Should I be eating some of my burned Calories back?

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Moonladee
Moonladee Posts: 77 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi! I have been on MFP for a few weeks.(LOVE IT!!).

I workout about 6 days a week, and I eat between 1300 to 1600 calories a day. I burn on the avg. 700 to 1000 cal's on my workouts.. I am not losing the weight, I would think I would.. I lose one week then nothing, then lose, then nothing.. Am I putting my body in survival mode by not refueling some of the burn?

Any advice on this would be awesome!! Plus, I'd love some nice friends on here. :) But only active users please.

Thanks!
Tee
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Replies

  • nicehormones
    nicehormones Posts: 503 Member
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    I strongly urge you to eat at least some of your exercise calories back, if not all of them. I know it's hard for most people because it goes against what we have always been told. Your body needs fuel for all of the exercise you are doing. And yes, since you are netting so low, that is probably why you are not losing weight.
  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
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    I always eat them and the weight has fallen off easily.......I averaged 10lbs loss per month for a year.
  • XoSaraoX
    XoSaraoX Posts: 97 Member
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    yes eat some of them back, I have a 1200 cal a day.... the days i go to the gym 3-4 days a week i do 1.5 hrs of cardio and 20 mins of strength training, i was not eating any of them back and would only lose about 0.2 pounds a week. Now i eat SOME not all back and have been down about 1 to 3 pounds a week. (down 49ibs since July) only been on mfp for about 3 weeks though
  • DiannaMoorer
    DiannaMoorer Posts: 783 Member
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    My mom was wondering about this subject. I need to show her this thread.
  • tosmoothash
    tosmoothash Posts: 187 Member
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    Thank you for this thread bc I too have been wondering the same thing and wonder my number on the scale isn't changing by much...so now I will be sure that I eat a nice snack before bed to sort of refuel my body!!!
  • Becky_Boodle
    Becky_Boodle Posts: 253 Member
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    I strongly urge you to eat at least some of your exercise calories back, if not all of them. I know it's hard for most people because it goes against what we have always been told. Your body needs fuel for all of the exercise you are doing. And yes, since you are netting so low, that is probably why you are not losing weight.

    I totally agree!!! I make sure to eat at least some of my exercise calories back...even though it's hard sometimes!!!
  • Moonladee
    Moonladee Posts: 77 Member
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    It is hard! My stomach has shrunk.. and It does go against the grain for me! Should I go Fruit? Protein? Veggies?
  • jessie1480
    jessie1480 Posts: 132 Member
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    I enjoy a nice smoothies with protein powder after my work outs. It seems to be helping a ton and it keeps me going all day.
  • barbarajohnson
    barbarajohnson Posts: 3
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    I'm not a Registered Dietitian but my daughter and best friend are. You are only eating enough to cover your basic metabolic rate. To lose 1 to 2 lbs a week you need a deficit of 3500 to 7000 calories a week or 500 to 1000 a day. It appears that you need to eat more - start by adding a 100 calorie snack each day until you start to lose then maintain that calorie level.
  • Moonladee
    Moonladee Posts: 77 Member
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    Thank you!!! I am going to give all this great info a try! :smile:
  • Mandarz
    Mandarz Posts: 50 Member
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    im sure its been said, but you wanna make sure your NET calories are never under 1200, so if you are eating 1600 and burning 1000, you need to eat another 600 to put you at net 1200- eat more, lose more- good luck~!
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    I strongly urge you to eat at least some of your exercise calories back, if not all of them. I know it's hard for most people because it goes against what we have always been told. Your body needs fuel for all of the exercise you are doing. And yes, since you are netting so low, that is probably why you are not losing weight.

    This. Totally and completely THIS.
  • DamaliAsabyiKioni
    DamaliAsabyiKioni Posts: 38 Member
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    SOOOO thankful for this thread. I've only been on about 6 days; but I don't eat any of my exercise calories. I was wondering if that was a problem. I am going to start adding a snack at night.... tomorrow..cause it's too late to eat right now :-)
  • emmalecras
    emmalecras Posts: 79 Member
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    It does seem to go against the brain!! You think that you are fat because you eat too much!! I am now eating far more (and more regularly) that before and I am losing weight steadily each week. It is a brain struggle to keep eating but I try to get close to my calorie limits but sometimes think that it means that I am eating for the sake of it or feel that I need to make an ":unhealthy" choice to get there.

    I have seen a dietician and she has suggested that I increase protein portions as this is something that I can then work to reduce as my calorie allowance reduces.

    I don't always eat back my exercise calories (which are quite small at the moment) but these will increase as I become more mobile and able to do more intensive exercise.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    SOOOO thankful for this thread. I've only been on about 6 days; but I don't eat any of my exercise calories. I was wondering if that was a problem. I am going to start adding a snack at night.... tomorrow..cause it's too late to eat right now :-)

    Why is it too late to eat?

    I eat right before I go to bed every single night. The "Don't eat after dinner" theory has been debunked many, many times. It is shown that the reason people gain weight isn't WHEN they eat, but WHAT they are eating. Most people eat junk food (cookies, cake, chips, etc) after dinner while watching tv or reading a book. That is what caused the weight gain, NOT the time of day they were eating it. :)

    So, if you're hungry - EAT.
  • findingKylie
    findingKylie Posts: 26 Member
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    ooooooooooooh realy? Like music to my ears, this is when im fighting the hunger, i am eating less than 1200 a day so didnt know that i should be eating a bit more. THANKS!!
    SOOOO thankful for this thread. I've only been on about 6 days; but I don't eat any of my exercise calories. I was wondering if that was a problem. I am going to start adding a snack at night.... tomorrow..cause it's too late to eat right now :-)

    Why is it too late to eat?

    I eat right before I go to bed every single night. The "Don't eat after dinner" theory has been debunked many, many times. It is shown that the reason people gain weight isn't WHEN they eat, but WHAT they are eating. Most people eat junk food (cookies, cake, chips, etc) after dinner while watching tv or reading a book. That is what caused the weight gain, NOT the time of day they were eating it. :)

    So, if you're hungry - EAT.
  • Moonladee
    Moonladee Posts: 77 Member
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    It's really hard to eat back some calories. But working on it! Thank you all!
  • jifener25
    jifener25 Posts: 2
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    When I was in the army and working at least 3 times a day, i ate whatever i wanted because it would always come in under what i had burned, and was losing weight like crazy. working out gives me an incentive because i can eat without worry. If I was still working out like that I wouldn't have gained so much so quickly, because I still ate the same.
  • cantab11
    cantab11 Posts: 7
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    My trainer always told me that it's best to eat a protein bar or cookie once you have finished your workout - so you could hook into one of them, they are quite high calories so would help!

    Good luck!
  • nickyrobinson
    nickyrobinson Posts: 161 Member
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    I do think that the calories assigned to exercise by MFP can be somewhat debatable. So I usually only eat back 1/2 to 3/4 of my exercise calories, just to be on the safe side. Also, I am only set to lose 1 lb a week, so even if I go under by several hundred calories, I'm still well within the reasonable zone (at least 1200 and no more than 1000 calories under maintenance).

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