Someone decode this "eat your workout calories back" shiz fo

124»

Replies

  • OK I get the eat back calories thing, mine is 1450 daily, that's ok but here is my problem:
    I do exercise 3X a week and I burn about 1000 to 1300cal at each workout. If I want to eat back all that with food I will bust my daily sugar, fat and etc...... The way I see it, my only solution is to take some protein shake very low in sugar.
    It's been only a month since I got back to workout and I have 15pound to loose (or 4% fat) and I lost 2 pound so far (meanly water I gest) but I think I will get to that problem of my body getting in starvation mode because of my cal deficit.

    What do you peoples think. ???!!!!

    No use asking me I'm Welsh!! lmao

    Seriously, I'm not to sure like you I get the principle but how to actually do it I ain;t a bleeding clue yet, but I do get the why bit.

    Sometime I fell it's more like a voodoo thing. FEEL GOOD and it's going to work.!!

    BTW: it there a cal count for laughing very hard on MFP :-)
  • "EAT THEM" -- ditto

    It's true that calories out > calories in = weight loss...but if you're not close to your BMR (several factors influence what you actually need before your body starts storing extra fat, i.e. "starvation mode") you can lose lean muscle, which helps drive fat loss.

    Know your BMR, figure out your maintenance calories and use those as your guide. It will take some trial and error, but it works.

    Often when people hit a plateau, it's because they aren't eating enough -- especially when they're smaller and close to a goal.

    This isn't an overnight solution. Each person is different and can tolerate different amounts of weight loss per week (if you break it down per week), but if you're a 145 lb person trying to get to 135 with 15% body fat, you have to go about it differently than a 350 lb person with 40% body fat.

    I am going to give it a week, up my calories and continue working out like crazy. Hopefully I will see SOME progress, but I know for sure my workouts are going to be a lot better when there is fuel to burn. Thanks!

    You can't do something for a week and expect results. You need to do something for a month at least to allow your body to adjust to the additional calories. Also, beach body suggest no less than 1800 calories for those doing p90x and more for those who are more active or already fit. I eat at level 3 - 3000 calories and don't have an issue losing. Keep in mind, food is fuel so if you don't fuel the body, it will conserve energy as much as possible.

    Good point. I honestly can't imagine eating over 1500 cals and not feeling guilty but you are right, I have to give my body more time to adjust. And if everything else fails I will just resort to an eating disorder, that seems to work for others. LMAO! ; )
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
    Ok, I am interested... you got me at Stop All Cardio.... When you say I should continue P90X, that includes cardio workouts so I am confused.

    At this point, I am willing to try anything and everytihng, if someone will tell me to go and eat tree bark because that's what really works I would probably be grinding the trees in the park because I am so frustrated and emotionally drained from this fight!
    Heh, you're right, my apologies. It's been a long time since I've done P90X, and I forgot about the plyo and cardio, just remembered it as resistance training. An easier test if it's feasible for you is to just go to an endocrinologist and get your T3 levels tested. I would be surprised if you were not burning at least ~400-500 calories in a P90X workout, and with your current caloric intake you should DEFINITELY be seeing weight drop quickly, which is what suggested potential thyroid issues to me.

    Check out http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid/hypothyroidism-too-little-thyroid-hormone and see if you have been experiencing any symptoms. If not, then sorry if I alarmed you.

    As always, take what you read on the net with a grain of salt, and if in doubt, consult with a doctor!

    You seriously may want to consider resistance training. I know it is anathema to most women, but you may find it a lot more effective than cardio (it definitely was for my wife). It will also not turn you into a hulking behemoth, like most people seem to believe (if only it were that easy :P). Intermittent fasting and/or LeanGains diet may also be worth looking into, but verify your thyroid function is not compromised before starting anything like that. Personally, I have seen unbelievable results with IF/LeanGains+barbells/bodyweight training, but it involves micromanaging your diet, and is probably more than most people really want to deal with.

