Can you really eat over calories if you balance with exercis

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kcmurray
kcmurray Posts: 33 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know that exercise can't outweigh an unhealthy diet, but I'm just getting started AGAIN. 1200 calories is extreme when you've been eating approximately 3,000 a day. Today, I've stayed within my calorie goal according to MFP with 40 minutes of exercise. I feel like I will be able to stick with the plan if I can balance using exercise. I don't feel like 1200 calories is realistic for me otherwise, but I almost feel like I'm cheating. Has anyone been successful in losing in this manner? Thank you in advance for your responses.

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  • tageekly
    tageekly Posts: 3,755 Member
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    My calories are 1,240 per day and I usually eat that by my afternoon snack so I get a workout in for dinner calories and I've been losing pretty consistently. In about 3.5 months I've lost almost 30 pounds. It does work - be sure you're logging correctly, food and exercise, and you'll see results.
  • Angel1066
    Angel1066 Posts: 816 Member
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    Worked for me but now i've upped my calorie intake to lose 1lb a week.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    Look. It's very simple. If you eat less than you burn, you lose weight.

    You burn, for example, 1700 calories through your normal daily activities. You eat 1200. Therefore you lose weight. If you exercise, you burn that 1700 plus another (example) 500 through exercise. Then you're burning 2200 calories and eating 1700 calories. Still a 500-calorie deficit.
  • angel79202
    angel79202 Posts: 1,012 Member
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    1200 is really low IMO..you can manually change the goal..I have mine set higher///maybe change to a higher goal? Also remember it is net calories so if ur exercising, you can eat those :)
    Good luck!
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
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    Two things -

    First, I see you only have 19 lbs to lose. Most people would tell you that you should have your weight loss goal set to .5lb/wk. I'm going to assume that you don't unless you are really short. Changing your goal will give you more calories, and if your goal is set higher you may find it difficult to lose those 20 because you should be eating more.

    Second, try not to think of it as over calories. The point is to have a deficit that will help you lose weight. You should lose weight without exercise if you eat your given calorie goal (provided you are not trying for a larger deficit than your body will work with). So when you exercise, you should eat back some of those calories to fuel your body for the unexpected use of calories outside your daily activity and you maintain the same deficit as you would have before exercising while eating at your calorie goal.
  • dragonflyjill
    dragonflyjill Posts: 94 Member
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    Absolutely you can be successful this way! It will allow you to go at a pace and in a manner that is comfortable for you! If you cannot stick with it long term then it is not going to work.

    Exercise allows me to live my life in such a way that I can not be in "diet mode" but in "moderation" mode. If I do Bikram yoga, go for walks etc. I don't have to worry so much about an extra little bit of food. But you still do have to be careful and count everything. The danger I believe is when people say to themselves "I am working out, I can eat whatever I want."

    Maybe try 1500 calories and see how it goes. You can also tweak it later if you find you are not losing. But after eating 3000 calories per day there is something wrong if you cut to 1500, work out 40 minutes and don't lose weight. You also want to eat enough to prevent the dreaded "starvation mode", and to fuel your body through your workouts.
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    You SHOULD be eating back your exercise calories (e.g: eat 1200 calories, burn 500 calories, and then eat less than 500 calories). You don't have to eat ALL your exercise calories, but I suggest at least getting to 1200 NET everyday. The net is what you eat minus exercise. So, if you workout and burn 500 calories, and you ATE 1200 calories, your net would be 700. So you would need to eat enough to get back up to 1200. If your base is higher than 1200, you won't have to eat as many of your exercise calories. Like me, my base is 1380. Today I worked out and burned 545 calories, but I'm leaving 64 calories. So my net is 1306.
  • pupcamper
    pupcamper Posts: 415 Member
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    I usually eat 1200-1300 calories twice a week - you can still eat alot of food if you make healthy choices. I try to plan my week as much as possible in advance and save my higher calorie meals and treats for days where I know I can exercise! It's worked for me pretty well -34 pounds in 3.5 months.

    Good luck on your journey! :drinker:
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,383 Member
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    I eat my exercise calories and I have been VERY pleased with my results. Today I've earned 717 exercise calories (that's more than usual) - not sure if I'll be able to eat ALL of them but I'm sure going to enjoy trying. :-)
  • Hoakiebs
    Hoakiebs Posts: 430 Member
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    You can eat you exercise calories and still meet your goals, but you can't exceed that or your target date will change.
  • KyleB65
    KyleB65 Posts: 1,196 Member
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    It absolutely works.
    The trick is to log your exercise calories and eating calories properly. This is not so clear with the database provided but it is possible. For me, I try and under estimate my calories burned and over estimate my calories consumed. I feel that this gives me somewhat of a buffer.

    Note: For the calories burned the best choice is to get a heart rate monitor. I have not done so yet but will get one this year.

    Since I started last spring I have gone from 272 lbs to 196. So for me the system works.

    Hope it works for you!
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    Yes, it definitely works. It's a simple equation: to lose weight, calories burned > calories consumed

    If you burn more, you can eat more while keeping the deficit MFP gives you. the daily calorie goal MFP gives you assumes NO exercise, as long as you setup your profile correctly (with your normal daily activity level not including any exercise) so you definitely earn more to eat when you exercise. Just be careful - it's easy to overestimate exercise calories!
  • StrengthIsBeautiful
    StrengthIsBeautiful Posts: 309 Member
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    Hi!
    Here is a great link to a MFP Group that has great answers to some questions you may have!
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/457-unofficial-mfp-faq
    You can also find it if you click on groups, then search for Unofficial MFP FAQ.
    It's a good group to join and use for reference too!
  • kcmurray
    kcmurray Posts: 33 Member
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    Thank you all for your responses. I'm feeling much better now. I do have a brand new Polar FT4 heart rate monitor, so I feel like calories burned are pretty accurate. I am also trying to overestimate the amount of food I am consuming. I really want to have a plan that I can stick with, so I think this will work for me. Thanks again for your responses and encouragement. Seeing your losses and knowing that you guys are exercising to eat have helped my feelings greatly. :smile: :smile:

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