Ok Supposed to eat 1200 calories I also workout, Does that mean I can eat the calories I burned?

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Strykerphotography
Strykerphotography Posts: 4 Member
edited January 2017 in Health and Weight Loss
Just curious because I'm not really clear on this. I've gotten a bunch of different answers. I want to really succeed at this.
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  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
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    If you're using MFP as it's intended, then yes, you are supposed to eat the calories burned.

    The 1200 daily allotment already includes your deficit. So if you exercise on top of that, you need to eat more as you could end up under-eating, causing you to burn out.

    As a rule, it is recommended to eat back 50%-75% of the calories to start with and adjust once you have numbers (give it 2-4 weeks to see how your body reacts). If you lose quicker than expected, eat more of them. If you eat slower than expected, eat less of them.
  • fruitydelicious
    fruitydelicious Posts: 664 Member
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    Totally up to you. I would say, if you are working out and you feel real hunger, then you really should eat something nutritious. think about habits that you can sustain for a lifetime. That helps keep the weight OFF once you lose it!!
  • annacole94
    annacole94 Posts: 997 Member
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    I generally eat back all my exercise calories, and have been losing the 1 lb a week MFP is aiming for. If you have it set for 2lb a week... it's unlikely to happen if you don't have a lot to lose.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    yes you should eat back at least a portion of the calories that MFP says you burned - they base their recommendations on the NEAT process (net energy adaptive thermogenesis). If you use calorie recommendations from a TDEE website, which will be higher, then you no don't
  • katattackme
    katattackme Posts: 54 Member
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    Are the calories added pretty accurate or is it just a estimate?
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    katattackme wrote: »
    Are the calories added pretty accurate or is it just a estimate?

    Depends on what is giving you the estimate. MFP and fitness equipment (treadmills etc) are very generous in the calories given back so only eat about 1/2 of those. I use my wrist based watch, but compare it to a chest strap when possible, and find it pretty accurate so I eat back most of those. Maybe 85-90%. Most recommend between 50% and 75%.
  • cheryldumais
    cheryldumais Posts: 1,907 Member
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    I was on 1200 calories for a year. I lost 72 pounds at a rate of 1.4 per week average. I ate back about half of my exercise calories. I had set my loss for 2 pounds a week. Did I not lose that fast because I ate half of my exercise calories? Who knows. Just my experience. Good luck.
  • katattackme
    katattackme Posts: 54 Member
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    Thank you tacklewasher! I was using mfp so I'll be careful about that. Should I get an actual tracker? Would that help out a lot?
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,575 Member
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    I would not ever eat back my calories burned during exercise, unless I truly were hungry. I mean, really hungry.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »
    I would not ever eat back my calories burned during exercise, unless I truly were hungry. I mean, really hungry.

    Then it is likely that you could be creating too large of a calorie deficit for your body (depending how intense your exercise) and at risk for adverse effects like: loss of lean body mass, fatigue, hair loss, brittle nails, sallow skin, etc.

    If you are using MFP as it is as designed OP, you are meant to eat back some of those calories, especially if your goal is only 1200. I would also ask what rate of loss you put in and how much total weight you are trying to lose, to determine if 1200 is an appropriate goal for you.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »
    I would not ever eat back my calories burned during exercise, unless I truly were hungry. I mean, really hungry.

    My calorie target to lose 1 Lb per week based on my day to day activity (no exercise) is 1,900 calories per day. If I go ride 50 miles I'll burn in the neighborhood of 1,800 calories...that would leave me with 100 calories to fuel my existence and day to day...how does that sound healthy to you...it's the same thing as me just eating nothing.
  • HazyEyes93
    HazyEyes93 Posts: 89 Member
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    I usually eat something like 50% of my calories burned back, but only if I'm actually hungry. If I'm not hungry, I see no reason to eat them back.
  • scrapperthoke
    scrapperthoke Posts: 12 Member
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    Not if you want to lose weight, but be careful because your body may need more calories depending on the type of exercise you are doing, intensity, and duration. It is all about calories in vs. calories out and working towards a deficit so you lose fat. It also depends on the type of calories you consuming. Make them count and be high in nutrients and fuel your body will use instead of store away like a squirrel and its nuts. Find your balance.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    katattackme wrote: »
    Thank you tacklewasher! I was using mfp so I'll be careful about that. Should I get an actual tracker? Would that help out a lot?

