Just another reason to NOT exercise...

Iggy1992
Iggy1992 Posts: 29 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok...so I understand that I should be eating the calories that i earn thru exercise, but this is only giving me one more reason to not do it.

I eat my 1200 calories a day plus most of the ones I earn at the gym, but I just struggle to eat more, for eg i have 800 calories and my dinner will only be about half that. But I would like to take my dog for a walk, for about an hour...which means I have to eat more.

Its making me not want to do the other exercise...and thats kinda how I got to where I am?!

Any tips?
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Replies

  • Jagreene62
    Jagreene62 Posts: 4,782 Member
    What's your 'struggle'? Do you just not want to eat because the fear of gaining? Are you not hungry? Are you thinking you won't eat the right foods? Just wanted to clarify what the struggle was about eating more. :flowerforyou:
  • Spiderkeys
    Spiderkeys Posts: 338 Member
    I don't like the way you suppose to eat back your excercise calories, when I'm feeling full and it feels unnatural for me to pig out.

    I take my dog a walk for an hour a day, that's 300 burned calories according to MFP, enough for nearly a big meal, It's evening and I don't know what to do with em.
  • donjessop
    donjessop Posts: 186
    Patterns, habits, planning. Establish a routine for yourself, such as exercising at the gym on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Take your dog for a walk every night. Plan these things out in advance. Now that you know the exercise you are going to be doing, plan your meals around those exercises. if you know that you are going to expend 400 calories exercising plan those into your meals. Make sure you that keep your protein level up. Recent studies have shown that if you are trying to lose weight and are using both diet and exercise to do so then you should bump up your protein intake to 25% - 35% of your caloric intake.

    Plan all of these things in advance and I bet that things will be a lot easier for you. It was for me. The only meal that I don't plan is dinner, the rest I know before I have finished breakfast in the morning. While it may seem "boring" and definitely "spontaneous", it definitely works.

    You have the willpower within you, you just need to use it.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    My suggestion is to use the TDEE method, then. With that you don't eat back exercise calories; they are just factored in from the start.
  • Stage14
    Stage14 Posts: 1,046 Member
    Well you don't HAVE to eat more, no one is holding you at gunpoint. You also don't have to exercise. And if you don't care for tracking your exercise calories and eating them back each day, you can use the TDEE method, so that your calorie budget has exercise built into it.

    But really, I don't mean to offend, but I always have a hard time buying the "I just can't force myself to eat an extra 100-200 extra calories" complaint. Obviously, none of us got here on 1000 net calories a day, so either you can't get past the mental barrier that says eating above 1200 is bad and will slow down your weight loss or you've been eating a very large deficit for a very long time and your body has adjusted too well to too few calories. What are you going to do when you hit your weight loss goal and you're supposed to eat 500-700 more calories per day to maintain that weight?

    I'm not vehemently anti the 1200 diet, but I do think there's some sort of problem when you'd rather not exercise than have to eat a little extra just to net 1200.

    ETA: and for the record, not exercising isn't what got you (or any of us) where you are now. Eating at a calorie surplus is. Weight loss is completely possible without any exercise at all. I'm not suggesting you take that route, per Se, but it is an option.
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    I have a dog, too, and walk her twice a day. I also walk to work and hike on the weekend. I eat if I'm hungry and don't force myself to eat if I'm not hungry. My doctor says I'm healthy.

    Some of the calories in the MFP database are too high for exercise and too low for food. The database is good for a guideline, but you might remember that the members enter the data, not health professionals. You can use a food scale and a HRM to get more accurate readings if you're concerned about it. I don't worry about it since I'm regularly losing weight and feel great.
  • Mcgrawhaha
    Mcgrawhaha Posts: 1,596 Member
    i never actually ate back my daily exercise calories, however, it was a nice cushion to have some fun every other saturday... i ate worry free every other saturday, regardless of calories, because i knew for the prior 2 weeks, i had worked my *kitten* off!
  • GiGiBeans
    GiGiBeans Posts: 1,062 Member
    You can borrow my dog to walk. He's a stubborn Scottish terrier and you'll be lucky to walk a quarter of a mile with him in one hour.

