To eat or not to eat?

JennuhM
JennuhM Posts: 12
edited September 29 in Health and Weight Loss
I have been reading a bunch of people's blogs and some have been eating all of their earned cals from exercise back, some are eating half and some aren't eating them back at all. I am just wondering what to do. I guess my thought is that if I eat around 1200 cals a day, and burn 300-400 working out around 4-5 days a week, I would increase my chance of losing weight. So any help or clarification would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Replies

  • aneumany
    aneumany Posts: 165 Member
    depends, how much weight do have to lose?
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I have been reading a bunch of people's blogs and some have been eating all of their earned cals from exercise back, some are eating half and some aren't eating them back at all. I am just wondering what to do. I guess my thought is that if I eat around 1200 cals a day, and burn 300-400 working out around 4-5 days a week, I would increase my chance of losing weight. So any help or clarification would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

    This is unhealthy as your body needs fuel and 1200 without working out is a general minimum amount. So if you eat 1200 and burn 400, that is the same as eating 800 (1200-400) and not working out, which is not enough for anyone. After days or weeks of this you may end up plateauing, burning muscle instead of fat, become malnourished, have your hair fall out, and other possible negative side effects of not eating enough.

    The less you have to lose the less you can get away with doing this, but even if you have a lot to lose, prolonged underrating can damage your metabolism.
  • karenyg
    karenyg Posts: 79
    I've learned if you don't eat the cals earned from working out your chance of loosing weight is very slow or none at all.
  • trixie1977
    trixie1977 Posts: 2
    Yeah you need to eat to boost the metabolism.
  • trixie1977
    trixie1977 Posts: 2
    Yeah you need to eat to boost the metabolism.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    listen to erickirb, he is wise. :)
  • eates
    eates Posts: 334 Member
    Do a search on here for "exercise calories". There are TONS of threads on this with lots of info
  • HotMamaByVday
    HotMamaByVday Posts: 343 Member
    LOL. You won't get any "help" here. Everyone's opinion is different.

    My experience is that I can go a few days not eating back my exercise calories, but I need to hit 1200 consumed every day. My weight loss stalls when I attempt to consume less than 1200 calories. A couple of days a week I eat some of my exercise calories and I enivitably (sp?) lose half a pound or so the next day. It all comes down to figuring out what is good for you and your body.
  • SandeepPatel819
    SandeepPatel819 Posts: 2
    1200 cals a day seems pretty low(well atleast for me, the tracker says below that i'd be starving.)
    Nevertheless, it all depends on what your goal is.

    Simplified:
    If you're burning more calories than you're eating in the day, then you'll lose weight.
    If you're burning the same # calories than you're eating in the day, then keep your weight.
    If you're burning less calories than you're eating in the day, then you'll gain weight.

    Remember, your body naturally burns calories too, so its possible to lose weight without exercise.
    But exercise can make things faster. So, what you should do is have a goal of where you want to be, and by when.
    Then, decide how much you'll allow yourself to eat, and how much you're willing to exercise to meet the goal.
  • Brynn1216
    Brynn1216 Posts: 9 Member
    I personally only eat a little of my exercise calories back. If I eat them all back, I do not lose weight. My weight loss is much more consistent if I keep my calorie consumption on the lower end of those extra added calories. After all, weight loss = burning more calories than you consume. I know I am not going to truly burn more than I consume, but I have learned that my scale goes up and clothes don't look as good if I consistently eat back my exercise calories. To me, it seems counter-productive. I ruin the hard work I put in from exercising by eating extra. But that's just me...
  • _Khaleesi_
    _Khaleesi_ Posts: 877 Member
    1200 cals a day seems pretty low(well atleast for me, the tracker says below that i'd be starving.)
    Nevertheless, it all depends on what your goal is.

    Simplified:
    If you're burning more calories than you're eating in the day, then you'll lose weight.
    If you're burning the same # calories than you're eating in the day, then keep your weight.
    If you're burning less calories than you're eating in the day, then you'll gain weight.

    Remember, your body naturally burns calories too, so its possible to lose weight without exercise.
    But exercise can make things faster. So, what you should do is have a goal of where you want to be, and by when.
    Then, decide how much you'll allow yourself to eat, and how much you're willing to exercise to meet the goal.

    It should be noted that "burning calories" in the above simplified statement is not the amount of calories burned through exercise or even exercise + your BMR. It's the entire daily expenditure of energy.
  • BethanyMasters
    BethanyMasters Posts: 519 Member
    I don't generally eat all of my exercise calories but I do my best to net 1200.

    So my daily goal is 1500.
    Say I burn 600.
    MFP would then want me to eat 2100 calories.
    I personally would have a hard time eating that much without eating junk.
    So instead I eat part of my exercise calories for a total of say 1750.
    That would still net me 1150 calories for the day.
  • JennuhM
    JennuhM Posts: 12
    wow thanks everyone!! I did a little google-ing and found this site (http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-How-Many-Calories-You-Need-to-Eat-to-Lose-Weight) that calculates my BMR which is 2884. I have about 40-50lbs to lose so for now, I think I am safe losing around 2lbs a week which means a 1,000 calorie a day deficit. I can't see myself eating 1,800 healthy cals so I will shoot for 1,500. This helps a lot! Also, I used the tool on MFP to calculate my BMR and it said it was 1638 cals a day, which is way off! so I am still a little confused as to what to believe! grrr
  • BethanyMasters
    BethanyMasters Posts: 519 Member
    wow thanks everyone!! I did a little google-ing and found this site (http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-How-Many-Calories-You-Need-to-Eat-to-Lose-Weight) that calculates my BMR which is 2884. I have about 40-50lbs to lose so for now, I think I am safe losing around 2lbs a week which means a 1,000 calorie a day deficit. I can't see myself eating 1,800 healthy cals so I will shoot for 1,500. This helps a lot! Also, I used the tool on MFP to calculate my BMR and it said it was 1638 cals a day, which is way off! so I am still a little confused as to what to believe! grrr

    I think the bmr calculator on MFP must use a different equation because it gives me a lower number than the BMR calculator that I usually use.
  • JennuhM
    JennuhM Posts: 12
    so have you been using the other formula and its been working for you? I don't want to think that I am choosing the right BMR and be GAINING weight! the MFP BMR seems low, I think I will go with the 2884 that I got off that site, do you think that's the one I should be using? Thanks for your help!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    wow thanks everyone!! I did a little google-ing and found this site (http://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-How-Many-Calories-You-Need-to-Eat-to-Lose-Weight) that calculates my BMR which is 2884. I have about 40-50lbs to lose so for now, I think I am safe losing around 2lbs a week which means a 1,000 calorie a day deficit. I can't see myself eating 1,800 healthy cals so I will shoot for 1,500. This helps a lot! Also, I used the tool on MFP to calculate my BMR and it said it was 1638 cals a day, which is way off! so I am still a little confused as to what to believe! grrr

    Your BMR would be closer to the 1638, the site you used based your maintenance calories on a formula based on your activity so it would be BMR times a multiplier to = 2884. I don't know why they call it BMR so your BMR is not 2884. BMR is the amount of calories you would burn if you were in a coma like state.

    To see what MFP has as your maintenance calories (before you do any exercise) go to goals, and look at calories burned from normal activity. I'm sure MFP plus your exercise goals for the week added together will be closer to the 2884.
  • JennuhM
    JennuhM Posts: 12
    thanks! ya i know, I calculated it with light exercise and if I stayed in bed all day, and even my BMR if i stayed in bed all day was higher than the MFP BMR
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