People on 1200 calories... do you eat any exercise calories back?
Bioluminescentbeachh
Posts: 25 Member
I’m on 1200 and also exercise for 2 hours a day. I don’t want to net under 1200 to keep my metabolism safe. After 2 hours of exercise, half of which is cardio, I safely assume I’m burning at least 700 calories a day on top of my BMR. My BMR is also very high (18 F 5’10”). However, since I’m using NEAT (MFP method) I don’t account for my higher than average BMR, only additional exercise calories. I’ve lost the amount MFP predicted doing this so far, and have been tracking all fluctuations everyday on a trending app to be sure. Has anyone else had success eating back their calories from exercise ( all of them) ? It seems to me people on the boards tend to undereat out of fear of going over their calories. If someone is exercising intensely for hours a day though isn’t it safe to assume they burn at least a few hundred calories? I also have a HRM. TIA 
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Replies
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eat them. not eating them is bad.
i think one thing not often discussed is that most people are not entirely accurate in their logging. so "being fine not eating the exercise calories" is because they are really underestimated the calories in portion so it washed out and they lose at a reasonable rate.
or those who don't and ARE undereating fall off the rails and we don't hear from the for a few months/years when they come back wanting to lose again.12 -
I believe 1200 calories to be under eating, but that's just my opinion. You assume you are burning 700 calories? Do you use a fitness tracker?6
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It is good that you are eating all your exercise calories back. I am not sure what you are meaning not accounting for your BMR. MFP should give you a calorie goal that accounts for your BMR. Only eating 1200 gross calories at your height and age would be under eating, so keep eating back every one of those exercise calories.
As to why people are scared to eat back their exercise calories, a lot simply don't understand how MFP works, and that their calorie goal from MFP does not include the exercise they do. They think "what is the point of exercise" if they have to eat the calories back. So there usually has to be some explaining to be done. As to why some people only eat some, its because they don't trust the calorie estimates they are getting from things like online calorie estimators or machines, which can sometimes be inflated. So they start with a portion. But if you are feeling like you exercise calorie burns are accurate (which based on your experience, it seems like they are), then you should eat all of them.8 -
Yes, MFP is designed for you to eat back exercise calories since the calculations are off of NEAT. Most of us ate back the calories because that’s how the program is designed.
1200 is the lowest goal for women and not necessary or even appropriate for most. If you are 5’10 and exercise 2 hours a days I would venture to guess you are one of those for whom it is not an appropriate goal.
How much weight are you trying to lose?
What rate of loss did you choose?
What activity level did you select?9 -
Yes chest heart monitor and I run for 60 minutes uphill everyday. 700 is pretty accurate, maybe even a little low for that.Joanna2012B wrote: »I believe 1200 calories to be under eating, but that's just my opinion. You assume you are burning 700 calories? Do you use a fitness tracker?
Forgot to say I am pretty heavy right now too!
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I just finished reading all the replies and want to thank you all. I’m going to keep eating my exercise calories. If anyone else has any experience they want to share, feel free to post!3
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WinoGelato wrote: »Yes, MFP is designed for you to eat back exercise calories since the calculations are off of NEAT. Most of us ate back the calories because that’s how the program is designed.
1200 is the lowest goal for women and not necessary or even appropriate for most. If you are 5’10 and exercise 2 hours a days I would venture to guess you are one of those for whom it is not an appropriate goal.
How much weight are you trying to lose?
What rate of loss did you choose?
What activity level did you select?
Too much. Kind of embarrassed to post how many lb in a public forum but I’ll just say 40+
I think I chose 2lb per week to start and plan on moving it to 1lb per week after the first month. I have maybe 50lb to lose so I want to account for the fast loss in the beginning. I’m hitting 2lb a week right now and never feel hungry or tired doing what I’m doing.
I selected sedentary since I’m in school (year round) all day and don’t do any activity at all besides my time in the gym
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A lot of people fear exercise calories because they're estimates that they think they can't get a good number on. But, it only takes four to six weeks of consistency to see where the exercise numbers fall.
When I was in deficit, I was eating 1350 and started, like many, by not eating exercise cals. It was not sustainable and I could not progress on my weight lifting which was a priority for me. I added in what MFP gave me for both running and lifting (one estimate was as good as another) and stuck with it for a month. I lost at the rate I had intended while eating all of them. For me, the estimates here were right in line with my actual burns. If they weren't, I would have adjusted as needed.
Those calories made all the difference in mood and sustainability. Plus, I progressed significantly in fitness goals.
And, of course, in maintenance they're necessary or weight will keep going down.
