Should I be eating back my calories?
Kelley0519
Posts: 254 Member
I eat an average of 1200-1250 calories per day...I also work out once or sometimes twice a day. I aim to burn at least 800 calories a day doing cardio (I know these machines can overestimate calories burned sometimes so I do take this into consideration). Should I eat more than 1200-1250 calories per day if I'm burning off lots of calories?? Thanks.
0
Replies
-
Yes, you should. I'd try eating back maybe 75% of what the estimates are saying you burned and see how that effects your weight loss.0
-
I was wondering the same. My goal is set for 1200 calories a day and I try to burn around 500 or so calories a day (just from walking, I don't have a gym membership) I am wondering how accurate the information on here is for calories burned. I walked for about 2 hours today and it says I burned 676 calories. I just bought a heart rate monitor that tracks calories so we will see tomorrow what it says when I go for my walk. I did eat back my calories today, I have almost 100 left though.0
-
Yes, you should. I'd try eating back maybe 75% of what the estimates are saying you burned and see how that effects your weight loss.
It's kind of hard for me to eat the calories back....I drink water all day, so I'm full most of the time. I'll try to eat back a little and see what happens. Thanks.0 -
Kelley0519 wrote: »Yes, you should. I'd try eating back maybe 75% of what the estimates are saying you burned and see how that effects your weight loss.
It's kind of hard for me to eat the calories back....I drink water all day, so I'm full most of the time. I'll try to eat back a little and see what happens. Thanks.
If it's hard then you're eating the wrong types of foods.0 -
I was wondering the same. My goal is set for 1200 calories a day and I try to burn around 500 or so calories a day (just from walking, I don't have a gym membership) I am wondering how accurate the information on here is for calories burned. I walked for about 2 hours today and it says I burned 676 calories. I just bought a heart rate monitor that tracks calories so we will see tomorrow what it says when I go for my walk. I did eat back my calories today, I have almost 100 left though.
I enter my weight on the treadmill and ARC machines....it gives me a total of calories burned after every workout so I enter that number into MFP. MFP kind of overestimate the calories burned compared to the machines.0 -
Kelley0519 wrote: »Yes, you should. I'd try eating back maybe 75% of what the estimates are saying you burned and see how that effects your weight loss.
It's kind of hard for me to eat the calories back....I drink water all day, so I'm full most of the time. I'll try to eat back a little and see what happens. Thanks.
If it's hard then you're eating the wrong types of foods.
What types of food should I be eating? I eat foods with lots of protein such as a whey protein smoothie for breakfast, chicken, tuna, ground turkey, pork here and there, boiled eggs. I eat brown rice, fruits, veggies, yogurt sometimes, cheese sometimes...I try to limit breads, but I normally eat the whole wheat thin sandwich rounds.0 -
Cut back on cardio. Do 1 20-min Sprint 8 HIIT session one or twice a week. Pump iron twice/week.0
-
Kelley0519 wrote: »Yes, you should. I'd try eating back maybe 75% of what the estimates are saying you burned and see how that effects your weight loss.
It's kind of hard for me to eat the calories back....I drink water all day, so I'm full most of the time. I'll try to eat back a little and see what happens. Thanks.
If it's hard then you're eating the wrong types of foods.
How do you figure that? What are the "wrong" types of foods?0 -
Exercise equipment can grossly exaggerated calorie burn. Eat back 50%-75%.
Side question - are you weighing everything you consume? With you only eating 1200 a day and not being hungry after your work out, I feel like your intake may be incorrect.0 -
Kelley0519 wrote: »Kelley0519 wrote: »Yes, you should. I'd try eating back maybe 75% of what the estimates are saying you burned and see how that effects your weight loss.
It's kind of hard for me to eat the calories back....I drink water all day, so I'm full most of the time. I'll try to eat back a little and see what happens. Thanks.
If it's hard then you're eating the wrong types of foods.
What types of food should I be eating? I eat foods with lots of protein such as a whey protein smoothie for breakfast, chicken, tuna, ground turkey, pork here and there, boiled eggs. I eat brown rice, fruits, veggies, yogurt sometimes, cheese sometimes...I try to limit breads, but I normally eat the whole wheat thin sandwich rounds.
Lol exactly, every single type of food you eat is very filling. Protein is filling, as are whole grains and vegetables. Those are good foods to eat if always find yourself hungry, but if you find that you can't eat enough, work in some peanut butter, whole milk, fruit juice, etc.0 -
Kelley0519 wrote: »Yes, you should. I'd try eating back maybe 75% of what the estimates are saying you burned and see how that effects your weight loss.
It's kind of hard for me to eat the calories back....I drink water all day, so I'm full most of the time. I'll try to eat back a little and see what happens. Thanks.
If it's hard then you're eating the wrong types of foods.
How do you figure that? What are the "wrong" types of foods?
When you find that you can't consume enough calories, the "wrong" types of foods are foods that are very filling and foods that aren't calorie dense.0 -
Kelley0519 wrote: »Kelley0519 wrote: »Yes, you should. I'd try eating back maybe 75% of what the estimates are saying you burned and see how that effects your weight loss.
