How many calories should you consume?

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beastmode_kitty
beastmode_kitty Posts: 844 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
When you do a good workout of about 500-800 calories burned a day, how many of those burned should you be eating back? Today I have burned 608 calories, i've consumed 1360 and my net is 752,

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  • gaerielsky
    gaerielsky Posts: 20
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    My nutritionist says no one should consume less than 1200 a day. I took that to mean net.
  • Nmama
    Nmama Posts: 191 Member
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    My nutritionist says no one should consume less than 1200 a day. I took that to mean net.
    Mine said the same thing. No less than 1200 net. Your body needs that to function
  • jojodaly
    jojodaly Posts: 8
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    You do not need to eat back you exercise calories? Your body is not burning the fat you are currently eating, it is using the stored fat. Consuming at least 1200 calories is what you should be doing. You are good with your just over 1300.

    IN MY OPINION!
  • 6barnesfam
    6barnesfam Posts: 1 Member
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    Your net should not be under 1200 calories. If you go under that you can put your system in starvation mode; storing fat instead of shedding it. My advice is eat more protein, fruits and veggies/nuts and good fat, less bread/pasta/rice. Drmercola.com has a peak fitness program that helps you workout less time but burn the fat. You may want to read up on it. I began being more serious about my eating habits and have stayed consistent at my workouts (5-6/wk) for several months and have dropped 23 lbs and over 12 inches and went down 8% body fat. That's my advice for what it is worth. :)
  • beastmode_kitty
    beastmode_kitty Posts: 844 Member
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    I sometimes find it hard to get to 1200 net when I've worked out hard, and drink water and dont really feel all that hungry.
  • TLC1975
    TLC1975 Posts: 146 Member
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    @Precious...if you consistently do NOT eat a minimum of 1200 net calories a day...your body WILL go into starvation mode, it will slow ur metabolism and protect ur fat stores, its a defence mechanism of the body, it will do what it can to protect the organs and its basic functions, you NEED 1200 calories to perform basic functions like pump blood and breath.....the body will STOP burning stored fat and start burning muscle .....PLEASE eat back ur calories burned and stay ABOVE the 1200 net count...you are only harming urself by eating less,,,,and remember that the body requires pure sources of useable energy to build muscle, burn fat and repair...processed foods, pop and sugar are not considered healthy pure sources of energy.
  • beastmode_kitty
    beastmode_kitty Posts: 844 Member
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    @Precious...if you consistently do NOT eat a minimum of 1200 net calories a day...your body WILL go into starvation mode, it will slow ur metabolism and protect ur fat stores, its a defence mechanism of the body, it will do what it can to protect the organs and its basic functions, you NEED 1200 calories to perform basic functions like pump blood and breath.....the body will STOP burning stored fat and start burning muscle .....PLEASE eat back ur calories burned and stay ABOVE the 1200 net count...you are only harming urself by eating less,,,,and remember that the body requires pure sources of useable energy to build muscle, burn fat and repair...processed foods, pop and sugar are not considered healthy pure sources of energy.

    Alrighty! I am making sure I eat my 1200 net calories, and trying to eat healthier type snacks. I really do enjoy chips and salsa as a snack though.
  • gaerielsky
    gaerielsky Posts: 20
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    I lost a lot of weight, but couldn't get the rest off because I was in starvation mode. When I plateued, I was doing 2 hrs a day of heavy exercies (about an hour of cardio Elliptical on Personal Trainer mode, level 15-16, plus weight machines, free weights, and walking or kettle bells), and eating about 1200... that had me at like 600 net. I was NOT losing and did in fact eventually start gaining. So, don't do that. It was frustrating as hell. Which is why I don't believe those that say... "calories in calories out"... no. If you eat too little you can gain.

    Your body is trying to be as efficient as possible. It's trying to retain it's fat stores. It doesn't want to give them up. You can't freak it out into thinking you're starving because it will start shutting down non-essential functions - like your monthly cycle. You have to trick it by giving it food so that it doesn't try to protect itself and will give up the fat stores.
  • TLC1975
    TLC1975 Posts: 146 Member
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    @Precious...if you consistently do NOT eat a minimum of 1200 net calories a day...your body WILL go into starvation mode, it will slow ur metabolism and protect ur fat stores, its a defence mechanism of the body, it will do what it can to protect the organs and its basic functions, you NEED 1200 calories to perform basic functions like pump blood and breath.....the body will STOP burning stored fat and start burning muscle .....PLEASE eat back ur calories burned and stay ABOVE the 1200 net count...you are only harming urself by eating less,,,,and remember that the body requires pure sources of useable energy to build muscle, burn fat and repair...processed foods, pop and sugar are not considered healthy pure sources of energy.

    Alrighty! I am making sure I eat my 1200 net calories, and trying to eat healthier type snacks. I really do enjoy chips and salsa as a snack though.

    After re-reading what I wrote, it sounded like I was yelling at ya....sorry wasnt my intention...I too love chips and salsa as a snack but I can't remember the last time I had that snack item...:( I do miss it, but I sure don't miss the fat!
    Good Luck!

    @Gaeriesky...absolutely correct! Most ppl won't actually believe that the body would do that....hope the plateau has broken..keep up the good work!
  • nuttybuttersmommy
    nuttybuttersmommy Posts: 77 Member
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    When you do a good workout of about 500-800 calories burned a day, how many of those burned should you be eating back? Today I have burned 608 calories, i've consumed 1360 and my net is 752,

    my doc said 1200 min... if no exercise... for every hour my doc did say to up my cals... how much depends on how many cals you burn duning the work out... you can go in to starvation mode if you exercise a lot and do not up the amount of cals you eat... You really shoul d ask your doc for the correct advice though...
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
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    If you wore a HRM and you're confident that you actually burned 608 calories, then you should eat back most of them. HOWEVER... you must subtract the number of calories you would have burned any way, without exercising.

