If your cal goal is set to 1200 & you eat your exercise cals

ginnyroxx
ginnyroxx Posts: 763
edited September 22 in Food and Nutrition
I'm about a month into my decision to eat right and exercise (almost) daily. Before I started to learn about sodium (water retention) and eating my exercise calories, i lost 6 pounds. Moving onto week 3, i stalled. That's when I started looking here, on the forums, to find an answer to why. I was under my goal, drinking water & working out.

I now understand I should be eating my exercise calories. I've read that many here eat about half back.

For those of you who eat back 1/2 of your exercise calories, do you have your calorie goal set to 1200? And if so, if you only eat 1/2, then aren't you essentially under eating?

Look at my diary as an example. I ate over 1200 calories today - eating into my exercise calories, but if i back them out - my net is still under 1200.

Should I be upping my calorie goal to somewhere around 1350-1400? that way when i close out my diary at the end of the day, MFP still says I made my goal for the day?

...and how come when I close out a day where I have NOT eaten my 1200 calories - the little blurb at the end says I'l weigh less than on days I close out eating my exercise calories? talk about confusing :huh:

ETA: not only has my weight stalled in the past couple weeks, but I have actually gained 2 pounds. Going into week 4 - I'm determined to get the scale moving down again.

Replies

  • Harris_C
    Harris_C Posts: 48 Member
    You have the same questions as me!
  • missyhse
    missyhse Posts: 189
    If I don't eat back all (or at least MOST) of my exercise calories, I gain weight, or maybe stay the same.
  • melanie92
    melanie92 Posts: 184 Member
    I am interested in this as well. I spent a lot of time today reading posts about this. I'm still confused! :huh:
  • ginnyroxx
    ginnyroxx Posts: 763
    If I don't eat back all (or at least MOST) of my exercise calories, I gain weight, or maybe stay the same.
    this much i understand. my question is...

    Is your calorie goal set at 1200? and if it is, does MFP not give your that "under your calorie goal" message if you eat back all your cals?
  • cobarlo14
    cobarlo14 Posts: 582 Member
    Hi Ladies,
    I cannot answer your questions. However ,have you thought about seeing a nutritionist/wellness doctor? I was amazed at what my nutritionist and wellness doctor found about me that my regular doctor did not. Just a thought.. Since Sept 20th I;ve lost 28 pounds. Foods are fuel - I was not using the right fuel.

    (I am not a nutritionist so I am not selling services or anything)

    Wish you both the best!!!! stay focused and take one day at a time :)

    Joey
  • ginnyroxx
    ginnyroxx Posts: 763
    Thank you Joey :)

    My question is very simple, and not one a nutritionist can answer.

    For those of you who eat back 1/2 of your exercise calories, do you have your calorie goal set to 1200?

    asked differently.

    If you eat your exercise calories, what do you have your calorie goal set to?
  • ArchyJill
    ArchyJill Posts: 548 Member
    I suggest going for the net calories, which is what MFP appears to use as well. So, for instance, if your goal is 1500 calories (intake) and you burn 500 calories, you should be eating about 2000 calories for that day; the MFP calorie goal thingy (i.e. whether you are under or over) works on this premise. I know that is contrary to the "eat only 1/2 back" that most folks here seem to use, but it's definitely what works for me and is certainly what has contributed most to my long term success.
  • randyv99
    randyv99 Posts: 257 Member
    Hey virgierox,

    I'm pretty sure you're already my MFP friend so I'm sure you've seen this post already but some folks like SHBoss put some good links on there about body nutrition and body mechanics:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/135858-the-1200-calorie-starvation-mode-myth

    Anyhow, I'd suggest you let MFP auto-calc your suggested calorie intake and then eat a portion of your calorie expenditure back to satiey. Many folks worry about that 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. week hump early in their weight loss when they gain some weight. Women will lose a lot of weight very early then begin to gain some back and then steadily lose. Men will also lose more weight early but the difference won't be nearly as pronounced as for women because of the differences in how their bodies store water, salts, and fat.