It's kind of hard for me to eat the calories back....I drink water all day, so I'm full most of the time. I'll try to eat back a little and see what happens. Thanks.
If it's hard then you're eating the wrong types of foods.
What types of food should I be eating? I eat foods with lots of protein such as a whey protein smoothie for breakfast, chicken, tuna, ground turkey, pork here and there, boiled eggs. I eat brown rice, fruits, veggies, yogurt sometimes, cheese sometimes...I try to limit breads, but I normally eat the whole wheat thin sandwich rounds.
Lol exactly, every single type of food you eat is very filling. Protein is filling, as are whole grains and vegetables. Those are good foods to eat if always find yourself hungry, but if you find that you can't eat enough, work in some peanut butter, whole milk, fruit juice, etc.
Ok, I will try some new items!! Thank you!0 -
Asher_Ethan wrote: »Exercise equipment can grossly exaggerated calorie burn. Eat back 50%-75%.
Side question - are you weighing everything you consume? With you only eating 1200 a day and not being hungry after your work out, I feel like your intake may be incorrect.
No, I don't own a food scale, but I guess I should invest in one so I can get a more accurate count.0 -
@Kelley0519 Great feedback from everyone. Try this Blog for a Dieticians Viewpoint. Ask-the-dietitian-should-i-eat-back-my-exercise-calories/ .
This Post by @SideSteel about Eating Back Exercise Calories .
And yes get a small Kitchen Scale. Here are a few Posts about Kitchen Scales
Get a scale people! and Whats-the-one-kitchen-tool
Also A link I pass onto all newer members is.
Important-posts-to-read0 -
juliet3455 wrote: »@Kelley0519 Great feedback from everyone. Try this Blog for a Dieticians Viewpoint. Ask-the-dietitian-should-i-eat-back-my-exercise-calories/ .
This Post by @SideSteel about Eating Back Exercise Calories .
And yes get a small Kitchen Scale. Here are a few Posts about Kitchen Scales
Get a scale people! and Whats-the-one-kitchen-tool
Also A link I pass onto all newer members is.
Important-posts-to-read
Thank you!0 -
I was going to ask this as well lol I burn 400 calories I was thinking of eating back 3000
-
if your not hungry i wouldn't bother, If i'm hungry, I eat some of mine back but they're majorly overestimated so I tend to eat 50% back.0
-
AsrarHussain wrote: »I was going to ask this as well lol I burn 400 calories I was thinking of eating back 300
I'm always skeptical about eating my calories back, bc I don't want my workout to seem pointless if I'm just going to eat the calories back lol0 -
-
The problem with not eating them back at all, assuming the calories you say you eat are at your goal, is that it takes your deficit and makes it too big. The down side of that is lost of lean mass. For that matter, unless a person has a lot of weight to lose, 80 pounds or more, they really should not have a weekly goal of 2 pounds a week either because it is too big a deficit and will result in lean mass loss rather than fat loss.
Not eating exercise calories if you are not hungry seems to make sense, at the same time realize that part of the issue that brought most of us here is disordered understanding of when we are hungry leading to eating too much and putting on weight. That disordered understanding of hunger can just as easily go the other way, especially since people are here to lose weight and the general mindset is eat as little as you can, so you are biasing yourself toward feeling full mentally. Added to that is most people when wanting to lose weight eat foods that make them feel full, that is those that are not calorie dense, so there is justification to feel full. But, as stated above, a bigger deficit is not always better and can in fact lead to long term failure due to loss of lean mass and even hormonal disruption.
Instead of trying to establish as big a deficit as you can, maybe a mind set change of saying I want to be able to eat as much as I can and lose at a reasonable rate for the amount I have to lose with the goal of learning to understand hunger signals and the things that trigger false hunger signals better. That will take time, and that is what slower fat loss is about, retraining yourself to eat to maintain.0 -
I think the first step is to get a scale and get a real picture of what you are eating.0
-
Kelley0519 wrote: »Yes, you should. I'd try eating back maybe 75% of what the estimates are saying you burned and see how that effects your weight loss.
It's kind of hard for me to eat the calories back....I drink water all day, so I'm full most of the time. I'll try to eat back a little and see what happens. Thanks.
If it's hard then you're eating the wrong types of foods.
How do you figure that? What are the "wrong" types of foods?
Diet this - diet that. Fat free, etc.
If you are having trouble meeting calories, eat more "regular" foods. Dietary fat won't make us fat. Nuts, nut butters, olive oil, avocado are all healthy fats, and small portion sizes.
A moderate calorie deficit helps your body support EXISTING lean muscle mass. Large deficits help you lose "weight" quicker. But the price is often a higher body fat percentage.0 -
Kelley0519 wrote: »AsrarHussain wrote: »I was going to ask this as well lol I burn 400 calories I was thinking of eating back 300
I'm always skeptical about eating my calories back, bc I don't want my workout to seem pointless if I'm just going to eat the calories back lol
You got a deficit BEFORE exercise. So eating back calories (and fueling your workouts) isn't pointless. It's the way MFP is designed. Other calorie calculators would start out higher than 1200 to INCLUDE workouts.
