Eating Back Your Exercising Calories?

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CarolineSuzanneSmith
CarolineSuzanneSmith Posts: 127 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I need your help...

I am allowed 1200 calories/day... If I am not working out, I try to eat 1200 or less. However, I work out about 5-6x a week, each day burning between 400-700 calories. On those days that I am working out, should I be eating 1200 calories + whatever exercise calories (for instance, on a day that I burn 700 calories, should I eat a total of 1900 calories for the day???).

I'm not losing the weight that I should be, and I have a feeling it is because I'm not eating enough. It's like I have this phobia to see my calorie intake go over 1200...and I'm afraid that I'll eat too much and gain weight.

Also, I know that a deficit of 3500 calories = 1 pound lost. Where am I getting those 3500 calories from? If I eat back back all the calories that I exercise off, then I'm at a net gain of 0....right?

So, how many calories should I "eat back" from exercising, if any? Or should I eat just 1200 calories/day, regardless of any exercise? I get the whole "starvation mode" thing, but I would like to see what ya'll have to say.

Thanks everybody. I'm interested to see what ya'll have to say.
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Replies

  • BachelorButton55
    BachelorButton55 Posts: 9 Member
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    I have read on here that you should be eating the calories that you are exercising off. That's what I've been doing and it is working. Your body is probably in starvation mode and you won't lose weight that way. Good luck!
  • ♥_Ellybean_♥
    ♥_Ellybean_♥ Posts: 1,646 Member
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    The opinion here is split, you have to play around with it and see what works for YOU.. not everyone is going to get the same results. I personally don't EVER eat back my calories and seem to have done well doing so.
  • godroxmysox
    godroxmysox Posts: 1,491 Member
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    Use the search function and look up exercise calories. There are a ton of forums on this topic =)
  • BondBomb
    BondBomb Posts: 1,781 Member
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    Honestly you are probably better off searching for past posts about this. The responses to questions that are asked frequently are rarely helpful or friendly to the op.
  • megmariew1
    megmariew1 Posts: 60
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    You are going to get lots of different answers. Use the Search function at the top of the forum and you will find lots of discussion on this.

    I personally don't eat mine back, occasionally I dip into them. Maybe when I am closer to goal I will, but for now I am fine with what I am doing and I am losing. Everyone is different.
  • astul
    astul Posts: 63 Member
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    I'm not eating back my exercise calories and losing weight hand over fist at the moment but then again I have a lot to lose....things may change the to nearer to my goal i get though.
  • bgm5270
    bgm5270 Posts: 12
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    I agree with BB55. Eat all or most of your calories to prevent your body from starvation mode.
  • jamielise2
    jamielise2 Posts: 432 Member
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    If I don't eat back most of my exercise calories then I don't lost much weight at all. I'll have short term loss and then just plateau. My goal is to eat back at least 1/2 of my exercise calories, but to keep my body guessing about what I'm going to do. Keeping my body guessing whether it will get 1000 NET calories, or 1500 NET seems to be the trick for me. Hope you figure yours out. First thing I would do is try to eat more and see what happens....
  • Mygypsysoul
    Mygypsysoul Posts: 113 Member
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    If you calculate your BMR you'll find that you are actually burning more than 1200 calories a day so MFP has already worked in your deficit. I don't always eat back all of my exercise calories, but I make sure that I have at least a net of 1200. So it's really trying to figure out what works for you. Try eating all of them back, try eating some of them back as long as you are netting 1200 calories a day :)
  • keeponkickin
    keeponkickin Posts: 1,520 Member
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    You will get a mixed bag of opinions on this one. Here is what I personally have discovered. I started here in January with about 115 to lose. I did NOT eat back my exercise calories in the beginning and was dropping weight fine. I am down 97 pounds and I am a workout machine, burning about 1000 a day. Now that I am closer to goal, with less to lose, I am not eating back my exercise calories. I plateaued and I'm sure I am not eating enough. I also wear a HRM to make sure exactly how many calories I am burning. Now that I am eating back my exercise calories the scale is once again moving.

    Good luck to you.
  • ahmpierce1
    ahmpierce1 Posts: 221 Member
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    So, let me use myself as an example:

    If I sit around and do absolutely nothing all day, I burn 2000 calories. Just sitting on my butt.

    In order to lose my goal of 1.5 pounds a week, I must only ingest 1200 calories. This puts me at an 800 daily calorie deficit. 800x7(days in a week) = 5600 calories...which equals out to about 1.5 pounds of weight loss a week.

