Replace burned calories?

brindle619
brindle619 Posts: 12
edited September 25 in Fitness and Exercise
So im confused. Am I supposed to replace the calories I burn during exercise? I thought the point was to lose calories.

Replies

  • kao708
    kao708 Posts: 813 Member
    Part of the point of burning calories is to create a calorie deficit that will enable you to lose weight. When you signed up, MFP already calculated your deficit based on your entries. If you go to MY HOME/GOALS you will see where they have calculated this for you.

    Essentially, the process of eating back your exercise calories is to ensure your net calories don't get too low...I think it's around 1200 for women and about 1500 for men????

    If you work out alot and don't eat some of them back your body won't be getting enough fuel.

    This process doesn't work for everyone so you will need to try it and see what works for you. Don't believe it when people tell you that one way or the other is absolutely the best! Listen to your body!
  • woja9640
    woja9640 Posts: 450 Member
    Yes, you are supposed to eat back the calories. If you don't your metabolism will slow and start storing them as fat and you will regain the weight. This is what we refer to as starvation mode. By exercising and eating back the calories you are jump starting your metabolism into working faster.

    I know this is true because a few weeks ago I was sick with bronchitis and could hardly eat anything and was only eating 1/3rd of what I should have been eating and ended up regaining 3 lbs. However, once I got better and got back on track, I began losing the weight.
  • ty_918
    ty_918 Posts: 1
    The point is to burn more calories than you consume. The program calculates how many calories you should burn just by going through a day. Then you tell it how fast you want to lose weight and it subtracts that many calories from your normal day creating a calorie deficit that should make you lose weight. Then as long as you don't go over your net calorie allotment you should have a calorie deficit and lose weight. The more you excercise the more you can eat without going over your allotment, but that doesn't mean you have to eat more, it just means you can because you have burned more calories. The more calories you leave on the table, the more weight you should lose. The exception to that comes if you consume too few calories and your body thinks it is starving and reduces your metabolism so you burn fewer calories naturally. I think that is why the "recommended" weight loss goal is a pound a week. They don't want you shocking your body into reducing your metabolism.
  • Coyla
    Coyla Posts: 444 Member
    It's not possible gain weight by eating too few calories, but it can work against healthy weight loss. Our aim is to burn fat, not muscle. However, the body requires a certain amount of energy (calories) to burn fat. Without that energy, it'll resort to burning muscle instead.

    Check out kao708's signature. Those links have a lot of information about eating back exercise calories and why cutting too many calories can actually work against you.
  • brindle619
    brindle619 Posts: 12
    thanks everyone
  • erinhale
    erinhale Posts: 137 Member
    It's not possible gain weight by eating too few calories, but it can work against healthy weight loss. Our aim is to burn fat, not muscle. However, the body requires a certain amount of energy (calories) to burn fat. Without that energy, it'll resort to burning muscle instead.

    Check out kao708's signature. Those links have a lot of information about eating back exercise calories and why cutting too many calories can actually work against you.

    I am a health and fitness professional and this is the worst advise you could have given anyone. I am so over seeing people dole out advise that is completely wrong.

    YOU CAN GAIN WEIGHT FROM EATIGN TO FEW CALORIES> Your body goes into starvation mode and starts storing fat and then it makes you fat. Basically what happens instead of burning fat, it burns muscle. I see it all the time in my office. People eating too few calories and still gaining weight.
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