let me get this straight...

Cait_Sidhe
Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
edited September 26 in Introduce Yourself
So I've been reading around on here. I've learned that we are supposed to eat more when we exercise to make up for calories lost so our bodies don't go into starvation mode. I've been doing it wrong this whole time? I've been eating healthier and exercising (I still hate exercising!) Since June of last year. It never occured to me that I had to make up those calories. The defeatist in me says what's the point of exercising then? Then the hedonist says woo-hoo! More food!

Replies

  • southernstrix
    southernstrix Posts: 17
    I thought the same thing. But I am willing to try it this way. Seems to be working for people. :)
  • snakegoddess_3
    snakegoddess_3 Posts: 83
    It's because MPF already figures out what you need to do to loose 2lbs, 1lbs, 0,5 lbs (whichever was what you picked) a week. So anything that you do extra when you excercise you have to eat to keep your body burning and losing weight. If that makes sense
  • brneydgrlie
    brneydgrlie Posts: 464 Member
    you only eat your calories back from exercise *if* the amount you burn brings your net total below 1200.
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
    Snakegoddess_3- your user pic is beautiful.

    It does make sense, but it somehow seems wrong. I'm just having trouble getting my brain around it. This whole time I've been working to keep my intake under 1200 and now I suddenly learn that was wrong.
  • HartJames
    HartJames Posts: 789 Member
    it works, it's true and YES MORE FOOD!

    Why bother exerciseing then? Because it will speed your metabolisim, you can eat more and you will keep the weight off.

    When you eat low cal and exercise you stretch your metabolisim so thin that when you do eat poorly you will immediately gain weight. That SAME 5 pounds you re-gain will be FATTER and LOOK like 10. That' the yo-yo of dieting. It so frustrating becasue MOST of us WILL indeed "fall off the wagon" time and time again- mostly beacuse we are depriving ourselves to begin with and most people cannot keep that up!

    When you eat back your calories your metabolisim will be so efficient that you can do things like go off plan or take time off from exercise and actually MAINTAIN! It's AMAZING and completely worth it.

    I totally reccomend eating back at least half if not all of your exercise cals and please DO exercise.
  • SaschaDiotte
    SaschaDiotte Posts: 6
    I was completely lost by this factor too. The application on my phone actually yelled at me last night that I wasn't taking in enough calories and may put my body into starvation mode. I couldn't help it though because I had forgotten to eat lunch and I have been told that if you eat an entire meal right before you workout you will get nauseous. So I started the P90X Cynergistics DVD, which makes me sick both times I have attempted it. So by the time I stopped I was too sick to my stomach to eat much. I tried a small amount but was no where near my calorie count needed for the day. The application sure let me know.
  • pdcarrell
    pdcarrell Posts: 101
    you only eat your calories back from exercise *if* the amount you burn brings your net total below 1200.
    Are you sure? I was under the assumption your suposed to eat your excersise calories regaurdless or be close anyways...? It's been working for me
  • deeharley
    deeharley Posts: 1,208 Member
    you only eat your calories back from exercise *if* the amount you burn brings your net total below 1200.
    Are you sure? I was under the assumption your suposed to eat your excersise calories regaurdless or be close anyways...? It's been working for me

