Total calories

emartinez8107 · September 2017

Just wanted to know if my daily calories is 1375 and I burn 400-500 cals that day should I eat them back or have a total of 900 calories for the day.?

MichelleSilverleaf · September 2017

Eat back some of those calories. You do not want to be under that much. Your body needs at least 1200 just to run.

mkm217 · September 2017

Eat them back! 900 calories a day is dangerous!

scarlett_k · September 2017

Yes eat them back or you will end up feeling awful.

CQWellness · September 2017

Short answer: yes and no.

Yes because it depends only partly on how fast you want to lose fat. Remember, that's what you want to lose: FAT, not muscle. So you need enough energy to keep that body moving (chasing your toddler!). It's called BEE. Dw: there are sites that work your BEE out for you but the formula is: Women's Basal Energy Expenditure = 655.1 + (9.563 x Wt in kg) + (1.850 x Ht in cm) - (Age * 4.676).
No because some research shows that the occasional day of "fasting" (ie 500 calories rather than 1375) gives an added boost to fat burning. There's lot of information on 5:2 diets.

bribucks · September 2017

I am assuming you mean 900 NET calories for the day.

Typically I eat back 50-75% of my exercise calories. It is notoriously difficult to be accurate with calories burned, so that gives you a margin of error while still providing extra fuel for the day.

kimny72 · September 2017

sweetmom024 wrote: »

Just wanted to know if my daily calories is 1375 and I burn 400-500 cals that day should I eat them back or have a total of 900 calories for the day.?

Yes. MFP gives you a calorie goal that already includes the deficit you need to reach your goal, and expects you to log those calories and eat them back. If you didnt, you would lose Weight faster than expected, and over time risk more muscle loss and a better chance of hitting a wall due to undereating.

arentol · September 2017

There is a specific metabolic impact to consuming less than 1200 calories per day that can screw up your weight loss efforts in the long run. Eating 900 calories a day for too long will definitely cause this metabolic effect. Eating 900 calories a day once in a while will not. So don't freak and eat more just because you are under 1200 one day, just don't make a habit of it.

I am not certain, but I assume that there is a metabolic difference between just eating 900 calories gross per day and eating 1400 gross while burning 500 to net 900. I would guess the latter is less likely to lead to metabolic issues, or at the very least take longer to do so. Probably still a bad idea to do for terribly long no matter what though.

In addition, studies indicate people who track their calories underestimate their daily intake by as much as 40%. This is partly because food makers are allowed to be off on the calories listed on their labels by 20%. It is also because people forget to track things sometimes, and because people underestimate quantities. If you are certain you never forget anything then you are probably only off by 15-20%. So your 1375 calories is probably closer to 1500-1600 most days, which puts you at about 1100-1200 net, which should mostly be okay.

Personally I regularly go at or under my 1500 calorie MFP number, before exercise, and I still don't lose weight as fast as MFP says I should, not even counting my 450-550 calories of running most days. I am pretty sure I am underestimating what I am eating by 200-300 calories per day.

Rebnurse1977 · September 2017

I have only eaten 1000 cals today (tightly tracked), and Im okay with this. Yesterday however, I ate 1450! It will all balance out at the end of the week!

rmgnow · September 2017

You can eat back ALL your exercise calories if you want to.
Just be accurate

emartinez8107 · September 2017

Thank you everyone. You guys are awesome

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