Question about calorie consumption

Yes. You need to NET 1200 (at the absolute least) per day. So if you burn an additional 300, your net at that point is only 900 - you need to "eat back" the 300 to bring your net total up to 1200 again.

I would advise not going below the 1200 calories so upping your intake by 300 calories would be better.

Short answer: Yes.

Calories in, calories out. I'm not quite grasping the concept of eating the calories you exercised off.

I would advise not going below the 1200 calories so upping your intake by 300 calories would be better.

Short answer: Yes.

Calories in, calories out. I'm not quite grasping the concept of eating the calories you exercised off.

Your calories are not set to your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). They are set to a number much much lower then that. And when you exercise that makes the deficit larger. Exactly calories in vs calories out. Take off the same number off the top of your TDEE via eating your calories back will result in weight loss. I don't see the point on making the deficit larger and larger to the point of malnourishment and injury. The extra fuel can help you repair your muscles from your workout, give you extra nutrients, and resulting in more fat loss, and less injuries.

Agree with the poster who said you don't have to eat back exercise calories --- depending on OP's circumstances.

I am on a 1200 calorie plan and I don't eat my exercise calories back unless I exceed my goal calories burned through exercise each week. However, I want to stress I am very short (4'11") so this was a specific plan made for me (1200 cals/day, burn 1500 cals through exercise/week to achieve 1.3lb loss/week). Just make sure you are eating enough healthy food that provides you energy (protein, carbs for working out, and healthy fats). No junk. Good luck!

I would advise not going below the 1200 calories so upping your intake by 300 calories would be better.

Short answer: Yes.

Calories in, calories out. I'm not quite grasping the concept of eating the calories you exercised off.

Your calories are not set to your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). They are set to a number much much lower then that. And when you exercise that makes the deficit larger. Exactly calories in vs calories out. Take off the same number off the top of your TDEE via eating your calories back will result in weight loss. I don't see the point on making the deficit larger and larger to the point of malnourishment and injury. The extra fuel can help you repair your muscles from your workout, give you extra nutrients, and resulting in more fat loss, and less injuries.

Spot on +1

1200 is not a magic number. It is a number at which it is pretty easy to get the vital nutrients your body needs in a day.

Figuring out where the energy you burn in a day comes from is more complicated than just the calories you eat. You need to know what your fat mass is, which is your BF% times your weight. Each pound of fat can release 31.4 calories per day when you eat less than you burn. So you need to know how much you burn in a day and make sure the difference between that and what you consume in a day does not exceed what the fat stores can deliver.

Getting an accurate burn is vital if you are close using the calculations. If the numbers aren't too close (most people eat at a deficit well below what their fat stores can supply) it could still help to make things more consistent. Most estimates for calories burned seem to be on the high side, often by quite a bit.

1200 is not a magic number. It is a number at which it is pretty easy to get the vital nutrients your body needs in a day.

Figuring out where the energy you burn in a day comes from is more complicated than just the calories you eat. You need to know what your fat mass is, which is your BF% times your weight. Each pound of fat can release 31.4 calories per day when you eat less than you burn. So you need to know how much you burn in a day and make sure the difference between that and what you consume in a day does not exceed what the fat stores can deliver.

Getting an accurate burn is vital if you are close using the calculations. If the numbers aren't too close (most people eat at a deficit well below what their fat stores can supply) it could still help to make things more consistent. Most estimates for calories burned seem to be on the high side, often by quite a bit.

um....sources?

They don't have Google where you live? :bigsmile:

OK, here is one that popped up when I searched:

Registered dietician Kerri-Ann Jennings, whose also an editor for Eating Well magazine, says if you want to get serious about healthy weight loss, 1,200 calories could be your magic number. "[M]ost people will lose weight on a 1,200-calorie diet, which is also the lowest you really can go calorie-wise each day while still getting all the nutrients you need," she writes.

Although the author quoting her does disagree with me and say that it might be a magic number, but I still think it is science. :laugh:

EDIT - there are plenty of other sources, BTW. I just took one off the very first page of hits that stated it pretty succinctly. I did not see any arguing against it.

I remember when everyone was saying you had to eat at least 1000 calories, now it's gone up to 1200 calories.
My BMR is 1600 cals with exercise that can go up to 1900cals, so that wouldn't make much of a deficit, in fact I wasn't eating much more than that before I started my diet and I was maintaining.

