Another post about eating burned calories lol

Awineburg
Awineburg Posts: 196
edited September 23 in Fitness and Exercise
Ok I need a simple answer lol
I have a calorie goal of 1980. M,W,F i work out and burn about 500 calories. Do I eat those back? Most of the time I am over the 1200 cal mark so am I ok NOT to eat them?

Ugh Im confused, I want to lose weight!!!

Replies

  • CMcBryer
    CMcBryer Posts: 139 Member
    Eat back most of those calories. Keep yourself above 1200 Net every day. Your metabolism is raising and adjusting to your working out. If you do not give your body the calories it needs to keep all of your vital functions going, then it cheats. You don't want that.
  • Awineburg
    Awineburg Posts: 196
    So I go by what the "Net" says and not the total?
  • CMcBryer
    CMcBryer Posts: 139 Member
    Yep. The Net is what your body is truly getting to run itself. If you eat 2000 calories in one day, but burned 500, your body would only have 1500 calories usable to perform all the necessary functions that keep you alive. That number is still a deficit so you still lose fat, but you lose it the healthy way without breaking down muscle fiber or other necessary tissue. :)
  • sunshine86912
    sunshine86912 Posts: 23
    whoops, so you are saying that on the days I eat 1200 or a little more than that..and burn app. 1000 I am doing myself a disfavor by only eating 1200? crap.
  • Awineburg
    Awineburg Posts: 196
    hmm could be why I am not loosing... Ive only lost 11 lbs and I though this was a plateau :noway: :noway:
  • Awineburg
    Awineburg Posts: 196
    whoops, so you are saying that on the days I eat 1200 or a little more than that..and burn app. 1000 I am doing myself a disfavor by only eating 1200? crap.

    You'd only be eating 200 caloires then. I think lol
  • CMcBryer
    CMcBryer Posts: 139 Member
    That's absolutely correct. It is a disfavor. You should always Net 1200 or more because of starvation mode, which shuts down your metabolism to conserve the precious little calories you are giving your body. At it's worst your body starts converting muscle into energy.
  • CMcBryer
    CMcBryer Posts: 139 Member
    You can lose 2 pounds per week healthily. Slow and steady. You did not put those pounds on in 1 week so don't expect to get rid of them in one week. :) Also, do not just rely on the scale for progress. Take measurements of your waist, hips, thighs, biceps, etc. and listen to the way your clothes start to feel. The scale is not the be all and end all of progress measurement. Consider having a fat percentage done by a trainer. Then have it done again in a month or so. Don't get discouraged and if something doesn't seem right definitely ask about it!
  • Awineburg
    Awineburg Posts: 196
    You've been a big help!!!!
  • CMcBryer
    CMcBryer Posts: 139 Member
    Also, if you can, include some weight training in your workouts. As your body gets the nutrients it needs it will also start building muscle and that muscle will boost your metabolism even further.

    From personal experience I was eating around 800 calories a day at one point in time and exercising off 1000 calories per day. Sure, I lost a lot of weight, but I lost a lot of muscle mass and I felt terrible all the time. Now I realize that this was because my body was destroying itself from the inside out just to keep me alive.

    Now I am closely monitoring my caloric intake and my exercise plan to gain and sculpt my muscle as well as burning enough calories per day to put me in a deficit so my body uses that excess fat as fuel to repair and build my body. :)
  • kwardklinck
    kwardklinck Posts: 1,601
    If you're not losing, try adding another 100-200 calories each day. You may have to play with the numbers a bit to figure out what works for you. I would also keep track of inches. I didn't lose my first month but I dropped a pant size in the same month.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Ok I need a simple answer lol
    I have a calorie goal of 1980. M,W,F i work out and burn about 500 calories. Do I eat those back? Most of the time I am over the 1200 cal mark so am I ok NOT to eat them?

    Ugh Im confused, I want to lose weight!!!

    Now, I'm confused. You say your calorie goal is 1980, but most of the time you are "over the 1200 mark". Does that mean you have a goal of 1980 and you are only eating 1300?

    Here is my suggestion: For now, at your weight and your stage of the program, focus on eating 1700-2000 calories per day and being very accurate and consistent with you calories, and don't worry so much about eating back exercise calories. Do as much activity as you can tolerate. Try and build up your endurance so that you are doing 60 min of cardio at least 5-6 days per week. You can do some mild strength training as well.

    Again, 1700-2000 calories per day of quality, nutrient dense food: at least 100g of protein, 25% of calories from fat, fruit, vegetable and whole-grain sources of carbohydrate. Lots of fiber; minimal processed food, minimal simple sugars. Move as much as possible.

    Keep it simple for now, and focus on staying adherent to a the basic principles outlined above. If you are successful, in 6 mos or so you will need to restructure your program, but there is no need to get too complicated right now.
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