    I wouldn't worry about a 2 pound gain on week 3 after an 8 pound loss. The only thing you'd have to adjust right now is your way of thinking. Your exercise routine has probably caused muscle growth which displaces the light and useless fat we have. If you are comfortable with your routine, are feeling better and stronger and more energetic then give it a little bit more time with the settings you have.

    If you haven't been using MFP to set your calories based on activity level, gender and weight automatically, then give that a try. MFP has a built in deficit so try to stay as close to the MFP suggestions as possible and as long as you're feeling healhy, you'll continue to lose.
  • littlet22
    littlet22 Posts: 32
    lmao! lets see if i can 'not' answer your question as well :P
    my calories are set to 1390 but i've been trying to keep them at 1200.
    i haven't been eating back any of my exercise calories and yes... i'm at a standstill on the scale. haha
    today is my first day of trying to actually eat my goal calories. i'm still on the fence about eating back my exercises.
    i'll give my adjustment a few days and see how it works out.
    thanks for posting... i'm hoping someone has an answer for you and in turn... that will help me as well. :)
  • ginnyroxx
    ginnyroxx Posts: 763
    Thank you Randy. Right now MFP has put me at 1200 calories (because it won't allow me to go lower). However, I'm starting to see that if I don't eat every single calorie burned from exercise, I go under that 1200 mark - which i'm understanding is not ideal on a consistent basis. So essentially, if I don't hit it exactly right on 1200 net and go a few over, (1250 etc.) MFP won't view that as being under or at my cal goal.
  • missyhse
    missyhse Posts: 189
    If I don't eat back all (or at least MOST) of my exercise calories, I gain weight, or maybe stay the same.
    this much i understand. my question is...

    Is your calorie goal set at 1200? and if it is, does MFP not give your that "under your calorie goal" message if you eat back all your cals?

    yes, it is at 1200, and I don't get that message anymore since I always eat up to or slightly over my 1200.
  • blel0906
    blel0906 Posts: 89
    I'm not sure if there is a right answer to this question...I know you should not go under 1200 calories so would assume if your excercise puts you under you should eat all of some of them back..

    I increased my calories for a 1lb a week loss...I use my excersise to stay closer to 1200...My own little mind trick, I like to be under...when I was set at 1200 I found I HAD to excersise to stay on track which made the excersise seem more like a chore...now sometimes I eat them all, some or none it just depends..so far its working for me and I'm not really feeling deprived of anything...I'm about 10lbs down since starting almost 4 weeks ago..I lost 5 week 1...Week 2 my weight kept yo yo'ing up and down 2 lbs...thats when I increased my calories and dropped another 4..I don't officially weigh in till Monday but I'm down another lb as of today.
  • ltcampbell
    ltcampbell Posts: 19
    My husband and I both try to eat "most" of our exercise calories. I don't exercise nearly as much as he does. When he doesn't eat them, he stops losing weight. His calorie goal is much higher than 1200 because he's a bigger guy. He eats all the calories that MFP tells him and as many more as he can. He burns so many, it's hard for him to eat them all. He usually leaves a few hundred, and still loses his 2 pounds per week. In fact he's steadily lost 2 pounds per week since starting my fitness pall and has lost about 70 pounds. Don't get discouraged if you don't keep losing 8 pounds. That's not realistic. I lost 6 pounds my first week, but I average 2/wk now and sometimes I hit a wall and don't lose for a few weeks. I stick with it, and the weight loss picks up again. Hope that helps.
  • ginnyroxx
    ginnyroxx Posts: 763
    If I don't eat back all (or at least MOST) of my exercise calories, I gain weight, or maybe stay the same.
    this much i understand. my question is...

    Is your calorie goal set at 1200? and if it is, does MFP not give your that "under your calorie goal" message if you eat back all your cals?

    yes, it is at 1200, and I don't get that message anymore since I always eat up to or slightly over my 1200.

    THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! if there was a smiley that bowed down in thanks, i would place it here.
  • howardrw
    howardrw Posts: 80 Member
    There have been a lot of posts pertaining to the question that you are asking.
    I usually don't eat my exercise calories unless I am hungry.
    So I usually allow my body to tell me if I need to eat them or not.
    Overall each of our body is difference and while some may lose weight by eating their exercise calories, other may not lose weight.
    The best thing you can do is try to experiment with eating the exercise calories and see if it work or either eat a portion of them of none at all. This way you will know what your body does.
    I know that I may not have answered your question, but I hope this helps...

    Good luck when you find the answer that works for you.
  • missyhse
    missyhse Posts: 189
    If I don't eat back all (or at least MOST) of my exercise calories, I gain weight, or maybe stay the same.
    this much i understand. my question is...

    Is your calorie goal set at 1200? and if it is, does MFP not give your that "under your calorie goal" message if you eat back all your cals?

    yes, it is at 1200, and I don't get that message anymore since I always eat up to or slightly over my 1200.

    THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! if there was a smiley that bowed down in thanks, i would place it here.

    Glad to help :drinker:
  • maroon58
    maroon58 Posts: 289 Member
    yep, mine is set for 1200 calories and if i exercise i eat about half of those exercise calories back. i have been losing weight, slowly but steadily so it works for me. i don't get that message if i eat my exercise calories but somedays i am just not hungry and have about 300-400 calories left and i get that message.
  • amberchristi
    amberchristi Posts: 54
    My calorie goal is set at 1200 and I always eat back all of my exercise calories - in fact, my day usually ends up with +/-20 calories. I just am NOT comfortable going below 1200. A lot of articles I've read say that 1200 calories is even TOO little for health reasons. If you're exercising, eat back what you've earned! I've had consistent loss for 3 weeks this time around and previously lost 70 pounds (and kept it off) with this method, so it seems to work for my body, at least. I'm always concerned that if I go too far and don't eat enough, but body will start storing fat - and of course, that's the last thing we want!!

    Hope that helps a little bit.
  • cardbucfan
    cardbucfan Posts: 10,571 Member
    Virgie, mine is set to 1200 and I eat back at least 400 of my exercise calories every day. If you look at my nutrition report it will show that I am pretty consistently under the 1200 net but I am still losing. However, when I have a really big workout day, I will eat more of my calories and those are the weeks where I have my bigger losses. I have always worked out a lot but have also eaten a lot (hence my need to be on here!) so I am very uncomfortable eating all my calories back. I have lost 18 lbs. since 8/22 and only have 4.8 to go so this is working for me.

    Oh, and I do get that message when I complete my diary. The projected weight loss is always a lot greater on those days I don't eat as many of my calories back so it is inconsistant with the 1200 net message.
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    Thank you Joey :)

    My question is very simple, and not one a nutritionist can answer.

    For those of you who eat back 1/2 of your exercise calories, do you have your calorie goal set to 1200?

    asked differently.

    If you eat your exercise calories, what do you have your calorie goal set to?

    Yes I have mine set to 1200. I then exercise 200-300 a day so I can have 1400-1500 calories. Because I am 140 lbs, I will only lose less than 1 lb a week. If I exercise more, I could lose more, but A) I know me and I WONT :laugh: B) I want to eat the addl food.

    My sign would say "Will work for food!!"
  • lkm111
    lkm111 Posts: 629 Member
    I can only give you the benefit of my experience so far.

    It took me a while to tweak the calorie reports to fit me best. I originally set my calories for the day at 1400 because I'm a teacher and I'm on my feet all day, plus I exercise at least five times a week. I was eating all my exercise calories back. Like you, I lost weight and then stalled.

    I think the reason I lost so much right away is because I was not eating enough. Once my body started to actually work rather than just survive I was eating too much. I reset my calories to 1200 and ate half of my exercise calories back. On days I was really hungry I ate more, but not over, what I earned in exercise calories. It seems to be working well for me right now. Of course I may have to change again later as my body changes.

    Hope you find what works for you! :smile:
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