Do I really need to eat my exercise calories?

I don't get it either and I really hope someone can explain!!

I don't get it either and I really hope someone can explain!!

http://www.hussmanfitness.org/html/TPAdaptation.html

Working With Your Body - The Basic Strategy
By John P. Hussman, Ph.D.
All rights reserved and actively enforced.


The goal of this site is to help you to transform your physique by walking you step-by-step through everything you need to know about exercise physiology and nutrition. I know that a lot of you have “tried everything,” and because there are so many approaches that have failed you, there's a real risk that you'll quit again and again if you don't see results immediately, or if you don't fully understand why your fitness program should work. Worse, there may be some missing pieces in your program, which could lead to slow progress even though you're hard at work. My hope is that this information will help you to stay on track - to turn effort into results - and to reach your goal.

Want to change your physique? Start by realizing that whatever shape you're in right now is your body's way of adapting to the lifestyle you're living. It's your body's attempt to survive. So the strategy is simple. We're going to give your body a very specific “environment” – a particular mix of activities, nutrition, and recovery – and your body is going to adapt by becoming leaner, stronger, and healthier.

Every change you throw at your body triggers a response. The problem with many diet and exercise programs is that they can accidentally encourage your body to defend fat, shed muscle, increase appetite and even lower its metabolism. The key to fast results is to know exactly which actions will cause your body to adapt by becoming fitter.

Maybe you've tried before to get in shape. But for some reason, you didn't get the results you wanted. If you're like I used to be, you've repeated that cycle year after year to no avail. Maybe you've failed so many times that you think of yourself as a “special case.” You've started to believe your entire metabolism consists of a little turtle on a treadmill. You wonder whether you've got the fat gene. You're convinced that no matter how hard you diet, your cells can still be seen eating Twinkies when viewed under a microscope.

Look. You're not a special case. Even if you had the fat gene (common among Pima Indians but rare otherwise), you'd only be burning 50-60 calories a day less than anybody else. Even if you've been diagnosed with a metabolic difficulty such as diabetes or hypothyroidism, you can still be successful with proper medical support. Most probably, other approaches failed you either because they were missing important pieces, focused on the wrong things, or produced results so slowly that you just gave up. What you need most is good information. You're in the right place.
The law of unintended consequences

Your body is an amazing feedback system aimed at balance and survival. Humans are at the top of the food chain because they are able to adapt to their environment. Every action produces a reaction. Every change in its environment triggers a survival response. It's important to keep that in mind when you plan your fitness program. If you treat your body as an enemy to be conquered, you'll produce unintended results.

For example, if you severely cut off the supply of food to your body, it will defend itself by slowing down its metabolism to survive starvation. The body will shed muscle mass the same way that you would throw cargo from a plane that was low on fuel, and it will reduce its thyroid activity to conserve energy. The body will also actually defend its fat stores. In anorexia, muscle loss can be so profound that fat as a percentage of body weight actually rises. Extreme carbohydrate restriction also causes muscle loss, dehydration, and slower metabolism, which is why even successful Atkins dieters can have a significant rebound in weight after they stop the diet (don't worry – the advice on this site will prevent that from happening).

As another example, if you put your body under stress through overexertion and lack of sleep, it will respond by slowing down, reducing muscle growth, and increasing your appetite for junk food, carbohydrates and fat. If you feed your body excessive amounts of sugar and quickly digested carbohydrates, and it will shut off its ability to burn fat until those sugars are taken out of the bloodstream.

This website will show you how to work with your body to quickly produce the changes you want. In order to do that, you need to take actions that push your body to adapt – to build strength, burn fat, and increase fitness. You need a training program, not an exercise routine. You need a nutrition plan, not a diet. You need a challenge, not a few good habits you usually try to follow except when you don't.
Setting the right goal

John Dewey once said that a problem well-stated is half-solved. If you want to reach your goal, you have to define it correctly. See, a lot of people say “I want to lose weight.” Well, if losing weight is your goal, go on a no-carb diet. You'll lose a lot of weight – some of it will be fat, a lot of it will be water, and a dangerous amount will be muscle tissue. You'll lose weight quickly, but you'll slow your metabolism and gain fat more quickly once you go off the diet. Trust me on this. I've been there, done that.