    Just walk your dog and don't worry about the calories.
  • Cindyinpg
    Cindyinpg Posts: 3,902 Member
    I eat most of my exercise calories back and I am fairly active so I get to eat a lot. :love: Plus exercise is not just about eating more or creating a bigger deficit. It is about increasing your overall health and fitness, and just feeling better period. It's win win no matter how you look at it. You probably just haven't found an activity you really like yet. I tried a lot of things before I fell in love with weight training and kickboxing, now I have little patience for other boring stuff like plodding away on a treadmill. :bigsmile:
  • rotill
    rotill Posts: 244 Member
    If you want to eat back your calories because you're at a plateau or otherwise stuck and want to try eating more in order to lose, then think about a few easy, high-calorie things you can add to your food. Put a spoon of virgin olive oil on your salad, don't use a low-fat dressing. Have a handful of nuts, those are incredibly dense in calories. Make a protein shake and drink it just after working out. Put some cream in your coffee. Have a couple of squares of chocolate.

    Most of this you won't even notice because the amounts are so small, they won't make you feel full. It will still really add up in the long run, and help you get the calories you feel you need. Also, they taste good.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    I just checked out your profile, and I bet ya a million bucks you have PCOS and are insulin insensitive ;) Well, maybe 50 bucks. Exercise improves insulin sensitivity, so please don't skip it! I dx'ed you over the internet because you say you want bebies :) Look into PCOS, insulin resistance and progesterone (I take Prometrium) for those bebies :D Oh, I don't want any, but I like my hormones to be somewhat in whack for other reasons!
  • CharRicho
    CharRicho Posts: 389 Member
    With PCOS, you really don't need to eat back your exercise calories. Our bodies run slower than "regular" people and so you really do need to do the exercise, and don't eat back all of those calories. A lot of what people say in this general forum unfortunately won't apply to you. PCOS is an endocrinological syndrome that affects your metabolism (as well as almost everything else), making it harder to lose weight :(
  • bethanytowell
    bethanytowell Posts: 256 Member
    Ok...so I understand that I should be eating the calories that i earn thru exercise, but this is only giving me one more reason to not do it.

    I eat my 1200 calories a day plus most of the ones I earn at the gym, but I just struggle to eat more, for eg i have 800 calories and my dinner will only be about half that. But I would like to take my dog for a walk, for about an hour...which means I have to eat more.

    Its making me not want to do the other exercise...and thats kinda how I got to where I am?!

    Any tips?

    use some olive oil with diner. eat some nuts. have an avocado. make a banana and peanut butter shake. its all too easy to get those calories in. WAY TOO EASY.
  • bethanytowell
    bethanytowell Posts: 256 Member
    With PCOS, you really don't need to eat back your exercise calories. Our bodies run slower than "regular" people and so you really do need to do the exercise, and don't eat back all of those calories. A lot of what people say in this general forum unfortunately won't apply to you. PCOS is an endocrinological syndrome that affects your metabolism (as well as almost everything else), making it harder to lose weight :(

    I have PCOS and i eat back my exercise calories. This is bad advice. That would mean she was netting less than 1200cal per day which is not recommended. With PCOS, you want to count your calories and exercise and net whatever you want to net over 1200 while watching your carbs. carbs are not your friend when you have PCOS. Saying that, i continue to have a 40% carb diet and i have still lost. I would consult a nutritionist and do some research of your own.
  • lucan07
    lucan07 Posts: 509
    I refuse to eat for the sake of eating, I eat whatever exercise calories I feel the need to and the rest add to my deficit.

    I do not go into starvation mode as a result I just end up with a bigger deficit, probably the same as eating TDEE and not eating exercise calories.

    I have looked into the diaries of several people who had their diaries open when they have started spouting how I should eat them all and no surprise many evening binges of cakes and puddings, which cannot be a good idea!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Ok...so I understand that I should be eating the calories that i earn thru exercise, but this is only giving me one more reason to not do it.

    I eat my 1200 calories a day plus most of the ones I earn at the gym, but I just struggle to eat more, for eg i have 800 calories and my dinner will only be about half that. But I would like to take my dog for a walk, for about an hour...which means I have to eat more.

    Its making me not want to do the other exercise...and thats kinda how I got to where I am?!

    Any tips?

    No one should struggle with 1200 calories......the tendency when people start diets is to go low-fat or no-fat. Another tendency is to choose high voume- low calorie (often low nutrition) items.

    Calorie dense foods are good for you: nuts, nut butters, olive oil, seeds.....these have small portion sizes.