    I think there are many theories on that point. I have been eating most of my exercise calories and still losing, some say eat them all, some say don't eat any. Mostly, I think we each need to figure out what works for us. MFP makes that a little easier with all the tracking.
  • TS65
    TS65 Posts: 1,024 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    You may want to go to the general section and read all the "sticky" links. Here's the one for eating your exercise calories.
  • SaschaDiotte
    SaschaDiotte Posts: 6
    From my understanding the program sets an amount of calories everyday that each individual should eat. I would say this varies from person to person. Mine says that I'm supposed to eat 1200 calories. Say I eat the 1200 but then burn 530 in exercises. It will tell me that I have 530 calories remaining because I am now under the 1200 calorie goal.
  • brneydgrlie
    brneydgrlie Posts: 464 Member
    What I mean is, if MFP assigns you 1200 cal per day, and you do 600 cal worth of exercise, then you need to eat those 600 cal back, because your net is too low. Any other "eating back" of extra calories (say if you were assigned 1500 per day for example) is up to you. But 1200 NET is the bare minimum your body needs to avoid going into starvation mode.
  • brneydgrlie
    brneydgrlie Posts: 464 Member
    I eat approximately 75 percent of my calories back, as long as that amount still meets my needed net calories. I allow the other 25% in case my calculations were incorrect when logging meals.
  • SaraTonin
    SaraTonin Posts: 551 Member
    That's the way the program works. :) You'll notice that MFP recommends you a pretty low number of calories, so it does expect you to eat back what you exercise.
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
    you only eat your calories back from exercise *if* the amount you burn brings your net total below 1200.
    Are you sure? I was under the assumption your suposed to eat your excersise calories regaurdless or be close anyways...? It's been working for me

    You are suppose to eat back your calories regardless of whether you fall below 1200 or not.
  • breezymom81
    breezymom81 Posts: 499 Member
    you only eat your calories back from exercise *if* the amount you burn brings your net total below 1200.
    Are you sure? I was under the assumption your suposed to eat your excersise calories regaurdless or be close anyways...? It's been working for me

    I think there are many theories on that point. I have been eating most of my exercise calories and still losing, some say eat them all, some say don't eat any. Mostly, I think we each need to figure out what works for us. MFP makes that a little easier with all the tracking.

    From what I get you are supposed to stay around your daily intake goal, exercise or no.... so if MFP says 1500 cals. for you then it should be clsoe to that net...and if you take the day off from work out then 1500 total!
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    You may want to go to the general section and read all the "sticky" links. Here's the one for eating your exercise calories.

    Thank you for the link. I work in the medical field, so I understood the terminology. It's much clearer now.
  • unhinge
    unhinge Posts: 318 Member
    www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com.
    Enough Said.
  • Lost_it
    Lost_it Posts: 290 Member
    Easy Explanation
    That is how I figured it out, so I eat most of my exercise calories to make sure I am not under 1200 calories a day.

    1200 Calories - 500 burned exercising = 700 calories + 500 exercise calories eaten = 1200 eaten for the day.
    or
    1200 regular calories + 500 extra calories eaten= 1700 Calories - 500 exercise calories burned = 1200 calories for the day

    You will never eat more than 1200 calories.


    Hope this helps
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
    But 1200 NET is the bare minimum your body needs to avoid going into starvation mode.

    1200 Net is a generalized minimum. It is not, however, the minimum needed to keep everyone out of survival mode. That depends on each individual's metabolism.

    A 5'2" female can probably go down to 1200 okay. A 5'10 person, male or female, would probably put themselves in metabolic jeopardy going that low.
  • pdcarrell
    pdcarrell Posts: 101
    what she said.........I think there are many theories on that point. I have been eating most of my exercise calories and still losing, some say eat them all, some say don't eat any. Mostly, I think we each need to figure out what works for us. MFP makes that a little easier with all the tracking. " LIKE"
  • pdcarrell
    pdcarrell Posts: 101
    you only eat your calories back from exercise *if* the amount you burn brings your net total below 1200.
    Are you sure? I was under the assumption your suposed to eat your excersise calories regaurdless or be close anyways...? It's been working for me

    You are suppose to eat back your calories regardless of whether you fall below 1200 or not.
    :) "LOVE!"
  • CalPolyBronco
    CalPolyBronco Posts: 201 Member
    You'te not obligated to but you have the option to. When you track your exercise here on the website you'll notice it adds those calories back to your daily calories you get every day. If you want to eat a little more you can. You might want to eat some of those calories but not all, or on a particular day that you're extra hungry you can eat all those calories back. Perhaps you want to opt not to eat them....it's all up to you. Be careful though b/c MyFitnessPal tends to overestimate calories burned when exercising so if you ARE eating those calories back beware that they might be overestimating....unless you were on a machine or something that told you exactly how many calories you burned I would say be careful.
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