Calories burned by exercise .. not eating

maureen_capel
maureen_capel Posts: 6
edited September 24 in Fitness and Exercise
I am fairly new to mfp and my gym just opened, so I am wondering.. I am eating my 1200 cals a day and have lost 18 lbs. Just started working out and want to know if its ok if I don't eat the calories I'm burning? It gave me 483 cals more based on my workout, but I work out at night and common sense says "don't eat them!"

Thanks for the advice!

Replies

  • denisedepaul42
    denisedepaul42 Posts: 7 Member
    I am working with a group for a Biggest Loser Comp. and they told us NOT to eat those extra calories for exercise. So I just ingnore it each day. Good Luck!
  • SamsGonePaleo
    SamsGonePaleo Posts: 18
    Its a personal choice I guess. It also depends on what kind of exercise you do. I like that it gives me more carbs on the days I am exercising because they power up my workout. You don't want to create too much of a deficit so maybe try it for a day eating them, then do it a day without see how you feel and find a balance. I often eat some back but not all, just listen to your body it might want more food once you start working out a few days
  • lal73
    lal73 Posts: 116
    Not necessary to eat them, as long as you are eating 1200 a day,,,do not go below this if you plan on working out frequently....You will put yourself in starvation mode and sabotage the diet...Keep it up!
  • PureAndHealthy
    PureAndHealthy Posts: 539
    It's good to at least have a recovery snack after a workout. A smoothie would be ideal. With eating so few calories to begin with, I would definitely eat your exercise calories so you don't hit a starvation mode plateau. There's a great thread on this on the message boards. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo You don't have to eat them after your workout... you can space the calories out during the day knowing your workout will make up for them. You have to fuel your body well even during weight loss. :flowerforyou:
  • PureAndHealthy
    PureAndHealthy Posts: 539
    Ps. If you're burning almost 500 calories exercising, your net calorie intake right now is actually only 700.... Look for the thread "700 calories a day and not losing"
  • westwick1
    westwick1 Posts: 44 Member
    Depends how I feel, some days I eat all of them other days only some. It does't seem to have slowed my weight loss down and I find I am hungrier after running so knowing I have these extra cals to eat keeps me from going overboard!
  • kwardklinck
    kwardklinck Posts: 1,601
    Everyone is different. When I was eating 1200 a day and exercising, I wasn't losing. I had to make adjustments for me. Just adding 100-200 cals a day made a difference. If you lose 1-2 pounds a week without eating them back, then that works for you. If you're losing faster than that, it's not going to be easy to maintain once you meet your weight loss goal.
  • Terri73
    Terri73 Posts: 238
    I was always told and read all over websitess to eat back the calories from excercise so if my daily intake was 1200 then i burned 600 through excercise i'd have to eat 1800 cals that day!!!
  • lrns88
    lrns88 Posts: 151 Member
    I never eat all my exercise calories, but I definitely eat some of them as I have bigger portions and some more carbs to give me the energy to exercise! Also it affects your BMR so you're body might need you to eat those calories to avoid the starvation mode problem..........
  • PureAndHealthy
    PureAndHealthy Posts: 539
    I was always told and read all over websitess to eat back the calories from excercise so if my daily intake was 1200 then i burned 600 through excercise i'd have to eat 1800 cals that day!!!

    The HORROR! :noway: lol jk :smile: I love eating 1800 calories. When I can have 2000... it's a happy day. :laugh:
  • loupammac
    loupammac Posts: 194 Member
    I find as long as your net calories is at least 1200, you'll be fine. If you're hungry, make sure you eat something but don't go overboard. Sleeping with a grumbly tummy isn't fun.
  • Terri73
    Terri73 Posts: 238
    I was always told and read all over websitess to eat back the calories from excercise so if my daily intake was 1200 then i burned 600 through excercise i'd have to eat 1800 cals that day!!!

    The HORROR! :noway: lol jk :smile: I love eating 1800 calories. When I can have 2000... it's a happy day. :laugh:


    I struggle to eat 1200 as it is!!!! lol
  • maureen_capel
    maureen_capel Posts: 6
    Wow guys, thanks for all the info!! I really appreciate it. I definitely don't want to go into starvation mode, so I think I will eat a few more throughout day knowing that I will be exercising at night. Plateau .. the forbidden word!!!!
  • poptastic
    poptastic Posts: 151 Member
    I think if you do intense exercise you need to eat more calories - eg. strength training, high intensity cardio workouts etc. I always find that after that kind of workout I am MUCH hungrier than usual and need an evening snack as well as dinner.