    I hope this is helpful. Sorry for any earlier confusion :)
  • e
  • staceyseeger
    staceyseeger Posts: 778 Member
    bump for later
  • jimmie25
    jimmie25 Posts: 266
    oh well, this has been on so many threads...

    i'm not surprised you're not losing weight when you exercise a lot and all you give your body is 1200 kcals... starvation mode and that you know... the body needs the fuel tokeep your metabolsim going at a certain rate. once it doesnt get the fuel, it just hangs on to whatever there is to hang on to.
  • It doesnt work because your body goes into starvation mode and tries to hang on to all of its fat stores. Its a great survivial mechanism when you go through times of plenty and times not so plenty when hunting in the woods. But now that we have all the food available to us all the time, our bodies dont know that and still kick into survival mode when it is not sure when the next meal is coming. If you up your calorie intake .... and preferably eat every 2-3 hrs, then your body will learn that there is always food coming and it will try to use it up before its next meal. Remember our bodies are made of hormones working together and a fine tuned system that wants to survive, not a mathmatical equation. Hope this helps at all and good luck!

    This is a great post. Right on point!
  • sharonspencer1
    sharonspencer1 Posts: 2 Member
    lol hi am glad am not the only 1 confused at this, I thought that not eating my workout calories back wud enable me to loose more??? But av only started this week, so I will see on mond wen I weigh again!! If any1 can explain this wud be grateful!!
  • I agree Maya.
  • sharonspencer1
    sharonspencer1 Posts: 2 Member
    Thankyou I hav read ur info, it is starting to make sense!!!!!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    Ok, I am interested... you got me at Stop All Cardio.... When you say I should continue P90X, that includes cardio workouts so I am confused.

    At this point, I am willing to try anything and everytihng, if someone will tell me to go and eat tree bark because that's what really works I would probably be grinding the trees in the park because I am so frustrated and emotionally drained from this fight!
    Heh, you're right, my apologies. It's been a long time since I've done P90X, and I forgot about the plyo and cardio, just remembered it as resistance training. An easier test if it's feasible for you is to just go to an endocrinologist and get your T3 levels tested. I would be surprised if you were not burning at least ~400-500 calories in a P90X workout, and with your current caloric intake you should DEFINITELY be seeing weight drop quickly, which is what suggested potential thyroid issues to me.

    Check out http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid/hypothyroidism-too-little-thyroid-hormone and see if you have been experiencing any symptoms. If not, then sorry if I alarmed you.

    As always, take what you read on the net with a grain of salt, and if in doubt, consult with a doctor!

    You seriously may want to consider resistance training. I know it is anathema to most women, but you may find it a lot more effective than cardio (it definitely was for my wife). It will also not turn you into a hulking behemoth, like most people seem to believe (if only it were that easy :P). Intermittent fasting and/or LeanGains diet may also be worth looking into, but verify your thyroid function is not compromised before starting anything like that. Personally, I have seen unbelievable results with IF/LeanGains+barbells/bodyweight training, but it involves micromanaging your diet, and is probably more than most people really want to deal with.

    I hope this is helpful. Sorry for any earlier confusion :)

    The only problem is, sometimes large deficits can cause huge issues. I did a round of P90X at 1800-2000 calories (I'm a 5'11, 200 lb guy) and i didn't lose weight. Not until I realized i was eating below my metabolic rate and that I wasn't properly feeding my body and up my calories to 2800 did I actually lose on this program. So it may or may not be a thyroid problem, but more often than not, it's malnourishment that is the problem; at least this is the case with all the people I have worked with on this board.
  • Ok, I am interested... you got me at Stop All Cardio.... When you say I should continue P90X, that includes cardio workouts so I am confused.

    At this point, I am willing to try anything and everytihng, if someone will tell me to go and eat tree bark because that's what really works I would probably be grinding the trees in the park because I am so frustrated and emotionally drained from this fight!
    Heh, you're right, my apologies. It's been a long time since I've done P90X, and I forgot about the plyo and cardio, just remembered it as resistance training. An easier test if it's feasible for you is to just go to an endocrinologist and get your T3 levels tested. I would be surprised if you were not burning at least ~400-500 calories in a P90X workout, and with your current caloric intake you should DEFINITELY be seeing weight drop quickly, which is what suggested potential thyroid issues to me.

    Check out http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid/hypothyroidism-too-little-thyroid-hormone and see if you have been experiencing any symptoms. If not, then sorry if I alarmed you.

