i'm confused about something..

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SkateboardFi
SkateboardFi Posts: 1,322 Member
in Food and Nutrition
i have a very active exercise regimen and tend to burn a lot of calories daily, my target caloric intake is 1200 to lose weight, but when i plug in my workouts, it goes up based on what i've burned. this might sound like a dumb question lol but do i stick with the 1200? or the new calories posted based on my workouts?

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  • End6ame
    End6ame Posts: 903
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    i have a very active exercise regimen and tend to burn a lot of calories daily, my target caloric intake is 1200 to lose weight, but when i plug in my workouts, it goes up based on what i've burned. this might sound like a dumb question lol but do i stick with the 1200? or the new calories posted based on my workouts?


    The updated calories.

    If you consume 1200 and burn 400 you have in essence only consumed 800 calories (1200-400=800)
  • tanyaMax
    tanyaMax Posts: 524 Member
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    people are gonna tell you differently. some are on the YES YOU MUST EAT THE CALS YOU BURN BACK team. and others are on the NO DO NOT EAT BACK WHAT YOUBURN team. I personally dont eat back my burned calories. and it has worked for me. i have lost every week. (i burn about 1200 cals a day and dont eat them back)
  • mowfaux
    mowfaux Posts: 38
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    All that is, is you get a net because of your exercise.

    If you're doing a 1200 calorie goal, make sure you AT LEAST get 1200 calories, so you body doesn't think you're starving. but by exercising, it actually allows you go over your 1200.

    Say you get a surplus of 300, so your goal is adjusted to 1500, it means you have a cushion, but if you constantly eat up to the 1500, you won't lose as much weight. I like to use about 1/2 of the extra that I earn, so my daily would be around 1350. That way, I'm not hungry (because you can get hungrier when you work out), but I'm still consuming less that what I'm burning.

    I hope that helps
  • teressaholman
    teressaholman Posts: 20
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    I almost ALWAYS eat back my exercise calories. Most of them anyway. If you don't, you will of course lose weight in the beginning, but it will catch up with you and everything will come to stop eventually. I eat most of mine back, and sometimes go over and I have lost 37 lbs to date. (in about 5-6 months) I am definitely from the "eat back those calories" persuasion. Good luck to you!
  • Samerah12
    Samerah12 Posts: 610 Member
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    Myfitnesspal is designed for you to have an automatic daily deficit in your calories. Therefore anything that you burn outside of your normal activity (ie exercise that you log) you should eat those calories back. If you choose not to eat them back you may end up with too big of a calorie deficit which can, over time, affect your metabolism, slowing it down so that it is harder to lose weight. Also it is very difficult to build and maintain muscle with too high of a calorie deficit.

    I eat back every single exercise calorie and I've lost 50 lbs. I lose weight consistently and I look a lot better because I've built muscle (ie, not "skinny-fat")
  • End6ame
    End6ame Posts: 903
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    people are gonna tell you differently. some are on the YES YOU MUST EAT THE CALS YOU BURN BACK team. and others are on the NO DO NOT EAT BACK WHAT YOUBURN team. I personally dont eat back my burned calories. and it has worked for me. i have lost every week. (i burn about 1200 cals a day and dont eat them back)
    Your body needs calories to function properly regardless of daily activity and exercise. If you exercise and burn a significant amount of calories to a point below your BMR your body will not have the energy to fuel your workout and fuel the functions of your body. If you continue to consume less calories than your body needs to function then your body will start adapting by reducing the number of calories it needs, this is most commonly done by burning muscle instead of fat because muscle takes more energy for your body to maintain than fat does. So yes you will still see the weight drop, but it is not healthy.

    It is really just elementary school math, I don’t know why there is debate over it.
  • Getting_Fit_4_Life
    Getting_Fit_4_Life Posts: 401 Member
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    Interesting question. I don't eat back my calories and if I do, I just eat about 100 calories back. It's working so far for me. I don't see the need to stuff my self just to put back calories that I just worked off. If am still hungry, then I might eat about 100 calories, but if not I just leave it alone. There is so much diference of opinion on this issue.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    yes, you need to replace the calories you burn.

    nice explanation of why here:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/196502-for-the-people-who-work-out-like-crazy-and-are-not-losing?hl=for+people+who+work+out+like+crazy

    blessings.
  • joehempel
    joehempel Posts: 1,761 Member
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    I eat back some but not all. It's worked for me...22lbs in 2 months.

    Now that being said...I set MFP at a 2lb a week deficit, so 1000 calories...which for me is 1500 calories. I try to eat 1800 calories a day....that eats SOME back but not all, and I'm never hungry, or at least never starving.

    For me, I try to get my body be as efficient at burning as possible. When I wake up, I'm empty like a gas tank....I eat, it fuels me. The body burns....I eat again a couple hours later....body burns....eat again...body burns, that way by the time I wake up, I've burned off more than I've eaten and am ready to go. Oh, and I don't crash or get tired with this either.
  • TK421NotAtPost
    TK421NotAtPost Posts: 512 Member
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    Most people over-estimate calories burned and underestimate calories consumed (yes, even with the help of an excellent tracking system like MFP), so I wouldn't sweat it if you don't eat back your exercise calories. A few days of sizable deficits isn't going to hurt you. Just avoid the prolonged large calorie deficits. A lot of this is also dependent on how much you've progressed in your weight loss. If you're lean, then it's more important to keep your deficits under control. If you're just starting out, then it isn't going to hurt you as much.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    I have a tendency to eat back about half of what I burn. It compensates for possible overages on burned calories and under-estimating what I've eaten.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    You're supposed to eat all of your workout calories back, but I'm in sfoust66's boat and usually only "eat" about half of them back. I say "eat" because I'm a wine drinker and prefer that as my treat.
  • SkateboardFi
    SkateboardFi Posts: 1,322 Member
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    i appreciate all the feedback, some days i'll eat back almost all of them, and other days depending on how if i'm hungry or not i just leave it alone, i wanted to make sure i wasn't messing anything up if i did either one is all

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