    Umm. More personal preference than anything. I'm a geek and have to have toys to help me do anything (almost anything). When I fire up the treadmill in the morning, I have my tablet linked to my chest strap showing me my heart rate, my phone and bluetooth headphones for my music and the phone showing the C25K time, all while wearing a Garmin tracker, so I might just not be the best person to ask. :)

    Wrist based trackers are better than fitness equipment or MFP, but are still questionable as to how accurate their calorie burns are. I compare mine to my chest strap and they are real close, so I trust mine. But I also had one prior to my current one that was crap. I like the 24/7 tracking and use it for counting steps, and for activities outside the house (dog walking, snow shoeing etc.). But I do take some of the info with a grain of salt.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    scrapperthoke wrote: »
    Not if you want to lose weight, but be careful because your body may need more calories depending on the type of exercise you are doing, intensity, and duration. It is all about calories in vs. calories out and working towards a deficit so you lose fat. It also depends on the type of calories you consuming. Make them count and be high in nutrients and fuel your body will use instead of store away like a squirrel and its nuts. Find your balance.

    What do you mean "not if you want to lose weight"? You mean don't eat calories burned from exercise back if you want to lose weight? Again, this is how MFP is designed to work. When you enter your stats, goal weight, and goal rate of loss, MFP provides you a calorie goal that is EXCLUDING exercise, such that if you do no exercise at all, you should lose weight at the rate you indicated during set up. If you do exercise, you are meant to eat at least some of those calories back (I personally always ate them all back) so that you are NETTING the calorie goal that MFP provided.

    Also - while nutrition is certainly important, your body doesn't store calories from certain foods and use calories from other nutrient dense foods. It doesn't work like that. If you are in a deficit, your body doesn't store fat, regardless of where the calories came from.

  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    Always if you are using the absolute most minimum amount of suggested calories - which you are - eat at least a portion of the exercise calories back!
  • katattackme
    katattackme Posts: 54 Member
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    I'm not a big fan of constantly wearing a 24/7 tracker but if it will help keep me motivated and understand better then why not.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    scrapperthoke wrote: »
    Not if you want to lose weight, but be careful because your body may need more calories depending on the type of exercise you are doing, intensity, and duration. It is all about calories in vs. calories out and working towards a deficit so you lose fat. It also depends on the type of calories you consuming. Make them count and be high in nutrients and fuel your body will use instead of store away like a squirrel and its nuts. Find your balance.

    I successfully lost over 40 pounds while eating back exercise calories. You will lose weight eating back exercise calories if your initial goal will put you at a deficit and you correctly estimate your calories consumed and your calories burned. If there are issues with your initial goal, your food logging, or your estimate of calorie burn -- that is when you will potentially run into problems.

    It doesn't depend on the type of calories you're consuming. Yes, you want to meet your nutritional needs. But even if you don't (which, of course, I don't recommend) you will still lose weight in a deficit. It's not like someone who eats 1,200 calories of chicken, broccoli, and brown rice will have different weight loss results than someone with the same calorie needs who eats 1,200 calories of chicken, broccoli, and french fries.
  • LenGray
    LenGray Posts: 834 Member
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    I end up eating about half of mine back now.

    I didn't eat them back for a while when I was on the 2 lb/wk deficit and got really dizzy and nauseous one day during a stretch routine. I looked over my diary and saw that I was short 200-400 net calories a day. I compared that to my loss each week (2.5-3 lb) and realized that something needed to change. I upped my deficit and now always make sure to at least hit my 2 lb/wk target for my net calories per day. I haven't been doing it long enough to verify with the scale, but I haven't been dizzy or hungry all week, which is a win :)

    If you're not hungry and seem to be on track, then I wouldn't worry. If you start to feel dizzy or ravenous though, listen to your body and eat a bit more.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    katattackme wrote: »
    I'm not a big fan of constantly wearing a 24/7 tracker but if it will help keep me motivated and understand better then why not.

    Give it a try without. Just be careful on how much you eat back and stick to maybe half. As @Ready2Rock206 said, you are at the minimum allowed by MFP so you want to be sure not to undereat.

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