How many calories should I be eating?

taraw0503
taraw0503 Posts: 28 Member
edited October 5 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there,

I just started dieting and exercising after having my daughter 7 weeks ago. I haven't worked out in so long that I forgot how this works! I'm eating 1200 calories a day and am exercising 5 times a week and burning anywhere from 300 to 600 calories while working out. Should I be adding my burned calories to my daily calorie intake? Meaning if I am on a 1200 calorie diet and I burn off 500 calories, I should add that 500 calories to my 1200 to make my daily calorie intake 1700. Is that right? I need to lose 30 lbs. Thanks!

Replies

  • anulle2009
    anulle2009 Posts: 580 Member
    everyone is different. i am on 1200 cals. if i burn 500 i try not to eat back my cals. it all depends the day. some people say if you burn over 400 you should eat some of your cals back. I guess it depends your preference
  • Crawflowr
    Crawflowr Posts: 106 Member
    Yes thats right
  • beckywilkeherbst
    beckywilkeherbst Posts: 139 Member
    I don't understand this because to me it kind of seems contradictive. You excercise and change eating habits to lose weight so why would you eat excercise calories back. I know what you are asking and all, and I have heard that you are correct. I just don't get it.
  • dadoffo
    dadoffo Posts: 379 Member
    Are you breast feeding your baby? I think this should be taken into consideration.
  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
    First, I want to say that if you're breastfeeding, you should talk to your doctor before reducing your caloric intake as you need to take in more calories if so. And yes, you should eat back your exercise calories.
  • JennW130
    JennW130 Posts: 460 Member
    Are you breast feeding your baby? I think this should be taken into consideration.
    i was going to ask the same
  • kjones3535
    kjones3535 Posts: 139
    If you are breast feeding your new baby you need to be eating an additional 500 calories a day just for milk production.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Check out the Unofficial FAQ
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/474-unofficial-mfp-faq
  • MissFit0101
    MissFit0101 Posts: 2,382
    I don't understand this because to me it kind of seems contradictive. You excercise and change eating habits to lose weight so why would you eat excercise calories back. I know what you are asking and all, and I have heard that you are correct. I just don't get it.

    Search the forums you will get PLENTY of answers to WHY YOU NEED TO EAT YOUR EXERCISE CALORIES :bigsmile:
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    I don't understand this because to me it kind of seems contradictive. You excercise and change eating habits to lose weight so why would you eat excercise calories back. I know what you are asking and all, and I have heard that you are correct. I just don't get it.

    Because MFP already has you eating at the appropriate calorie deficit. If you increase that deficit you may not be giving your body enough of the nutrition it needs in order to function properly and burn fat.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    If you are also breastfeeding you should add another 300-500 calories per day.
  • withervein
    withervein Posts: 224 Member
    I don't understand this because to me it kind of seems contradictive. You excercise and change eating habits to lose weight so why would you eat excercise calories back. I know what you are asking and all, and I have heard that you are correct. I just don't get it.

    I understand the seeming contradiction, but if you don't put fuel in the car, it won't go anywhere. Now the body is not a car, so when the body sees there's no fuel coming in, it will stop burning fat and go into conservation mode.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I don't understand this because to me it kind of seems contradictive. You excercise and change eating habits to lose weight so why would you eat excercise calories back. I know what you are asking and all, and I have heard that you are correct. I just don't get it.

    MFP's caloric goal is to lose your goal amount of weight with no exercise, once you exercise you need more as your maintenance calories increases.

    As an example compare yourself to a car. Your day to day requirements are like a tank of gas and you use a tank of gas/week going to and from work, if you then go on any extra trips or errands you will need to add more gas in order to have enough gas to get to work. So if you need 1200 for day to day stuff (you will lose weight with 1200 cals and no exercise), then when you do extra (workout) you need to put more fuel (calories) in your body.
  • taraw0503
    taraw0503 Posts: 28 Member
    Thanks everyone. Not, not breastfeeding anymore since I started dieting.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    What's the rush to lose the weight? You just had your baby, enjoy the time you have with her. And if you're breastfeeding you shouldn't be eating at much of a calorie deficit at all. You need adequate nutrition to keep the quality of your milk up and to keep yourself healthy. You didn't put on that 30 pounds overnight, you don't need to rush to take it off. Just go on some nice walks with your baby and eat a healthy, balanced diet.
  • xAdrianax
    xAdrianax Posts: 269 Member
    i didnt get it completely at first either. basically MFP gives you those calories and has already given you a calorie deficit.

