Confused ...

Eat your calories back

Don't get down!!! Most people would recommend that you at least eat some of them back. My advice would be to try differant things for a couple of weeks and see which works best for you. Eat them all back for a while, then try not eating them back or only part of them. Variety is the spice of life!!!

MFP says I should eat 1200 calories per day, but when I work out it adds back to calories remaining which makes sense since I burned them, but am I then allowed to eat the calories I burned? I almost feel stupid asking, but I feel like I'm eating too few calories if I eat 1200 calories and then burn 600 of them.

MFP gives you a caloire deficit BEFORE exercise .... so yes, you are expected to eat them back**

**Be careful what numbers you use for calorie burns ..... MFP and machines can over state this (a lot). Many people eat a % of calories back.

Too large a deficit is an unhealthy way to lose weight .... you will lose more muscle than you intend to.

Depending on what your weight goal is, 1200 is probably too little. I don't believe in the whole "eat back your calories" philosophy. If you have a specific calorie goal, stick to it. Don't add your exercise till the end of the day, after you've logged all your food. Bottom line, you eat less calories than you burn, you lose weight, eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. Your exercise calories burned are bonus.

I'm currently 194 (5' 7" tall; big frame) and my goal is to get to 155. I workout about an hour 3 - 4 times a week right now. Just cardio, but eventually I want to add weight training of some sort. So knowing that is 1200 too few calories?

I would say that 1200 is definitely too low!

After some research, I personally have decided to follow the concept of TDEE. Or Total Daily Energy Expenditure. There are a couple of different sites that you can use to find your BMR and TDEE, but I used http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/. Use your current weight for current and goal weight. You will find your current MBR under the "Harris-Benedict Formula". Then there will be a chart with various Activity Levels and the necessary daily calories to sustain your current weight.

I would suggest selecting the Light Activity daily calories and eat 80% of them to create a 20% calorie deficit.

Good Luck!

Depending on what your weight goal is, 1200 is probably too little. I don't believe in the whole "eat back your calories" philosophy. If you have a specific calorie goal, stick to it. Don't add your exercise till the end of the day, after you've logged all your food. Bottom line, you eat less calories than you burn, you lose weight, eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. Your exercise calories burned are bonus.

I'm currently 194 (5' 7" tall; big frame) and my goal is to get to 155. I workout about an hour 3 - 4 times a week right now. Just cardio, but eventually I want to add weight training of some sort. So knowing that is 1200 too few calories?

I don't know your age ..... but the BMR (basal metabolic rate... calories needed if you were in a coma) would be 1807 if you were 30 years old .... so yes 1200 is too few.

http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/bmr-calculator.html

With BMR you would ADD exercise calories & eat those too (comatose people don't exercise) ..... yes, you could use a smaller number, but you will be losing muscle AND fat. Healthy weight loss reduces your body fat %.

This is correct. 1200 calories a day is the lowest before your body can go into metabolic shutdown and actually have adverse effects to weight loss. Your age does play a factor as well, but if you are active in your workout, and pushing yourself, 1500-1800 should be an ideal range.

You definitely want to start implementing a strength training routine, too. If you ever see people on the treadmills with lots of loose skin under their arms and other areas, I'm sure you don't see them touching any weight equipment either. A routine of 100% cardio can lose weight, but the body likes to attack the muscle before the fat. Think of it like a juicy steak. Would you eat the fatty piece or the meaty piece first? Your body thinks the same way. If you are expending the muscles in a strength training program, the body will divert to the fat to burn. No strength training, cardio will burn your muscle weight before the fat weight.

Hope this helps!

I'm currently 194 (5' 7" tall; big frame) and my goal is to get to 155. I workout about an hour 3 - 4 times a week right now. Just cardio, but eventually I want to add weight training of some sort. So knowing that is 1200 too few calories?

Yes, too few calories. Check with various online TDEE calculators but you should probably be up around 1600 minimum PLUS eating your exercise calories back. You'll be happier eating more, your mood will be better, and you'll be less likely to stall out before you reach your goal .

Don't eat your calories back. If you have a weight loss goal and a specific caloric intake in mind, why would you eat calories you just burned? Doesn't that sound like it defeats the purpose? 2500 calories equals one pound of body weight. That means you have to burn 2500 more calories than you consume to lose one pound. If you eat back your calories, wouldn't it take longer to get to that 2500 mark? Think about it...

I'm currently 194 (5' 7" tall; big frame) and my goal is to get to 155. I workout about an hour 3 - 4 times a week right now. Just cardio, but eventually I want to add weight training of some sort. So knowing that is 1200 too few calories?

Yes, too few calories. Check with various online TDEE calculators but you should probably be up around 1600 minimum PLUS eating your exercise calories back. You'll be happier eating more, your mood will be better, and you'll be less likely to stall out before you reach your goal .

Don't eat your calories back. If you have a weight loss goal and a specific caloric intake in mind, why would you eat calories you just burned? Doesn't that sound like it defeats the purpose? 2500 calories equals one pound of body weight. That means you have to burn 2500 more calories than you consume to lose one pound. If you eat back your calories, wouldn't it take longer to get to that 2500 mark? Think about it...

To lose a lb you need to have a deficit of 3500 calories... not 2500.

And eating back exercise calories doesn't defeat the purpose. That's how this website is designed. You can lose weight eating strictly your daily goal... which is why when you exercise you get to eat more. Too high of a deficit can be harmful and increase muscle loss.

I was confused about this too. MFP gives me 1200 calories too. I was on WW before and I'm used to that you don't have to use your exercise calories if you don't want to. Still a little confused.