So, the bottom line is to eat actual exercise calories which is not difficult to pin down with a little data.5 -
I ate pretty much all of my exercise calories back, after estimating them carefully, while losing around 50 pounds in a bit less than a year. (Rather rarely, I'd eat fewer to 'bank" calories for an upcoming special event, so I still ate them back, just not necessarily on the same day.)
The big differences are that, compared to you, I'm 45 years older (63, 59-60 while losing) and 4 inches shorter (and hypothyroid, if that matters) . . . and 1200 was way too low for me. It made me weak and fatigued; eating 1200 was easy, and I felt great . . . until I suddenly didn't, got weak and fatigued, and it took several weeks to recover. I lost most of the excess weight at 1400-1600 calories and up.
1200 sounds really low for someone your size and age (you really don't want to lowball calories if you could still be growing, which you could, at 18). You realize, I hope, that your BMR is pretty much what you'd burn in a coma? So you're eating more than 500 calories fewer than you'd burn in a coma. You're being a bit coy about your current weight, but unless it's well over 200 pounds, I'd suggest going for 1.5 pounds a week, at the max, right now.
This is a good read, I highly recommend it:
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/
Best wishes!7 -
I'm 4'11", 69, F and I don't eat my exercise calories back because I will never lose any weight. I'm doing 45 min of easy water aerobics and 60 min of lap swimming 3xweek and I'm on1260 cal/day 6x a week and 1800-2000 cal once a week. This regiment works for me. I can't eat more than 1260cals a day, otherwise, I'll explode. So, everybody is different and if something works for you, it might not work for somebody else.19
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I'm not sure why you would be embarrassed to state your goals on a site meant to help people manage weight.Bioluminescentbeachh wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »Yes, MFP is designed for you to eat back exercise calories since the calculations are off of NEAT. Most of us ate back the calories because that’s how the program is designed.
1200 is the lowest goal for women and not necessary or even appropriate for most. If you are 5’10 and exercise 2 hours a days I would venture to guess you are one of those for whom it is not an appropriate goal.
How much weight are you trying to lose?
What rate of loss did you choose?
What activity level did you select?
Too much. Kind of embarrassed to post how many lb in a public forum but I’ll just say 40+
I think I chose 2lb per week to start and plan on moving it to 1lb per week after the first month. I have maybe 50lb to lose so I want to account for the fast loss in the beginning. I’m hitting 2lb a week right now and never feel hungry or tired doing what I’m doing.
I selected sedentary since I’m in school (year round) all day and don’t do any activity at all besides my time in the gym
We have members who are morbidly obese who have multi-hundreds of lbs to lose, members looking to lose vanity pounds, members trying to maintain, and even members trying to gain weight. We even have people who are just here for the fun on the forums, if you can believe that.
With 50 lbs or less to lose, 1 lb/week is a reasonable goal.
With your age, height, and activity - I STRONGLY encourage you to raise your calorie goal. You are already at the lowest recommended calorie alotment for a woman. You have nowhere to go if you reach a plateau. Not to mention that since you are young, you may still be growing/developing as Ann pointed out; but also, don't disregard the effects of long term low calorie consumption. I'm not talking Starvation Mode, as that doesn't exist as is commonly described, but overall metabolic adaptation does occur and we've seen many examples of women who for years thought their only recourse was to go as low as possible with their calorie intake to achieve their weight loss goals - who in later years found that they had a lower TDEE than many who kept their deficit modest and worked to increase their overall NEAT while preserving lean body mass.
At a minimum, yes, you should be eating back exercise calories.
Why are you exercising intensely for 2 hours/day?8 -
I did 1250 for a while, and I absolutely ate back my exercise cals, because that's how MFP works (and my BMR would have been much lower than yours, OP, since I was mid 40s and 5'3). So yes, you should eat back the exercise cals. (WinoGelato and Ann always give good advice, too.)4
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I did 1200 on mfp briefly. I absolutely ate back all my exercise calories. Even so, I lost weight more quickly than expected. I'm in maintenance now and I still eat back all my exercise calories. Since I mostly just walk or run, the calories are easy to compute. It's harder to be as accurate when doing an exercise where effort is a factor (i.e. moderate biking vs. strenuous, or calisthetics.)3
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I'm 4'11", 69, F and I don't eat my exercise calories back because I will never lose any weight. I'm doing 45 min of easy water aerobics and 60 min of lap swimming 3xweek and I'm on1260 cal/day 6x a week and 1800-2000 cal once a week. This regiment works for me. I can't eat more than 1260cals a day, otherwise, I'll explode. So, everybody is different and if something works for you, it might not work for somebody else.
