my doc says don't eat exercise calories??????

MFP is a great tool and has clearly worked for many people. Our doctors know us better than anyone on these boards, provided we are fully honest with them and that they are qualified. Ultimately its up to us to make sure they are qualified. If you are going to him and feel that he is qualified, then listen to him. Just question HIM, pick his brain, find out why he said not to eat the calories. Make sure he is fully aware of MFP and the who, what, and why.

My doctor and dietician told me the same thing. BUT, I was closely monitored and it was only temporary. That was my treatment, not the way it works in general, because I had some endocrine issues. It wasn't like they said eat 1200 calories, burn 500 a day and we'll see you next year at your next physical if you want to come. I saw him regularly, he monitored my food diary, and did regular bloodwork to make sure my nutrient needs were being met. Now, even though I haven't met my goal weight, he says eat the extra cals and follow MFP. Depending on where you are in your plan, things can change from a medical standpoint. Thats a garauntee.

4 million people can reply to this thread and tell you your doctor is either a genius or a moron and provide proof as to why. But nobody on here knows your medical history or life circumstance.

If you don't understand why your doctor gave you the orders he did, then ask him why. If you still question his advice, get a second opinion. If he can't make the time to talk to you in detail, get a new doctor.

EDIT: To confess that I didn't read all the responses before posting.....

Thanks I'm going to that site right now for ideas. I keep changing my in pool routine, much to the amusement of other users :laugh: so we have a few laughs along the way which has to be good . The workout classes are in the shallow end so no good for me ( & they banned me for being hyperactive!!!) but I follow some of their moves in the deep end & I stay in twice as long as they do working out. Water is the one place where my joints don't hurt so much so then I have to be careful not to stretch too much or I will dislocate something which I do regularly at home !!!

Good deal. I second someone else's idea to invest in a heart rate monitor or bodybugg to see how many calories you're burning. Once you see those numbers, I swear, something clicks in your head where you start to add a little physical activity here and there to keep that number climbing up! You can find some good deals on eBay for less than $100.

I have two suggestions if you aren't already doing them.

HRM - get one. The calorie burn they have on MFP is very general and will vary from person to person.

Food scale - get one. Gussing at you portion size is one of the biggest mistakes that people do. Do you really now what an ounce of cheese, or meat looks like? You'd be surprised!

I usually leave some calories on the table when the day is done, but I eat most of my exercise calories, and no, I'm not looking to 'over eat' like the previous poster suggested. Ha!

Two excellent bits of advice! The reason a lot of people overeat is due to portion control. The ONLY reason I know that I have lost weight is due to measuring everything I eat. It is quite shocking how a heaped measure compared to the level measure can add more calories to the portion! ans yes I eat my exercise calories my body needs the fuel else you start losing muscle rather than body fat.

Actually I keep my journal after each meal & weigh my portions so know I do not under estimate my intake.

my doc and dietician have me on 1288 calories a day eating plan and not eating my exercise calories. after about 2 years with no loss, this has started to work for me (the first entire year doing it, i lost ZERO pounds). keep on working at it; eventually you *will* see results.

p.s. i know my situation is not typical, so i am not saying that this will work for everyone. or even that they should follow what i am doing. just offering some solidarity. been there, had that frustration.

Thats what my doc says too. I THOUGHT people were full of baloney to say to eat exercise cals so I asked my doc. My doc says that people who say that just want permission to overeat. Do NOT eat your exercies cals!

But if I do a workout and burn off everything I have eaten for the day and I am currently in the negative, I have to eat something or I starve my body (have this happen when I do hard workouts)

I have come home before with 1200 eaten so far with the day and 1400 burned in the workout = -200 cals net

I have to agree. It's not an excuse to "overeat."

I can burn around 600 cals EASILY in a workout. If I really only ate the 1300 that MFP gets me that would put me at 700. Regardless of what anyone does or does not believe about starvation mode (not starting that here) I'd fall flat on my face on the racquetball court if I tried to work out every day like that on that little amount of nutrition. Bodies need fuel. The more work the more fuel!

