Caloric deficit. Eating back your calories??

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ange9482
ange9482 Posts: 12 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey yall!

Im a little confused about my caloric deficit.
When i burn a lot of calories as I do on a regular basis. Should i eat back my calories to make sure my deficit isnt to low??

Ex:
My maintenance is 2700. Im at a 700 deficit. So im aming for 2000 cals a day. Today i burned 600cals so should i eat them back??

Thank in advance for your feed back!

God speed!

-Ange

Replies

  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
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    I'd go half for the first month, see your rate of loss and adjust accordingly. Good luck! :)
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    What did you do to burn 600 calories? A lot of the MFP calorie burn estimates are off.
  • ange9482
    ange9482 Posts: 12 Member
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    Lawn work and walking. Moeing and aerating using heavy equipment. It was a reat day from the gym.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,851 Member
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    I have a little different take on it than what's posted above: Use your actual loss rate as a guide. Try not to lose more than 1% of your bodyweight weekly (that's a rough rule of thumb to help avoid risk of losing lean body mass - such as muscle - along with the fat).

    As you get close to goal, even less may be better: At 25 pounds to goal, no more than a pound a week; at 10-15 to goal, no more than 0.5 pound per week.

    If you're losing too fast, either eat back more of your exercise calories, or just eat more calories.

    MFP is designed for you to eat back your exercise calories - that's how it calculates things. But your own actual weight loss is your best guide to whether you're losing at an unhealthily fast rate, once you have 3-4 weeks of loss experience. (Ignore the first week or two - sometimes there's a big drop that won't continue.)

    It's always fine to lose more slowly than that - if you feel like given calorie level is not sustainable for you, it's fine to eat more, and lose a little bit more slowly (but reliably, in contrast to what happens if we fall off the wagon).

    Sounds like you're striving for a healthy rate of weight loss, which is absolutely the right strategy!
  • PinkPixiexox
    PinkPixiexox Posts: 4,142 Member
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    Eat half of them back :)
    I'd definitely suggest eating a percentage back anyway - you don't want to burn out. And don't worry - you'll still lose.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
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    If you are overweight/obese I would say don't eat them back as your body will cope with a larger deficit.
  • ange9482
    ange9482 Posts: 12 Member
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    Sounds like a good idea mate! :)
  • fattothinmum
    fattothinmum Posts: 218 Member
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    I don't worry about it so that when I have a splurge day, or holiday, I don't have to think about it. I know I have had calories in reserve.

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