This may be a stupid question..calorie intake

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If I am set at 1200 for weight loss but I an burning from 385-600 calories working out. Do I still just consume those 1200 or do I have to consume the calories I burned? Make sense?

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  • britcurl
    britcurl Posts: 110 Member
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    You need to eat the calories you earn back from exercise!
  • jsapninz
    jsapninz Posts: 909 Member
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    You can eat them back or not if you want, if you don't eat them it will just add to your cut.
    YOU NEED to make sure you are logging them accurately with a Heart Rate Monitor, not some crap average estimator.
  • smudger_24
    smudger_24 Posts: 107 Member
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    I agree with the above, also I only eat back half. It is really up to the individual but I was set at 1200 and was burning around the same and just ate back half and it works for me x
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Depends on how that 1200 was calculated, but in most cases you'll want to eat them back.
  • ecferre
    ecferre Posts: 2
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    You're supposed to eat the calories you burn, but I do not always do that. If I'm consuming 1200 a day and feel full I don't go out of my way to eat those calories. If I work out and burn 600 I don't aim to consume 1800 that day.

    My personal trainer said that as long as I'm eating healthy foods and at about 1200 cal a day, the extra calories will be more weight lost. The positive side of it, is as your metabolism increases and you find yourself hungrier some days than other there is a reserve you can tap in to.
  • michellesk1
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    I don't eat back my workout calories, I feel like it defeats the purpose...atleast for me.
  • scottywor
    scottywor Posts: 140 Member
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    Your choice, but make sure you at least eat back your BMR. Which ever comes first.
  • thedreamhazer
    thedreamhazer Posts: 1,156 Member
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    You can eat them back or not if you want, if you don't eat them it will just add to your cut.
    YOU NEED to make sure you are logging them accurately with a Heart Rate Monitor, not some crap average estimator.

    A HRM will be more accurate, but I lost 25 lbs on this site using it's exercise calculator and eating back my calories, and many others have had even greater success without using a HRM. So you don't need a HRM if you don't have one, but they can be helpful. These days I wear a BodyMedia Fit, which has been a very helpful tool for me.
  • nikki39ryan
    nikki39ryan Posts: 7 Member
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    I have just been using myfitness pal for the calories used for exercise. Isnt this an accurate way?
  • malins2
    malins2 Posts: 154 Member
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    I eat back some of them but not all.
  • mermx
    mermx Posts: 976
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    I have just been using myfitness pal for the calories used for exercise. Isnt this an accurate way?

    It works fine for me
  • beatingobesityforlife
    beatingobesityforlife Posts: 121 Member
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    I have just been using myfitness pal for the calories used for exercise. Isnt this an accurate way?
    thats what I thought =/
  • nikki39ryan
    nikki39ryan Posts: 7 Member
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    You can eat them back or not if you want, if you don't eat them it will just add to your cut.
    YOU NEED to make sure you are logging them accurately with a Heart Rate Monitor, not some crap average estimator.

    A HRM will be more accurate, but I lost 25 lbs on this site using it's exercise calculator and eating back my calories, and many others have had even greater success without using a HRM. So you don't need a HRM if you don't have one, but they can be helpful. These days I wear a BodyMedia Fit, which has been a very helpful tool for me.

    Great thanks, think I have a HRM somewhere if it still works, I will compare with the exercise app x
  • ChadH1971
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    I just joined MyFitnessPal so I am not sure how accurate their calorie counts are, but they have to be pretty generalized. You have to remember that where exercise is concerned, how much you weigh, the amount of lean muscle versus fat you have and the heart rate you maintain while you exercise are all factors in fat metabolism (calorie burn). Your body is going to use what is easiest for it to get to first (e.g. the carbohydrates you have eaten today).
  • redcut
    redcut Posts: 176
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    eat the calories you burn especially with low calories you are at
  • foxbat2828
    foxbat2828 Posts: 391 Member
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    If I am set at 1200 for weight loss but I an burning from 385-600 calories working out. Do I still just consume those 1200 or do I have to consume the calories I burned? Make sense?

    Might I suggest eating back what you burn in exercise at least to get you where you consume your BMR at a minimum. A lot of folks will toss around 1,200 calories as a floor before hitting "starvation mode" and altering metabolism, but from what I've been able to put together from the various discussions, etc. is that 1,200 is a little too simplistic and doesn't take into account specifics about the individual. BMR tends to be tied to the individual issues like current weight, height, etc. There's PLENTY of technical explanations out there for lots of things and, as you get more and more into this, your knowledge base will grow, but probably a good simple rule of thumb is:

    Keep calories in lower than calories out and keep calories in at least at the BMR level, along with sensible exercise, and you'll see/feel results.

    One REALLY BIG CAVEAT ... be careful overestimating your workout calories. A lot of the stuff that MFP shows as default calories burned for exercise tend to be high, so if you are eating back calories, you could easily be going over on your calorie intake taking the exercise calories on MFP at face value. Whenever possible, use a heart rate monitor (HRM) to get more individualistic/accurate assessment of your true calorie burn. If you don't have an HRM, the next best thing to do is enter you info on the gym machines and use the calorie readout there as opposed to the MFP exercise database numbers.
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
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    If I am set at 1200 for weight loss but I an burning from 385-600 calories working out. Do I still just consume those 1200 or do I have to consume the calories I burned? Make sense?

    to maintain the defict you chose, yes you need to eat them back.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/206951-asked-my-trainer-re-eating-back-calories
  • N_Bridgeman
    N_Bridgeman Posts: 45 Member
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    MFP's goal of 1200 is already putting you at a deficit to reach your goal. If you exercise and don't eat them back, you are not going to be getting enough fuel for your body. You want to make sure at the end you NET around your goal so that you are keeping up your metabolism, and still losing. You want to be able to maintain the wightloss, slow and steady wins the race. As people have mentioned though, try to be as accurate as possible on your diary, exercise, etc.
  • 9jenn9
    9jenn9 Posts: 309 Member
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    I just joined MyFitnessPal so I am not sure how accurate their calorie counts are, but they have to be pretty generalized. You have to remember that where exercise is concerned, how much you weigh, the amount of lean muscle versus fat you have and the heart rate you maintain while you exercise are all factors in fat metabolism (calorie burn). Your body is going to use what is easiest for it to get to first (e.g. the carbohydrates you have eaten today).

    ^^I agree. For example, when I take a spin class, I burn 300-400 calories (per heart rate monitor). My instructor, who is smaller and very fit, burns about 200. Example 2: When I run on my treadmill, I only burn about 2/3 of the calories my treadmill estimates. I have heard that calorie estimators use a average sized man as the "model" for how calories are estimated. So if you're about that size, the estimators will be pretty accurate for you. If you're much lighter/heavier etc, the estimate will be less accurate.