To Those Who Have Lost 30,40,50 lbs+

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fishndad
fishndad Posts: 102 Member
in Success Stories
I have read several articles about eating & or not eating your exercise calories. I understand why you should when explained, but goes against everything I've learned in the past. Even my Dr. said watch portion control. If I eat my exercise calories, I'm eating between 2500 & 3000 calories a day. Seems like a lot. I've really tried hard to make them all good calories & balanced, but still seems like a lot. My original question to those who have been successful in losing a lot, Do you eat your exercise calories?? I'm so confused. Any help would be appreciated..............Mike
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Replies

  • Scidoc
    Scidoc Posts: 106 Member
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    I have lost close to 60lbs since September 2010. I have never eaten my exercise calories. Always kept it at around 1200 calories/day. Of course I hit some plateaus along the way, but I think that is normal since your body has to adjust to its new size.
  • jrlenig
    jrlenig Posts: 364 Member
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    I eat them for sure ( not all of them!) but your body needs fuel to keep building and burning!
  • Robyn1733
    Robyn1733 Posts: 58
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    I have lost 82lbs, and only eat around 1200 -1500 cal per day. I never eat back my exercise calories (unless a very special occasion). I too have hit plataeu's but just keep pushing through. I would strongly recomment decreasing your calorie intake.
  • Taneil27
    Taneil27 Posts: 253
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    Yes! Definitely eat them! Myfitnesspal already includes a deficit to help you lose weight, so if you don't eat those exercise calories, you won't be eating enough! :-)
  • melodyg
    melodyg Posts: 1,423 Member
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    I eat mine if I am hungry. That being said, I have my calorie intake set to lose less than 1 pound a week. If I had it set to lose 2 pound a week I would DEFINITELY eat back my exercise calories. I also still have about 70 pounds to lose, so I feel comfortable having a larger calorie deficit (not eating back exercise calories). Closer to goal... I think it is more important to eat back the exercise calories. Maybe not every single one (to account for small fluctuations in calories burned), but most.
  • Shannon7713
    Shannon7713 Posts: 76 Member
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    I have lost 31 lbs so far, and I dont eat all of my exercise calories.... Thats just way too much to eat, and after all, thats how I got heavy! LOL.... They say you are supposed to eat them all, but i only dip in to no more then 200, and thats if I am really hungry from working out alot..... Thats just me tho :)
  • tross0924
    tross0924 Posts: 909 Member
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    Depends on how I feel. Some days I eat all and even over some, most days I eat about 2/3 of them, but some days I don't eat any. Depends on how hungry I am, and what I feel like that day.
  • 77LouLou
    77LouLou Posts: 75
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    I dnt eat mine...but if I decide to have a drink or go out and splurge I do.
  • FoamyRiver
    FoamyRiver Posts: 276 Member
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    I've lost 37lbs since August and I always eat at least some of my exercise calories. If I'm going to a special event and I know I'm going to eat more than my usual alloted calories I make sure to get some exercise in to allow for the extra calories I'm going to consume.
  • kenrae
    kenrae Posts: 12 Member
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    I eat some of them most days. I have lost 44lbs since Sept 2010. I too have hit some plateaus but I just stick to the plan. I also have one free day a week where I can have what ever I want guilt free. This seems to work for me. Good luck.
  • pmarti5
    pmarti5 Posts: 38 Member
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    i stay at 1,200 or below a day, or i do not lose. maybe a lil more on weekends but i try to always stay under 1,400 a day.
  • MochaMixAZ
    MochaMixAZ Posts: 844 Member
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    I do both. I've lost over 200 pounds, and it depends on how hungry I am. I find I need more with heavy workouts... so I try not to eat all of the calories back, but I frequently eat some.

    It's kind of trial and error - what works for one of us, won't work for all.

    Best of luck! If you're finding yourself hungry, consider eating a few back. If you're comfortable and don't need them, then stick to your baseline.
  • nickyb632
    nickyb632 Posts: 98 Member
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    some days i do, some days i don't, when i hit a plateau i have noticed that upping my exercise and then eating most of those calories back kicks me back into it, i definitely try to keep my net at 1200, sometimes that can be hard though
  • ImperfektAngel
    ImperfektAngel Posts: 811 Member
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    I make sure to eat 1600 calories a day and have lost 60 lbs since May 2010. The only thing is that I eat more carbs on days I work out and less carbs with more good fats on days I do not workout but the calories need to always stay the same!
  • kimcat73
    kimcat73 Posts: 687 Member
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    I totally agree with eating them but somedays it's not possible. I try to budget accordingly. I like having that buffer at the end of the day. I eat them most of the time, most of the calories and it works for me:) Good luck!
  • bentobee
    bentobee Posts: 321 Member
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    I think whether you need to eat them or not depends on the kind and amount of exercise you are doing. If you're only "earning" 200 exercise calories a day by taking the dog for a walk you'll do just fine - better than fine - not eating them back.

    If you are sweating your tail off with hardcore cardio and weight training, burning 500+ calories a day, then you really should be fueling your body more.

    I wear a BodyMedia Fit armband, so my daily calorie burn is monitored 24/7. I know quite precisely how much I am burning and can gauge whether I need to eat back more of my exercise calories or not. Some days I don't eat them back and end up with a 1000 calorie deficit, other days I HAVE to eat them otherwise I'd end up with much too high of a deficit. Yesterday, for example, I ate back as many as I could, but I still ended up with over a 1200 deficit. If I had not tried to eat them back my deficit would have been in the 1800 range which is way too much of a deficit, IMO!
  • A_New_Horizon
    A_New_Horizon Posts: 1,555 Member
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    I have lost close to 30 lbs, and I eat some of my workout calories (not all of them). I have found if I don't eat some of them then my body goes into starvation mode. I usually eat anywhere from 1300 to 1500 calories a day. Also, make sure you are getting enough water in your system. You need to keep yourself hydrated.
  • leedyc
    leedyc Posts: 15
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    I lost 80lbs doing P90x and Insanity. These workouts take a huge amount of fuel pre-workout in order to get through the whole days workout. It takes cutting about 500 calories a day from your BMR in order to burn a pound a week, double that if you want to lose 2 pounds a week. Myfitnesspal accounts for this based on your BMR and your daily activity level. Any more than 2 pounds a week is unhealthy for you body to withstand even though many of us have done it.

    I lost 40lbs from August to November but ended up in the hospital with blood clots in my lungs. I don't know if the dramatic weight loss was the exact cause (my doctors never figured out the true cause, someone call Dr. House right?) but maybe my body just couldn't handle the stress. When I lost those 40lbs I was doing P90x 6 days a week and eating about 1800 calories a day since I found it harder to eat over that amount while eating healthy foods.

    So I guess the short answer is it would depend on your workout and lifestyle. To lose weight in the healthiest way however you should only omit about 500 calories out of your diet a day. So that means burning 250 calories and eating about 250 calories less a day should put you in good shape, no pun intended.
  • BrandNewMia
    BrandNewMia Posts: 461
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    I have lost 30lbs since January, and every day I eat SOME of my calories back. In fact, I exercise every day because I need the extra calories to eat what I want! I don't always eat all of them back, it depends on how hungry I am, I won't force food on myself if I don't want it. I actually see bigger losses on the weeks that I zig-zag calories - eating over my goals 1-2 days per week and making sure I leave a bigger deficit on the following days to make up for going over. I know it sounds strange, but it works for me :)
  • ♥Violette♥4Ever♥
    ♥Violette♥4Ever♥ Posts: 457 Member
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    I have lost over 30 pounds and leave a 500 calorie deficit. The only time i eat all my calories (1200) is on the day I rest.

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