Should I be eating some of my burned Calories back?

Moonladee
Moonladee Posts: 77 Member
edited November 12 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
«1

Replies

  • nicehormones
    nicehormones Posts: 503 Member
    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
    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
    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
    My mom was wondering about this subject. I need to show her this thread.
  • tosmoothash
    tosmoothash Posts: 187 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    Thank you!!! I am going to give all this great info a try! :smile:
  • Mandarz
    Mandarz Posts: 50 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    It's really hard to eat back some calories. But working on it! Thank you all!
  • jifener25
    jifener25 Posts: 2
    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
    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
    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).
  • mallette27
    mallette27 Posts: 4
    I'm on this herbalife stuff, and the coaches say not to because then you won't lose anything. Actually, I'm gaining some weight back tho...so maybe I shouldn't listen to them? Lol
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    Always eat back!
    You gotta fuel the machine!
  • ShrinkRapt451
    ShrinkRapt451 Posts: 447 Member
    You gotta remember that MFP calculates your goal calories without any regard to your exercise, UNLESS you factor in your exercise when you tell it your activity level (in which case you wouldn't eat those calories back after exercise, because they're already accounted for in your goal). Most people don't include exercise in their activity level estimation, though.

    So if it takes 2000 calories per day to maintain your present weight (no exercise), and you tell it "2 lb per week loss", it will subtract 1000 from 2000 .... And then set your goal at 1200 (really a 1.5 lb per week goal) because it will not go below 1200 goal calories. If you eat 1200 a day, your daily deficit is 800 cals.

    If you then exercise and burn another 200, that gets you to a deficit of 1000. You don't need to eat those back.

    Burn much more, though, and you'll notice that you're fatigued. And hungry. And not losing. So EAT.

    And studies have shown that chocolate milk is the perfect post-exercise food. Fluid, carbs, fat, protein, electrolytes. All in one convenient package that does not require a blender to make. :)

    (And before you ask, the way you find out your maintenance calorie level is to go into the Goals section from My Home, set your goal to maintain your weight without exercise, and submit. That number will drop as you lose weight. Then go back and reset your real goal, but you might do better to pick 1 lb a week if you really like to see a big green number at the end of every day! If you have a goal of 1 lb per week loss, a green number up to 500 is okay.)
  • Evelyn_Gorfram
    Evelyn_Gorfram Posts: 706 Member
    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 think of it with this analogy: you can't just start a fire by holding a lighted match to a to a big hunk of wood. You need some leaves and twigs a sticks of kindking to get the fire going before the big pieces of wood can get hot enough to burn. If you're taking in too few calories, your metabolism isn't getting enough kindling to make that fat "wood" catch fire.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    I'm going to disagree with some of the opinions here (and bear in mind this is just my personal opinion, I have no medical qualifications, just the knowledge I have gained over the years from reading articles and my own experience)

    You're eating 1300-1600 per day. That's well above the minimum requirement, so that's a good start.

    You're losing weight. Maybe not steadily each week, but that's how weight comes off - it's very annoying, but that's the way it is.

    I don't know your current weight, but if you have a good bit to lose, then your body has those stores available, and isn't going to go into survival mode very quickly.

    By all means fuel your workouts with quality nutrition - but eating exercise calories should be done sensibly, it's not an automatic answer to "why am I not losing".
  • Keesh400
    Keesh400 Posts: 7
    Great Thread! I was wondering the same thing, lets me know i'm on the right track! Thank you! :smile:
  • SteveTries
    SteveTries Posts: 723 Member
    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,

    this
    this
    this

    then observe for a couple of weeks. If losing too quick then adjust upwards accordingly.
  • Lorrie_73
    Lorrie_73 Posts: 104 Member
    I agree about the calories that MFP assigns....debatable. You can edit your own calorie goal if you think they are too high. How about a protein shake after your workout? Instead of water, I add in organic coconut water and it ups the calories healthfully.
  • Moonladee
    Moonladee Posts: 77 Member
    Btw.. The chocolate milk is right. My old trainer had me drink chocolate milk after a heavy workout. But I workout a lot more then I was with my old trainer..

    He also said, wheat toast with little peanut butter and honey.. All measured out of course.

    Thanks all!!! I am still working on getting the calories back in. :)
  • JohnnysJune
    JohnnysJune Posts: 32
    Glad I found this post! I was wonder why I MAY not being losing weight like I thought I should be. I was trying so hard not to eat my exercise calories back. I will now try to eat most of them back and see what happens. Thanks everyone!!!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories