Confused

JellyJaks
JellyJaks Posts: 589 Member
edited September 25 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been reading posts and see that most of you eat back at least part of the calories your burn exercising. I'm confused as to why. I thought the whole way to lose weight was to burn more than you take in so why would you eat back the calories you burn? I shoot for eating less than 1800 calories a day regardless of how much I exercise...

Replies

  • janalayn
    janalayn Posts: 510 Member
    There are a LOT of threads on this topic. The most important part is that your net calories should not be less than 1200. So if you eat 1800 and burn 600 you are still good.
  • Angierae75
    Angierae75 Posts: 417 Member
    This question comes up a lot.

    MFP does not include exercise in with the calories it sets for you. So if you want to lose a pound a week, it knocks 500 calories off your "maintenance" weight so that you lose a pound a week.

    If you exercise, you are burning more than that, and you might be eating too few calories to support your body. Your "net" calories should never go under 1200, so if you are eating 1200 and burning 400, you should eat those 400 to get back to 1200.

    If you are eating 1600 and burning 400, you're fine.
  • trish1960
    trish1960 Posts: 39
    I lose weight if I eat less than the recommened calories. I don't exercise much.
  • KatyE213
    KatyE213 Posts: 447 Member
    In a nutshell, the reason why is because MFP has already built in a calorie deficit to enable you to lose weight. It may not be beneficial to have a bigger deficit. As has been stated there is a lot of stuff on this topic, just search the forums! Good luck x
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,728 Member
    The reason you can eat back your exercise calories and lose weight is because you start at a deficit. Let's say you are set to lose 1 pound per week (500 calorie deficit each day) and to do this you get to eat 1200 calories per day. Then you workout and burn 500 calories. Well now, your deficit for the day is 1000 calories. If you eat back those exercise calories, you are still at a 500 calorie deficit and will still be on track to lose 1 pound per week. If you don't eat them back, you'll have a 1000 calorie deficit and should lose about 2 pounds per week (this is not an exact science, you can expect to gain when you think you shouldn't and lose when you think you shouldn't).

    However, you can feel free to eat your exercise calories and still be on that track to lose 1 pound per week (or whatever you are set to). Some people will tell you that you have to eat all of them back. Some will say you don't have to eat them back.

    I eat most of mine back, because at 1200 calories I'm starving. Really, that's the point for me of eating the exercise calories. I have lost weight on 900 calorie per day diets, but I can't stick to them. Getting to eat 1400 calories makes this a lifestyle for me. I don't have to deprive myself.
  • JellyJaks
    JellyJaks Posts: 589 Member
    Ooh see I didn't realize that MFP had a built in deficit already. Thanks so much for all the answers everyone :smile:
  • sh0ck
    sh0ck Posts: 168 Member
    The Calories per day that MFP gives you are based on how many calories you will need to take in to lose the weight that you have your MFP programmed for i.e. your diary is ALREADY programmed to give you a deficit.

    So if your daily calorie alotment is 1200 then that is MFP telling you that your BMR is higher than 1200 and if you want to lose the weight per week that you originally programmed it for then you will need to eat those 1200 calories (if eat much less then you risk your body going in to starvation mode...google it or search for it on the forums here to know what I am talking about).

    When you work out you burn more calories so to have your body keep up with the "daily calorie rate" you will need to eat more.


    For example:

    Let's say you are assigned 1200 calories to eat per day (i.e. this is how many you need to eat to lose the weight that you originally programmed). Then you work out for what is worth 500 calories.

    +1200 - Calories per day from food, etc...
    -500 - Calories for working out

    = 700 calories



    So if you eat all 1200 for the day and then you work out for 500 calories, your daily net calorie intake is only 700 calories which is MUCH lower than what you need to take in to lose the weight you want to (the 1200 originally).


    If you eat BACK those calories then you will be back on par with how many calories you need to eat per day to lose the weight you want to.



    EDIT: Or what a few of the people above me said!
  • popsicle33
    popsicle33 Posts: 108 Member
    It is confusing and since I am still new, I wondered that too. This is how I see it:

    A typical American (there are a lot of non-Americans on this site!) burns around 2000 calories a day, which is what all of our food labeling is based on. If I want to lose weight at a certain rate, MFP suggests I cut back to 1510 cals a day. But if I burn 400 in an evening of exercise, I will starve if I don't replace those calories, because I will have only netted 1110 calories and that isn't healthy. Hence, they say, "eat your exercise calories."

    So, if you burn a lot of calories in exercise, you should try to replace at least that many in your food intake. It just helps if your calories are lean and healthy ones!

    Everyone else has great answers too. That's just how I understand it.
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