Eating back exercise calories?

First off forget about losing 4-5 lbs a week. It's not a good idea and would require a caloric deficit of 14000-17500. Even if you maintenance calories were 3000 (which would be rather high), you'd only be able to eat 500 calories a day. Try and lose 1-2 lbs a week. That's a much more realistic goal. As far as eating exercise calories back, I do not. I find that machines grossly overestimate calories burned. I simply estimate my TDEE, total daily energy expenditure (total calories burned in a 24 hour period) and subtract 500-1000 from that. Exercise would be included in the estimate of my TDEE. This way I'm eating the same amount of calories every day and if weight loss stalls, I can simply reduce total daily calories.

I understand what your saying. I started off eating the 1200 plus all but 200 execised the first week lost 2 lbs. then the 2nd week I just ate the calories that I exercise lost 3lbs. I honesly cant give you a correct answer. Everone says something different. I have been taking lipozene and right size shakes too. I am in the same boat as you. I want to get to 140lbs again. I am currently at 185lbs. 3 weeks ago when i started deiting I weighted 198lbs. My first week I lost a bunch cause i fasted 2 days and then just did the shakes with one meal wihich was lunch lost 8lbs. Then I found this site and started trying it. I figure I will fast 2 days again and then 3 shakes for 5 days again about every six weeks. That is just me though.

Ok. this is how weight loss works it is really simple. Note I say simple, not easy. Calories are a unit of energy. We can manipulate energy to lose and gain weight. 3500 calories of energy (either used or stored) = 1lb. Weight is lost when there is a calorie deficit, which means that you used more energy than your body had stored (calories). Weight is gained if you are storing more energy units than you are using. If you create a calorie deficit by 3500 each week, you will lose 1 lb on average ( this can fluctuate greatly because of how much sodium you have, if you are retaining water, if it's your period, etc etc) How do you reduce those calories and why are you eating 1200 calories you may ask. First, you burn a certain amount of calories just sitting around. So, if you were in a coma, you would still be burning calories. This resting calorie burn (I don't know all the lingo, sorry) varies from person to person, depending on their current weight and their everyday activity level. In order to maintain your weight, you would have to eat all the calories that you are burning at your normal resting weight. For easy understanding let's say that your average resting calorie burn is 2000. 2000 X 7 =14000 so in one week you might burn 14000 calories just by being you. If you want to lose weight, say 1 lb a week, you would need to take 14000-3500=105000. there are two ways you can do that, you can reduce your calorie intake by 500 a day (500x7=3500) or increase your activity to burn 500 cal a day. Lots of people choose a combination of the two to meet their caloric goals (maybe exercising 5 days a week burning 700 cals...and so on). That is the basic theory. So, MFP says eat 1200 cals a day (700 X7= 4900= 1.4 lbs a week) This only takes in account what you are putting into your body. If you exercise, then your body burns more calories and therefore could potentially lose more weight. However, keep in mind that your body NEEDS calories and it NEEDS energy to do normal body functions like digestion and breathing and other little stuff that we never really think of, so maintaining a certain number fo calories is very very good, MFP says, 1200 should be sufficient to maintain your body's functions. So, if you do exercise than it is safe to eat those calories...because MFP assumed only that you want a calorie deficit that will create a weight loss, it does not assume that you will be active.
There is this saying that I really like, "Weight loss occurs in the kitchen, tone and fitness occurs in the gym"
You will discover how best to utilize the calories you have through trial and error and you seem pretty firm in your beliefs and weight loss goal. I can only give you my experience for an idea of what you might exect.
I was 230 lbs (maybe even 240, I was scared to weigh myself) when i joind Weight Watchers which has a similar philosphy on weight lose as MFP and converts the calories to a point system. I ate the alloted points and I walked on the treadmill. I did not lose any weight the first 2 months. Not a drop. But I felt good and I liked what I was doing and I paid for 3 months so I stuck it out. After that it was like the weight started melting off. It would be 1 lb a week here, 1 lb there and then every once in a while, a 4 lb week. Next thing you know, 30 lbs was gone, then 50 (and then I started a c25k program) and then 70! It took about 10 months. I went from a size 18 going on 20 to a size 9 juniors being a little loose. And the size of my body ended up being more important than the weight (I hovered on 163) I gained 35 lbs back and went up to a size 12 and am now working on losing again (through WW and adding strenght training to my cardio) and I am planning on a slow weight lose. (lost 17 lbs since january and hoping to lose 20 more by Oct)
Every body is different, but I would definitely caution to be patient and not to burn yourself out. Small, attainable goals will help you keep on track. it worked for me before and is working again. Good luck on your journey!

What exactly does this mean? I was always under the impression that what a woman should do for maximum healthy weight loss was eat 1200 calories per day AND exercise for however long. But people here are saying you should "eat back" your exercise calories - wouldn't that basically nullify the exercise then?

I've never heard that. The idea I've heard is that you don't want the deficit to be too high, because that will leave you without energy and risk losing muscle mass (but this all depends on how overweight you are to start). Also, for a lot of people, it may well make the diet harder to stick to.

Most diet recommendations I've seen suggest aiming for 1-2 lbs a week, with about half from a cut on the calories and, ideally, the rest from increased activity, if you are willing and able to do that. MFP starts by creating a goal assuming you won't exercise, and then if you exercise you get the calories back to maintain the same basic deficit, just made up by a combination of exercise and calorie cutting, not calorie cutting only.

Personally, I aim for 2 lbs (I still have a lot to lose) and eat back some but not all of my exercise calories, since MFP overstates them and since when I have a big workout day (long run or bike ride--long for me, anyway), I am not usually THAT much more hungry than on other days, although the cushion is nice to have. I eat back some because improving my overall fitness and performance goals (again, such as they are) are important to me, not just getting this weight off. I have a much better attitude when that's my focus.

This is how MFP is designed to work. Your calorie goal is already at a deficit ...if you don't eat back at least some of your burned calories you may be eating at unhealthily low levels. It works. And its perfectly logical.
When people say "well...Ive been on diets before where you didn't do that ".....I have to laugh. Yup..been on diets before, and here you are again losing the same weight again. If you're serious about getting healthy this time...get out of the "diet" mindset and be patient, and make the changes that get you where you want to be. Faster isn't better, or healthier...or likely to be long-term. Goodness knows ive been there. Don't want to go back.

Is it bad not to eat any of them back at all?

As long as you net the calories MFP gives you then no. If you don't net what MFP tells you or round about that number, then yes.

What you are doing is unhealthy. 3-4 lbs per week is unhealthy. Sorry if it's not what you want to hear, but I'm not going to cheer someone on for putting their health at risk.

Don't listen to these people. As long as you are eating a moderate diet and are feeling good you are probably ok. That said my advice is to up your calories a bit. Simply because you are really burning those gym sessions. And sometimes those can have a cumulative effect after a while if you don't eat enough. honestly I have the same kind of thing. Some weeks I lose 1/2 lb and others I lose 3-4. I don't do anything special to make this happen it just does. I guess every body is different.

And dude come on .. this is the internet. Do you REALLY expect to find a place on the internet without self serving *kitten*. The trick is to be able to tell who is worth listening to.

Bye, then?

If you've been so successful in the past and have all the answers, why did you even come here to ask questions?

You might have lost at that rate due to just beginning to eat healthier. Sometimes reducing sodium intake, for example, causes you to drop water weight quickly. On a long term basis, 3-4 lbs a week of fat loss does seem rather high, and potentially unsustainable. Wouldn't you rather know what awaits you on the other side of this initial glow?! Well, there it is, regardless!!

At least I know that a poster named CrazyGURL is a girl . . .