You Really Should Eat Your Exercise Cals Back!
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elo83
Posts: 97 Member
At the risk of getting flamed....
Reading through a lot of posts on the forums and ppl bashing others for not eating enough isn't very nice. However, my thoughts are basically(and I almost never comment on those threads) ppl that simply don't eat enough are not being realistic.It's simply not possible to stay on a strict 800 calorie or less diet for weeks/months/years on end. While I believe in "hey to each there own" I think trying to loose weight in this way will eventually be counterproductive.
What about when life gets in the way? Or when you're out a party? Or don't have a ton of time to exercise? How are you going to maintain that loss if you can't do the same things you were doing?
I personally don't believe in cutting any foods out! I believe in moderation and consistent exercise. I workout 4-6 times a week for about 30min to an hour and I try to eat all my exercise cals back. When I can't make it to the gym I try to eat a little less and I always eat real food! I don't eat 2 pieces of steamed asparagus with 1oz of chicken! I eat a full meal! Cuz who the heck eats like that EVERYDAY! I couldn't!
Thoughts?
Reading through a lot of posts on the forums and ppl bashing others for not eating enough isn't very nice. However, my thoughts are basically(and I almost never comment on those threads) ppl that simply don't eat enough are not being realistic.It's simply not possible to stay on a strict 800 calorie or less diet for weeks/months/years on end. While I believe in "hey to each there own" I think trying to loose weight in this way will eventually be counterproductive.
What about when life gets in the way? Or when you're out a party? Or don't have a ton of time to exercise? How are you going to maintain that loss if you can't do the same things you were doing?
I personally don't believe in cutting any foods out! I believe in moderation and consistent exercise. I workout 4-6 times a week for about 30min to an hour and I try to eat all my exercise cals back. When I can't make it to the gym I try to eat a little less and I always eat real food! I don't eat 2 pieces of steamed asparagus with 1oz of chicken! I eat a full meal! Cuz who the heck eats like that EVERYDAY! I couldn't!
Thoughts?
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Replies
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Couldn't agree with you more!0
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Ha! Thanks! I mean really who has 90 minutes every day for exercise?! And can only eat 500 calories? I just don't get it!0
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i totally agree, but people want results right now, not in 6 months time so they go for a quick fix to drop the pounds as quick as possible!0
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Ha! Thanks! I mean really who has 90 minutes every day for exercise?! And can only eat 500 calories? I just don't get it!
Not gonna lie, I work out for 90 minutes about 4-5 days a week. But I realize it's not possible for a lot of people, sometimes I don't even know how I have time for it.
I don't even get how people live on less than 1000 calories though, even if I didn't work out, I think I'd pass out before the day was over!0 -
I have 90min every day for exercise, I do it 5-6 days a week.
I also have 4 kids, 3 dogs, 2 cats, a full time job, all kids are in sports/activiites and I am married......
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Tabinmaine, you are superwoman!
I simply can't! I'd love to but simply not enough hours in the day.
I have a full time job and I live about an hour 15 minutes away from work and work 9-6.
By the time I get home It's 7ish(that is if the train doesn't get delayed!) I'll walk my dog get dressed and head to the gym.
I'm at the gym by 7:45 and depending on the day once I get back from the gym its 8:45(if I do an hour).
I cook and eat by 9:30ish? Shower, wash and repeat for the next day!
This doesn't even include trying to spend time with my husband who's a chef and works ridiculous hours!0 -
i had major issues with not being able able to lose weight because i wasn't eating enough calories or exercising,im struggling to make it to 1200 let alone wat im burning but ive sill lost 1st since new yrs ,wat i dont understand is isnt the deficit wat causes weight if you eat all you burn wouldnt you just be maintaining?0
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I would work out at 6am , come home and shower and then go to work.... I can't work out past 7pm... I am DONE by 8pm , only good for signing permission forms and folding laundry haha.... nothing more stimulating0
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Tabinmaine, seriously you're superwoman!
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i had major issues with not being able able to lose weight because i wasn't eating enough calories or exercising,im struggling to make it to 1200 let alone wat im burning but ive sill lost 1st since new yrs ,wat i dont understand is isnt the deficit wat causes weight if you eat all you burn wouldnt you just be maintaining?
MFP sets your calorie goal so that you will lose weight even if you don't exercise. There is a certain amount of calories that your body burns on a daily basis just keeping you alive and functioning, MFP calculates an estimate of that amount of daily calories when you program in your height/weight/age/gender. Then when you tell MFP that you want to lose weight, it subtracts a particular amount of calories from that maintenance amount that it estimated, then if gives you your daily calorie goal based off of those calculations. Since MFP has already done the work of creating a calorie deficit for you, all you have to do is eat those calories every day and you will lose weight. If you exercise, that makes the deficit even larger - some people feel that's a good thing b/c they want to lose weight as fast as possible, however some people feel it's best to stick to the rate that they set on MFP (losing weight *too fast* can be a bad thing) so they eat back those exercise calories that they earned to keep the rate steady and not too fast.
