Calories?

andreacord
andreacord Posts: 928
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Hi all,

This is probably the millionth time this has been asked on here, but will it be harmful if I don't eat back my exercise cals? Some days I burn too much to eat, and most days I work out late in the evening so i'm not feeling up to eating when I get home. is this okay?

Replies

  • monkeybelle83
    monkeybelle83 Posts: 141 Member
    It is important to make sure you get at least 1200 calories per day. If you don't, your body will go into starvation mode and will store fat instead of burning it off.
  • aeckels616
    aeckels616 Posts: 210 Member
    I'm being lazy and just copy/pasting my answer from another post.
    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.
  • mrphil86
    mrphil86 Posts: 2,382 Member
    It is important to make sure you get at least 1200 calories per day. If you don't, your body will go into starvation mode and will store fat instead of burning it off.

    This is correct, your body needs to recovery what it lost so it can rebuild. You do not loose weight exercising. You exercise bring up your body's activity level up which in turn burns fat. (Unless you are marathon running or something.)

    If you do not eat back your calories, your body can not rebuild. If it can not rebuild it goes into a catatonic state (starvation mode). Then you are not loosing weight.
  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
    http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/


    Eat up!
  • bethany7687
    bethany7687 Posts: 44
    "It is important to make sure you get at least 1200 calories per day. If you don't, your body will go into starvation mode and will store fat instead of burning it off. "


    There is no science to support this. Your body cannot store calories as fat if you are not taking in enough calories to support your bodily functions. Your body will use those calories to keep your heart beating, lungs breathing, blood flowing, glucose to the brain, etc the essential functions of life. If you are very overweight, eating back exercise calories will slow down your weight loss.
  • mrphil86
    mrphil86 Posts: 2,382 Member
    "It is important to make sure you get at least 1200 calories per day. If you don't, your body will go into starvation mode and will store fat instead of burning it off. "


    There is no science to support this. Your body cannot store calories as fat if you are not taking in enough calories to support your bodily functions. Your body will use those calories to keep your heart beating, lungs breathing, blood flowing, glucose to the brain, etc the essential functions of life. If you are very overweight, eating back exercise calories will slow down your weight loss.

    There are plenty of studies that do support what is referred as a catatonic state. The biggest collaboration of studies on it I could find was on wikipedia.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorie_restriction
  • aeckels616
    aeckels616 Posts: 210 Member

    There are plenty of studies that do support what is referred as a catatonic state. The biggest collaboration of studies on it I could find was on wikipedia.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorie_restriction

    A catatonic metabolic state is not the same as calorie restriction, and has no connection with the "1200 calorie minimum" idea. It's the result of extreme nutritional deprivation and doesn't happen until you've already burned through your fat reserves. Consuming muscle mass at that point actually helps your body by reducing the metabolic rate (less muscle mass = less calories burned per day) so that it can conserve more of the calories and nutrition that it does receive. But if you still have fat to get rid of and you're feeding your body actual nutrition (not just calories) this is not something to worry about.
  • AMBlass
    AMBlass Posts: 161
    I was told by my personal trainer that you should not eat back any calories. This is what she wrote:

    "The only time I would really encourage someone to get MORE calories because of exercise is if you're training for a marathon, a powerlifting competition, etc. because not eating enough CAN slow down your metabolism when you're burning that many calories.

    For the average gym-goer, and average female your age, I would suggest never eating LESS than 1200 calories, and maintaining between 1200 and 1400. If you FEEL genuine hunger, THEN you eat a little more.

    And pre and post exercise meals DEFINITELY count as part of your daily total!"

    Basically you should eat 1200-1400 calories, and if you work out, then that's it. You don't need to "eat back" the calories that you burned, because that would slow down your weight loss. She says you should definitely eat after a workout, but that the calories you eat after a workout should be part of your overall calories for the day.
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