I’m the same way. 48 and 5’2” and if I ate my exercise calories back, I wouldn’t lose but would gain it back. I did discover since getting my Apple Watch that MFP way over estimated my exercise calories burned. It gave me 500 for every spin class but depending on how intense I went during class, it varies from 300-500.
If eating your calories back works for you then eat them back 😁
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With diet eating 1200 calories works for this body. Exercising 2 hours a day, biking approx. 10 miles per hour on
a stationary bike. After exercise, burn 432 calories but eat back half of those calories. So 1000 calories is usually consumed after exercise. Drink loads of water and being vegan eat lots of tvp. So low on carbs and fat and high on protein. This body is 5'6", 121 lbs and goal is 115.10 -
If you’re not eating back exercise calories, then you aren’t using MFP the way it was designed. Assuming you are using a food scale to weigh all your food, then you are putting yourself at risk of undereating if you don’t eat exercise calories. This isn’t an opinion question. It is literally how the program was set up to work.12
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If you’re not eating back exercise calories, then you aren’t using MFP the way it was designed. Assuming you are using a food scale to weigh all your food, then you are putting yourself at risk of undereating if you don’t eat exercise calories. This isn’t an opinion question. It is literally how the program was set up to work.
Thank you! Yes I have a fancy food scale I got at target. It’s great
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Also after reading everyone’s comments I will either manually set my calories to 1500 or lower my rate of loss to 1lb/ week
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Glad you are boosting your calories. 1200 is indeed way too low for someone who is 5'10".
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/4 -
Yes, I eat them all back. I didn't at first and have a health issue as a result.5
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kshama2001 wrote: »Glad you are boosting your calories. 1200 is indeed way too low for someone who is 5'10".
https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/1200-calorie-diet/
Just read the whole thing. Thank u
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candramukhidasi21 wrote: »With diet eating 1200 calories works for this body. Exercising 2 hours a day, biking approx. 10 miles per hour on
a stationary bike. After exercise, burn 432 calories but eat back half of those calories. So 1000 calories is usually consumed after exercise. Drink loads of water and being vegan eat lots of tvp. So low on carbs and fat and high on protein. This body is 5'6", 121 lbs and goal is 115.
You sound so proud of yourself to be netting below the bare minimum and having a goal that puts you right on the borderline of being underweight for your height; that's kind of scary to be honest. I hope for your sake you aren't using a food scale so your intake is off. If not, what "works" for that body now will most likely result in hair loss, frayed fingernails, exhaustion, and a slew of other issues down the line.19 -
Maxematics wrote: »candramukhidasi21 wrote: »With diet eating 1200 calories works for this body. Exercising 2 hours a day, biking approx. 10 miles per hour on
a stationary bike. After exercise, burn 432 calories but eat back half of those calories. So 1000 calories is usually consumed after exercise. Drink loads of water and being vegan eat lots of tvp. So low on carbs and fat and high on protein. This body is 5'6", 121 lbs and goal is 115.
You sound so proud of yourself to be netting below the bare minimum and having a goal that puts you right on the borderline of being underweight for your height; that's kind of scary to be honest. I hope for your sake you aren't using a food scale so your intake is off. If not, what "works" for that body now will most likely result in hair loss, frayed fingernails, exhaustion, and a slew of other issues down the line.
Did you personally experience this on a 1200 day diet?8 -
BasedGawd412 wrote: »Maxematics wrote: »candramukhidasi21 wrote: »With diet eating 1200 calories works for this body. Exercising 2 hours a day, biking approx. 10 miles per hour on
a stationary bike. After exercise, burn 432 calories but eat back half of those calories. So 1000 calories is usually consumed after exercise. Drink loads of water and being vegan eat lots of tvp. So low on carbs and fat and high on protein. This body is 5'6", 121 lbs and goal is 115.
You sound so proud of yourself to be netting below the bare minimum and having a goal that puts you right on the borderline of being underweight for your height; that's kind of scary to be honest. I hope for your sake you aren't using a food scale so your intake is off. If not, what "works" for that body now will most likely result in hair loss, frayed fingernails, exhaustion, and a slew of other issues down the line.
Did you personally experience this on a 1200 day diet?
Thank you for asking; I actually have. When I had excess body fat to lose it was easy for me to eat 1200 calories per day and not feel any effects. After a few months and going from 139 to 119 pounds, I started to feel it since there wasn't much body fat left to sustain such a deficit. After reading these forums and all of the wonderful insights veteran posters had to share about nutrition, proper calorie deficits, etc, I'm proud to say I started to feel much better increasing my calories and it did incredible things for my body composition as well.
