How many exercise cals should I eat back?

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Calimama123
Calimama123 Posts: 128 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
My goal is set at 1200, so I want to eat back my exercise calories, but not more, I'd like to net as close to 1200 as I can, but I know the machines usually overestimate burn. I entered my weight/height, the elliptical says I burned 600cals, how many shiuld I eat back? 300?400?
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Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    Try 400 calories for a week or so and if you see no drop go to 300 calories. All the numbers of intake and outtake are just estimates, you just have to tweak them. Make sure you weigh everyday and weigh your all your food with a scale so you know your numbers are correct.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    All of them for a month. If that doesn't work - adjust as appropriate.
  • heychelsea88
    heychelsea88 Posts: 5 Member
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    1200 is already low, so I would think all of your exercise calories can be eaten back :)
  • helanyhuff
    helanyhuff Posts: 4 Member
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    Set a cap for calories. Mine is 1100. I DO NOT EAT ANY calories back unless I burn more than 800 calories in a day.... <3
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    helanyhuff wrote: »
    Set a cap for calories. Mine is 1100. I DO NOT EAT ANY calories back unless I burn more than 800 calories in a day.... <3

    Bad advice. OP don't listen to this!! This is so unhealthy it is not even funny :s
  • BalletAndBarbells
    BalletAndBarbells Posts: 334 Member
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    My calorie limit is also 1200 and I tend to allow myself to eat up to half of my exercise calories back. I only eat them if I'm hungry though, rather than eating them because they're there! It's nice to have a bit of flex above 1200 since that is quite restrictive but if you find that you're not losing then easy less calories back. I would work this over a few weeks though rather than just one - some weeks you just won't lose regardless of what you do and some weeks you'll lose water weight even if you've eaten more than you've spent. I definitely agree you need to weigh all food to try and keep your intake accurate but I wouldn't agree with weighing yourself every day - once or twice a week is plenty to see a trend.
  • AppetiteControlFreak
    AppetiteControlFreak Posts: 76 Member
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    Machines are usually double or so in estimates.

    Eat half back at most

    The exercise bikes are terribly high. The MFP cycling estimates are over double what cycling.com estimates.

    If you exercise 300 or so and take half of those calories from body fat, you do not need to replace them, no matter what the Internet keyboard warriors say.

    If you burn 1200 in two hours of intense work, yes you need to eat some calories back.
  • michelle7673
    michelle7673 Posts: 370 Member
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    I do eat them back. Now, when I lost my 40#, I did leave some on the table regularly, but if I was hungry I certainly ate them all.... However, I'm now at 1200 net, and this is partly because I have MFP set to "lose 1.5 a week" and I have NOT adjusted my weight setting to reflect the fact that I've gained back a fair bit (my best guess is 12-15). So I figure I have some leeway.
    At the end of the day, they are all just estimates and projections. Weight loss is not linear even if you could control every possible variable. So -- don't sweat the small stuff. It's not about it "not working" -- it's about the theoretical projected RATE of loss. If you are eating less than you were, than you otherwise would, consistently, and exercising more than you did -- particularly if you are doing resistance training -- you will lose.
    I swear that the most important things are consistency and patience.
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,388 Member
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    Calimama123 wrote: »
    My goal is set at 1200, so I want to eat back my exercise calories, but not more, I'd like to net as close to 1200 as I can, but I know the machines usually overestimate burn. I entered my weight/height, the elliptical says I burned 600cals, how many shiuld I eat back? 300?400?

    Based on your weight, I would eat back every single exercise calorie. You are already working on a weight loss goal that is considered aggressive for your starting weight. If you feel good and strong at the 1200, personally I think it would be wise to consult a professional before pushing beyond that. You're already dealing with a weekly calorie deficit equal to skipping a couple days of eating.

    Just my honest opinion. You have the rest of your life to reach your weight goal. Better safe than sorry.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    helanyhuff wrote: »
    Set a cap for calories. Mine is 1100. I DO NOT EAT ANY calories back unless I burn more than 800 calories in a day.... <3

    What?

    OP, please don't listen to this.

    The standard is usually start at 50% and adjust from there.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    helanyhuff wrote: »
    Set a cap for calories. Mine is 1100. I DO NOT EAT ANY calories back unless I burn more than 800 calories in a day.... <3

    I don't even understand what she's saying... I need more coffee!!!!

