eating more when exercising?...

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kis5294
kis5294 Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi I'm kinda new at this but I noticed when I added an exercise it gave me more calories I can eat. I feel like this makes sense if I was trying to maintain my weight but I'm trying to lose it. Do this help me lose weight or should I just eat 12000 calories?

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  • ALH1981
    ALH1981 Posts: 538 Member
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    12000 calories is a lot, i dontthink you will lose weight with that amount!! ;)
  • kis5294
    kis5294 Posts: 8 Member
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    hahaha oops! I mean 1200!
  • ALH1981
    ALH1981 Posts: 538 Member
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    wish i could help more - i am tryingtofigure it all out myself!
  • Skinny_Beans
    Skinny_Beans Posts: 405 Member
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    bump-I usually back some of my exercise calories if i'm hungry, but I also wonder if I should.
  • lunalulu2
    lunalulu2 Posts: 63 Member
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    I suggest searching exercise calories on the forum. You will get a ton of results. This is a frequently debated topic.

    I always ate back the majority of mine (leaving a few to account for overestimations by MFP.) I lost 80lbs in 14 months and have been maintaining my goal weight since November.
  • Cosmic_Unicorn
    Cosmic_Unicorn Posts: 150 Member
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    1200 calories isn't enough if you are exercising. You don't need to eat them all back (in fact you probably shouldn't, MFP tends to overestimate exercise calories) but you should eat some if you are hungry. Your weight loss journey should be about treating your body right, through healthy eating and exercising, not starving yourself. =)

    People will tell you not to eat them and that's fine too. Everyone is different, and different methods have worked for everyone here. I have lost 60 pounds eating all my exercise calories, but others will have different success stories too.
  • atjays
    atjays Posts: 798 Member
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    If you're eating the bare minimum of 1200 calories, you really should eat back all of your exercise calories. One good cardio session can burn upwards of 1000 calories, which is almost like you didn't eat at all that day. Sure you may lose a few pounds quickly, but most people find out they need to up their calories later on to continue losing weight. If you figure the average person requires around 2000 calories a day, you can figure if you ate that much and just worked out, youd have a good calorie deficit and not have to eat back your calories .
  • beckylawrence70
    beckylawrence70 Posts: 752 Member
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    If you're hungry, then eat, I don't think anyone should eat all the exercise calories back if you're not hungry......
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    MFP has already subtracted the calories you need to lose weight out of your daily goal. Exercising uses more calories than your daily goal plans for, so it adds those calories in to keep your goal consistent.

    Example - 2000 calories to maintain weight.

    MFP goal - 1500 calories includes a 500 calorie deficit to lose a pound a week.

    Now you exercise and burn 500 calories. This increases your maintenance calories from 2000 to 2500.

    So now MFP adjusts your calorie goal to account for it, 2500-500=2000.

    This keeps your calorie deficit at a safe level to maximize fat loss and minimize muscle loss.
  • alise_lmx
    alise_lmx Posts: 292 Member
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    I usually eat at least some of them back. When i exercise I get hungrier anyway, and if I try not to eat them back I usually will get so hungry that I binge on bad stuff. So now after a good workout, I try to have some protein at least, or something simple like a banana. I guess it just depends on how hungry you are after you work out!

    And don't let it get to you if people freak out on you for posting this topic, lol. It's one of the mfp battle zones - to eat or not to eat the exercise calories. I think it's a good question for when you start out, because honestly I was confused too.
  • ALH1981
    ALH1981 Posts: 538 Member
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    If you're eating the bare minimum of 1200 calories, you really should eat back all of your exercise calories. One good cardio session can burn upwards of 1000 calories, which is almost like you didn't eat at all that day. Sure you may lose a few pounds quickly, but most people find out they need to up their calories later on to continue losing weight. If you figure the average person requires around 2000 calories a day, you can figure if you ate that much and just worked out, youd have a good calorie deficit and not have to eat back your calories .

    what cardio session burns 1000 calories??? i need to get in on that workout!!!! i run for 40 minutes and only burn through 300?
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Yes you should eat more when you exercise. If you eat the calories that MFP suggests (plus the ones from exercising) you still have a calorie deficit to lose weight.

    It's up to you if you "only eat when hungry". Personally I tried that for 43 years and ended up obese. Eating regularly (even if I don't feel particularly hungry) for the last year has me thinner, happier and healthier than ever before. I think a lot of people who are overweight don't have a great relationship with food and trusting to "hunger" is a risky strategy.

    I'm also not a big fan of creating a really large calorie deficit (which is what you do if you don't eat you exercise calories) - I think it sets up an unsustainable pattern of eating that isn't going to help you in the long term.
  • lilcmac22
    lilcmac22 Posts: 47 Member
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    You are correct in your observation about adding exercise will add to your calorie number. The process is 80% diet and 20% exercise. Do you have to exercise to lose weight? Not really, but it helps. Remember mfp's system is designed so if you follow the plan, your caloric intake is reduced automatically to a number allowing you to lose weight just by eating how many calories they tell you to.
    You will quickly learn on the boards there is a debate about eating exercise calories back. Some agree, some don't, and some are in the middle. The important thing is to make sure you get at least 1200 calories a day. You want to lose weight by reducing calories, but if you reduce them too much then you are hurting your body instead of helping. Search "starvation mode" and read what about it. Some people have actually found if they eat more calories and exercise, they lose more weight than they did when they were eating less.
    I would go to the exercise/fitness board and one of the top options tacked in red talks says something like read if you are new or hot topics. Read about eating back exercise calories and the importance of it. There are a few really good, clear articles on the topic. Hope it helps!
  • kis5294
    kis5294 Posts: 8 Member
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    thanks guys! your comments really helped!! :)

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