Eating back exercise calories while already in a deficit

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jeffhanlon
jeffhanlon Posts: 4 Member
in Getting Started
According to mfp, my maintenance calorie amount was 2059. I just dropped from 244 to 198 by being in a food deficit of 259 & exercise deficit of about 300 daily. I hurt my ankle and was unable to do any cardio for 2 weeks and that was when I saw my biggest weight loss. I lift weights 6 days a week and was doing cardio daily until I hurt my ankle. Since I cut out cardio and lost weight rapidly does that mean I was in too big of a deficit and should have eaten more on cardio days?

So basically I was eating 1750 calories and burring about 300 at the gym daily. 2059-1450= 609 calorie deficit daily on average. I was not eating back exercise calories. But If I did cardio I actually lost less weight. Should I eat more on cardio days? I feel as if that would just make the food deficit pointless.

Secondly, once getting to 198 lbs I plateaued so I have decided to change my calories and food intake since I weigh less now. Currently I have been aiming for 1500 calories (fat-48, protein -144, carbs-108) and I am not currently doing cardio but weight training 6 days a week for 1:30 hours. I figure I burn about 300 calories an hour weightlifting. Now my BMR is 1946. Would 446 food deficit and 350-400 exercise deficit =769 1946-769=1177. Would this be too big of a deficit/ should I eat back so exercise calories?

If anyone could provide some feedback I would appreciate it!
Thanks,
Jeffrey Hanlon

Replies

  • chelee143
    chelee143 Posts: 4 Member
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    Time to Assess

    A weight loss plateau means the weight loss method that worked so well in the beginning of your program will no longer provide results. You can maintain your current weight loss, but you will not continue to lose additional weight. Accordingly, if you have reached your goal, there is no need to change your current weight loss program. However, if you wish to lose more weight, the only way to overcome a weight loss plateau is to change your weight loss method.

    Overcoming a Plateau
    To overcome a weight loss plateau, you must further decrease your calorie intake or increase your activity level. If you decide to reduce your calories, take an inventory of your current diet and shave off an additional 200 calories. Do so only if this will not leave you with a less than 1,200 calorie intake per day. If you decide to increase your activity level, you can increase the time you spend working out by an additional 15 to 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can increase the intensity of your workout by running faster, adding additional weight to resistance workouts or adding weights to your cardio. You can also combine eating fewer calories with an increased activity level. No matter what your choice, the key is to constantly revamp your program to keep you body guessing and losing weight.
  • segovm
    segovm Posts: 512 Member
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    No.

    What it probably means is that while you were exercising your body was holding onto some extra water weight that wasn't needed once you stopped exercising.

    I'm not in the camp of eat more to lose more though since that just sounds like a really odd idea to me.

    When you start moving again, this insane theory will likely reinforce itself by adding back in the water weight you recently shed...

    I'm confident if I stopped riding my bike for a few days I would drop weight to but it would be a really bad game of connect the dots to say not exercising makes you lose weight... you already know that though.

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