Just for an example, I'm 5'4" and 129 lbs, MFP calculates my 'maintenance' calories to be around 1620 (my profile is set to 'sedentary' - if you choose a higher activity level, you get more calories) - so if I just ate 1620 calories per day and didn't do any extra exercise, I would theoretically maintain my current weight. However, I told MFP that I want to lose about 1/2 lb per week, so it subtracted 250 calories off of my daily maintenance amount and gave me a daily calorie goal of 1370. 1 lb of fat is 3500 calories, so by eating 250 calories per day less than my maintenance amount, I am burning off 1750 calories per week which equals to about 1/2 lb per week weightloss. I'm very close to my goal weight and don't want to lose weight too fast at this stage, so when I workout I log those exercise calories and eat them back. So if I burn 500 calories in my workout one day, instead of only eating 1370 I eat close to 1870. Since I burned those 500 calories through exercise, my *net* calories are still at about 1370, and I still lose weight at about the rate I requested.0 -
I totally agree!
I love food. I love eating healthy and I also enjoy "no so good for you" food. Moderation is key and my motto. I workout 5-6 days a week for 30 minutes to an hour. And like you said, if you can't make, eat a little less. I had to do that yesterday. I eat my calories back - love it. Works for me.0 -
Tabinmaine, seriously you're superwoman!
haha, thanks but honestly.... it's all about planning.... I literally fit my workouts in places where I didn't even KNOW I had time....
Example: I drop my daughter off at the highschool 1hr before her games, she has to be there, well rather than returning home to just come back to the school 1hr later to watch her game I simply dress in my running gear and park the car at her school, run for a hour in the school's neighbourhood and then watch her game. Killing two birds with one stone is my expertise 0 -
As per the OP, no one should be on 800 calories a day. You simply can not get enough nutrition in with such a low count. I see anas all the time who want a fit body ... then starve themselves. You have to feed the machine to get a fit body (not binge either). Otherwise you will be sick.
Not directed and OP, just in general, no one is going to force a cup cake, potato chips or cruddy food in general, down your throat. That's your choice. I eat clean the majority of the time and eat pre party (such as the Super Bowl party this weekend).
I also have a busy life, heck we all do. I have a few more kids then the lady above me. Like her exercise is also a choice, you have to make it happen. These things are a way of life or you will be forever "dieting"0 -
i had major issues with not being able able to lose weight because i wasn't eating enough calories or exercising,im struggling to make it to 1200 let alone wat im burning but ive sill lost 1st since new yrs ,wat i dont understand is isnt the deficit wat causes weight if you eat all you burn wouldnt you just be maintaining?
MFP sets your calorie goal so that you will lose weight even if you don't exercise. There is a certain amount of calories that your body burns on a daily basis just keeping you alive and functioning, MFP calculates an estimate of that amount of daily calories when you program in your height/weight/age/gender. Then when you tell MFP that you want to lose weight, it subtracts a particular amount of calories from that maintenance amount that it estimated, then if gives you your daily calorie goal based off of those calculations. Since MFP has already done the work of creating a calorie deficit for you, all you have to do is eat those calories every day and you will lose weight. If you exercise, that makes the deficit even larger - some people feel that's a good thing b/c they want to lose weight as fast as possible, however some people feel it's best to stick to the rate that they set on MFP (losing weight *too fast* can be a bad thing) so they eat back those exercise calories that they earned to keep the rate steady and not too fast.
Just for an example, I'm 5'4" and 129 lbs, MFP calculates my 'maintenance' calories to be around 1620 (my profile is set to 'sedentary' - if you choose a higher activity level, you get more calories) - so if I just ate 1620 calories per day and didn't do any extra exercise, I would theoretically maintain my current weight. However, I told MFP that I want to lose about 1/2 lb per week, so it subtracted 250 calories off of my daily maintenance amount and gave me a daily calorie goal of 1370. 1 lb of fat is 3500 calories, so by eating 250 calories per day less than my maintenance amount, I am burning off 1750 calories per week which equals to about 1/2 lb per week weightloss. I'm very close to my goal weight and don't want to lose weight too fast at this stage, so when I workout I log those exercise calories and eat them back. So if I burn 500 calories in my workout one day, instead of only eating 1370 I eat close to 1870. Since I burned those 500 calories through exercise, my *net* calories are still at about 1370, and I still lose weight at about the rate I requested.
thanks so much for explaining it for me, i understand,im still struggling with eating so much but im gonna try hard to get as close as i can ,e.g- yesterday i did 2 1/2hr cardio there way no way i would've been able to eat that bk lol, im only gonna do that long distance run once a week as ive also been told not to lose it too quick,thanks again ,bbg0 -
As per the OP, no one should be on 800 calories a day. You simply can not get enough nutrition in with such a low count. I see anas all the time who want a fit body ... then starve themselves. You have to feed the machine to get a fit body (not binge either). Otherwise you will be sick.