Edit to add: If it really was just an excuse to overeat, then why do people who have a more active lifestyle (i.e. manual labor jobs and such) get a higher base calorie allotment than me with my desk job? It's all about how much you make your body do all day.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the calorie amounts given by MFP for exercise are not very accurate, so you may actually be burning less or more than what it says. Of course if you are using a heart rate monitor (not sure if you are) then you can be confident that your numbers are as accurate as possible.

If you made your diary public i'd be happy to take a peek at it for you.

So I was talking with a friend about nutrition....a friend who is in fitness competitions and who I find very knowledgeable in the field. She told me that I'm probably not burning anywhere close to the amount of calories thatI think I am when I'm doing body combat. I've been doing it for so long I probably burn 400-500 calories. (I know I need a HRM but financially it can wait) On here it says closer to 650 and that's what instructors tell the people in class. But they leave out that if you are doing it for a long time it's not the same calorie burn that it was when you first started. Totally bummed me out!

YES!!!! My doctor said the same. Just this week I went to a medical weight loss center to sign up and the physician there said to go down to a 1000 calorie diet - as opposed to the 1200 the MFP gave me - and she said that no matter how much I work out, I should still only take in the 1000 calories a day....this confused me because MFP says that "if you keep your calories this low your body will go into starvation mode" - the important thing she said also is to slightly vary how many calories you take in each day - 950, 1050, 1000, etc - to keep your body guessing. Wow! Now I know why i have hit a plateau......I thought if i burned an extra 400 calories then it meant I could have a little extra that day or a treat :sad: Yikes!! But I am going to follow my doctor's advice since I am under her care specifically for this medical weight loss program.

first, you should never use your own anecdotal situation to advise others (give anecdotes as examples of outcome, not as guidelines for others). Second, you should never advise others to use a program that has been built and relies upon expert supervision, let the expert give that advice. Telling others to go to a 1000 calorie plan just because you are on a medically supervised 1000 calorie diet is not good advice.
third, we have no idea what your situation is, therefore we have no idea why the doctor would have advised this for you. If you're going to advise a 1000 calorie diet, at least give us your complete situation, numbers, activity schedule, the doctor's reasoning. In other words a complete consultation.

I don't think this was given advice for other MFP members but what is for that person seeking help from that Dr. In no way did I understand it as something I should be doing. just saying!

My activity style is set to sedentary as cannot walk much due to health issues but I swim at least 5 hours weekly & once in the pool I swim as fast as I can for either an hour or hour & half usually breaststroke but currently aqua jogging due to an injury & usually eat about half my exercise calories but obviously they must be too much for me.

Seeing this comment, I would say stick to the calories suggested and for you, do not eat your exercise calories. Maintain the calories taken in as your doctor recommended and track within 5 weeks to see if it makes a difference. Will not hurt.

I use a heart rate monitor to see how many calories I am actually burning vs MFP calories.. Majority of the time MFP is off.. Depending on the amount I burn I will usually eat half my exercise calories.

Hope this helps!

How do you know MFP is "off"? Because the number of calories is different than an HRM?

I still find it amazing that people will be so skeptical of machine and table calories, yet accept an HRM's number (a device about which they know almost nothing) as "truth" without any question at all.

(BTW, I would never use MFP calories either--but that doesn't mean your HRM reading is any more accurate).

The truth is NOT harsh. What IS harsh is when people just let other people flounder and suffer in their denial. To just shrug your shoulders, say, "Whatever works for you" and walk away is uncaring. It's just saying, "Oh well - I dont care WHAT you do."

People can make excuses about why they should overeat by pretending they "NEED" to eat their exercise calories - because eating is pleasurable and solves a lot of emotional problems and we rely on food and we want it so let's tell each other its ok to eat! People can get angry when someone points out the illogic of that thinking. Its all DENIAL. All of us who have been significantly overweight understand exactly what that is.

NONE OF US will lose weight until we eat less calories, consistently, than we burn. To tell a beautiful lady who weighs over 300 lbs that she'll go into starvation mode if she eats less than she burns up is PREPOSTEROUS and cruel and its keeping her down. I am a better friend than that. I care very much about my friends and I will tell them to truth when they ask me.

Let's help each other!