There is so much conflicting information and yes it's good to be informed, but sometimes you can be too informed.

All I know is eating around 1200-1300 cals gives me a deficit and has worked for me.

So your saying that my 1200 calorie consumption and burning anywhere between approx 300-500 calories thru exercise is actually NOT good for me??? I'm a little confused, yet starting to get it and i want to make sure!! Because I WANT THIS FAT GONE! I want to be able to work out, i am now finally liking working out LOL. and i need to change my calories on MFP.

I am not saying that. I quoted a registered dietitian who says that 1200 is a fine number. This idea of "net" and "eating back" is not widely accepted outside MFP. If your body can't supply the energy you need from what you eat, it will metabolize fat stores. Those fat stores can provide 31.4 calories per pound per day toward the deficit. If that isn't adequate, then it will start to burn lean body mass. Also, consider this - fat supplies 3500 calories per pound; lean body mass only 600. If you started burning muscle as easily as some people seem to think, you would lose a lot of weight.

I would suggest maybe talking to a nutritionist or your doctor if a nutritionist isn't an option.

Personally, I try to stay around 1200 calories (give or take 50) and don't eat back my exercise calories. But I have talked to a nutritionist about it and was advised that given what I need to lose and my goals this is fine--as long as I'm getting the right nutrients. I'm keeping a written log for her as well, and she also advised me that I should not spend the rest of my life eating 1200 calories. As I build more muscle, workout harder, and my metabolism changes, I will start eating more calories.

Everyone's body is different and it's hard to get a gauge of what's going on internally by entering some numbers on a computer.

I eat around 1200 calories a day. If i exercise 300 calories off, then i eat those back, The reason i do this is because i'm usually more hungry when i exercise and i need energy to actually exercise. In theory you needn't eat the calories back.

As well as all the mind boggling calculations that many on here like to cite, 1200 calories are often set as a minimum (by nutrionalists) to ensure you eat enough food to get all the essential nutrients that you need.

For me, eating 1200 calories a day means i eat 8400 per week. To maintain my weight, i need 13300 per week, which is around 1900 calories a day. So when i eat 1200 each day i am creating a 700 calorie deficit, which over the week equates to a 4900 deficit. To lose 1lb, i need a 3500 deficit. So to summarise:
- to maintain my weight i need to eat 1900 calories a day
- to actually eat 1200 calories a day. If i exercise, i eat more so i always eat around 1200 per day
- This means i've created a 4900 deficit over the week
- to lose 1lb i need to create a 3500 deficit over the week
- so according to all this, i should be losing about 1lb-1.5lbs per week.

am i?

Yup.

So calorie intake...it's pretty easy, and as long as you are consistently operating at a deficit, then you will lose weight. The key for me has been to work out what my maintenance calories are, and go from there. I love this method of calorie intake because it is pretty much an exact science. And there are many who will diagree with me here, but the simpe message is, use more than you eat and you will, without fail, lose weight.

.

I would advise not going below the 1200 calories so upping your intake by 300 calories would be better.

Short answer: Yes.

Calories in, calories out. I'm not quite grasping the concept of eating the calories you exercised off.

If you're exercising purely to burn calories, you're doing it wrong.

I would advise not going below the 1200 calories so upping your intake by 300 calories would be better.

Short answer: Yes.

Calories in, calories out. I'm not quite grasping the concept of eating the calories you exercised off.

Short answer - at 1200 calories you are already at a big deficit, and should not go below 1200 net calories. The MFP calculation does not take exercise calories into account, therefore, eat your exercise cals back.

I think it all depends on the person. I also eat a 1200 calorie intake, and I don't eat back my exercise calories. I do maybe every once in a while, but I find if I eat them back, I don't lose any weight.. You have to do whats best for you....Remember you come first, do what's right for you..

I would suggest maybe talking to a nutritionist or your doctor if a nutritionist isn't an option.

I might recommend a dietitian, not a nutritionist. Dietitian is a protected term; there are years of required schooling and testing. Nutritionist is a job title like mechanic or cashier. Some may know what they are doing but there are an awful lot that are pushing particular products.

This is absolutely true, and I haven't looked at the business card to see what specifically her title is--I should probably do this, but the person I'm seeing has been through medical school and I needed a referral from my family doctor to go see her. No product pushing here I wouldn't just go to a health store or anything like that. Just thought I would clarify my last post