I dont put in any exercise i've done on MFP.

bad

you need to consume some of your exercise calories to lose weight. not sure why but I have read that repeatedly

bad. do a search for "eating exercise calories" and read all the threads on it. Then figure out what's the right balance for your body.

Most importantly, be sure you are accurately logging your calories burned (ie get a BodyMedia Fit or HRM) and eaten because if the math is right it won't work.

Very common question. Here are some of the threads that explain how MFP works, metabolism, and why it's a good idea to log exercise and eat at least some of those cals:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

There are others, of course, but those are some of the ones with the most complete, yet simple, explanations. Good luck to you!

I think you're supposed to eat back your exercise calories because MFP already creates the deficit when you input your weight loss goals.

It's B-A-D! :huh:

You have to keep your body fueled in order to keep your metabolism from getting sluggish which is exactly what is going to eventually happen if you under feed your body. You'll go into starvation mode and can actually gain weight. :sad:

I don't know what kind of personal trainer would tell a person to not eat the calories they burn. This just doesn't make any sense. :noway:

Eat small meals. eat nutritious snack in between meals. eat, eat, eat. Drink at least 8 glasses of pure H2O every day to keep hydrated. Not cola. Not tea. Water. :drinker:

Chiming in. Bad. Eat at least some of them back. Don't necessarily max them out for a couple of reasons that are explored on other threads, including 1) if you don't have an HRM they are estimates ONLY. And machines as well as MFP often overestimate. 2) The calories burned per MFP, machines and even HRMs calculate how many calories you've burned IN ADDITION to what you would have burned laying on the sofa. 1/2 to 2/3 of them is usually the suggestion if you don't have an HRM and don't want to do a load of math.

But you HAVE to fuel your body. You should try to consume at least 1200 calories net each day.

i will be asking my new personal trainer tomorrow.
and see what he has to say also, but thanks everyone for the advice!

Be sure to explain how MFP works accurately. You need to tell him that MFP calculates a deficit regardless of exercise - so if you exercise, you STILL have a deficit built in to your goal.

Bad. You should be eating back as many of the calories as you can of the calories that you burn from excercise.

Let's look at it this way. Say MFP tells you that you need to consume 1200 calories a day. Okay...so now, you go exercise and burn of 600 calories. Meaning, that your body is now trying to function off of only 600 calories for the entire day. BAD. Your body has no just gone into starvation mode! Living off that few of calories is really bad for you. If you don't eat those exercise calories your body is going to try and store EVERYTHING that you eat because it is now afraid that you'll STOP feeding it! At THE VERY LEAST you need to eat (and maintain) 1200 calories a day. Meaning, if you burn 600 calories off, you need to eat enough to make sure you get back up to 1200. For your health AND your weight-loss goals!

I don't eat my exercise calories because I usually assume that a) I've underestimated my food and b) I've overestimated my exercise calories. I figure the two cancel each other out.