Not directed and OP, just in general, no one is going to force a cup cake, potato chips or cruddy food in general, down your throat. That's your choice. I eat clean the majority of the time and eat pre party (such as the Super Bowl party this weekend).
I also have a busy life, heck we all do. I have a few more kids then the lady above me. Like her exercise is also a choice, you have to make it happen. These things are a way of life or you will be forever "dieting"
Totally agree. We all have busy lives, but you have to decide what's a priority to you. I prep dinners ahead of time so all I have to do is pop em in the microwave, I pack my lunch/snacks for the day, take em to work with me, and always have a back up snack in case I'm extra hungry that day. Then I also have my gym bag in my car so I can pick my son up from school and go straight to the gym after work. It's all about planning and time management. I even put my workouts and what I'm planning to do that day at the gym on my calendar (on my phone) so I can get right to it and really maximize the time I do have to spend at the gym.0 -
i had major issues with not being able able to lose weight because i wasn't eating enough calories or exercising,im struggling to make it to 1200 let alone wat im burning but ive sill lost 1st since new yrs ,wat i dont understand is isnt the deficit wat causes weight if you eat all you burn wouldnt you just be maintaining?
MFP sets your calorie goal so that you will lose weight even if you don't exercise. There is a certain amount of calories that your body burns on a daily basis just keeping you alive and functioning, MFP calculates an estimate of that amount of daily calories when you program in your height/weight/age/gender. Then when you tell MFP that you want to lose weight, it subtracts a particular amount of calories from that maintenance amount that it estimated, then if gives you your daily calorie goal based off of those calculations. Since MFP has already done the work of creating a calorie deficit for you, all you have to do is eat those calories every day and you will lose weight. If you exercise, that makes the deficit even larger - some people feel that's a good thing b/c they want to lose weight as fast as possible, however some people feel it's best to stick to the rate that they set on MFP (losing weight *too fast* can be a bad thing) so they eat back those exercise calories that they earned to keep the rate steady and not too fast.
Just for an example, I'm 5'4" and 129 lbs, MFP calculates my 'maintenance' calories to be around 1620 (my profile is set to 'sedentary' - if you choose a higher activity level, you get more calories) - so if I just ate 1620 calories per day and didn't do any extra exercise, I would theoretically maintain my current weight. However, I told MFP that I want to lose about 1/2 lb per week, so it subtracted 250 calories off of my daily maintenance amount and gave me a daily calorie goal of 1370. 1 lb of fat is 3500 calories, so by eating 250 calories per day less than my maintenance amount, I am burning off 1750 calories per week which equals to about 1/2 lb per week weightloss. I'm very close to my goal weight and don't want to lose weight too fast at this stage, so when I workout I log those exercise calories and eat them back. So if I burn 500 calories in my workout one day, instead of only eating 1370 I eat close to 1870. Since I burned those 500 calories through exercise, my *net* calories are still at about 1370, and I still lose weight at about the rate I requested.
thanks so much for explaining it for me, i understand,im still struggling with eating so much but im gonna try hard to get as close as i can ,e.g- yesterday i did 2 1/2hr cardio there way no way i would've been able to eat that bk lol, im only gonna do that long distance run once a week as ive also been told not to lose it too quick,thanks again ,bbg
You don't necessarily have to eat it all in that same day - you can spread it out over a couple of days if that's more manageable. Like if you have 500 calories leftover at the end of the day on Friday, you could eat an extra 250 on Saturday and even an extra 250 on Sunday if you wanted. It's not just a day-by-day thing, it's an average over time. Some people find it easier to spread it out like that - there's actually an official form of this called 'zig-zagging' where some days people go low on their calorie goal and other days they go a little over, and at the end of say a week for example it all averages out. I actually use that strategy if I know there's a day coming up where I'm going to go over - for example I'm planning to go to a party next Friday and I know it would be very difficult to try and add things up in my head, so what I'm going to do is go a little low on my calories for maybe 3 or 4 days leading up to the party, maybe 150-250 under my goal for a few days, then when the party comes I'll just go ahead and enjoy myself (within reason LOL) and at the end of the week going over on that that 1 day will pretty much cancel out with the days that I went under. I used this strategy at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other family gatherings and it always resulted in me continuing to lose weight that week. :-)0 -
its def all in the planning-failing to plan means your planning to fail im also a 26 yr old mum of 4 boys (+hubby lol) i'd never get anything done if i didnt plan even basic stuff0
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Those who want to will find a way, those who don't will find an excuse.0
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ok that will work great for me thank goodness u explained that to me early on (been on here only 3 days) ive been beating myself up about it. also it my birthday very soon so dropping some cals for 2 days before hand will help-i WILL drop hummus for a mojito lol i jest..........0
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Those who want to will find a way, those who don't will find an excuse.
How true.0
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