Should I eat my "calories burned?"
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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.0 -
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 ^^^^^^^0 -
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 it0
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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.0 -
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.0 -
LOL0
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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 figure0
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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.0 -
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.0 -
Yes, for sure, or you're going to sabotage your progress.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?
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.0 -
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Make sure your Net is at least the 1200 calories.0
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If you're looking for a healthy way to consume calories, have a half a cup of walnuts and you'll be all set. (tons of calories, but really good for you).0
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BEST ANSWER EVER!!!0 -
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.
Me too! I don't know why you felt the replies you got were catty though? There's some great and interesting advice here!
xxx0 -
hi! Im new here, an I think sometimes I have to eat too much to have my calories back! its very hard to me eat all that!!! (sometimes) but Im not losing so I think Im stuck0
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if you're hungry... go ahead. if not.. dont force it.0
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Yes eat your calories burnt, you can go a little under if your working out. But its vital, or you will start losing muscle mass etc.
If you find it hard, try adding high calorie foods to your diet like avocado and nuts etc (not roasted and salted) high in calories, but good for you. x0 -
Personally, I find that I lose more weight when I eat back my calories. Good Luck!!
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i tend to eat about 50% of them back on days that i need to esp after a run etc. Otherwise i dont eat them, unless im going to have a treat.0
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Doesnt eating back your calories mean your eating less one day and more the next?? So on a non-exercise day 1400 and exercise day 2000. Cant you do it over the week?? so like 4 days at 1400 and 3 days at 2000 so 11600 for the week and divide it by 7?? so approx 1650 per day??0
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i don't eat back my calories burned generally. i won't punish myself if i do eat my max calories one day per week or 2, but i'm really trying to learn to pay attention to what my BODY is telling me. my MIND will tell me to have ice cream every day or...its ok to overindulge today..you'll get back into it tomorrow (and i know how thats worked out for me). as my dad always said.. do you need it, or do you want it?0
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In my experience, the concept of eating exercise calories was the holy grail!
Every other time I tried to lose weight, I just cut calories. A lot. I thought it was the simple matter of "the less you eat, the more weight you'll lose." So when my progress was slow (usually less than a half pound a week), I blamed myself. I thought, "It's because I'm getting older. It's because my metabolism is slow. It's because I'm not disciplined enough." I felt tired, hungry and deprived, but I thought that's how dieting was supposed to be. No pain, no gain, right? I thought the only way to lose more weight would be to eat even less food, and THANKFULLY, I was smart enough to realize that would be a really stupid idea. I was only eating between 700-1000 calories a day, with a cheat day on weekends. Eventually, I quit because it just wasn't worth it.
This time around, thanks to MFP and exercise calories, I NEVER felt hungry, tired or deprived. During most of my weight loss, I averaged between 1800-2000 calories (often 1500 + exercise calories), easily twice was I was eating before. My progress was right on target. Huh... guess my metabolism isn't slow after all. Guess I'm not that old. Guess I am disciplined enough! This is the only time I ever got to the point where I thought, "You know what? I really gotta start eating more. I'm getting smaller than I want!"
The best part, is that eating more, I didn't lose a lot of lean muscle mass. Most of my weight loss has been from fat. Last time I lost weight, I got down to 130# and wore a size 8. This time, I wore that size at 140#. And now at 130#, I'm a size 4. This is how those old size 8 jeans fit now: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/449570-mfp-mythbusters-losing-weight-fast-exercise-calories-girl0 -
Doesnt eating back your calories mean your eating less one day and more the next?? So on a non-exercise day 1400 and exercise day 2000. Cant you do it over the week?? so like 4 days at 1400 and 3 days at 2000 so 11600 for the week and divide it by 7?? so approx 1650 per day??
i think you can do that. but don't get into over your gross calorie limit one day, justifying it by going way low the next day.0 -
This is valid for "normal range" people and skinny people. For overweight and obese people the story is completely different.
For example in a very low carb diet -> ketosis what the body will burn in case of low income energy is fat 1st and then muscles.
Training very hard should be clear defined:
- training hard with long or multiple sessions but with an average HR or
- training hard with very elevated HR long or short sessions
Big differences between the two.
Again, test your body smart with food and exercise. Log everything down and over time (weeks and months) make decisions.
Yes, for sure, or you're going to sabotage your progress.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?
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.0 -
Muscle loss or keeping it is related to protein sparing and not no. of calories. Many many times it has been proved that when people went into starvation mode in clinical studies or real life events the body consumed 1st the fat and then the muscles.
As long as you eat your protein muscles will hold on as much as possible and fat will go before them. It seems that if you want to lose fat fast or very fast no matter what you do you're going to lose some muscles and this is the price you pay but the little you lose the better and this the art of smart dieting.
I'd like to be that smart.Yes eat your calories burnt, you can go a little under if your working out. But its vital, or you will start losing muscle mass etc.
If you find it hard, try adding high calorie foods to your diet like avocado and nuts etc (not roasted and salted) high in calories, but good for you. x0
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