I AM PROOF, It works like a charm!!

Fat2FitChick
Fat2FitChick Posts: 451 Member
edited September 24 in Food and Nutrition
Hey guys! OK so last month I decided to get serious about dropping this weight of mine. I put in my goals and began exercising and eating according to my goals, but one thing I wasn't doing was eating my exercise calories.
My calorie goal was 1200 daily and I would burn about 600 calories daily during my workouts, most days I only got a net of about 600 give or take and then there were days when I barely ate that much. My excuse was well I am not hungry and I don't want to force myself to eat and plus I had dropped 12 lbs in the first month so I must be doing something right!! Right?
WRONG!! The reason I wasn't hungry is because my body had slowed way down to accomidate the low calorie intake there fore I wasn't hungry as often as I should have been because of this. There were days where I never felt hungry at all, even after a workout.
I had lost all this weight but couldn't see a change in my body at all not even a smidgen of a change, my clothese weren't even looser. Then after reading many posts on MFP I realized that my body was probably burning muscle and not fat.

So I took a leap of faith and decided to do what I felt in my mind was counter productive. I decided to eat my exercise calories. The first 2 days I noticed my body felt kind of confused and I was crazy full and I felt like I was force feeding myself. I also gained 2 lbs in those 2 days, but then by day 3 I started to feel a difference and noticed a feeling I hadn't felt in a while. I was hungry often and had tons of energy!! And what do you know since I started on Saturday, I have dropped 4 lbs and you know what else, I am hungry ever 2 hours now unlike before where I felt no hunger. So now I am in total eating about 1500-1600 calories a day and making sure my net is 1200.

IT WORKS PEOPLE, take it from a newbie, that has tried it both ways. It really works. You have to eat to loose!! Trust me!!
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Replies

  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
    I agree!!
    I'm glad you figured it out sooner rather than later.
  • Fat2FitChick
    Fat2FitChick Posts: 451 Member
    So am I! It is a hard lesson to learn though. I know so many people on here get upset with people on here when they don't want to eat the exercise calories but it is only because for so many years we have heard that you have to drastically cut back our calories and pretty much starve to lose weight.

    Pretty much we have to reprogram ourselves. Hopefully this post will help someone else!!
  • fuzzymel
    fuzzymel Posts: 400 Member
    Glad you have that figured. Good nutrition is essential for long term maintenance.
  • Go_Lise
    Go_Lise Posts: 151
    WOW! This was basically the "answer" I was looking for! I had a phase when I dropped the pounds but there was NO difference in terms of the way I looked or how clothes fit (I had a lot of comments like "your face looks thinner" though)!! Even now I'm averaging a net of 600-900...I should be eating a little more huh?

    Thanks for your story!!
  • zorbaru
    zorbaru Posts: 1,077 Member
    i guess its easier for us guys who have bigger goals

    i think the 1200 is the bare minimum the body needs to function, so if you go under that, then that is when it starts going pear shaped (its a saying, not refering to anyone here :P)

    i have a calorie goal of 1900 so if i have a net of 1700 for the day then im not concerned about making up those extra 200 because i have still had plenty for the day.
  • Lanfear
    Lanfear Posts: 524
    I have to say I look forward to exercise so I can eat the calories, otherwise I think I'd really struggle to stay on 1200 a day! I averaged about 250 extra calories last week each day and then this week it's a bit more because I've started the 30 day shred as well :)

    In my first week I dropped 4 lbs (and I ate all my exercise calories, more or less) so we'll see how it goes this week :)
  • LadyT02182011
    LadyT02182011 Posts: 113
    Thanks so much for posting this! I will start doing this immediately!
  • SalsaFaye1983
    SalsaFaye1983 Posts: 26
    I'm definately going to try this - i'm on the 1200 cals a day and although i'm pretty new, I feel gutted I haven't lost more than 5lbs. This last week I suddenly started to try to get up to my 1200 cals and although this week I haven't got any exercise in, I have lost 2.2lbs - where previously I was stuck at the same weight for about 2 weeks!
  • rmmattox34
    rmmattox34 Posts: 25
    thanks for posting that...I was really stressing because I have been under on my net and I wasnt sure what to do. I have been eating some of my exercise calories but not all. I am also worried because my protein has been a little high. Can that be a problem as long as I work out?
  • catherine1979
    catherine1979 Posts: 704 Member
    I am so glad it's working for you! I had plateaued for a long time, started eating most of my exercise calories, and BAM! I am losing again! Good luck on your weight loss journey.
  • kateslife
    kateslife Posts: 39
    Yes! Good job! So many people think that you starve yourself to lose weight. That's such a big no no(: Your body needs the energy to function. Keep doing what you are doing, because you are focusing on long term and that is great. You have discovered the key to your weight loss girl! Haha sorry I'm excited about this, because so many people's perceptions about the calories and all are unhealthy.
  • Fat2FitChick
    Fat2FitChick Posts: 451 Member
    thanks for posting that...I was really stressing because I have been under on my net and I wasnt sure what to do. I have been eating some of my exercise calories but not all. I am also worried because my protein has been a little high. Can that be a problem as long as I work out?