    The "point" of eating exercise calories is this ......MFP gave you a calorie deficit BEFORE exercise. When you add exercise you make the calorie deficit larger. Too large a deficit means you are likely to lose fat+muscle...... and not just fat. To lower your body fat percentage, make sure you are eating ...."just enough."
  • JennaM222
    JennaM222 Posts: 1,996 Member
    If you are not hungry, do not eat?
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    How can anyone not want to have extra calories to eat? Boggles my mind. Bring on the ice cream.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    If you don't want to exercise, then don't exercise.
  • bekahlou75
    bekahlou75 Posts: 304 Member
    I haven't been eating my exercise calories. I'm on 1200 also. Today I had a huge lunch with tostadas (over 800 calories)!!! With my exercise I have about 800 more to eat. I won't eat it all. I don't think it's bad to have leftover calories as long as you aren't starving yourself. To me I like to think of them as "rollover points."
  • emAZn
    emAZn Posts: 413 Member
    Plan your day better... if you are eating 1200 and have 800 left over at dinner then there is another problem in itself.. I generally don't like eating too large of a dinner so I only leave about 400-500 for dinner but the rest of my meals have about the same calories
  • jerryvo
    jerryvo Posts: 66 Member
    Dont stress about leaving some calories on the table. MFP does calculate the defect for you so it expects you to eat some of your calories back but don't force yourself to eat if you are not hungry. MFP puts me around 1500 calories with my defect and I work out about 500 calories a day but I only eat 1800 total on avg leaving 200 calories on the table. I don't do it to lose more I am just not that hungry and if I eat just for the sake of eating it leads to bad things. It has worked well for me.
  • rhondatime2chg
    rhondatime2chg Posts: 92 Member
    Don't stress about not eating back all your calories. I've read numerous articles and reports that most of us over-estimate how many calories we are burning, and we under-estimate how many calories we are eating.
  • Stage14
    Stage14 Posts: 1,046 Member
    I refuse to eat for the sake of eating, I eat whatever exercise calories I feel the need to and the rest add to my deficit.

    I do not go into starvation mode as a result I just end up with a bigger deficit, probably the same as eating TDEE and not eating exercise calories.

    I have looked into the diaries of several people who had their diaries open when they have started spouting how I should eat them all and no surprise many evening binges of cakes and puddings, which cannot be a good idea!

    And that's all well and good, unless you're netting an extremely low amount of calories, like OP is.
  • rlinaresv
    rlinaresv Posts: 108
    Maybe is just me, but I really don't get when people say they can't eat 300 calories more. Man, a spoontable of Nutella is 100 cal, give me a break. I think is all BS. I wonder how they got fat, seriously
  • bekahlou75
    bekahlou75 Posts: 304 Member
    Plan your day better... if you are eating 1200 and have 800 left over at dinner then there is another problem in itself.. I generally don't like eating too large of a dinner so I only leave about 400-500 for dinner but the rest of my meals have about the same calories

    Today's lunch was not normal. For example, yesterday I had a bfast of 200 calories, lunch of 265 calories, and dinner of 393. I had snacks (including wine) that was 424. I still had 148 leftover.
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,064 Member
    You can borrow my dog to walk. He's a stubborn Scottish terrier and you'll be lucky to walk a quarter of a mile with him in one hour.

    Just walk your dog and don't worry about the calories.

    Sounds like my dog, but he is a stubborn English Bulldog. He usually needs a nap halfway through his "walk".
  • 33Freya
    33Freya Posts: 468 Member
    You don't need to eat back all of your calories. Just make sure you're getting at least your daily allowance, and eat as desired beyond that (up to the extent of your exercise calories). You shouldn't limit your exercise because you dont want to eat!
  • emAZn
    emAZn Posts: 413 Member
    Plan your day better... if you are eating 1200 and have 800 left over at dinner then there is another problem in itself.. I generally don't like eating too large of a dinner so I only leave about 400-500 for dinner but the rest of my meals have about the same calories

    Today's lunch was not normal. For example, yesterday I had a bfast of 200 calories, lunch of 265 calories, and dinner of 393. I had snacks (including wine) that was 424. I still had 148 leftover.

    Nothing wrong with having 148 left over that's a reasonable buffer and I agree with the person that says you shouldn't ever force yourself to eat but if you have 800 (accurately counted with a heart rate monitor) exercise calories left over and you aren't saving them for something special then by all means drive yourself to dairy queen and have a pumpkin pie blizzard and post pictures so the rest of us can drool...
  • silken555
    silken555 Posts: 478 Member
    MFP tend to seriously overestimate calories burned. A walk with a dog definitely ain't burning 300 calories. If you're going to eat back exercise calories, only eat back actual exercise...the everyday activities aren't exercise...they're part of daily living. Also only eat back about 60% of the amount MFP gives you due to said overestimate.

    If you don't want to worry about having to track exercise, try the TDEE-20% method.
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

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