    If I work out, and let's say burn 500 calories...this is added to the 2000 calories I burn just sitting on my butt. Therefore, the total calorie burn for the day is 2500. If I only eat 1200 calories on a day like that...it leaves a 1300 calorie deficit (as opposed to only 800), which puts your body into starvation mode.

    That being said, eating the calories you burn from working out is not canceling out. It is essentially allowing you to eat MORE and still lose the same weight.

    Hope this makes sense...lol
  • Anexandra
    Anexandra Posts: 2 Member
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    The way that I've always understood the explanations on this are as follows: if you don't eat at least 1200 calories a day you are in starvation mode. So - if your exercise takes you below the 1200 calorie limit, then you should be eating back those calories. I would also wonder just how you got your "allowed" limit because you really shouldn't be eating JUST 1200 calories anyway. But that's how I've understood it. When I exercise, I make sure that my calorie intake is at or above 1200 - I'm allowed 1600.

    One last thing - it really is a personal experience. What works for one person might not work for another. Generally though, 1200 calories is just barely enough and anything less is not enough and your body will hold on to your weight (and will continue to do so for a while after) to keep you alive.
  • momocurti
    momocurti Posts: 152 Member
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    I personally have been eating back a portion of my workout calories but never all of them. I typically burn 800ish calories 6 days a week and have lost 22 lbs in 60 days. MFP says to eat 1200 calories (which already puts me at a deficit) on days I don't w/o, and I usually eat back enough calories to have a 500-600 calorie net. Some might say that's not enough, but I never get hungry, I am eating good food and it's working for me!

    Good luck. I think you just need to play around and see what works for your body. And be patient! Don't rush it.
  • carolinedb
    carolinedb Posts: 236 Member
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    Look up the science behind it. MFP already builds in your deficit by allowing you 1200 calories. So when you exercise, suddenly your body is trying to run on a net of 500 calories (if you burned 700 that day). That's way too low for your body to function. When you burn 700, eat back your exercise calories. Your body will be more satisfied, you'll be getting all the nutrients you need, which is extremely hard at 1200 cals a day, and you'll feel better. I personally didn't lose any weight at 1200 a day still eating back my exercise cals. When I bumped my calories up, my weight loss resumed.
    Also, remember, the less you have to lose, the more calories your body needs. Sounds counterintuitive, I know. But look up a lot of the posts about this in the forums.
  • lgubbels
    lgubbels Posts: 27 Member
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    There is already a deficit created in MFP's calorie goal, but I agree that it depends on you. It seems that if I eat all of mine back, I don't lose as fast as I want to, but I do try to eat some of them back, especially if I'm burnning 400 or more calories during my workout. I usually end up eating about 1500 calories a day and try to still have about 100-200 calories left when I complete my diary for the day. That way, the deficit already created (for me is about 400 calories right now) plus that 1-2 puts me at about where I want to be of burning about 500-600 calories a day. I use this website: http://exercise.about.com/library/blbmrcalculator.htm to calculate what I should eat if I want to maintain and then figure from there.
  • CarolineSuzanneSmith
    CarolineSuzanneSmith Posts: 127 Member
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    Thanks everybody! In the beginning of my weight loss I didn't eat any of my calories back and lost 40 lbs. But now, 1/2-way through my weight loss, and I think my body is demanding more calories. I'll try this for a while...hope it works! Thanks to you all for the help!
  • tnic86
    tnic86 Posts: 134 Member
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    Personally, I don't ever eat my exercise calories and rarely go over my 1200 calorie limit. I am still losing weight, but my metabolism may be different than yours. Maybe try increasing your calories to 1300 and see how you do. Just make sure you get that extra 100 calories from eating something wholesome, as opposed to a "100 calorie pack" or something of that nature. :)
  • trelm249
    trelm249 Posts: 777 Member
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    Short answer - Yes. Eat them. You need them.
  • Fiadora52
    Fiadora52 Posts: 1
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    I just started and I'm having an issue not going over my protein, fat, etc. when I try to eat back my exercise calories; Is that just something that I will learn to adjust as time goes by?
  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
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    How tall are you?
    How much do you weight?
    How much do you need to lose?

    Most likely -- 1200 is too low to begin with --- and if you're not even eating that, and you're exercising and not eating that either -- your body is probably dying for nutrition.

    1200 is probably right for someone who is about 5 feet tall or less, or someoen who has over 70-100 lbs to lose.


    My daily to lose 1/2lb a week (i'm 5'4) is around 1450 --- when I exercise I eat at least half of it back.
    Some days I'm starving and I eat it all back -- other days I don't.

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