The person I replied to is already in a healthy weight range and aiming to border on underweight. They are exactly the type of person something like this would also happen to and should not be encouraged to eat 1200 calories per day nor aim for that goal weight.16 -
BasedGawd412 wrote: »Maxematics wrote: »candramukhidasi21 wrote: »With diet eating 1200 calories works for this body. Exercising 2 hours a day, biking approx. 10 miles per hour on
a stationary bike. After exercise, burn 432 calories but eat back half of those calories. So 1000 calories is usually consumed after exercise. Drink loads of water and being vegan eat lots of tvp. So low on carbs and fat and high on protein. This body is 5'6", 121 lbs and goal is 115.
You sound so proud of yourself to be netting below the bare minimum and having a goal that puts you right on the borderline of being underweight for your height; that's kind of scary to be honest. I hope for your sake you aren't using a food scale so your intake is off. If not, what "works" for that body now will most likely result in hair loss, frayed fingernails, exhaustion, and a slew of other issues down the line.
Did you personally experience this on a 1200 day diet?
I'll chime in here on that question too.
I lost a lot of hair, my fingernails were peeling, the skin on the ends of my fingers and toes were cracked and bleeding, I was fatigued and almost fainted more than one time on a treadmill, I was sleeping 10 hours a day, I couldn't concentrate. I had been eating 1200 PLUS Exercise calories (all of them) for three or four months when that began to be a problem. I had started at 220 pounds, 5'8". I lost about 35-40 pounds before that started to happen.
I did some reading and decided to raise my base calories to 1600. I also started eating one day per week at maintenance, so around 2000. I still ate my exercise calories as suggested by myfitnesspal's database. I started to feel better, and I was able to workout in a reasonable way without bonking.
At some point I decided to go to 1550 and use a flat 300 calories per hour for moderate exercise. I stayed with that for the last 30ish pounds down to 140 - which is my maintenance.
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cmriverside wrote: »BasedGawd412 wrote: »Maxematics wrote: »candramukhidasi21 wrote: »With diet eating 1200 calories works for this body. Exercising 2 hours a day, biking approx. 10 miles per hour on
a stationary bike. After exercise, burn 432 calories but eat back half of those calories. So 1000 calories is usually consumed after exercise. Drink loads of water and being vegan eat lots of tvp. So low on carbs and fat and high on protein. This body is 5'6", 121 lbs and goal is 115.
You sound so proud of yourself to be netting below the bare minimum and having a goal that puts you right on the borderline of being underweight for your height; that's kind of scary to be honest. I hope for your sake you aren't using a food scale so your intake is off. If not, what "works" for that body now will most likely result in hair loss, frayed fingernails, exhaustion, and a slew of other issues down the line.
Did you personally experience this on a 1200 day diet?
I'll chime in here on that question too.
I lost a lot of hair, my fingernails were peeling, the skin on the ends of my fingers and toes were cracked and bleeding, I was fatigued and almost fainted more than one time on a treadmill, I was sleeping 10 hours a day, I couldn't concentrate. I had been eating 1200 PLUS Exercise calories (all of them) for three or four months when that began to be a problem. I had started at 220 pounds, 5'8". I lost about 35-40 pounds before that started to happen.
I did some reading and decided to raise my base calories to 1600. I also started eating one day per week at maintenance, so around 2000. I still ate my exercise calories as suggested by myfitnesspal's database. I started to feel better, and I was able to workout in a reasonable way without bonking.
At some point I decided to go to 1550 and use a flat 300 calories per hour for moderate exercise. I stayed with that for the last 30ish pounds down to 140 - which is my maintenance.
Wow you went from 220 to 140 at 5’8”!? Congrats that’s so amazing! Thank you so much for posting how negative 1200 calories could be. I had no idea of these health effects. This is my first time watching what I eat and having some form of plan in my life. I’m going to be extra careful and may visit my doctor to see what plan he reccomends for me to lose the weight safely as well
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Bioluminescentbeachh wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »BasedGawd412 wrote: »Maxematics wrote: »candramukhidasi21 wrote: »With diet eating 1200 calories works for this body. Exercising 2 hours a day, biking approx. 10 miles per hour on
a stationary bike. After exercise, burn 432 calories but eat back half of those calories. So 1000 calories is usually consumed after exercise. Drink loads of water and being vegan eat lots of tvp. So low on carbs and fat and high on protein. This body is 5'6", 121 lbs and goal is 115.
You sound so proud of yourself to be netting below the bare minimum and having a goal that puts you right on the borderline of being underweight for your height; that's kind of scary to be honest. I hope for your sake you aren't using a food scale so your intake is off. If not, what "works" for that body now will most likely result in hair loss, frayed fingernails, exhaustion, and a slew of other issues down the line.
