Asked my Trainer re eating back calories

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Thank U so much...love this!

Thanks for sharing! I always feel guilty when I eat back my exercise calories - so great to read this.

It would have been the perfect opportunity for "The URL" to have become so viral to the point that she may as well have just replied with, "Visit http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com for the absolute answer to that question."

One day soon...

Finally i understand! Thanks to your trainer for such a thorough reply.

LOL @ "Toonie Tuesday" reference. Canadian eh?

HAHA Yep Canadian

love it,lol From a fellow Canadian

This was Wonderful!!!! Thank you for posting it. It really does help hearing it from a trainer and I completely understand it now. I was wondering why I have hit a year halt and slowly gained 20 pounds back even though I exercise and eat healthy. Oh, feeling tired all the time.

Good info - thanks for sharing

Thanks for sharing!

thanks for the post it was very useful...hope you don't mind me coping this and emailing it to my wife....

Thanks for sharing this! I was wondering the same thing, it didn't make sense to me either, but now it does

thanks, that answers alot of questions that i had!!!

I work with a nutritionist...and while I am 'laid up' from a leg injury, I emailed her with lots of questions and she said that if I want to continue losing weight, I should try to stay at about 900 calories a day, which is very easy for me... because I'm injured and having great nausea from pain.

However, that's 600 calories deficit from my BMR of about 1500.

I think it's about the types of food you put in your mouth, healthy choices give you more energy!

The answer she gives is right for the question asked HOWEVER you didn't tell her that MFP already sets you a deficit. I'm sure her answer would have been totally diferent then.

Ask again and this time give her the full story

How so? She's saying to eat most of them back. She acknowledges that 1200 is a deficit and probably too much for some people., then states that if you burn 600 and don't eat them back, you're asking your body to try and exist on 600 calories a day if your calories are set at 1200.

Translation, she DOES get that you're at a deficit and she DOES advocate eating most of the exercise calories back.

Hello-

I also asked my certified trainer who also her degree in nutrition. And she told me that eating back your exercise calories defeats a major part of exercising for weight loss. If I am exercising for strength and mental well being, then that's one thing.

The 1200 calorie goal (from clean foods--not junk) is intended to provide your body with the nutrients, vitamins and minerals to function while creating a caloric deficit. Your body IS getting the nutrients it needs and exercising does not take away these nutrients your body has taken in. It's already been ingested.

These "opinions" by trainers and critics and anyone who calls themselves experts will ALWAYS differ. Knowing that, I asked my trusted physician (M.D.) and he agrees that I do not have to eat back my exercise calories. That if I am feeding my body good clean food, and NOT starving myself (by not eating), my body will NOT go into starvation mode.

The answer she gives is right for the question asked HOWEVER you didn't tell her that MFP already sets you a deficit. I'm sure her answer would have been totally diferent then.

Ask again and this time give her the full story

How so? She's saying to eat most of them back. She acknowledges that 1200 is a deficit and probably too much for some people., then states that if you burn 600 and don't eat them back, you're asking your body to try and exist on 600 calories a day if your calories are set at 1200.

Translation, she DOES get that you're at a deficit and she DOES advocate eating most of the exercise calories back.

Hello-

I also asked my certified trainer who also her degree in nutrition. And she told me that eating back your exercise calories defeats a major part of exercising for weight loss. If I am exercising for strength and mental well being, then that's one thing.

The 1200 calorie goal (from clean foods--not junk) is intended to provide your body with the nutrients, vitamins and minerals to function while creating a caloric deficit. Your body IS getting the nutrients it needs and exercising does not take away these nutrients your body has taken in. It's already been ingested.

These "opinions" by trainers and critics and anyone who calls themselves experts will ALWAYS differ. Knowing that, I asked my trusted physician (M.D.) and he agrees that I do not have to eat back my exercise calories. That if I am feeding my body good clean food, and NOT starving myself (by not eating), my body will NOT go into starvation mode.

Not sure if you missed the point but did YOU tell your trainer that MFP already factors in a deficit? On most sites that deficit is not there so ya 1200 is 1200 here on MFP 1200 is the lowest calorie intake and aleady has a 500 calorie deficit built in so if you eat 1200 and burn 500 you are creating a bigger deficit of 1,000 ( 500 from exercise and 500 that MFP factors in) and in the end you body only has 700 calories to function on ( 1200 -500) which is NOT enough no matter who your trainer/doctor is.

I think we all agree but the line is fuzzy with how MFP works and how other sites and trainers work. I bet if you asked the question and said I am suppose to consume 1700 calories and burn 500 should I eat my exercise calories the answer would be no because then your exercise is creating the only deficit.

I just started out with a trainer, and I fully explained what I'm doing on her with MFP. I asked the same question "if I should be eating back my calories" and they advised that I shouldn't! They said that although I already have a 'deficit in my intake of calories' that if I were to eat back all the calories I have burned that it would 'defeat' trying to burn those calories in the first place.

So confusing, I guess I will have to make an appointment with either my doctor or a nutritionist to get a solid answer.