600-2000 cals. Somtimes I'll eat back the whole lot or just half.0
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Yup .... Bout to snarf DQ Peanut Buster Parfait .... Everybody likes Parfaits
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I also eat 1200 calories a day & I do eat back most of my calories I burn off. Some days its easier when I just do cardio rather than weight training. ( because I burn around 200 more).0
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I do not eat any of mine back.. Working for me.
But occasionally I go over my 1700 per day. Not often but sometimes it does happen 0 -
I think I may aim for that...0
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No but I used a different calculator to set my calories and macros I just use MFP to count the calories and macros for me. I eat 3000 a day with 25 % fat 35 % carbs and 40% protein as I am "re-compositioning" as well.. aka adding muscle while loosing fat. So far so good0
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Ha! This is a great link!0
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Absolutely. 0
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YES! No way would I want to train my body to get by on 1200 calories. Sounds like a miserable life. I'd rather lose slowly and maintain easily.0
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My base is 1500 calories, and I eat back most of my exercise calories too. I'm losing at a pretty steady 1.5 pounds a week.0
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I, too, eat my exercise calories back. I am just careful about being accurate with my exercise and I try to wear my heart rate monitor!0
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I try to eat at least some of them back. I don't always eat all of them back. Sometimes I go over. It just depends on how I feel for the day. However, when I go over, its not by much. I have lost 17 pounds in just under 2 months. I passed my first goal, so made a new one, but I'm basically at a perfectly healthy "goal" weight right now. I have my base calories set at 1300 and then eat back some exercise calories.0
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I just eat a straight 1800 cals I dont eat back any exercise calories. I am less then 35 pounds from goal so that has me losing just over a pound per week on average0
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I've been eating back the calories I burn. This was my first week though, so we'll see what happens next week.0
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My daily intake is around 1,600 - 1,700 and that is based on my TDEE (minus 15% to lose some fat). Since my TDEE takes into consideration my 'daily routine', such as walking, working, exercising... I do not eat back my exercice calories. I usually put 1 as my 'calorie burn' when logging my workouts.
^^^^ This is what I do; TDEE-20% My daily intake is 1800.0 -
I set my activity level at sedentary, which gives me a recommended daily intake of 1200. I absolutely eat back my exercise calories. On occasion, I will "save" them up for a few days, when I know I have a special occasion coming up, and then "use" them for that special event. But, I always use them up within any given week.0
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WOW how do you burn that many calories in a dayI don't eat anything back. I burn between 2,000 and 3,000 calories a day from exercise so eating that back and doing it cleanly would be a nightmare.
Everyone is different so experiment to find out what works for you.0
This discussion has been closed.
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