    As always, take what you read on the net with a grain of salt, and if in doubt, consult with a doctor!

    You seriously may want to consider resistance training. I know it is anathema to most women, but you may find it a lot more effective than cardio (it definitely was for my wife). It will also not turn you into a hulking behemoth, like most people seem to believe (if only it were that easy :P). Intermittent fasting and/or LeanGains diet may also be worth looking into, but verify your thyroid function is not compromised before starting anything like that. Personally, I have seen unbelievable results with IF/LeanGains+barbells/bodyweight training, but it involves micromanaging your diet, and is probably more than most people really want to deal with.

    I hope this is helpful. Sorry for any earlier confusion :)

    Thank you!
    About micromanaging your diet, I have been doing it on and off for at least 15 years so I am used to that. : )

    Thanks for all the advise, I have an annual check up coming up and I will definitely ask to have my thyroid checked just to be sure.

    In regards to the comments that my body is in starvation mode - it's possible, but I would still have to lose SOME weight considering how hard I have been working out so me not losing anything at all just doesn't make sense.

    Yes, we build muscle and it weighs more, but I would have to push iron like crazy to gain pounds of muslce to replace pounds of fat (that I am supposedly losing).
  • Ok, I am interested... you got me at Stop All Cardio.... When you say I should continue P90X, that includes cardio workouts so I am confused.

    At this point, I am willing to try anything and everytihng, if someone will tell me to go and eat tree bark because that's what really works I would probably be grinding the trees in the park because I am so frustrated and emotionally drained from this fight!
    Heh, you're right, my apologies. It's been a long time since I've done P90X, and I forgot about the plyo and cardio, just remembered it as resistance training. An easier test if it's feasible for you is to just go to an endocrinologist and get your T3 levels tested. I would be surprised if you were not burning at least ~400-500 calories in a P90X workout, and with your current caloric intake you should DEFINITELY be seeing weight drop quickly, which is what suggested potential thyroid issues to me.

    Check out http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid/hypothyroidism-too-little-thyroid-hormone and see if you have been experiencing any symptoms. If not, then sorry if I alarmed you.

    As always, take what you read on the net with a grain of salt, and if in doubt, consult with a doctor!

    You seriously may want to consider resistance training. I know it is anathema to most women, but you may find it a lot more effective than cardio (it definitely was for my wife). It will also not turn you into a hulking behemoth, like most people seem to believe (if only it were that easy :P). Intermittent fasting and/or LeanGains diet may also be worth looking into, but verify your thyroid function is not compromised before starting anything like that. Personally, I have seen unbelievable results with IF/LeanGains+barbells/bodyweight training, but it involves micromanaging your diet, and is probably more than most people really want to deal with.

    I hope this is helpful. Sorry for any earlier confusion :)

    The only problem is, sometimes large deficits can cause huge issues. I did a round of P90X at 1800-2000 calories (I'm a 5'11, 200 lb guy) and i didn't lose weight. Not until I realized i was eating below my metabolic rate and that I wasn't properly feeding my body and up my calories to 2800 did I actually lose on this program. So it may or may not be a thyroid problem, but more often than not, it's malnourishment that is the problem; at least this is the case with all the people I have worked with on this board.

    I am eating more as of yesterday :smile: , last night I couldn't sleep because I was so stuffed after dinner! If I start gaining like crazy I will know I am doing something wrong. I know I should expect some initial weight gain but I hope it's not enough to freak me out!
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
    Ok, I am interested... you got me at Stop All Cardio.... When you say I should continue P90X, that includes cardio workouts so I am confused.

    At this point, I am willing to try anything and everytihng, if someone will tell me to go and eat tree bark because that's what really works I would probably be grinding the trees in the park because I am so frustrated and emotionally drained from this fight!
    Heh, you're right, my apologies. It's been a long time since I've done P90X, and I forgot about the plyo and cardio, just remembered it as resistance training. An easier test if it's feasible for you is to just go to an endocrinologist and get your T3 levels tested. I would be surprised if you were not burning at least ~400-500 calories in a P90X workout, and with your current caloric intake you should DEFINITELY be seeing weight drop quickly, which is what suggested potential thyroid issues to me.