    However, if I'm just cycling or swimming or something, I don't need to eat more. I think if you're hungry on an exercise day, eat more but don't eat just for the sake of it if you don't feel like you need more calories.
  • twooliver
    twooliver Posts: 450 Member
    It's good to know the cushion is there. Trust your body to let you know if you need more fuel...
  • twooliver
    twooliver Posts: 450 Member
    This is according to Jillian Michaels:

    "To lose a pound, you must burn 3,500 calories. As I've said before, it's all about the math — how to burn more calories in the most effective way.

    You can only do so much resistance training without damaging your muscles and impeding your results. Additionally, you can't starve the weight off: If you eat fewer than 1,200 calories a day, you will sabotage your optimal results. Therefore, cardio is weight loss extra credit. It allows you to burn additional calories without overtraining. This is one of the reasons some Biggest Loser players can still lose 20 pounds a week, even 7 weeks into the program.

    Think about the math: If you are eating 1,500 calories a day — we assume your BMR without exercise is 1,600 (this is actually my BMR) — and you do two 1-hour cardio sessions that burn 500 calories each (one in the morning and one at night), the two sessions, along with your regular daily activity, will speed up your base metabolism to at least 2,000. As a result, you will have burned about 1,500 calories that day — that is, almost half a pound. At that rate you will be losing up to 3.5 pounds a week.

    That said, you are bound to lose more weight during the first two weeks of any weight loss regimen because of the dramatic change in your diet and the loss of excess fluid. After that, it's all about crunching the numbers, and cardio is the key."
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    If you only eat 1200 cals and burn 480, your body will respond like you are only feeding it 720 (1200-480) which is not enough. In order to achieve your goal MFP is set up that you must eat your exercise calories.

    You can estimate the amount you will burn before going to the gym and eat those calories throuhout the day. Please eat them, if not you will only hurt your self, and you risk burning muscle instead of fat.
  • eshyay
    eshyay Posts: 18
    and you risk burning muscle instead of fat.

    Hear hear. This is precisely what I was going to say. Ultimately, burning muscle instead of fat is going to sabotage you in the long run.
  • pyro13g
    pyro13g Posts: 1,127 Member
    and you risk burning muscle instead of fat.

    Hear hear. This is precisely what I was going to say. Ultimately, burning muscle instead of fat is going to sabotage you in the long run.

    +1 (means I agree :smile: )
  • catherine1979
    catherine1979 Posts: 704 Member
    I was always told and read all over websitess to eat back the calories from excercise so if my daily intake was 1200 then i burned 600 through excercise i'd have to eat 1800 cals that day!!!

    The HORROR! :noway: lol jk :smile: I love eating 1800 calories. When I can have 2000... it's a happy day. :laugh:

    Same here.... I love working out so I can have a few extra snacks!
  • heatherfrancis
    heatherfrancis Posts: 100
    I would definitely eat most of them, and it is ok to eat at night, choose your food wisely and you will be fine, but why starve yourself when you dont have to. Its better to feel satisfied and still lose weight. Thats why so many people give up over time and go back to their old ways.
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
    I was always told and read all over websitess to eat back the calories from excercise so if my daily intake was 1200 then i burned 600 through excercise i'd have to eat 1800 cals that day!!!

    The HORROR! :noway: lol jk :smile: I love eating 1800 calories. When I can have 2000... it's a happy day. :laugh:


    I struggle to eat 1200 as it is!!!! lol

    Add nuts, peanut butter, avocado or olive oil on your salad or veg!
  • Newfiedan
    Newfiedan Posts: 1,517 Member
    it depends on how much weight you have to lose, your net cal should be above 1200 for the average person so if you are set at 1200/day then yes eat them back, if you are at 2000/day like me then I tend to look more at my net and make the decision based on that, fyi try to not go over 1lb/week its been proven time and again that 1lb/wk is the best rate to lose at.
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