Do you and should I eat back my calories burned?

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  • Milliebear66
    Milliebear66 Posts: 23 Member
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    I don't make a point of it. I eat if I'm hungry. I don't eat if I'm not. I choose healthy foods (most of the time).

    People will give you arguments on both sides, whether you should or shouldn't. But I'll tell you to figure out what works for you and do that. Some people do find they have better losses when they eat their exercise calories back, so don't not do it because you think it will slow your losses.

    If you can eat more and have larger losses, then why not?

    But others find they gain if they eat those calories back. Give it a few weeks before you decide which works for you.

    Many thanks for this. I am 5ft, weight was 9st 2lbs and have now got down to 7st 12lbs by eating 1000 calories a day (this was before I discovered this site) I now track most days and also log my activities. I do tend to eat some of my activity calories but was weighed last night and have put on 1.5 lbs (since my last weigh in 3 weeks ago) I realise it's not a huge amount but I would, ideally like to lose that 1.5 lbs plus a couple more and keep them off but I find it very very difficult. I have put my stats in again and they gave me 1200 calories per day .... any advice would be greatly received, thanks :)

    Honestly, the best advice I can give is to play around with your calories and see what works. But also look at what you've eaten. A lot of sodium close to weighing yourself can show a false gain (water retention rather than fat).

    Also, 110 pounds is pretty much a healthy range weight for your height, so losing more can be slow and difficult. And fluctuations are normal.

    Many thanks for your reply, very helpful .. I will take note :)
  • Carim007
    Carim007 Posts: 45 Member
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    Oops ... Forgot to mention the piece of advice heybales gave me :

    As you weight goes down, every 5 lbs, do not forget to adjust your daily goal which will also go down ...

    Cheers
  • AnneGenevieveS
    AnneGenevieveS Posts: 441 Member
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    I always eat my exercise calories back!

    Your deficit stays the same because you already burning off those extra calories you're eating.

    I am ALWAYS hungry, so I love getting extra calories! haha
  • mjszot
    mjszot Posts: 3 Member
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    I try not to eat back the burned calories. The answer to your question is: only if you are uncomfortably hungry and you want to lose the weight as quickly as possible. You may be a little hungry and that's ok. But if you find yourself starving, light headed, dizzy, nauseous, etc., eat something with protein and a few carbs.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I try not to eat back the burned calories. The answer to your question is: only if you are uncomfortably hungry and you want to lose the weight as quickly as possible. You may be a little hungry and that's ok. But if you find yourself starving, light headed, dizzy, nauseous, etc., eat something with protein and a few carbs.

    A better way to phrase this would be if you are fine if a large % of your loss come from lean muscle, not fat, then don't eat them. If you want to retain the majority of your lean muscle then eat them and change your goal to 0.5 or 1 lb/week.