    Check out http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid/hypothyroidism-too-little-thyroid-hormone and see if you have been experiencing any symptoms. If not, then sorry if I alarmed you.

    As always, take what you read on the net with a grain of salt, and if in doubt, consult with a doctor!

    You seriously may want to consider resistance training. I know it is anathema to most women, but you may find it a lot more effective than cardio (it definitely was for my wife). It will also not turn you into a hulking behemoth, like most people seem to believe (if only it were that easy :P). Intermittent fasting and/or LeanGains diet may also be worth looking into, but verify your thyroid function is not compromised before starting anything like that. Personally, I have seen unbelievable results with IF/LeanGains+barbells/bodyweight training, but it involves micromanaging your diet, and is probably more than most people really want to deal with.

    I hope this is helpful. Sorry for any earlier confusion :)

    The only problem is, sometimes large deficits can cause huge issues. I did a round of P90X at 1800-2000 calories (I'm a 5'11, 200 lb guy) and i didn't lose weight. Not until I realized i was eating below my metabolic rate and that I wasn't properly feeding my body and up my calories to 2800 did I actually lose on this program. So it may or may not be a thyroid problem, but more often than not, it's malnourishment that is the problem; at least this is the case with all the people I have worked with on this board.
    The "starvation mode" thing is a combination of hormonal changes that lead to downregulation of metabolism. For women, thyroid is typically the problem. For men, leptin resistance is more common (this is based upon the various studies I have read). Large deficits are not necessarily an issue, but large deficits + cardio will typically not yield the desired results. Also, insufficient calories for recovery will compromise workout intensity, which will lead to inferior results.

    A good solution for both issues is to stop cardio (AFAIK cardio won't contribute to leptin resistance, but cardio in a leptin resistant state is not helpful, or particularly healthy), and switch to a high protein, lower carb, no/low sugar diet, e.g. paleo. Note that I am not paleo, nor do I currently have any real interest in it, but from what I have read, it does seem to be helpful with these issues.

    In my opinion, and based upon observation (I'm sure you can corroborate this with your experience), cardio is generally NOT a good solution for people looking to lose body fat. How many people do you know who have been doing cardio for weeks/months/years with minimal results?

    On a personal note, I just spent ~3 months unable to work out due to injury/illness (during the holiday season as well!), and ended up gaining 5 pounds of fat, and losing some significant muscle mass. Starting in January (yay new years resolutions! :P) I went on an IF diet with 3 days/week of high weight, lower volume resistance training (1400 calories on non-training days, 2400 on training days). In 3 weeks, I lost 5 pounds, and went from 10.5 to 7.5% body fat. Diet+resistance training works for fat loss. I have never been able to get results like that with cardio (I DID see good results with Insanity, likely due to fairly consistently crossing the anaerobic threshold, but the effort was a lot more, and the results inferior to <3 hrs a week of weight training). My wife similarly spent YEARS calorie restricted and doing cardio without seeing the results she wanted. Switching to resistance training gave immediately noticeable results.

    This is all based on ~5 years of trying everything under the sun to see what works best for me/friends/family. YMMV.
  • chickybuns
    chickybuns Posts: 1,037 Member
    Eat them, at least most of them. You are probably burning 500-600 calories with intense workouts like those. I would suggest not going below 1200 net. There have been many people who ate more and then started losing. If you're afraid, ease in slowly, like add 100 for a week, and so on.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    Ok, I am interested... you got me at Stop All Cardio.... When you say I should continue P90X, that includes cardio workouts so I am confused.

    At this point, I am willing to try anything and everytihng, if someone will tell me to go and eat tree bark because that's what really works I would probably be grinding the trees in the park because I am so frustrated and emotionally drained from this fight!
    Heh, you're right, my apologies. It's been a long time since I've done P90X, and I forgot about the plyo and cardio, just remembered it as resistance training. An easier test if it's feasible for you is to just go to an endocrinologist and get your T3 levels tested. I would be surprised if you were not burning at least ~400-500 calories in a P90X workout, and with your current caloric intake you should DEFINITELY be seeing weight drop quickly, which is what suggested potential thyroid issues to me.

    Check out http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid/hypothyroidism-too-little-thyroid-hormone and see if you have been experiencing any symptoms. If not, then sorry if I alarmed you.

    As always, take what you read on the net with a grain of salt, and if in doubt, consult with a doctor!

    You seriously may want to consider resistance training. I know it is anathema to most women, but you may find it a lot more effective than cardio (it definitely was for my wife). It will also not turn you into a hulking behemoth, like most people seem to believe (if only it were that easy :P). Intermittent fasting and/or LeanGains diet may also be worth looking into, but verify your thyroid function is not compromised before starting anything like that. Personally, I have seen unbelievable results with IF/LeanGains+barbells/bodyweight training, but it involves micromanaging your diet, and is probably more than most people really want to deal with.

    I hope this is helpful. Sorry for any earlier confusion :)

    The only problem is, sometimes large deficits can cause huge issues. I did a round of P90X at 1800-2000 calories (I'm a 5'11, 200 lb guy) and i didn't lose weight. Not until I realized i was eating below my metabolic rate and that I wasn't properly feeding my body and up my calories to 2800 did I actually lose on this program. So it may or may not be a thyroid problem, but more often than not, it's malnourishment that is the problem; at least this is the case with all the people I have worked with on this board.
    The "starvation mode" thing is a combination of hormonal changes that lead to downregulation of metabolism. For women, thyroid is typically the problem. For men, leptin resistance is more common (this is based upon the various studies I have read). Large deficits are not necessarily an issue, but large deficits + cardio will typically not yield the desired results. Also, insufficient calories for recovery will compromise workout intensity, which will lead to inferior results.

    A good solution for both issues is to stop cardio (AFAIK cardio won't contribute to leptin resistance, but cardio in a leptin resistant state is not helpful, or particularly healthy), and switch to a high protein, lower carb, no/low sugar diet, e.g. paleo. Note that I am not paleo, nor do I currently have any real interest in it, but from what I have read, it does seem to be helpful with these issues.

    In my opinion, and based upon observation (I'm sure you can corroborate this with your experience), cardio is generally NOT a good solution for people looking to lose body fat. How many people do you know who have been doing cardio for weeks/months/years with minimal results?

    On a personal note, I just spent ~3 months unable to work out due to injury/illness (during the holiday season as well!), and ended up gaining 5 pounds of fat, and losing some significant muscle mass. Starting in January (yay new years resolutions! :P) I went on an IF diet with 3 days/week of high weight, lower volume resistance training (1400 calories on non-training days, 2400 on training days). In 3 weeks, I lost 5 pounds, and went from 10.5 to 7.5% body fat. Diet+resistance training works for fat loss. I have never been able to get results like that with cardio (I DID see good results with Insanity, likely due to fairly consistently crossing the anaerobic threshold, but the effort was a lot more, and the results inferior to <3 hrs a week of weight training). My wife similarly spent YEARS calorie restricted and doing cardio without seeing the results she wanted. Switching to resistance training gave immediately noticeable results.

    This is all based on ~5 years of trying everything under the sun to see what works best for me/friends/family. YMMV.

    I completely agree with you. I think Cardio is generally a waste. I like P90X2 because you aren't doing traditional cardio and focus more on plyometrics which keeps me in my anaerobic threshold. So far I have been able to get down to 12% body fat from 18% over 6 months which moderate diet. I have pushed a bit more recently but I still have pizza every other week and borritos about the same.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator


    I am eating more as of yesterday :smile: , last night I couldn't sleep because I was so stuffed after dinner! If I start gaining like crazy I will know I am doing something wrong. I know I should expect some initial weight gain but I hope it's not enough to freak me out!

    If that is the case, try to eat more through out the day or start to cook stuff in extra virgin olive oil as it adds calories but won't affect the amount of food to digest.
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
    Ok, I am interested... you got me at Stop All Cardio.... When you say I should continue P90X, that includes cardio workouts so I am confused.