Fast weight loss as in fat+lean muscle.....or moderate paced weight loss as in mostly fat loss. There's a difference in how you look when you get to goal.
I eat my calories back (a portion that's worth the time to figure out) because I don't want to look doughy and jiggly when I'm done. But doughy and jiggly still looks okay fully clothed though.
0 -
Whether or not you eat back the calories you burn depends on your goal. Do you want to loose weight? If not, you shout not eat back. If you feel you look good, then gradually change over to more weight training. But don't ditch cardio!0
-
brucealfred3 wrote: »Whether or not you eat back the calories you burn depends on your goal. Do you want to loose weight? If not, you shout not eat back. If you feel you look good, then gradually change over to more weight training. But don't ditch cardio!
Um - OP is eating 1250 & burning 800. That's 450 NET calories! That's alarmingly low.
Granted she is probably not burning 800, but still.
Bruce - here's how MFP (My Fitness Pal) works. You plug in a weekly weight loss goal and MFP gives you the number of calories to eat BEFORE exercise. Not everyone can or will exercise. So if OP is using MFP as designed and exercising, she should be eating back some calories.
Adding strength training is a great idea - but OP needs to enough fuel to support lean muscle too. 450 calories is no where near enough fuel. 450 doesn't even cover basic bodily functions.0 -
brucealfred3 wrote: »Whether or not you eat back the calories you burn depends on your goal. Do you want to loose weight? If not, you shout not eat back. If you feel you look good, then gradually change over to more weight training. But don't ditch cardio!
Um - OP is eating 1250 & burning 800. That's 450 NET calories! That's alarmingly low.
Granted she is probably not burning 800.
Bruce - here's how MFP (My Fitness Pal) works. You plug in a weekly weight loss goal and MFP gives you the number of calories to eat BEFORE exercise. Not everyone can or will exercise. So if OP is using MFP as designed and exercising, she should be eating back some calories.
Adding strength training is a great idea - but OP needs to enough fuel to support lean muscle too. 450 calories is no where near enough fuel. 450 doesn't even cover basic bodily functions.
MFP gave me 1300 calories to eat per day when I entered that my goal was to lose 2 lb per week. I lowered is to 1250 because I don't own a food scale and I didn't want to over do my calories. Normally, when I work out twice a day, the treadmill or elliptical can total up to about 900 calories burned, I would then enter 800 calories burned (not counting the light weight lifting that I do) into MFP because the machines may or may not be accurate. I take these things into consideration. I'm not really hungry to eat back my calories, even with working out twice a day, but I guess I can make myself eat more. Maybe I'll eat a candy bar lol (joking) I have set my goal to lose 50 lbs...just want to make sure I'm doing everything to right way.
0 -
brucealfred3 wrote: »Whether or not you eat back the calories you burn depends on your goal. Do you want to loose weight? If not, you shout not eat back. If you feel you look good, then gradually change over to more weight training. But don't ditch cardio!
Yes, my initial goal is to lose about 50-60 lbs this time around, already lost 9 lbs....
(I've lost 80 lbs before, but put 30 lbs back on this past year, so I'm focused again)0 -
-
rileysowner wrote: »The problem with not eating them back at all, assuming the calories you say you eat are at your goal, is that it takes your deficit and makes it too big. The down side of that is lost of lean mass. For that matter, unless a person has a lot of weight to lose, 80 pounds or more, they really should not have a weekly goal of 2 pounds a week either because it is too big a deficit and will result in lean mass loss rather than fat loss.
Not eating exercise calories if you are not hungry seems to make sense, at the same time realize that part of the issue that brought most of us here is disordered understanding of when we are hungry leading to eating too much and putting on weight. That disordered understanding of hunger can just as easily go the other way, especially since people are here to lose weight and the general mindset is eat as little as you can, so you are biasing yourself toward feeling full mentally. Added to that is most people when wanting to lose weight eat foods that make them feel full, that is those that are not calorie dense, so there is justification to feel full. But, as stated above, a bigger deficit is not always better and can in fact lead to long term failure due to loss of lean mass and even hormonal disruption.
Instead of trying to establish as big a deficit as you can, maybe a mind set change of saying I want to be able to eat as much as I can and lose at a reasonable rate for the amount I have to lose with the goal of learning to understand hunger signals and the things that trigger false hunger signals better. That will take time, and that is what slower fat loss is about, retraining yourself to eat to maintain.
Great advice! Thank you!0 -
Kelley0519 wrote: »
I got my food scale at Wal-Mart - around $20. Taylor is what I have.
There are some things that are really hard to measure in cups. Liquids are good, but solids of different shapes and sizes. There were some surprises. Plus - what's a medium pear look like?0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.4K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.2K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.4K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 424 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.7K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions