Feel like I'm cheating...

My thought is your doing great. If your working out you get some extra cals. I would say eat some but not all your exercise cals and thats what your doing. Great Job:)


Alisha

You're doing fine - not cheating at all. I eat back 50-75% of my exercise calories (I'm on a base of 1300/day but have been averaging 1650 or so with exercise calories) and am losing weight just fine.

Think of it like a car - if you drive longer (work harder) you need more fuel to keep the car running!!

I think we were all like that at some point or another... First we read about eating 1200 calorie diet, I started using MFP and record my exercise and they want me eating MORE, how can this be?!?!?!

I did more research and found out about zig zag dieting where you keep your bodies metabolism on its toes by eating more calories on your workout days and less on your off days. So for me, I will eat no less then 1200 cals but no more then say 1500 and I fluxuate that, so being I workout 6 days a week sometimes I will eat 1/2 my workout calories, sometimes I wont, I try to mix it up.

I am just starting out though so my first month is going to be a trial run to see how well it works, in the first 2 weeks I lost 8 lbs and this saturday will be the end of week 3, I figure if I am still losing good, I will stick to what I am doing...

Body needs 750calories to survive. That means when you are not doing anything just watching your TV and get up to go to the toilet and then go back to your bed you need 750calories. You burn 5-600 and 1200-550=750cal. so you have to eat in my opinion...

I don't think that is true for everybody, but maybe for you.

Body needs 750calories to survive. That means when you are not doing anything just watching your TV and get up to go to the toilet and then go back to your bed you need 750calories. You burn 5-600 and 1200-550=750cal. so you have to eat in my opinion...

Although I agree with you final conclusion (we have to eat enough...) I'm not sure where on earth you are getting these numbers from. Everyone's BMR (what they burn just surviving) is different, and everyone burns different amounts doing their normal daily activity based on height/weight/individual metabolism/activity level/etc. You can't throw out numbers like 750 and say that it works for everyone. Most people need way more than 750 net cal/day for best brain/body functioning.

i can relate to you a 100% ..

I know a lot of ppl recommed that you eat the " workout kcls " - i did that for more than 4 months and had absolutely no results. I was stuck .
After i hired a trainer- she wants me to eat 1200 kcls. I told her, but what with the days where i burn 1000 kcls on my workouts ?
She said.. still you eat 1200. period. I told her- but the girls weighing 140 lbs- and me weighing 250 lbs- get the same 1200 kcls , that's not seeming to be " fair " ..
and she told me - you want results ? this is how you need to get it done. Have you seen the girls on biggest loser ? Yes i have.
Did you see how much they weight ? yes i have. Do you know how much - all the girls on the campus burn and workout on a daily basis ? - about 3-4 hours maybe even more . They burn prob. arround 2-3 thousand of kcls a day. How much do they all get to eat ? 1200 kcls. No matter their size / age height.. they all eat 1200 kcls. Guys don't get more than 1600 kcls- period.

I thought i couldn't " survive " on this.. i'm working on getting to the 1200 mark.. i'm still very often at arround 1400- 1500 daily- but my kcls are extremely " healthy " ( in my view ) so.. i'm working on cutting back figuring out ways how to do it without feeling hungry-
I think it comes down to - not " how much " you eat .. but what quality you eat.. i want the most for my buck, what gives me the best filling/ most benefits - least insulin spikes etc.. Once you find out what food can keep you satisfied longer - than you don't need huge quantities.. while i was eating a ton of carbs - even 2000 kcls were not enough for me.

Don't feel guilty ( i understand that- bc i feel like it every day .. still we are doing really good- keep it up .. pay attention to your body- you don't have to do eveerything that " everyone " suggests.. I respect everyone on this website- and appreciate all the members- but still i think we are here all kind-of in the same boat and still trying to figure our-own-self out- so yes we can give " opinions and experience " but- we shouldn't get offeneded if the opinion is not accepted and followed.

wish you best

One more thing to point out on this topic - someone with 100lbs to lose and someone with only 20 or so (like the OP) is a VERY different scenario. The more you have to lose, the more your body can handle a high calorie deficit. Someone with 100 lbs to lose can be okay not eating back exercise calories... but someone with less to lose needs to eat some/most of those back to keep their deficits at a healthy range. It's just how our bodies work. This is why people need to set realistic goals that are appropriate for how much they have to lose, and change those goals as is appropriate as they lose weight. I plan on switching to a 1 lb loss/week goal here in the next few months as I get closer to a healthy weight (I'm still in the obese range, but just barely...)

A few links that explain this:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/69708-calorie-deficit-for-dummies-a-little-long
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat

The final paragraph of that 2nd post says it very clearly:
"In a nutshell, Dr. Hall’s research tells us that there are big differences between lean and overweight people in how many calories they can or should cut. If you are obese/significantly overweight, dramatic deficits will still result in a high (and desirable) ratio of fat loss to lean loss. If you are lighter, then you must pay more attention to being sure your calorie consumption doesn't drop too low. Be aware of where you are on this curve, and adjust as you make progress toward your healthy weight and body composition goal."

Someone without much to lose should NOT try to maintain a very high deficit on a regular basis - so this means that for them, eating back exercise calories is important for good health.

see - i struggle with the fact that you need to eat your workout kcls- i get that you need " energy and replenish your body "
but it doesn't make sense.. " to me "

the more you burn- the more you will lose. - fact
what if you are " crazy " like me let's say- and decide one day you want to burn 3000 kcls - does that mean i should eat 3000 + my 1200 ? and what if i'm " crazy " en ough to do that 3-4 x a week .. what would i achieve ? other than some hurt joints from all the hard workout.. what benefit would i get out of working so much - and than - eating so much ? I'm trying to " burn of " that extra weight.. not keep it there - that math just doesn't add up .. if you are hungry- eat. but if you are satisfied- with 1200-1400 - why push to eat the hard work you burned ?

i know people will disagree with me - but again- this is my opinion- eating workout kcls- didn't work for me at all - now i get a lot of " criticism " - for not eating the 1000 kcls i burn on an avarage .. -

how come - mfp - is recommending this- while all the trainers i have talked to - completely disagree with this theory..
i'm just trying to understand this

You have to keep in mind that a higher deficit to lose weight faster is NOT always the healthiest option for the long-term. It *can* be detrimental to your metabolism if you have too high of a deficit. Looking at your profile, it looks like you do have a bit to lose, so you're probably fine not eating your exercise calories, but as you lose weight and get closer to being at a healthy weight, that will change. Please see the links I posted above... (the calorie deficits for dummies link and the other one below it). They do a great job of explaining all this.

this is my 10th day straight and i'm having a hard time staying at 1200 it's more like 1400-1600 so i added excercise and i try not to eat it all but it comes in handy when i get the late night 7-9 munchies.
i have discovered SWEET POTATOES!! never thought i'd want them much but microwave after they've been poked and wrapped in a wet paper towel then slice open i use tsp butter and cinnamon very filling at not many calories.. i feel full an dlike i got a treat.. it's helping me alot..