Dazed & Confused on Calories consumed & burned

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Burlesque12
Burlesque12 Posts: 177 Member
in Food and Nutrition
:noway: I am on a 1200 calorie a day restriction by MFP in order to reach my weight loss goal. I also workout each day and burn about 500 calories. The Calories Remaining jumps up to make up for the calories burned, but now I feel like I am eating too much to reach those calories, and I feel like there is no way that this will make me lose weight. Do I continue to eat the Calories Remaining amount or do I stick to the 1200 each day regardless of calories burned by exercise??? Please help me understand this!

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  • j_fattler
    j_fattler Posts: 94 Member
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    I'm right there with you! Can't wait to see what someone else has to say!
  • jen1516
    jen1516 Posts: 77 Member
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    I've seen the answer go both ways on this one. Some people claim if you don't eat them you'll go into starvation mode. I have chosen not to eat them all back. I will sometimes eat a few of them just because I'm hungry (I also only have 1200 limit).
  • 123nikki123
    123nikki123 Posts: 527
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    Eat your exercise calories!!! :smile:
  • goshagirl
    goshagirl Posts: 30 Member
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    I saw this on a guys profile:
    www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com
  • katiejarr
    katiejarr Posts: 251 Member
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    I stick with 1200, but if I consume more on weekends for drinks then I dip into the reserve :)
  • alliecore
    alliecore Posts: 446 Member
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    Simply put, MFP has already calculated the 500-a-day deficit you need to lose weight. That is why you are restriced to 1200 calories.
    When you exercise, you burn more calories. If you burn 500 and don't eat them back, you are forcing your body to function on 700 calories. This is NOT enough.
    Eat back the calories you burn exercising. Every day people come on the boards and tell how they overcame their plateau by eating MORE.
  • hamsmash
    hamsmash Posts: 41 Member
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    So MFP basic principal is that you need say 2200 calories to live if all you do is sit on the couch. You take that and subtract 500 calories per day per pound of fat you want to lose a week. 1 pound is 500 a day and 2 is 1000. So you end up with at a 2 pound a week loss 2200 - 1000 = 1200. So when you do an exercise say 400 calories worth you didn't burn 2200 calories you burned 2200+400 = 2600. So a 1000 calorie deficit on that is a net of 1600. The idea is to eat at least some of your exercise back so that your body doesn't decide that it is starving and burn muscle instead of fat. The current standard is a healthy weight loss rate is 2 pounds a week, anything over that is considered unhealthy.
  • amarie35
    amarie35 Posts: 338 Member
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    You do need to eat some of the exercise calories back. I personally try to eat @ least 1/2 of mine back. I've heard that your body will go into starvation mode if you don't. But I've also heard that your body doesn't go into starvation mode over night or even a few week period. I heard that it takes a long time for it to actually happen but when it does, your metabolism can shut down. It won't affect you though if it's just a once or twice a week thing. But, I for sure wouldn't make a habit out of it.
  • wcstrnad
    wcstrnad Posts: 3 Member
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    Also remember, if you are doing any kind of strength training that lean muscle burns more calories and weighs more than fat. so you might feel like your weight isn't going down, but your body fat percentage is...
  • thoallen
    thoallen Posts: 18
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    You gotta eat those exercise calories. Your body WILL go into starvation mode if you do not consume the minimum of 1200 calories per day, regardless of your current weight or age. Those calories you burned, if not replaced with calories from food, will come from some stored fat, but only for a little while. Then, your body starts depleting itself of its own muscle (the protein in the muscle is what your body will use first). So, essentially, you hurt yourself by not eating your exercise calories back. I know you may feel like you are not going to get anywhere, but I know that if you continue to exercise regularly, that alone will speed your metabolism up, and you BMR (Body Metabolism Rate) will increase, making it easier to lose weight. Plus, increase muscle mass from exercise will help your body burn calories faster as well. Good Luck and I hope this helps!
  • Burlesque12
    Burlesque12 Posts: 177 Member
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    Thanks everyone for your quick replies!!! I am now going to stop obsessing over my dilema and will eat back most of the calories burned. :flowerforyou:
  • Burlesque12
    Burlesque12 Posts: 177 Member
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    good point! I AM strength training and didnt even consider that when thinking about this! Thanks for pointing that out :)
  • lnosgood
    lnosgood Posts: 92
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    I personally only eat back my workout calories if i'm starving for the day. As long as I am not hungry, I do not force myself to eat those calories. I just make sure i'm eating what my body says I need to eat. So some days i'll eat some of those calories back, but for the most part I don't eat them at all. It seems to be working though... 3 weeks in and i'm 13 lbs down. :)
  • malabaugh
    malabaugh Posts: 130 Member
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    I started in February with the 1200 calorie goal. I ate back my exercise calories andI lost about about 6lbs and then stopped. After a couple of weeks of no change I tweaked my settings to lose 1.5lbs a week instead of 2. My calories went up to 1350 and I continued to eat back exercise calories. The first week doing this I lost 3lbs! The next week I lost 2 more. I am now down 13lbs and have once again increased by calories to 1500 and I still eat back most of my exercise calories. Everyone is different, but for me more calories=more weight loss. Good luck figuring out what works for you. I say if it's working stick with it. If not, try adding calories and see what happens.
  • BerniceB
    BerniceB Posts: 41 Member
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    You can go into "starvation" mode so eat at least some of your exercise calories. There is an old diet, one of the many I have used, called the rotation diet. The theory of that diet was changing up the number of calories you eat helps keep the body from plateauing. So mix it up. And you do not want to gain the weight back, my trick, so eating a more regular amount of maintanence calories my make it easier when you reach goal to keep eating well. A thought. Good luck.

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