    At this point, I am willing to try anything and everytihng, if someone will tell me to go and eat tree bark because that's what really works I would probably be grinding the trees in the park because I am so frustrated and emotionally drained from this fight!
    Heh, you're right, my apologies. It's been a long time since I've done P90X, and I forgot about the plyo and cardio, just remembered it as resistance training. An easier test if it's feasible for you is to just go to an endocrinologist and get your T3 levels tested. I would be surprised if you were not burning at least ~400-500 calories in a P90X workout, and with your current caloric intake you should DEFINITELY be seeing weight drop quickly, which is what suggested potential thyroid issues to me.

    Check out http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid/hypothyroidism-too-little-thyroid-hormone and see if you have been experiencing any symptoms. If not, then sorry if I alarmed you.

    As always, take what you read on the net with a grain of salt, and if in doubt, consult with a doctor!

    You seriously may want to consider resistance training. I know it is anathema to most women, but you may find it a lot more effective than cardio (it definitely was for my wife). It will also not turn you into a hulking behemoth, like most people seem to believe (if only it were that easy :P). Intermittent fasting and/or LeanGains diet may also be worth looking into, but verify your thyroid function is not compromised before starting anything like that. Personally, I have seen unbelievable results with IF/LeanGains+barbells/bodyweight training, but it involves micromanaging your diet, and is probably more than most people really want to deal with.

    I hope this is helpful. Sorry for any earlier confusion :)

    The only problem is, sometimes large deficits can cause huge issues. I did a round of P90X at 1800-2000 calories (I'm a 5'11, 200 lb guy) and i didn't lose weight. Not until I realized i was eating below my metabolic rate and that I wasn't properly feeding my body and up my calories to 2800 did I actually lose on this program. So it may or may not be a thyroid problem, but more often than not, it's malnourishment that is the problem; at least this is the case with all the people I have worked with on this board.
    The "starvation mode" thing is a combination of hormonal changes that lead to downregulation of metabolism. For women, thyroid is typically the problem. For men, leptin resistance is more common (this is based upon the various studies I have read). Large deficits are not necessarily an issue, but large deficits + cardio will typically not yield the desired results. Also, insufficient calories for recovery will compromise workout intensity, which will lead to inferior results.

    A good solution for both issues is to stop cardio (AFAIK cardio won't contribute to leptin resistance, but cardio in a leptin resistant state is not helpful, or particularly healthy), and switch to a high protein, lower carb, no/low sugar diet, e.g. paleo. Note that I am not paleo, nor do I currently have any real interest in it, but from what I have read, it does seem to be helpful with these issues.

    In my opinion, and based upon observation (I'm sure you can corroborate this with your experience), cardio is generally NOT a good solution for people looking to lose body fat. How many people do you know who have been doing cardio for weeks/months/years with minimal results?

    On a personal note, I just spent ~3 months unable to work out due to injury/illness (during the holiday season as well!), and ended up gaining 5 pounds of fat, and losing some significant muscle mass. Starting in January (yay new years resolutions! :P) I went on an IF diet with 3 days/week of high weight, lower volume resistance training (1400 calories on non-training days, 2400 on training days). In 3 weeks, I lost 5 pounds, and went from 10.5 to 7.5% body fat. Diet+resistance training works for fat loss. I have never been able to get results like that with cardio (I DID see good results with Insanity, likely due to fairly consistently crossing the anaerobic threshold, but the effort was a lot more, and the results inferior to <3 hrs a week of weight training). My wife similarly spent YEARS calorie restricted and doing cardio without seeing the results she wanted. Switching to resistance training gave immediately noticeable results.

    This is all based on ~5 years of trying everything under the sun to see what works best for me/friends/family. YMMV.

    I completely agree with you. I think Cardio is generally a waste. I like P90X2 because you aren't doing traditional cardio and focus more on plyometrics which keeps me in my anaerobic threshold. So far I have been able to get down to 12% body fat from 18% over 6 months which moderate diet. I have pushed a bit more recently but I still have pizza every other week and borritos about the same.
    I love plyo and heavy bag. I am looking forward to adding them back in once I finish getting rid of the last of my pesky abdominal fat (soooooo close!) and can start carrying a calorie surplus. Right now it would hurt my ability to recover from the punishing resistance training too much :/
This discussion has been closed.