Eat less than you burn?

What does that mean? in my other topic someone said i can eat anything i want as long as i eat less than i burn. But i dont get what does she mean. Can someone please explain

Replies

  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
    that means that you use more calories over a given day than you consume. that's how people lose weight
  • losingdays
    losingdays Posts: 19 Member
    Eat fewer calories than what you exercise/burn off per day!
    I generally take this to mean you have your daily caloric intake of ~1000cals p day for an adult female wanting to lose weight, then anything other than that you've got to burn off if you wanna eat it. So you want a snack after dinner that'll take your intake up to 1200cals for a daily total, then you have to exercise 200cals worth that day too to make sure you're not out of balance intake wise?
    Do you get me?
    I basically try to stick to 1000cals a day minimum and burn as much of that as possible because then you're guaranteed to lose basically but aren't starving yourself :)
  • losingdays
    losingdays Posts: 19 Member
    (ie. exercising so you have a caloric deficit will guarnatee weight loss, as far as i understand)
  • ClaudiaKho13
    ClaudiaKho13 Posts: 229 Member
    soooo... for example
    if my daily goal is 1400 and i burn like i dont know 300 calories, do i have to eat back those calories or not?
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
    Eat fewer calories than what you exercise/burn off per day!
    I generally take this to mean you have your daily caloric intake of ~1000cals p day for an adult female wanting to lose weight, then anything other than that you've got to burn off if you wanna eat it. So you want a snack after dinner that'll take your intake up to 1200cals for a daily total, then you have to exercise 200cals worth that day too to make sure you're not out of balance intake wise?
    Do you get me?
    I basically try to stick to 1000cals a day minimum and burn as much of that as possible because then you're guaranteed to lose basically but aren't starving yourself :)

    no this isnt what it means. not at all

    most of the calories we burn during the day come from being alive .. the blood circulating through your body, your heart pumping, your digestive system working, blinking, etc all of these things burn calories.

    if you ate less than you'd exercised that would mean you'd only be eating 200-400 calories a day.

    and sweet baby jesus unless she's 3 foot tall, an adult woman should be eating far more than 1000 calories a day
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
    soooo... for example
    if my daily goal is 1400 and i burn like i dont know 300 calories, do i have to eat back those calories or not?

    yes. eat your exercise calories back
  • GrammyPeachy
    GrammyPeachy Posts: 1,723 Member
    I don't eat my exercise calories back. Lots of people eat back half. Some eat back all of their exercise calories.
  • sympha01
    sympha01 Posts: 942 Member
    soooo... for example
    if my daily goal is 1400 and i burn like i dont know 300 calories, do i have to eat back those calories or not?

    When people say "eat less than you burn" the "burn" in this case refers to your TOTAL caloric burn for the day, generally referred to around here as your TDEE. Your exercise burn (like the 300 calorie example above) is only a small part of that.

    Your total caloric burn for the day -- your TDEE -- is the sum total of:

    BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate): The number of calories you burn at complete rest.
    NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis): Caloric requirements of activity (i.e., movement beyond being at complete rest) that is not planned exercise. Vacuuming, driving, brushing your teeth, for example.
    EAT (Exercise Associated Thermogenesis): Caloric requirements of training, or training expenditure. EXERCISE CALORIES
    TEF/DIT (Thermic Effect of Feeding or Diet Induced Thermogenesis): Caloric expense of eating/digestion.

    TDEE: (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) = Sum of the above. BMR+EAT+NEAT+TEF

    Quoted (with modifications) from this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

    So to lose weight, you should eat fewer calories than your total daily energy expenditure. Take in less than you put out, and your body is forced to metabolize your own body mass (hopefully fat, but usually some muscle and other stuff too) to make up the energy difference.
  • ClaudiaKho13
    ClaudiaKho13 Posts: 229 Member
    soooo... for example
    if my daily goal is 1400 and i burn like i dont know 300 calories, do i have to eat back those calories or not?

    When people say "eat less than you burn" the "burn" in this case refers to your TOTAL caloric burn for the day, generally referred to around here as your TDEE. Your exercise burn (like the 300 calorie example above) is only a small part of that.

    Your total caloric burn for the day -- your TDEE -- is the sum total of:

    BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate): The number of calories you burn at complete rest.
    NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis): Caloric requirements of activity (i.e., movement beyond being at complete rest) that is not planned exercise. Vacuuming, driving, brushing your teeth, for example.
    EAT (Exercise Associated Thermogenesis): Caloric requirements of training, or training expenditure. EXERCISE CALORIES
    TEF/DIT (Thermic Effect of Feeding or Diet Induced Thermogenesis): Caloric expense of eating/digestion.

    TDEE: (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) = Sum of the above. BMR+EAT+NEAT+TEF

    Quoted (with modifications) from this thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

    So to lose weight, you should eat fewer calories than your total daily energy expenditure. Take in less than you put out, and your body is forced to metabolize your own body mass (hopefully fat, but usually some muscle and other stuff too) to make up the energy difference.

    Wow this is so much easier to understand. Thanks
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,454 Member
    Everyone has a TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). It's the total calories you burn in one day, which includes getting up in the morning, walking around at work/school, exercise, etc.

    Subtract 500 calories from that number for an approximate 1lb loss a week.

    IE. 2000 TDEE
    Intake 1500
    1lbs loss a week

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition