Should I eat my "calories burned?"

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2

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  • karinaes
    karinaes Posts: 570 Member
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    I don't know why people throw around words like "starvation mode" which never happens. The thing is, to reduce body weight you need to be in a calorie deficit based off your AMR. If you go to long on a low calorie diet, it will impair your thyroid and slow down your metabolic rate, also as you lose weight your metabolism will also slow down(not starvation mode).
    then how do you define starvation mode if it doesn't (partly) mean that your metabolism slows down because your body is clinging to whatever pound it can for dear life?
  • swilk627
    swilk627 Posts: 245 Member
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    Wow, I asked an honest question and get mostly super catty replies. My apologies for asking. I'll go elsewhere for questions and advice. Thanks.
  • tamera14
    tamera14 Posts: 2
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    Is it a wrist heart rate monitor or one that goes around your chest? Thanks :)
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
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    Read this. It explains it rather well.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/390145-should-i-eat-my-exercise-calories
  • DesmaRae90
    DesmaRae90 Posts: 4
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    This is really helpful because to be honest I was really confused about this as well. :smile:
  • thisisabbie
    thisisabbie Posts: 522 Member
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    I would say only if you are maintaining. It's all about the calorie deficit you create by exercising. No more deficit if you eat it back. :)

    There IS a deficit if you eat back your exercise calories!! MFP has already included a deficit when it gives you your daily intake!

    Sooooo many threads about this...

    To the OP (and anyone else who isn't clear how it all works!!) do a search on this forum for 'exercise calories'. You will find an ABUNDANCE of information.

    Or try here: http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
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    Drink them. That's what I do.
  • jillucidi
    jillucidi Posts: 11
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    to maintain 140lbs---i stay at my goal 1400 calories anything extra is EXTRA ;) i know my body needs 1500 or less a day (with exrcise) to stay under 140lbs.
    if you are allowed 1000 extra calories from your exercise...i wouldnt eat them, until your comfortable with your results :)

    ps-i always make sure my extra calories are from raw foods.
    hope this helps...
    :)
  • goingbicyclecrazy
    goingbicyclecrazy Posts: 20
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    I say listen to YOUR BODY...NOT what MFP or ANYONE else says unless they are your Doctor.



    Thats the main reason why we're here is because we ALL listened to our body's and got fat. LOL.
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
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    I say listen to YOUR BODY...NOT what MFP or ANYONE else says unless they are your Doctor.



    Thats the main reason why we're here is because we ALL listened to our body's and got fat. LOL.

    Like
  • emmab0902
    emmab0902 Posts: 2,337 Member
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    Find a happy medium that suits you. MFP is said to overestimate calories burned - many a person has had a rude awakening after purchasing a HRM!

    Depending on how significant a number you are burning, you could eat some back. You need to do what is going to be healthy and effective for you.
  • tatiannajanel
    tatiannajanel Posts: 22 Member
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    I say listen to YOUR BODY...NOT what MFP or ANYONE else says unless they are your Doctor.



    Thats the main reason why we're here is because we ALL listened to our body's and got fat. LOL.

    Hahaha ^^^^^^^
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
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    if i listened to my body and only ate when i felt hungry, id eat every couple days. i never used to eat more than one meal a day, and it wasnt some huge 3500 calorie meal. even now, i rarely FEEL hungry. i try eat around the same times my kids unless im still really full from the previous meal. i eat the calories suggested by mfp, theyre similar to what my dietician said when i was seeing her. ive had lots of success here because of it
  • princesskirsty
    princesskirsty Posts: 2
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    even when i was marathon training, with body composition measurements daily, and hear rate monitor constantly tracking calorie burn, i plateaued if i at my calories burned.

    Do some reading by professional trainers. most will say that weight loss isn't a simple intake/output equation. forget about deficit - it's mostly about what you put into your body.

    my experience supports that notion - when i dont eat calories burned, i continue weight loss - when i do - i plateau.

    The primary benefit of exercise is a long term one - that is - you build strength and muscle - that will increase your metabolism over months - not days or weeks.

    THink about your long term goal.

    weight loss = don't eat calories burned.
    building strength and increasing metabolism - eat calories burned.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Today I've eaten more than my allotment - 1414 and still have a deficit of 362!

    If you have exercised and honestly don't feel hungry, then you did not really exercise that intensely, and therefore that calorie count is probably over estimated.

    Then again, if you feel hungrier the next day, you may just be delayed.

    But now are you going to eat extra the next day when you might not exercise, and from the figures it appears you are really going over your goal? But you really do need to feed your body.

    Then again, you may have been dieting for so long and depriving the body for so long, it's gone into slowdown mode to save itself. You'll have a hard time winning from that effect.
  • Richelle07
    Richelle07 Posts: 8
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    LOL
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,453 Member
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    Not saying it's a great idea to leave a huge deficit under 1200.. but I HAVE noticed that MFP doesn't give me the warning about "starvation mode" as long as I eat 1200 cals, even if I net under. Example: I eat 1250 and burn 300. Net 950 and I don't get the warning.. go figure
  • andrejjorje
    andrejjorje Posts: 497 Member
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    I so agree with you. LOL. Starvation myth.

    To clarify, it's NOT "instant" starvation mode. The body is not that sensitive. You should eat back your calories, but if you miss some one day you won't go into starvation mode. On a routine basis, you should strive to eat them.
    A word of caution - are you using a heart rate monitor for your exercise? MFP has a tendency to grossly overestimate calories burned, so eating all those calories back will put you over your "limit". Track accurately, both what you eat and what you burn. Unless you're working out hard core daily for 90+ minutes, you're probably fine eating 1400-1500 calories a day with your exercise.
  • andrejjorje
    andrejjorje Posts: 497 Member
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    Wow. I love this post.
    even when i was marathon training, with body composition measurements daily, and hear rate monitor constantly tracking calorie burn, i plateaued if i at my calories burned.

    Do some reading by professional trainers. most will say that weight loss isn't a simple intake/output equation. forget about deficit - it's mostly about what you put into your body.

    my experience supports that notion - when i dont eat calories burned, i continue weight loss - when i do - i plateau.

    The primary benefit of exercise is a long term one - that is - you build strength and muscle - that will increase your metabolism over months - not days or weeks.

    THink about your long term goal.

    weight loss = don't eat calories burned.
    building strength and increasing metabolism - eat calories burned.
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
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    I'm a little confused as to what I should be doing to aid my weight loss.

    MFP has me eating 1200 calories. If I eat around that but burn, say, 500, I'm only netting about 700 calories. Then, MFP says I'm going to send my body into starvation mode, which I don't want.

    So, am I supposed to care about my NET calories or just focus on the 1200 intake?
    Yes, for sure, or you're going to sabotage your progress.

    Simply stated MFP has already figured out your total calories you need to eat per day to lose 1lb etc. a week. That's WITHOUT exercise. You'll notice that when you actually add exercise in, the calorie limit goes up. Why? Because it's telling you to eat your exercise calories. Large deficits aren't really good to do because while you will lose weight, what kind of weight will it be? In many cases you'll lose lean muscle tissue which LOWERS your metabolic rate even more. Then you have to eat even less to compensate for less of a calorie burn to continue to lose the same amount of weight each week.
    Be efficient. Exercise hard and eat back the calories. The hard exercise will RAISE your metabolic rate and burn more fat at rest.

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