Confused about "eating back exercise calories"

You need to NET at least 1200 a day, you're eating way too little.

It's really important that you get at least enough calories to support your every day life. Honestly, my biggest suggestion to you is to EAT MORE!

A woman usually needs between 1400-1800 calories for their body to just to be alive and at rest - laying around all day, sitting at a desk all day, or other non-moving activity. For me, it's right around 1600. To lose weight, you want your NET calories to end up a little below that each day, but if you go too low, your body starts to hold on to those calories because it is starving for energy. I aim for about 1300 net calories; in other words Calories in - Calories out = 1300

Just imagine your body like a car... if you were running low on gas and weren't sure you were going to make it to the gas station, you might tend to coast a bit more than you normally would, or accelerate a little slower. If you've conditioned your body to do 160 minutes of exercise each day, and it's not getting enough fuel, your metabolism is actually going to slow down, so you conserve the energy for your workout.

When you're losing weight, you need to keep your body well fed so that you continue to burn calories while you're at rest, as well as when you're exercising. If you're only eating 1200 calories during the day, and you need at least 1400 to just "live", you're already -200 calories for the day. When you add 1000-1400 calories worth of exercise and don't "eat them back", you're going to be at -1200 to -1600 for the day. This is way, way too low.

At the very least, you should end almost every day in the positive calorie range, not the negative. Stick with finding protein for those calories, but don't be afraid of a few carbs. Not all carbs are terrible for you, so just avoid the carbs that come from simple sugars.

Hopefully this helps explain a little about this... and keep up the good work!!!

Second, everything is an estimate, even your HRM so you may not be consuming/burning what you think you are.

Just to clarify: Your HRM most likely indicates your heart rate quite accurately depending upon the manufacturer and it's age/condition/etc. The estimation involved is with respect to the calories burned computations.

Eat like a beast and swole up on some chicken and brown rice.

just eat but dont eat. However, make sure you eat at least all the time without eating.

thats the answer to your life

just eat but dont eat. However, make sure you eat at least all the time without eating.

thats the answer to your life

You look like you have sweaty under garments on

So I just started this today. I workout in the evenings around 8:30, so do I wait and put my exercise calories in my diary the next morning? I'm confused?!!

You don't have to wait. You can eat them earlier. Once you have been here a bit you'll have an idea of what you are going to burn.
Or you could add them the next day. I often eat more the day before or after a long run instead of eating them all that day.

I need a little help! I understand the eating back calories with MFP but when I figured out my TDEE the calories with the TDEE are significantly higher than the 1200cals MFP suggest I eat.

My TDEE set at little/no exercise is 2050 - 20% = 1640cals

So should I start eating the 1640cals or should I stick to what MFP tells me and consume the 1200 cals

I need a little help! I understand the eating back calories with MFP but when I figured out my TDEE the calories with the TDEE are significantly higher than the 1200cals MFP suggest I eat.

My TDEE set at little/no exercise is 2050 - 20% = 1640cals

So should I start eating the 1640cals or should I stick to what MFP tells me and consume the 1200 cals

What weight loss per week goal did you set? I may be wrong but I suspect you chose 2, which is higher than a 20% deficit.
If you haven't, choose 1 lb a week and you should find it closer n

I was confused when I first started my calorie counting too. At first I thought "if I eat less calories and work out at the same level, or even harder, I'll lose weight faster" BOY WAS I WRONG!! I mean at first it made sense, but then I was burning myself out and seeing NO results, in fact the scale started going in the OTHER direction!!, It wasn't until I finally got the concept, that calories are what the body needs to lose the weight... sounds backwards but its the truth! Otherwise your body goes into starvation mode and slows down your metabolism, the most important aspect of weight lose is a high metabolism to burn the fat. so consciously eat at least 1200 calories, and you'll see the pounds melting off, with moderate exercise and food for fuel. Good luck to all (I hope this makes sense)

I hope somebody give me some advice.. I'm doing 90minutes of cardio a day (just started) And I'm burning between 800-1250 in calories during a workout. I'm consuming usually about 1500 calories, is this enough ? If my goal is 1200 can I burn 1200 and only consume 1200?? Lol but in really serious from experience can somebody suggest to me how many calories I should realistically be consuming while doing 60-90 mins of cardio atleast 5 days a week??

If you're having trouble meeting your daily goal, eat more healthy fats. Put butter on things. Cook your veggies in coconut oil. Have an extra tbsp of olive oil on your salad. Enjoy some full-fat dairy products instead of that watered-down crap. Slice up half an avocado and eat it with a bit of salt. You can easily add fat calories without it feeling like you're eating a lot of food, and as long as you choose healthy fat sources, it's really good for you. While carbs are the preferred fuel of your muscles, fat is the primary fuel used by your brain.