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    christinev297 wrote: »
    helanyhuff wrote: »
    Set a cap for calories. Mine is 1100. I DO NOT EAT ANY calories back unless I burn more than 800 calories in a day.... <3

    I don't even understand what she's saying... I need more coffee!!!!

    Better make that a double!!
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    queenliz99 wrote: »
    christinev297 wrote: »
    helanyhuff wrote: »
    Set a cap for calories. Mine is 1100. I DO NOT EAT ANY calories back unless I burn more than 800 calories in a day.... <3

    I don't even understand what she's saying... I need more coffee!!!!

    Better make that a double!!

    No kidding!

    What i'm reading is she doesn't eat more than 1100 calories, and she doesn't eat exercise cals back unless she's burned over 800.. Correct?

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    christinev297 wrote: »
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    christinev297 wrote: »
    helanyhuff wrote: »
    Set a cap for calories. Mine is 1100. I DO NOT EAT ANY calories back unless I burn more than 800 calories in a day.... <3

    I don't even understand what she's saying... I need more coffee!!!!

    Better make that a double!!

    No kidding!

    What i'm reading is she doesn't eat more than 1100 calories, and she doesn't eat exercise cals back unless she's burned over 800.. Correct?

    It's certainly not good advice!! It must be a typo:)
  • ltworide
    ltworide Posts: 342 Member
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    I'd suggest learning to listen to your body. If you've completed a very intense workout more than 1 hour in length then I'd suggest consuming some healthy high quality protein/carb no more than 1/2 the calories you burned if you're trying to shed weight. If the workout was about 1 hour or less and you're going to consume a regular meal within the next couple of hours, you're probably okay without eating anything extra.

    Personally, I eat based around what exercise phase I am currently in and my daily activity level. If it's a rest day/light activity day I may consume around 1200 - 1600 calories but on days when I'm having two longer intense workouts trying to increase strength/muscle my calorie intake will be between 2500 - 3000 calories to compensate.

    I usually also do a cleanse/one day fast at the onset of each season to detox on a scheduled rest day.

    Hope this helps.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    edited October 2015
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    ltworide wrote: »
    I'd suggest learning to listen to your body. If you've completed a very intense workout more than 1 hour in length then I'd suggest consuming some healthy high quality protein/carb no more than 1/2 the calories you burned if you're trying to shed weight. If the workout was about 1 hour or less and you're going to consume a regular meal within the next couple of hours, you're probably okay without eating anything extra.

    Personally, I eat based around what exercise phase I am currently in and my daily activity level. If it's a rest day/light activity day I may consume around 1200 - 1600 calories but on days when I'm having two longer intense workouts trying to increase strength/muscle my calorie intake will be between 2500 - 3000 calories to compensate.

    I usually also do a cleanse/one day fast at the onset of each season to detox on a scheduled rest day.

    Hope this helps.

    This highlighted part is unnecessary.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf
  • shadowofender
    shadowofender Posts: 786 Member
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    I eat about 75% of them back typically, but I also have a bigger deficit just based on height and starting weight. I also tend to eat a bit more of them back if I'm lifting vs cardio because I get hangry.
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,388 Member
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    queenliz99 wrote: »
    christinev297 wrote: »
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    christinev297 wrote: »
    helanyhuff wrote: »
    Set a cap for calories. Mine is 1100. I DO NOT EAT ANY calories back unless I burn more than 800 calories in a day.... <3

    I don't even understand what she's saying... I need more coffee!!!!

    Better make that a double!!

    No kidding!

    What i'm reading is she doesn't eat more than 1100 calories, and she doesn't eat exercise cals back unless she's burned over 800.. Correct?

    It's certainly not good advice!! It must be a typo:)

    When I see people having such a low calorie net, or even negative nets, it just really scares me. Sometimes it's a hard subject, but I can't see anything good about not speaking up.

    Though I've had very low net calorie days, I try to keep my totals based on my maintenance weight intake, and never go below about 20% lower than that, regardless of how much exercise was in my day.
  • hamlet1222
    hamlet1222 Posts: 459 Member
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    I would eat back the full amount. 1200 sounds low to me (why is it so many women on this forum seem to come up with 1200 as their target?), so don't risk going lower.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited October 2015
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    hamlet1222 wrote: »
    I would eat back the full amount. 1200 sounds low to me (why is it so many women on this forum seem to come up with 1200 as their target?), so don't risk going lower.

    1200 is a product of "I want to lose XX pounds per week." Pick an aggressive goal, you get 1200 because it's the lowest minimum default for women.

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