Advice on eating exercise calories??

kettlenic
kettlenic Posts: 148 Member
edited December 2 in Health and Weight Loss
so I have a goal of 1200 Cals, I ate all bar 28. Then I added the Cals I burnt walking according to my pedometer (344) and logged the day. I get a message saying I am eating too little etc. surely it is ok not to eat exercise Cals... It's not like I am burning that many Cals???? Anyone have any advice?

Replies

  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
    The reason you got that message is because 1200 is the minimum calories for women in order to get all the nutrients your body needs. If you burned 344 then you went below 1200 net for the day. MFP is designed for you to eat back your exercise calories. And this is especially important when not doing so means you net under 1200 often. One day here and there, not too bad. Every day? You can end up with malnutrition (hairless, fatigue, loss of period...).

    That said, not everyone trusts the calorie burns as being 100% accurate so most end up eating only a portion back. My fitbit calculates an adjustment that covers the entire day. I don't eat it all back. If I had a workout that burned 350 calories, I would likely eat back 50% (175).
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    Why are you set at 1,200? Did MFP give you that?
  • seekingdaintiness
    seekingdaintiness Posts: 137 Member
    kettlenic wrote: »
    so I have a goal of 1200 Cals, I ate all bar 28. Then I added the Cals I burnt walking according to my pedometer (344) and logged the day. I get a message saying I am eating too little etc. surely it is ok not to eat exercise Cals... It's not like I am burning that many Cals???? Anyone have any advice?

    It is okay not to eat exercise calories. I am surprised you got that message, usually it doesn't do that unless you go under 1000.
  • autumnblade75
    autumnblade75 Posts: 1,661 Member
    seekingdaintiness wrote: »
    kettlenic wrote: »
    so I have a goal of 1200 Cals, I ate all bar 28. Then I added the Cals I burnt walking according to my pedometer (344) and logged the day. I get a message saying I am eating too little etc. surely it is ok not to eat exercise Cals... It's not like I am burning that many Cals???? Anyone have any advice?

    It is okay not to eat exercise calories. I am surprised you got that message, usually it doesn't do that unless you go under 1000.

    1200 - 28 = 1172
    1172 - 344 = 828
    828 < 1000
  • kimkimcoleman
    kimkimcoleman Posts: 105 Member
    I get that message everyday. I usually eat 1600-1700 calories and run for 30 minutes or so and it tells me I'm not eating enough once it subtracts the exercise calories from my fitbit. I eat back most of my exercise calories or else I feel like I'm starving all day and that's what works for me.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited June 2016
    It is ok to not eat the exercise cals, and you may figure out after you do this for a short period that you may need to some of them back.. This will keep you in what I call energy balance, you give enough to your body for its normal functions and give yourself more energy to do what you need to the next day like exercise again without being lethargic or low on energy..

    Recommend, eating back maybe 40 to 50 percent back what you burn. You may need more on certain days so eat what you need.

    I am not going to question why 1200 cals as I am very short and this is what MFP give me to loose weight (a mere less than .5 pounds a week for me)..
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    kettlenic wrote: »
    so I have a goal of 1200 Cals, I ate all bar 28. Then I added the Cals I burnt walking according to my pedometer (344) and logged the day. I get a message saying I am eating too little etc. surely it is ok not to eat exercise Cals... It's not like I am burning that many Cals???? Anyone have any advice?

    It depends...I personally wouldn't worry about calories from walking...I don't think I ever added those in. The more intense your workouts are though, the more important it is to fuel that activity as failure to do so can and will lead to recovery issues and increased risk of injury...not to mention is puts a real damper on your actual fitness gains and performance.

    MFP is designed for you to eat exercise calories back...that's how you account for that activity with MFP...but you also want to leave some allowance for estimation error as it is difficult to estimate calories out accurately which is why most people eat some % back, but not all.
  • dlkfox
    dlkfox Posts: 463 Member
    I do 1200 a day. If you have eaten at least 1000 calories then you won't get that message. But you really need to physically eat 1200 for proper nutrition. I take a multivitamin to be sure.

    I eat back some of my exercise calories but not all, which means I'll net under 1000 some days, but because I've actually eaten 1200+ I never get a warning message. If you are getting the message, you need to eat more.
  • danibabii11
    danibabii11 Posts: 72 Member
    1200 calories is an extremely small amount.... no, your right your are no suppose to eat back ALL those calories you burn during a work out but you do need to make sure you are eating enough to (even after a training session) so your body can repair and function at a normal rate .
  • kettlenic
    kettlenic Posts: 148 Member
    Thanks will try aim to eat half the exercise Cals, the 1200 is what mfp calculated based on my desk job and wanting a 1kg/2.2lbs week loss
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    Whew! Over 2 pounds a week. I cannot eat below 1,600 calories. Just will not do it. Makes me unhappy and isn't necessary anyway.
  • kettlenic
    kettlenic Posts: 148 Member
    Ok maybe I should aim to lose a pound a week and see how I go; in all honest will probably lose more because I have been over eating so much and this is a big change and I have over 4st to lose!! What do you think?
  • lexylondon
    lexylondon Posts: 89 Member
    I don't eat exercise. Alories! Need that buffer for incorrect calories burned and incorrect calories logging.
  • keophilluk
    keophilluk Posts: 2 Member
    Wow I ate what my body needs and I work out I aim to lose more than I eat that's the trick and you can take vitamins to replace what you're body needs
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Personally I never track exercise unless it's a full day of hiking etc. Calorie "burns" are grossly over estimated!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    keophilluk wrote: »
    Wow I ate what my body needs and I work out I aim to lose more than I eat that's the trick and you can take vitamins to replace what you're body needs

    Vitamins are going to meet specific micronutrient needs. They aren't going to provide the energy your body needs to run or the calories needed to prevent muscle loss in a calorie deficit that is too high. They aren't going to prevent complications associated with losing weight too quickly like brittle nails, hair loss, or gall stones.
  • godlikepoetyes
    godlikepoetyes Posts: 442 Member
    kettlenic wrote: »
    Ok maybe I should aim to lose a pound a week and see how I go; in all honest will probably lose more because I have been over eating so much and this is a big change and I have over 4st to lose!! What do you think?

    With so little to lose, I'd go for .5 a week, and weigh only once a week. And be patient. It may take a while.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    kettlenic wrote: »
    Ok maybe I should aim to lose a pound a week and see how I go; in all honest will probably lose more because I have been over eating so much and this is a big change and I have over 4st to lose!! What do you think?

    4 stone = 56 lbs, right? 1 lb/week is an appropriate goal, when you get back to about 20 lbs left to lose, you would want to change it to 0.5 lb/week.

    You should see an increase in your goal although maybe not a full 500 cals as MFP will not set your goal below 1200 cals.

    For what it's worth, when I started I wasn't very active, walked a few times a week for about 30 minutes. I always ate back the exercise calories, and when I got my FitBit I continued eating the exercise adjustments. I worked to make myself more active as I was losing, working my way up to 10k steps/day and now I average 15k steps/day. I lost 30 lbs eating between 1600-1900 cals and am now maintaining with a TDEE of 2200.
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