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

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2

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  • abyt42
    abyt42 Posts: 1,358 Member
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    Though I'm frequently under my goal for calories, I eat back some (to all) of my exercise calories. Some days it's super easy to do that, other days, it's a challenge to break 1000.
  • MandaLee8908
    MandaLee8908 Posts: 1,353 Member
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    I only eat mine back if I'm hungry. Listen to your body. If you're truly hungry, then eat them. If you're not and you are simply giving in to the taste or smell of food, then don't.
  • deeharley
    deeharley Posts: 1,208 Member
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    Wow - those answers cleared things up. haha
  • katerinab
    katerinab Posts: 107
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    I don't eat them back, for the most part. Today I ate a few back, just because I felt so dang hungry all day, but most of the time I don't. It no longer feels natural to eat over about 1200-1300 calories per day regardless if I've earned exercise calories in addition to my daily amount.
  • clioandboy
    clioandboy Posts: 963 Member
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    Hi! I think it is clear that you have to find what works for you, we experts are experts only on what works for us! Lol! In my case I eat my exercise calories, all of them, BUT NOT the amounts given by mfp, which are massive numbers compared to my heart rate monitor..... I believe my hrm so those I eat and it is working for me. One little complication to my expertise is that I lost most of my weight eating back the mfp calories lol!!!!! Soooooo I was eating 2/300 cals OVER my allocated net 1200 AND LOST maybe 20 lbs.... As I say find what works for you, and remember that we are trying to find a sustainable alternative to being fat not a slim down to rebound when we revert to old ways.... Good luck
  • kimmrdodge
    kimmrdodge Posts: 190 Member
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    I do not and have never eaten my exercise calories....the real key is making sure you get enough nutrients if you are you do not need to eat them, plateau's tend to happen not because of too few calories but due to not enough nutrients which can look the same.
  • gailygail99
    gailygail99 Posts: 582 Member
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    i dont eat mine back. it says that i can have 1600 calories and then i get whatever i earn from exercise. stil like to stay around 1300-1400 max. some days i am even more towards 1200. i assume that i should atleast be eating the 1600, but i just cant seem to get my brain to let me. haha! things have been ok so far. Good Luck! :smile:
  • EricMurano
    EricMurano Posts: 825 Member
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    A lot of the daily calorie allowances people are quoting here sound extremely low!
  • ramseyrose
    ramseyrose Posts: 421 Member
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    A car cannot run without fuel and neither can your body. You need to eat AT LEAST the amount of calories that your BMR gives you - ie the calories needed to lie in bed and do nothing all day. That is the basic amount your body needs to fuel your organs. If you exercise on top of that you need to top up your fuel tank, so your body can run efficiently.
  • ramseyrose
    ramseyrose Posts: 421 Member
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    A lot of the daily calorie allowances people are quoting here sound extremely low!

    I agree. MFP calculates my BMR at about 2000. On Monday I wore my HRM from getting up to going to bed. I burned 3000 calories which included 200 from exercise. It was a very sedentary day; mainly on the computer but sorting a bit of laundry, cooking meals etc. When I am at work I am walking about all the time so my calorie burn would probably be higher.
  • EbonyGemstoneHealth
    EbonyGemstoneHealth Posts: 249 Member
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    Bump!
  • charlene77
    charlene77 Posts: 250 Member
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    Most people are going to tell you to eat them. I personally.....sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. The last time I lost weight, I lost 60 pds in just under 5 months. I didn't know about exercise calories, and now that I do......I'm not changing what I did then, that worked.
    I ate a healthy, well balanced, diet! I eat around 1500 cals, walk 5 days a week and do weights and strength training exercises. I drink alot of water and eat NO JUNK FOOD or empty calories. I find that I start to know my body so well, I can listen to it.....if I have a uge calorie burn, it needs a bit more, so I fuel it. If it's just a walk, naw, and I eat alot of protien to help my muscles.

    This loss jourey I just started, I've had the flu for weeks, so I haven't been working out and have just maintained my weight. But for the first few weeks I gained a few pounds (because of muscle gain) then I lost three pounds in a week. Fitness pal doesn't register the lose because I gained a few pounds in muscle :(

    Don't know if this helps?!
  • charlene77
    charlene77 Posts: 250 Member
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    If you look on my friends list, I have a guy named Remann. Add him and message him. He's uber helpful, and well, he's a guy. He has his diet down to a science and has lost alot of weight. I think he's at 1700 cals a day. His food diary is open. I think he would be most helpful to you :)
  • onvacation
    onvacation Posts: 24 Member
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    I would watch eating the exercise calories because I think some of them are overstated on this site. Eat some if you are still hungry, if you aren't hungry don't eat them just because they are there.

    Just my opinion!
    Kim
  • Wileyjoe
    Wileyjoe Posts: 282
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    Sometimes I do eat them back, or at least part of them and sometimes I don't. It might depend on how big of a burn the exercise generated.
  • RunHardBeStrong
    RunHardBeStrong Posts: 33,069 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 agree with this!! I have lost 80 lbs and eat 1/2 to 3/4 of my exercise cals back but I burn 500+ cals per workout.
  • NattyBo
    NattyBo Posts: 41
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    Usually I don't, unless I'm especially hungry for some reason. I haven't found that I felt hungrier without them for the most part though, just listen to your body.
  • dimoul
    dimoul Posts: 137 Member
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    I've lost 32 lbs since 1/13/2011. I do spin class and weights 2 x per week. I also work in 3-4 mi of running and I am slowly increasing the running. MFP has me at a 500 cal deficit per day (1lb per week mode). I don't generally eat my exercise calories. I just eat my daily calories or a little below if I feel ok. Sometimes I eat some of my exercise calories if I am feeling really hungry.
  • kevanos
    kevanos Posts: 304 Member
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    If you don`t eat them back, you will lose weight faster. This is because you create a larger calorie deficit.

    But faster isn`t better becasue you will be losing muscle mass along with fat. If lose your weight at moderate rate, 1-2lbs per week, you will be getting healthier and fitter at the same time that you lose weight.
  • Quicksilvas
    Quicksilvas Posts: 42 Member
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    Most of the time I do not eat them back. I have read all the hoopla around my body going into starvation mode and making sure that I eat back my calories, but in the end it is simple math. 3500 calories equals a pound, up or down. You either lose it or gain it. I know there are times that our bodies plateau, but the body adjusts and you keep moving forward.

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