Do you eat back the calories you exercise off?

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  • rainbowblu
    rainbowblu Posts: 119 Member
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    AestheticStar wrote: »
    Definitely have to eat 1,200, even if you aren't active, or your body goes into starvation mode. I usually eat back about 400-500 of my exercise calories, 'cause I don't tend to burn a lot.

    So, if I'm 100 pounds overweight how does my body go into "starvation mode" ..serious question. I thought that our extra fat was there to be used during the times when we don't eat enough???

  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    edited November 2014
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    I've never been able to do this. I don't know why - even when I use only half, or when I underestimate my exercise, I seem to just not lose without a significant calorie restriction. It is what it is.

    I think this is probably a YMMV thing, and you'll need to see what works for you.

    By the way, I'm short too - don't know if that makes a difference. I notice people mentioning their height. I am 5'1".
  • whitewolf1200
    whitewolf1200 Posts: 31 Member
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    The only reason I exercise is so that I can eat more if we're being completely honest here.
  • mmgavitt
    mmgavitt Posts: 82 Member
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    I don't usually eat all mine back (a lot of the time I eat none of them) but I also don't forbid myself from doing so. For special occasions I will literally workout just so I can eat them all (hello thanksgiving morning workout). I don't really think it's a must or can't, but a what is best for you.
  • NoelFigart1
    NoelFigart1 Posts: 1,276 Member
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    Lifelong yo-yo dieter, here. Middle-aged, and five foot two. NOT the great weight loss profile, boy howdy, let me tell you what.

    I am increasingly of the opinion that starvation mode is a myth. I think that unless you've had a metabolism test, you don't really know what your RMR is.

    That said, I am losing comfortably at (checks current stats) an overall average of 1672 calories a day and losing 1.4 lbs a week (overall. We all know weight loss isn't linear). So, not particularly a fan of the 1200 calorie a day thing.

    I do exercise, but it's swimming laps for between a kilometer and a mile (depending on how much time I have) for 30-50 minutes five days a week -- with the incidence of a kilometer in half an hour much more common than the mile in fifty minutes. Average calorie burn from a workout is about 479 calories. I suspect that estimate may be a bit high, tbh. Though when I plug in the numbers to calculate a lb a week loss, then add the exercise calories (which I don't eat back), that is almost exactly the rate of my current weight loss.

    MFP suggested 1680 calories a day for 1 lb a week with no exercise added, presuming a sedentary lifestyle (which I do have. Knitting and writing don't burn much :) )

    So, a hard core athlete, I am not!




  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
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    1600-1800 sounds about right. Try using the TDEE method instead of MFP's recommendations. That way, you don't need to log your exercise burns because those calories are worked into your goal already. 1200 is most likely way too low for you.
  • maria0elisa
    maria0elisa Posts: 199 Member
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    Hm, it depends.
    If I've been within my calorie limits that week, I've earned myself a treat through exercise.
    If I've already slipped up one day that week, then the run is damage control from that day, so I haven't earned the treat today.

    When that happens, I copy/paste the activity from today to the day I went over my calorie limit, and delete it from today. It feels good to see the day I slipped up back under control, and to know I'll have a normal day today rather than having earned myself extra calories.

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