    The first thing I did when I signed up for MFP was take my protein up to 35%. Your body needs protein to help build muscle and to my understanding MFP sets the protein really low any how so it is ok if your protein is over.
  • katschi
    katschi Posts: 689 Member
    Amen!

    Thanks for posting your success with this!
  • rosnnj
    rosnnj Posts: 25 Member
    I am so glad you posted this. I had the same results with dropping some lbs but not seeing it (other than a few inches off the waist but no where else). I felt guilty eating my workout calories. I was patting myself on the back for not eating them. Thanks for the post!!!:flowerforyou:
  • pammbroo
    pammbroo Posts: 550 Member
    I'm going to try this too and see if it makes a difference. I've been reading and wondering, reading and wondering....

    Thanks for posting!
  • chanstriste13
    chanstriste13 Posts: 3,277 Member
    agreed! well said! your metabolism is a fire - it needs fuel! if you give it too much fuel, it smothers. if you give it too little, it dies out. i make it a habit of eating at least half my exercise calories, sometimes more - but i'm always over 1200 calories! i generally net between 1500 and 1600.
  • scagneti
    scagneti Posts: 707 Member
    Awesome post! I'm sure it will be very helpful to those who are confused/on the fence.

    Personally I've been pro-eating all along! :laugh: 1200 calories just ain't going to cut it when I'm trying to work out so hard!
  • happyhaunt
    happyhaunt Posts: 180 Member
    Thank you so much for this post, it's really explained things for me. I burned off over 600 calories and now I'm way under 1200 calories even though I've eaten 1200 calories today. I guess I need to eat more to bump it back up?
  • Fat2FitChick
    Fat2FitChick Posts: 451 Member
    Yup you do, enough to get you back up to at least 1200 net.
  • lagosgal
    lagosgal Posts: 17
    It took me years to realize this and lots of yo-yo weight loss. Now I know that i have to eat the calories to lose the weight and for it to stay off in the long run.

    btw I love your hair!
  • ShrinkinMel
    ShrinkinMel Posts: 982 Member
    agreed! well said! your metabolism is a fire - it needs fuel! if you give it too much fuel, it smothers. if you give it too little, it dies out. i make it a habit of eating at least half my exercise calories, sometimes more - but i'm always over 1200 calories! i generally net between 1500 and 1600.

    I'm doing this(eating at least half but sometimes more) during the weekend. Weekends i end up over and not exercising. BUT now I got an exercise bike that I will do in front of others where as my dvd workouts I feel weird doing in front of people other than my daughter. It was working before I got sick for a week with a virus and ate quick junk and gained a pound back. I've gotten back on track this week and hoping for some loss on Friday's weigh in.
  • Flawlessk
    Flawlessk Posts: 68
    Thankyou, that's really helpful.

    I'm definitely going to make sure i have my breakfast, lunch and dinner every day now and force myself to eat, even when i don't feel hungry xx
  • ace175
    ace175 Posts: 518 Member
    bump!
  • benitocereno
    benitocereno Posts: 101 Member
    Awesome for you, keep it up!!

    I've been stalled on overall weight-loss myself, but I've still been losing some fat. I found that upping my protein has helped and now I'm starting to lose again too :smile:. The more I do this the more I realize cutting more calories than you're allotted is never the right answer!
  • shellyxxxxx
    shellyxxxxx Posts: 143
    thanks for this post i was really all confused about net calories so is your net calories the amount youve eaten through the day including your exercise cals sorry for being thick n all x lol
  • MrsSanthoff
    MrsSanthoff Posts: 272 Member
    Thank you for this! I was one on the fence about it all but didnt want to risk gaining by trying "new" things! I will make sure I eat most of my workout calories!
  • Fat2FitChick
    Fat2FitChick Posts: 451 Member
    thanks for this post i was really all confused about net calories so is your net calories the amount youve eaten through the day including your exercise cals sorry for being thick n all x lol

    This is how it works

    Say my daily calorie goal is 1200 but then I burn off 600 while working out, that 600 is subtracted from the daily goal leaving me with only 600 net calories. That means I have to eat back the 600 I burned off to bring my net calories to 1200.

    The calories you burn is always subtracted from the calories you've eaten so what you burn off has to be added back to bring you back to 1200.

    I hope I explained it so you could understand it, sorry if I confused you more.
  • mandyarostegui
    mandyarostegui Posts: 17 Member
    Thank you for sharing this!! I am still scared to eat all of my exercise calories... but I try to eat a little more than half of them! But this just may be what pushes me to eat them all!
  • parkygirl
    parkygirl Posts: 37 Member
    Thank you sensei! I will try this. I am willing to bet it's going to work!
  • Hannah_92
    Hannah_92 Posts: 26
    What if I workout before bed? Should I use the calories burned for the next day? Message me!
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