Did you personally experience this on a 1200 day diet?
I'll chime in here on that question too.
I lost a lot of hair, my fingernails were peeling, the skin on the ends of my fingers and toes were cracked and bleeding, I was fatigued and almost fainted more than one time on a treadmill, I was sleeping 10 hours a day, I couldn't concentrate. I had been eating 1200 PLUS Exercise calories (all of them) for three or four months when that began to be a problem. I had started at 220 pounds, 5'8". I lost about 35-40 pounds before that started to happen.
I did some reading and decided to raise my base calories to 1600. I also started eating one day per week at maintenance, so around 2000. I still ate my exercise calories as suggested by myfitnesspal's database. I started to feel better, and I was able to workout in a reasonable way without bonking.
At some point I decided to go to 1550 and use a flat 300 calories per hour for moderate exercise. I stayed with that for the last 30ish pounds down to 140 - which is my maintenance.
Wow you went from 220 to 140 at 5’8”!? Congrats that’s so amazing! Thank you so much for posting how negative 1200 calories could be. I had no idea of these health effects. This is my first time watching what I eat and having some form of plan in my life. I’m going to be extra careful and may visit my doctor to see what plan he reccomends for me to lose the weight safely as well
Thank you - and I'm still at 140-145 (maintenance range) 12 years later. You don't have to starve. I'm a retired little old lady (well, still 5'8"), and I still eat 1900-2300 depending on exercise, every day. 1900 NET.
I just want to reiterate and clearly state that I lost most of my weight at 1600-NET. So on exercise days I was actually eating 1900-2100 depending on the exercise. On this site we call that 1600 NET, because it's 1600 calories every day, and add more for exercise. I would add 300-500 more calories on exercise days.9 -
cmriverside wrote: »Bioluminescentbeachh wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »BasedGawd412 wrote: »Maxematics wrote: »candramukhidasi21 wrote: »With diet eating 1200 calories works for this body. Exercising 2 hours a day, biking approx. 10 miles per hour on
a stationary bike. After exercise, burn 432 calories but eat back half of those calories. So 1000 calories is usually consumed after exercise. Drink loads of water and being vegan eat lots of tvp. So low on carbs and fat and high on protein. This body is 5'6", 121 lbs and goal is 115.
You sound so proud of yourself to be netting below the bare minimum and having a goal that puts you right on the borderline of being underweight for your height; that's kind of scary to be honest. I hope for your sake you aren't using a food scale so your intake is off. If not, what "works" for that body now will most likely result in hair loss, frayed fingernails, exhaustion, and a slew of other issues down the line.
Did you personally experience this on a 1200 day diet?
I'll chime in here on that question too.
I lost a lot of hair, my fingernails were peeling, the skin on the ends of my fingers and toes were cracked and bleeding, I was fatigued and almost fainted more than one time on a treadmill, I was sleeping 10 hours a day, I couldn't concentrate. I had been eating 1200 PLUS Exercise calories (all of them) for three or four months when that began to be a problem. I had started at 220 pounds, 5'8". I lost about 35-40 pounds before that started to happen.
I did some reading and decided to raise my base calories to 1600. I also started eating one day per week at maintenance, so around 2000. I still ate my exercise calories as suggested by myfitnesspal's database. I started to feel better, and I was able to workout in a reasonable way without bonking.
At some point I decided to go to 1550 and use a flat 300 calories per hour for moderate exercise. I stayed with that for the last 30ish pounds down to 140 - which is my maintenance.
Wow you went from 220 to 140 at 5’8”!? Congrats that’s so amazing! Thank you so much for posting how negative 1200 calories could be. I had no idea of these health effects. This is my first time watching what I eat and having some form of plan in my life. I’m going to be extra careful and may visit my doctor to see what plan he reccomends for me to lose the weight safely as well
Thank you - and I'm still at 140-145 (maintenance range) 12 years later. You don't have to starve. I'm a retired little old lady (well, still 5'8"), and I still eat 1900-2300 depending on exercise, every day. 1900 NET.
I just want to reiterate and clearly state that I lost most of my weight at 1600-NET. So on exercise days I was actually eating 1900-2100 depending on the exercise. On this site we call that 1600 NET, because it's 1600 calories every day, and add more for exercise. I would add 300-500 more calories on exercise days.
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Just a follow up post...Starting today I’m starting 1600 NET calories long term with no goal date for my weight loss. I feel really good about it and will let you guys know how it works for me.
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That sounds like a great plan.1
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