Need Help Understanding...

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Mrs_McFadden
Mrs_McFadden Posts: 1,139
in Health and Weight Loss
MFP set my calories to 1610, lucky me right? I assure you that this is less than I would ingest grazing throughout the day mindlessly :).

Yesterday night, I "earned" 448 extra calories. Gold star, yay. So I assume, in order to lose weight, I should be virtuous and NOT eat all of those extra calories? Or am I misunderstanding this? Is it a case where just planning my day around my 1610 is sufficient with exercise?

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  • JodiS75
    JodiS75 Posts: 284
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    Do a "search" on here for "exercise calories" and "net calories" and you will get more information than you could ever imagine!

    Short version - your body needs those extra calories when you exercise so eat some. :flowerforyou:
  • ashlee954
    ashlee954 Posts: 1,112 Member
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    Click on home at the top of this forum. Then click general diet and weight loss help. Then click newbies please read. There will then be blue links to click on that explain why you should eat your exercise calories.
  • Mrs_McFadden
    Mrs_McFadden Posts: 1,139
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    Someone just posted an excellent thread that helped me. thanks!
  • fushion243
    fushion243 Posts: 29
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    Yes, that thread is one I've read and is great. Folks need to remember, that if you burn too much in a day and don't eat back much if not all of those calories, you risk muscle loss to fuel the recovery. You need to lose slowly in order to not risk muscle loss as the weight loss. The starting calories are already set to help you lose weight. While losing a lot of weight is a great feeling, losing muscle is not good in the long term loss of weight effort. So, eat back healthy and lose slowly.
  • Mrs_McFadden
    Mrs_McFadden Posts: 1,139
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    That's right fushion243, I certainly *cannot* spare to lose one speck of muscle lol! The fat is winning the war in my body and the muscles are sorely outnumbered and waiting for backup haha :).
  • newjmf
    newjmf Posts: 78
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    PERSONALLY, I had a hard time wrapping my head around the midset of eating my exercise calories. I was at a stand-still until about 3 weeks ago when I decided to give eating my exercise calories a try. AMAZINGLY, the scales have started moving again, PRAISE THE LORD!

    The advice given to me by a certified nutritionist and trainer was:

    1. Approximately one hour prior to exercising, have a light snack that had carbs in it. You will burn those carbs off while exercising. I have 2-3 rice cakes and an Advocare SPARK energy drink with an Advocare Catalyst Supplement. I have noticed a tremendous difference in my energy and how far I can push myself during the workout....plus my HRM clocks WAY more calories burned! A win-win situation for me.

    2. Immediately following the workout, have a protein shake, preferably higher in protein, lower in carbs and as little sugar as possible. I have either a 100 calorie pre-mixed Muscle Milk Light chocolate or a Syntha 6 Caramel Latte or Chocolate protein shake mixed with Smart Balance milk. All of them are very yummie! ;)

    He explained that when you work out, you tear down your muscles, therefore, you need to provide fuel (protein and calories) to repair the muscles and give them the energy they need to properly function. This in turn, allows the muscle to burn the fat that is on top of it, causing you to lose inches and trim down. DON'T FRET, THOUGH...the scales may not move as fast as you want when building muscle, but at least you will be toning up.

    I hope this helps....it took me a while to grasp. I don't eat EVERY SINGLE calorie burned unless I am eating out or unusually hungry. I figure that there is around a 10% marginal error on the HRM's part and my calorie tracking. My food diary is viewable to my friends, so if you want to, just send me a friend request and you can dig around in my diary.

    Also, remember that what works for one person may not necessarily work for another....we all have different bodies, routines, eating habits, etc. You just have to use "trial and error" to figure out what your body responds to! GOOD LUCK!

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