To eat or not to eat!!!!!!!!

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angie73c
angie73c Posts: 9
in Health and Weight Loss
I am desperate to lose weight and it's just not shifting!!!!!!! I am earning extra calories most days through cardio and running but the question is do I eat these extra calories or stick with the 1200? Please help :sad:

Replies

  • BeautyAndTheGeeks
    BeautyAndTheGeeks Posts: 109
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    Eat them.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    eat them
  • CraftyPayne
    CraftyPayne Posts: 41
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    Eat them as you have earned them :O)
  • nosila96
    nosila96 Posts: 25
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    If you want to lose weight, stick with eating1200 calories

    What would be the point of working out if you're just going to put the calories back on?
  • KaylaBlu2019
    KaylaBlu2019 Posts: 118 Member
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    Eat them. Look at is this way: Your body just used up the base calories you NEED to sustain and still lose weight on a workout. Now you must replace those calories because you used them. You will still lose.

    EDIT: Also, if you don't eat them, it actually hinders your bodies metabolism. Basically, your metabolism is still trying to burn but there's no fuel for it. If you do not eat them as some have suggested, you can actually stop losing because your body goes into a starvation mode and slows your metabolism.

    More active people need more calories - it is still the same with those who are losing weight: if you do more activity you need to eat a little more to sustain being able to do those activities and still have energy for the rest of the day.
  • littleblonde200
    littleblonde200 Posts: 95
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    Eat at least some of them back.. It seems to be about finding something that works for you. What works for me won't work for you. Its really confusing to think we have to eat more to lose more. Maybe for 2 week try eating 1/2 of them back and see what happens then for 2 weeks eat them all back and see what happens. I struggle to eat more but i try and aim to eat between 1400-1500 a day. What you need to remember is that 1200 is the minimum you need to eat to keep your body going and not the maximun you need to eat to lose weight
  • Rylie324
    Rylie324 Posts: 60 Member
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    Eat them! I usually eat at least half of what I burn. I eat back with fruits/veggies, or my favorite avocado!
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    I posted this earlier today in response to a similar question:

    Are you using MFP to calculate your calories? If so, you should eat them.
    Are you using another calculator to work out your daily calories? If so, you should check to see if they are already included, which is most likely. In this case, don't eat them.

    EVERY calorie calculator I've ever seen suggests that you eat more if you are more active - MFP just adds them on after you've done the exercise instead of taking a guess up front about what you MIGHT do.

    Why deprive your body of the nutrition it needs to stay healthy? 1200 cals isn't a magic number, but it is a pretty low amount of calories and if you've been eating at that level and it's not working, the only thing to do if you want different results is to try a different strategy.
  • tremilla
    tremilla Posts: 98 Member
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    You have to eat them. I stopped losing weight because I was under eating. This site has changed all of that. Im still struggling a bit but thats to be expected. Once I started counting, the scale started moving. Eat those calories!!!
  • jackieb1977
    jackieb1977 Posts: 195 Member
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    well i had the same problem at first it came off quick then for the past 2-3 months it has stopped or maybe a pound a month, the past two weeks i have increased my exercise so i have continued to eat only my base kcals of 1250 and not eat any exercise cals back this week i have lost 4lbs!!

    some eat some say dont, i think you have to try diffrent methods and see what works for you, i try something diffrent every week, this week i shall be only eating an extra 500kcal from my exercise to see if that makes a diffrence, if i dont lose i shall go back to not eating any exercise kcals.

    good luck:smile:
  • Lesley2901
    Lesley2901 Posts: 372 Member
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    Eat them! I usually eat at least half of what I burn. I eat back with fruits/veggies, or my favorite avocado!

    Definitely eat them, I eat back most of what I burn too (I just wish I chose healthier options though - have been known to eat back calories in kitkats)
  • Mabohlale
    Mabohlale Posts: 148 Member
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    Two things that I have learned from reading lots and lots on this site about this topic ...

    1) It depends on whether you "calculated" your exercise into your goals. When you claimed your activity level ... did you say "sedentary ... lightly active ... etc" based on your exercise level? If you said you were active (thinking of not your job, but your exercise) than you might not need to eat them all back, because MFP automatically set your goal higher with that in mind. If you didn't include that at all and just said, "sedentary" you might need to eat them all back. This is the most sense that I can make out of the confusing debate.

    2) There are people that swear both extremes on this ... eat them all back, don't eat any of them back. And they will all give you scientific evidence, testimonials, and lots of hard to follow mathematical equations to support their theory on it. Seems to me that "Eat half of them back, if you need them" makes the most sense. Take into account your body's natural hunger cues and be moderate and reasonable.

    That's just my take on it. Balance is important. BTW ... I have no testimonials, scientific or medical reports or math equations to support this theory. LOL!!! =) Just common sense.
  • angie73c
    angie73c Posts: 9
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    Thank you all so very much for your help, can't fault the support on this site!

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