CALS remaining - slightly confused

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heyfatty145
heyfatty145 Posts: 14
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm new on here so apologies if this has already been covered - but I've never seen a system where the amount of exercise done suddenly allows you to eat more in order to lose weight - eg if like me you're on a 2000 daily cal limit and you have breakfast of say 500 cal then you do exercise which amounts to 500 cal - your remaining cal are still 2000 !? - But I want to lose weight so if I follow that I don't see how that will help me lose weight - so I'm sticking to the 2000 cal strictly and if I do exercise I see that as a bonus in helping me lose weight .

What do people on here focus on generally - the daily limit of the remaining amount - which clearly could go up beyond 2000 in my case if I did lots of exercise !? :happy:

Replies

  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
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    This site factors a calorie deficit for you. Generally, most people find that eating their exercise calories fuels their bodies and they still lose weight.

    Do a search on eating back exercise calories. I promise you will find WAY more information than you ever wanted. :smile:
  • cocolo89
    cocolo89 Posts: 1,171 Member
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    you dont have to eat your exercise calories. those are optional :))
  • welcominganewself
    welcominganewself Posts: 283
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    First and most importantly, you need to do what works for you. That being said, the MFP theory is that you should eat back your exercise calories (or at least most of them). The thinking behind this is that your body burns a certain number of calories each day without you doing anything extra and it needs those calories to sustain your lifestyle. Basically if you need 1800 calories a day and you burn 600 in exercise you NET calories would only be 1200 which is not enough.

    I agree that is sounds strange to eat more to lose, but try it, it works!
  • Qattusa
    Qattusa Posts: 139 Member
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    I think you should check out your Bmr - basal metabolic rate. This is how many calories your body would burn if you never got out of bed in one day. If your calories are defunct of this then you will lose weight. Each person's BMR is different.

    Also, muscle burns more calories than fat. Once you start exercising, you will need to adjust your calories accordingly. You do not have to eat all your calories back once you exercise them off, but it is a good idea to replace some of the calories after a hard workout.

    For example, my calorie limit is 1200. On a particular day I burned 800 calories. 400 calories remained which is clearly not enough to sustain someone healthily, so I opted for a milk smoothie to bring my calorie intake higher by 350 calories.

    Phew... Hope that makes sense!?
  • KeyMasterOfGozer
    KeyMasterOfGozer Posts: 229 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again[\url]

    There are links there that will tell you why you should eat your exercise calories back and answer lots of other common questions.
  • ericstpeter
    ericstpeter Posts: 2
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    Well, you body naturally burns a certain amount of calories just but living. The idea is to cut the amount to a point where you're not staving yourself but at the same time you're taking in an amount of calories that is bound to make you lost weight.

    By starving yourself I mean an amount of calories that makes your body think you are literally starving and MAKES you retain weight. It's a balance.

    So the calorie balance is based on a happy medium. A calorie deficit that makes you lost weight but doesn't force your body into "starvation mode".

    Therefor, if you exercise that burns more calories which need to be replaced by more food intake so your body doesn't reach that "starvation mode".

    Generally 1200 calories at the VERY lowest is a good target so you're getting all the nutrition you need. So if your exercise puts your net calories under 1200, I'd eat something healthy to get up to that amount.

    I've been on the program for two months and I've lost 26 lbs with ZERO exercise. I get my metabolism up instead by taking 4000mcg of B-12 a day, trying to get some protein in my system within 30 mins of getting up, and if you like hot foods (especially peppers) that will boost it as well.

    Hope that helped! Good luck!
  • BrewerGeorge
    BrewerGeorge Posts: 397 Member
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    Yep, eat them back.

    If you set your profile for weight loss, the 2000 Cal MFP is giving you already includes that weight loss. If you don't eat your exercise back, you will lose weight faster than MFP has planned for you to lose it - possibly too fast. Plus, if your profile setting is correct, you will probably lose weight faster than 2lb/week in the beginning even with eating back your exercise Cals just because there is a lot to lose. I started at 290# and lost 4 lb/week for the first 4 weeks even though I was eating back ALL my exercise Cals. This is just my personal opinion, but I think it's easier to lose when you're bigger because you have to drop more pounds for the same percentage lost.

    However, many of us think that the exercise estimates on MFP are a bit high, so you might want to take them with a grain of salt and only eat back 1/2 or 2/3 of them.
  • heyfatty145
    heyfatty145 Posts: 14
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    WOW - I love this site thanks for the support & feedback people :) - i'll add you all so we can share our success stories :)
  • aa1440
    aa1440 Posts: 956 Member
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    I eat most of my exercise calories. The more you burn the more food you get to eat.
  • heyfatty145
    heyfatty145 Posts: 14
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    I've added you all - don't worry I won't be offended if you reject me - not sure on the protocol on here - as in what people do about adding friends - i want to do this THIS TIME !! - so my view is the more the merrier - its all good support :)
  • allykattt
    allykattt Posts: 8
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    Everyone can do it a little differently...but...the way I handle my exercise calories is this way. For the most part, I have tried to increase my activity without eating more than my normal allotment. On the other hand, if I am still hungry or eat something a little higher in calories, I make sure I have the exercise calories to counteract the added calories. I have eaten my exercise calories and still not gained because the app. still makes sure there is a calorie deficit that keeps you losing at a steady pace. Good luck getting it all figured out. I am pretty new but have consistently lost weight & love this site so far.

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