    To do this, find your mainteance calories by going to My Home>>Goals and look at "Calories burned during normal activity." For example, say your maintenance calories are 1600. Divide 1600 by 24 and then divide again by 60 to get the number of calories burned per minute. (1600/24/60 = 1.11). Multiply 1.11 by the number of minutes you exercised. For example, if your workout lasted 45 minutes, you would subtract 50 calories (1.11*45 = 50) from your total burn of 608. Log your exercise in MFP as burning 558 calories (608-50) and eat what MFP shows in your food diary.

    In other words, YES eat your exercise calories. MFP calculates a calorie deficit whether you exercise or not so you must eat back your exercise calories to maintain the same calorie deficit.

    If you didn't wear a HRM and you're concerned about overestimated your calorie burn, then eat back most, but not all of the calories shown in your food diary after logging the exercise in MFP. Hope this helps.
  • healthyandthin
    healthyandthin Posts: 104 Member
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    My nutritionist told me to eat at least 1600 calories. That's not net calories so if you burn off 400 at the gym, you're still fine.
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
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    @Precious...if you consistently do NOT eat a minimum of 1200 net calories a day...your body WILL go into starvation mode, it will slow ur metabolism and protect ur fat stores, its a defence mechanism of the body, it will do what it can to protect the organs and its basic functions, you NEED 1200 calories to perform basic functions like pump blood and breath.....the body will STOP burning stored fat and start burning muscle .....PLEASE eat back ur calories burned and stay ABOVE the 1200 net count...you are only harming urself by eating less,,,,and remember that the body requires pure sources of useable energy to build muscle, burn fat and repair...processed foods, pop and sugar are not considered healthy pure sources of energy.

    Alrighty! I am making sure I eat my 1200 net calories, and trying to eat healthier type snacks. I really do enjoy chips and salsa as a snack though.

    Salsa is great, make a fresh one in the food processor. Tomatoes, peppers, onions, jalapanos if you like it hot...
    Just try to use a baked chip or a pita chip or something better than potato chips or corn chips. I buy Joseph's pitas and if I don't use them before they start to go stale, just rip them up and bake till crispy. There's your chips right there.


    And I will second (and third, and fourth...) what everyone is saying about 1200 NET MINIMUM. I now eat about 2000 cals a day at 108 lbs....
    Keep that metabolism going and you can eat normal amounts again without gaining!
  • jovie929
    jovie929 Posts: 20
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    I'm confused- say I eat my 1200 cal a day, but burn 300, taking me down to 900. Am I supposed to re-eat another 300, what I just worked off? I thought that by being in deficit is how you lost the weight? Thanks for any help on educating me on this! :)
  • Bridgetc140
    Bridgetc140 Posts: 405 Member
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    I think the magic 1200 is ridiculous, honestly. How can that be the minimum number for everyone? I eat between 1050 an d 1150, I change it from week to week and I'm not in a starvation mode. We are not all the same size and there shouldn't be some cookie cutter number. Eat what you can back, but don't force feed yourself.
  • aeckels616
    aeckels616 Posts: 210 Member
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    I'm confused- say I eat my 1200 cal a day, but burn 300, taking me down to 900. Am I supposed to re-eat another 300, what I just worked off? I thought that by being in deficit is how you lost the weight? Thanks for any help on educating me on this! :)

    Totally depends on your height, weight, activity level. 1200 net is not a magic number for everyone. The idea that someone who is 5'0" needs the same amount of calories as someone who is 5'11" or 6'4" is pretty silly when you think about it. I also tend to think that plateaus have very little to do with "starvation mode" because every single "Starvation" study supports the conclusion that if your body is actually being restricted to the point of starvation, you don't plateau. Ever. You continue losing weight until you're at 5% body fat. There are, however, other very serious side effects - both mental and physical - of starvation diets.

    But back to the point. Should you eat those calories? Depends on your body type and how much of a deficit you are ALREADY at if you net 1200 calories. If your body burns 2400 calories in a day, then by all means EAT until you net AT LEAST 1200 calories. Your deficit shouldn't be more than half your body's daily needs - THAT is the true definition of starvation. If, however, you're like me and MFP says you would lose less than 1 lb per week if you net 1200 calories each day, then netting less than that is not a problem and you will not go into starvation mode.

    The real issue is getting enough NUTRITION for your 1200 calories. I'm on supplements to make sure my body is getting what it needs. But if you're filling up on breads, chips, and high-calorie, low-nutrition foods, then you could be setting yourself up for disaster. Also be aware that most prescription drugs cause a deficiency of some kind (which many times doctors are not made aware of by the drug companies), so make sure you're supplementing it if you're on any meds.
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
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    When MFP gives you a calorie goal, it includes a deficit based upon what you entered as your goal. If you entered a 1 pound a week loss as your goal, MFP will deduct 500 calories from your daily maintenance (to see what these numbers are, broken down, go to goals). The idea is to maintain that deficit by eating back additional exercise calories burned, not to increase the deficit to potentially unsafe levels. It's easier to continue a diet long term if you have reasonable goals, and it's easier to maintain once you reach your goals if your body hasn't been nutritionally deprived along the way.

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