to eat or not to eat your exercise calories?
Yooperm35
Posts: 787 Member
I have been slowly creeping down and eating my 1200/day. I usually have about 400 deficit from working out. Is it better to eat them or not eat them or does it differ for everyone?
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It dpends.
Are you hungry? If you are I suggest you eat them. If you are not then go to bed with more calories left so you can burn more fat.
3500 cals = roughly 1 lb a fat per week.0 -
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Very good question! I have not been eating my exercise calories. I hope someone with knowledge would answer that for the both of us.0
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EAT THEM!!!! If you don't, your body will start to think you are starving because you are burning so many more calories then you are consuming, so then your body will hang on to the fat for energy, and burn your muscle. Not good. It is better to lose 1-2 pounds a week. Don't try to do more, you will only be hurting yourself. Good luck!!!!!0
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The forums have a search feature. Give it a go. You'll be shocked at the frequency of this question. Have fun!0
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1200 is the minimum for your body to LIVE. If you are under that your body will store fat!!!0
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Here is my opinion. Experiment because everyone is different. When I ate my exercise calories, my progress slowed down. So then I started not eating them and I am progressing. I have also seen success from others that do eat them. So try it both ways for a few weeks and see what works best for you.0
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go to bed with more calories left so you can burn more fat.
3500 cals = roughly 1 lb a fat per week.
You will be burning muscle if you go to bed with too many calories left.0 -
1200 is the minimum for your body to LIVE. If you are under that your body will store fat!!!
Yeahhhh that's not true at all.
The general rule of thumb is 10 calories per goal pound. So, say you want to weigh 180, net 1800 calories per day.
Wanna weigh 120? Net 1200 per day.
Are you 4'10" and want to weigh 98 (which is very much within the healthy range for that height)? Net 980 calories per day.
Ultimately, every BODY is different. There's no hard and fast rule. Only guidelines.
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Love it!!!0 -
As you might can tell, This is a VERY controversial issue. lol Hope you find what's best for you. 0
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1200 is the minimum for your body to LIVE. If you are under that your body will store fat!!!
Yeahhhh that's not true at all.
The general rule of thumb is 10 calories per goal pound. So, say you want to weigh 180, net 1800 calories per day.
Wanna weigh 120? Net 1200 per day.
Are you 4'10" and want to weigh 98 (which is very much within the healthy range for that height)? Net 980 calories per day.
Ultimately, every BODY is different. There's no hard and fast rule. Only guidelines.
I think that is for maintenance, not loss. If I eat 1900 cals/day I am not creating a deficit and will not lose any weight.0 -
I am consuming 1200-1350 cal per day. I do not eat back my calories (I burn around 750 per workout) I was entering them, but seeing no results. As soon as I did this the scale and the tape started moving again. (Please keep in mind I am following the 'meal plan' that goes hand in hand with my workout!) Best of luck!0
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I know that everyone says "YES!" and that is totally fine -- I will interject here with my experience.
If I try to eat 1200 calories, whether or NOT I work out, I either don't lose, or I gain.
If I eat exactly the number of calories I burn off (say I burn off 400 calories, so I eat 1600 for the day), then I either don't lose, or I lose in teeny, imperceptible increments (down two tenths, up four tenths, etc.).
The formula that works best for me is to eat around 1300 - 1400 calories on the day I don't work out (Sunday), and eat 1400 - 1500 on the days I do work out. Regardless of what I burn. I exercise 6 days/ week, aiming for 60 minutes a day, and I burn between 400 and 550 calories. So my net tends to be around 1000 -- and that's when I lose. BUT THAT'S ME.
You seriously have to figure out what works best for you over the long term. Try eating back your calories first, and if you're stalled for a couple of weeks or more, try something else.
Also remember: if you're not using a HRM, you might not be burning what you think you're burning!
(Note: I pay very close attention to my fiber, protein, and sodium intakes. I aim to go "over" on fiber and protein, and "under" on sodium. I also try to avoid "diet foods" and processed foods and focus on eating real, whole, as-fresh-as-possible FOODS.)0 -
umm.. i can see his pubes in these pics. gross0 -
It's going to depend on your body. My personal rule is to eat half of them and if I'm still hungry, eat the other half. I rarely do eat all of them, but I do on occasion and having carefully tracked such things, I can assure you it hasn't negatively impacted my work loss. If your body is hungry, feed it!0
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umm.. i can see his pubes in these pics. gross
:laugh:0 -
1200 is the minimum for your body to LIVE. If you are under that your body will store fat!!!
Yeahhhh that's not true at all.
The general rule of thumb is 10 calories per goal pound. So, say you want to weigh 180, net 1800 calories per day.
Wanna weigh 120? Net 1200 per day.
Are you 4'10" and want to weigh 98 (which is very much within the healthy range for that height)? Net 980 calories per day.
Ultimately, every BODY is different. There's no hard and fast rule. Only guidelines.
I think that is for maintenance, not loss. If I eat 1900 cals/day I am not creating a deficit and will not lose any weight.
The key is to base your calories on your goal weight, not your current weight.0 -
umm.. i can see his pubes in these pics. gross
Can't honestly say I examined them to that level..
Either way, that has nothing to do with his weightloss and toning up he has done, without eating exercise calories back.0 -
umm.. i can see his pubes in these pics. gross
Can't honestly say I examined them to that level..
Either way, that has nothing to do with his weightloss and toning up he has done, without eating exercise calories back.
relax, dude0 -
umm.. i can see his pubes in these pics. gross
Can't honestly say I examined them to that level..
Either way, that has nothing to do with his weightloss and toning up he has done, without eating exercise calories back.
relax, dude
What gave you the impression I'm not? :huh:0 -
What gave you the impression I'm not? :huh:
i was just trying to be funny0 -
Here is my opinion. Experiment because everyone is different. When I ate my exercise calories, my progress slowed down. So then I started not eating them and I am progressing. I have also seen success from others that do eat them. So try it both ways for a few weeks and see what works best for you.
THIS. Im within 10 pounds of my goal weight, 2 months ahead of schedule and I dont worry about eating my calories back. Frankly I dont understand the controversy. You just need to experiment and do what works best for you.0 -
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Frankly I dont understand the controversy. You just need to experiment and do what works best for you.
The controversy is that you can stall your metabolism over time by not "eating back your exercise calories" and creating an even larger deficit than MFP already calculates for you. You might lose weight, even up to goal, but you might experience gain down the road because your metabolism is slowing. This is where the starvation mode horror stories come in to play. This won't happen for everyone but it's very real.
I agree with your last sentence. Everyone is different and you have to learn how your body responds and tweak what works.
Good luck, OP! :drinker:0
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