The problem is that you've set the wrong goal. If you want to look better, have more energy and enjoy better health, the goal is not simply to “lose weight.” The goal is to improve your fitness level and body composition. That means losing fat, improving your aerobic capacity, training your strength and defending your muscle tissue. You can't do that with a no-carb diet. You will do it using the approach you'll learn on this website. Trust me on this one too. I know what it's like to feel fat, tired and helplessly out of shape. The whole point of this site is to help others avoid that, by sharing lessons that I had to learn the hard way.
Ready to change?

Right this minute, your body is the way it is because it has adapted to the lifestyle you've thrown at it, in an attempt to survive. Ever seen the directory at the mall with the little red arrow that says “you are here”? Well, fitness is the same way. You are here. You can't start anywhere else. So be kind to yourself. Don't beat yourself up. Don't worry about how much there is to do. Change your self-talk from “My body is my enemy” to “My body is my partner.” Accept where you are right now as the starting point, and start moving.

Changing your body requires more than just “going on a diet” for a few weeks. If you want to change your body, you have to make some changes to your lifestyle (which requires some discipline, but isn't as hard as it sounds). If you create the right environment, your body will adapt to it by becoming leaner, stronger, and more energetic. You can do this.

the 700 calories from the gym is calories you are burning off(losing). the 1200 per day is calories you are consuming(adding). You need to burn roughly 3500 calories a week to lose 1 lb. So, after you consume your 1200 calories for the day, anything that you burn off is going towards your weight lose.

i think a lot of it depends on weight already, if you are near to your goal weight then your body will go into starvation mode if you net below 1200 because it struggles to find the fat to use, if you weigh alot more like me then your body doesn't struggle to find the fat to use instead, if your worried, check with your doctor, but i often net less than 500, have had it medically checked, and its not a problem.

As you near your goal weight however, you will need to start eating them back

I can tell you what worked for me. When I had 50 lbs to lose I ate 1200 calories a day, exercised 3 days a week. I did not eat back my calories from working out. Once I lost about 45lbs my body stopped losing weight (I was then within 15lbs of my goal weight or so) I increased my calories to 1700 and increased my exercising and have since lost 4lbs.

This is a pretty good explanation.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

But, if I was losing a steady 2 lbs/week, I would not change a thing. As you get closer to your goal, things will change, though, and it will be harder to keep that up without watching the exercise calories.

OK here's the deal:

Much as we would like it to be, the weight we lose isn't only fat, it's also muscle. So we need to exercise to build back the muscle we have lost and hopefully build a bit more than we had to keep our bones strong and to boost our metabolism.

Now this involves extra calories for two reasons. Reason one is that protein helps with muscle gain - that's why those weight lifters are always drinking protein powders and protein bars. So if you're low on protein, you're going to have a harder time making back the muscles you need.

Reason number two is that the faster your metabolism gets, the more you need to eat because the more your body is burning. If you want to keep it burning hot, you need to make sure it has a constant supply of fuel.

This doesn't mean you should go and eat a Big Mac -- this is full of sodium, low in protein, high in refined sugars and high in saturated fats. It's BAD fuel. You should however be eating more clean proteins such as hard boiled eggs, unsalted seeds, unsalted nuts, and Greek Yogurt. Don't worry about feeling full, these foods pack a punch and you only need a handful to give you both the protein and the calories your body needs.

Hope this helps.

Anybody know where the magic number of 1200 calories comes from? I have a difficult time believing that a woman who's 5'6" tall and a 6'3" man both have the same base number of caloric requirements before they start burning muscle.

I believe it is different for men then it is for women. Since I am not male I don't know much about their minimum requirements though.