    so they say to you to eat 1200 cal, women normally should have around 2000 so you are havling around 800 cals less than you should already

    now what you burn is like 'free calories' you have burnt them on top so to eat them it cancels it out! if you are on 1200 cals and burn 500 cals and dont eat them then you have only eaten like 700 cals and thats not enough!

    for the first 6 months on MFP i did not eat my exercise cals and the weight did come off fast but now i work out more and have around 7 pounds left to loose so i am eating all my exercise cals back and dont mind loosing slower also im more hungry!

    i think you should as you only have in 30 lbs to loose - i reckon you could loose that in 5 months
  • tody2004
    tody2004 Posts: 3 Member
    If you are breastfeeding, you should eat your exercise calories because breastfeeding also burns calories and you dont want your body to go into a starvation mode. I had my son a couple of months ago and I breastfeed him for six months. It helps you get back to your pre-pregancy weight faster and the doctors highly encourages breastfeeding. It gives your baby the nutrition they need and helps you release stress anad hormones to progress weight loss. We as women are already stress from life itself so whats better to help you and your baby by giving your body the nutrients it need and giving your baby the food they need. Sorry if it seems long just covering basis.
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
    Congratulations on starting your journey to health and fitness!

    Do yourself a big favor and click on the Community "Home" page. Then click on the title "General Diet and Weight Loss Help." At the top of this page you'll see some post-it notes with links to MFP posts all new members should read.

    Wishing you all the best!
  • betzylauletta
    betzylauletta Posts: 2 Member
    I don't understand this because to me it kind of seems contradictive. You excercise and change eating habits to lose weight so why would you eat excercise calories back. I know what you are asking and all, and I have heard that you are correct. I just don't get it.

    Because MFP already has you eating at the appropriate calorie deficit. If you increase that deficit you may not be giving your body enough of the nutrition it needs in order to function properly and burn fat.

    This is correct. Also - if you don't give your body enough nutrients, it will start to burn muscle instead of fat. This is an ugly downward-spiral because your body needs that muscle to burn the fat. You'll drop pounds, but it will be because you lost muscle. Then, when you do finally give your body adequate calories, it will start to store it and then you'll gain even more fat than you had before, because now you don't have any muscle to help burn it off. People who get gastric bypass surgery often have this problem. The Abs Diet book for women is a great resource! I have learned A LOT about the way weight-loss works from it. Check it out.
  • beckywilkeherbst
    beckywilkeherbst Posts: 139 Member
    i didnt get it completely at first either. basically MFP gives you those calories and has already given you a calorie deficit.

    so they say to you to eat 1200 cal, women normally should have around 2000 so you are havling around 800 cals less than you should already

    now what you burn is like 'free calories' you have burnt them on top so to eat them it cancels it out! if you are on 1200 cals and burn 500 cals and dont eat them then you have only eaten like 700 cals and thats not enough!

    for the first 6 months on MFP i did not eat my exercise cals and the weight did come off fast but now i work out more and have around 7 pounds left to loose so i am eating all my exercise cals back and dont mind loosing slower also im more hungry!

    i think you should as you only have in 30 lbs to loose - i reckon you could loose that in 5 months

    So I am just curious if I want to shed a lot of weight fast right now, would it be in my benefit to not eat the excercise calories back at this time? I usually burn about 300 a day. I have no problem eating them back later but want to get my weight down fast and then slowing down would be fine. Thanks in advance.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    i didnt get it completely at first either. basically MFP gives you those calories and has already given you a calorie deficit.

    so they say to you to eat 1200 cal, women normally should have around 2000 so you are havling around 800 cals less than you should already

    now what you burn is like 'free calories' you have burnt them on top so to eat them it cancels it out! if you are on 1200 cals and burn 500 cals and dont eat them then you have only eaten like 700 cals and thats not enough!