MFP gives you a calorie deficit BEFORE exercise .... that way people who can't/won't exercise still lose weight. 1200 is a very SMALL number ......it's a low as MFP will go. If I plug in I want to lose 5 pounds a week (ridiculous) .... MFP gives me 1200 ..... If I plug in I want to lose 1 pound a week (less ridiculous) .... MFP still gives me 1200 ......MFP is merely doing MATH.... not assessing whether your weekly goal makes sense.

I "should" set my goal to 1/2 pound per week because I am within 15 pounds of goal. This goal (is above 1200) and helps me preserve muscle mass. Lowering my body fat % is about losing fat NOT muscle.

1200 is a popular number .....but is weight loss a"one size fits all"? Tall women = 1200 / short women = 1200 / Fat women = 1200.... I don't think so.

The problem with BMR calculators is not that they are wildly inacurrate ......but users who set their activity levels too high, users who use wildly inflated exercise calories, and users who do not measure/weigh their food..... are simple eating more (or burning less) than they think they are.

BMR - basal metabolic rate ..... calories needed if you were in a coma

http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/bmr-calculator.html

I'm currently 194 (5' 7" tall; big frame) and my goal is to get to 155. I workout about an hour 3 - 4 times a week right now. Just cardio, but eventually I want to add weight training of some sort. So knowing that is 1200 too few calories?

Yes, too few calories. Check with various online TDEE calculators but you should probably be up around 1600 minimum PLUS eating your exercise calories back. You'll be happier eating more, your mood will be better, and you'll be less likely to stall out before you reach your goal .

Don't eat your calories back. If you have a weight loss goal and a specific caloric intake in mind, why would you eat calories you just burned? Doesn't that sound like it defeats the purpose? 2500 calories equals one pound of body weight. That means you have to burn 2500 more calories than you consume to lose one pound. If you eat back your calories, wouldn't it take longer to get to that 2500 mark? Think about it...

To lose a lb you need to have a deficit of 3500 calories... not 2500.

And eating back exercise calories doesn't defeat the purpose. That's how this website is designed. You can lose weight eating strictly your daily goal... which is why when you exercise you get to eat more. Too high of a deficit can be harmful and increase muscle loss.

You are correct, I hit my 2 instead of my 3. I don't like your statement, "which is why when you exercise you get to eat more". Just because I exercise, I can eat more? That doesn't make much sense. Too high of a deficit would only result if you were told by this website to eat 1200 calories, like some people are told, then don't "eat your calories back". You are defeating the purpose because you shouldn't eat back burned calories, you should have a caloric goal and stick to it. If you want to "eat back" your calories, set a higher caloric goal and don't waste your time logging exercises into a nutrition site.

If you're hungry, eat them back. If you're not then dont. Listen to your body.

You are correct, I hit my 2 instead of my 3. I don't like your statement, "which is why when you exercise you get to eat more". Just because I exercise, I can eat more? That doesn't make much sense. Too high of a deficit would only result if you were told by this website to eat 1200 calories, like some people are told, then don't "eat your calories back". You are defeating the purpose because you shouldn't eat back burned calories, you should have a caloric goal and stick to it. If you want to "eat back" your calories, set a higher caloric goal and don't waste your time logging exercises into a nutrition site.

"Because I exercise, I can eat more? That doesn't make much sense." ..... I disagree, it makes a lot of sense. Active people can eat more than sedentary people ....... same principle. If I'm a lazy bum and sit on my a** all day long I'm going to get fat(ter).

MFP as DESIGNED starts everyone off with ZERO exercise (unlike TDEE method) .....You don't get "credit" in MFP for exercise until you log it.

Is this the perfect design for everyone? No, but some people who are not active, some people who do not normally exercise, NEED to see numbers. It's encouragement to be more active regularly ...... not just when they are on a diet.

What logging correctly points out (that Weight Watchers does not) ........ exercise takes away from 1200 calories. People who eat 1200 and exercise for 600 .... need to understand that they are only getting 600 calories for the day. Not enought to maintain existing muscle mass.

My FITNESS Pal is not just a nutrition site ..... people use it for other purposes.

My explanations may be a little to direct and not filled with a lot of explanation. Of course, if you are not doing anything and eating like a pig, you will get fat. My point was it sounds like an excuse that you can just exercise to justify your overeating.

I'm hesitant about blindly following online BMR calculators. I'm 20, 5'10, currently VERY active (running 20 mi/wk, strenuous hikes 3x/wk, lifting 2/wk), and if I eat anywhere more than a net of 1500 calories, I gain weight like that (snaps). Every BMR calculator I've used has told me I should be eating upwards of 2300 calories/day to MAINTAIN weight. Okay. Right.

That's pretty much because you're doing everything possible to destroy your metabolism (eating too little, all cardio, no resistance training). If there was a Roadmap to a Stalled Metabolism those would be steps 1, 2, and 3

I eat SOME of my exercise calories back.

MFP says I should eat 1630 cals, which is already a 500 calorie deficit of my BMR, but I try to stay closer to 1500. I weigh and measure ALL of my food, but I'm concerned that some of the calories on this site may not be very accurate so I try to keep a "just in case" cushion. I have recently stopped logging my exercise on MFP (because the numbers seemed WAY too high) and just use my Fitbit, but even then I'm not sure that those numbers are 100% accurate, so I only eat about 1/2 of those calories back....another "just in case" cushion.

I also make sure I am eating something every 3-4 hours, so I am eating about 5x a day. Even if it's just a piece of string cheese or a hard boiled egg....I eat something, but I typically plan my meals and snacks ahead of time and make sure I'm eating at least 300 calories each meal. Obviously, on the days I exercise I increase a couple of my meals slightly.

I started off only doing cardio, just to get myself in the habit of doing something, and have recently started to add some weight training.

I have steadily lost about 2 pounds a week for the last 9 weeks, so I am hoping that means I am doing something right because I still have a ways to go!

Good luck to you!