Should you eat the calories you Burn?

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azdisneymama
azdisneymama Posts: 11 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm trying to lose weight to lower my blood preasure and to overall be healthy. I've lost 11 lbs so far by cutting salt. I've just recently started using that eliptical I've owned for about 5 yrs. My question is.. Once you burn those calories in exercise should you really eat them back? Won't that keep you at your weight? How does that work?

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  • irenerose25
    irenerose25 Posts: 41 Member
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    Some say yes some say no. I usually do because MFP has already built a deficit into the calories that you are allowed each day. Im trying not to lose weight too fast. Its generally agreed that you don't want to go under 1200 calories net either way. Good job on your loss so far :)
  • Kristhin
    Kristhin Posts: 442 Member
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    Only if:
    1. You burned a LOT of calories, and even then I would say try to keep it a small meal and not eat quite ALL of them back.
    2. Only if you are really really hungry. If you feel satisfied on the before exercise calorie amount, don't incease your food--just
    enjoy the extra weight loss you will get.
  • MrsCon40
    MrsCon40 Posts: 2,351 Member
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    http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/
  • mbaker81
    mbaker81 Posts: 8
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    i was eating all of mine... I exercise 6 days a week and burn between 350-1200 depending what i do. But I am not losing much so i am going to start leaving some uneaten. The problem is the calories burned is only an estimate and it can be off! So leaving a cushion can't hurt
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
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    Are you eating to enough?

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficit


    This is just a part of it! please read the link above


    Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
    With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
    With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
    With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
    and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle tone, and reducing fat. This means is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode)


    Also this might be helpful http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/00trayn/view/how-to-bust-a-3-month-plateau-87677



    Good luck on your journey

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