    for the first 6 months on MFP i did not eat my exercise cals and the weight did come off fast but now i work out more and have around 7 pounds left to loose so i am eating all my exercise cals back and dont mind loosing slower also im more hungry!

    i think you should as you only have in 30 lbs to loose - i reckon you could loose that in 5 months

    So I am just curious if I want to shed a lot of weight fast right now, would it be in my benefit to not eat the excercise calories back at this time? I usually burn about 300 a day. I have no problem eating them back later but want to get my weight down fast and then slowing down would be fine. Thanks in advance.

    If you want to lose muscle and fat, not just fat, then no you don't have to eat them. If you want to retain muscle, your hair, and have everything function properly then yes, eat them.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/384720-working-out-and-eating-back-calories

    This thread has some good information on why you should eat back your exercise calories.
  • kendelq
    kendelq Posts: 35
    NM....going to keep out of this one! ;-)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    i didnt get it completely at first either. basically MFP gives you those calories and has already given you a calorie deficit.

    so they say to you to eat 1200 cal, women normally should have around 2000 so you are havling around 800 cals less than you should already

    now what you burn is like 'free calories' you have burnt them on top so to eat them it cancels it out! if you are on 1200 cals and burn 500 cals and dont eat them then you have only eaten like 700 cals and thats not enough!

    for the first 6 months on MFP i did not eat my exercise cals and the weight did come off fast but now i work out more and have around 7 pounds left to loose so i am eating all my exercise cals back and dont mind loosing slower also im more hungry!

    i think you should as you only have in 30 lbs to loose - i reckon you could loose that in 5 months

    So I am just curious if I want to shed a lot of weight fast right now, would it be in my benefit to not eat the excercise calories back at this time? I usually burn about 300 a day. I have no problem eating them back later but want to get my weight down fast and then slowing down would be fine. Thanks in advance.

    Dropping weight fast will kill long term results and it will be a lot more difficult to continue. Also it depends how your body response to not eating exercise calories. Some bodies shed weight fast, some just stop losing so it's risky. You are better off getting an extreme fitness program and eating help to increase muscle mass to burn more fat.
  • kendelq
    kendelq Posts: 35
    You know, it sucks to feel fat and frumpy after having a baby, adn the urge to "diet" is strong. However, you CAN diet and BF, you just need to add 500 calories to your diet! It can be done. I would never give up BF just to diet.
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
    I don't understand this because to me it kind of seems contradictive. You excercise and change eating habits to lose weight so why would you eat excercise calories back. I know what you are asking and all, and I have heard that you are correct. I just don't get it.

    That's probably because you think of the exercise calories as "extra" calories. They aren't really, they're just the portion of your regular calorie expenditure that varies the most from day to day and that this website doesn't know you well enough to predict in advance. If they could be sure that you'd burn xxx calories from exercise today, they could include that number in math from the beginning and you wouldn't have an issue with "eating back" exercise calories.
  • _Sally_
    _Sally_ Posts: 514 Member
    Dear Posters,

    Just a reminder to please keep the discussion mutually respectful.

    Thanks!

    _Sally_
    MFP Forum Moderator
  • taraw0503
    taraw0503 Posts: 28 Member
    Thanks for all the replies! Some helpful ones.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    One recommendation would be get a HRM to truely understand your calories burned. I will also say, there are other methods where you would calculate caloric needs over a week (incorporating lifestyle and exercise) so you don't have to worry about eating back your calories. If you want to look into your caloric needs, and need help, let me know. It's very possible to set up MFP wrong if you dont' understand some basic rules (like even though you want to lose 2 lbs a week, it doesn't mean it's healthy nor feasible)
  • DixiedoesMFP
    DixiedoesMFP Posts: 935 Member
    If you just had the baby 7 weeks ago, more than likely a lot of that weight is going to come off regardless of what you do. I would try to eat good "clean" wholesome healthy food and exercise, but 1200 is probably going to give you too few calories to take care of a new baby. Also try to get plenty of rest, as that also helps with weight loss. Congratulations on the new addition!
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