Eat back all of your exercise calories or you WILL DIE.

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  • Bonny619
    Bonny619 Posts: 311 Member
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    81 pounds lost over the last 1 1/2 years and I do NOT eat back my exercise calories. Just adding input from someone who has lost a significant amount of weight and has kept it off and is still losing.
  • half_moon
    half_moon Posts: 807 Member
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    Wow. Yeah, so. Not even sure how to handle this thread right now. Slowly backing away from the MFP community.... Slow, slow, cautious steps....
  • FitasBarbie
    FitasBarbie Posts: 141 Member
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    If i'm hungry I eat them back. If I'm not hungry I don't. Listen to your body.

    ^ Exactly!
  • vnsaroja
    vnsaroja Posts: 19 Member
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    Impressive
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    not sure if these folks defy the laws of thermodynamics, or just bad at logging...
    Okay well normally I don't even look at these kinds of threads but....the topic got me interested. Anyways I have condition that causes me to be insulin resistant so I GAIN weight at about 1500 calories if I'm not exercising, long story. Point being that sometimes I eat them back and sometimes I don't, but everyone has a different metabolism and their body reacts to food different ways. I can actually stay at 1200-1300 calories and gain weight if I am eating the wrong food (not junk food just stuff that spikes my blood sugar, like potatoes and corn). So everyone has to listen to their own body and what it tells them. Basic suggestion, don't starve yourself. If you are really hungry eat a little more that day!
    I have never eaten my exercise calories back. If I did I'd be eating well over 4,000 calories a day and sure as heck would NOT have lost any of the weight I've lost. Especially since I burn over 2,000 calories in exercise alone each day. However, there is no reason for people to get their panties in a bunch and jump on others just because they do things differently. Some of us work with doctors and/or nutritionists. Just because MFP has recommendations, does not MAKE THEM RULES!! There is a reason you are able to alter your goals and nutritional intake levels. I highly advise that everyone check in with their doctors, especially those that are attempting to lose weight, to make sure that you are doing what is healthy for YOUR body.
  • DangerDiv
    DangerDiv Posts: 62
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    Now if one eats all their exercise calories back than how is someone loosing weight?
    I am doing Jamie Easons lifefit plan and I sure a daisy don't eat all my exercise calories.
    Lost 9 pounds so far, and with her eating plan, even with less calories your body does not have time to get starving.

    omg, i just wanted to respond to you, 'cos i am in LOVE with those damn turkey meatloaf muffins. have you been eating 'em? SOOOOOO good. i eat them alllllll the time. so good.
  • joslin2005
    joslin2005 Posts: 138
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    You don't have to eat them back if you don't want to.

    Let me explain where the thinking comes from though....

    If your TDEE is 2300 and you want to lose 2lbs a week your deficit is 1000 calories.
    MFP sets you at 1300.
    You're already in a deficit so eating exercise cals back keeps you at that 1000 calorie deficit.

    That's all it is.

    This..... For some, not eating the exercise calories will put their body into starvation mode. If your body thinks it's starving, then it will hold onto everything you eat resulting in no weight loss. Your metabolism will also slow down.
  • jessicae1aine
    jessicae1aine Posts: 885
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    Despite the fact that SOME people will lose weight successfully on 1200 calories - and even less if they don't eat back their exercise calories - you can do serious damage to your body. Do it long enough, and you can do PERMANENT damage to your body.

    Your body, almost guaranteed, requires more than 1200 calories to keep it's basic functions working all the time at a healthy level. Eating too few calories can do damage to your liver, your kidneys, even your brain. If it continues long enough it can be irreversible damage. You should look up (on somewhere OTHER than here) your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate, the rate at which your body burns calories at rest) and eat at least that many calories, because that is the bare minimum that you need.

    No one on here is "trying to act like they know it all" and no one on here wants to tell you do something that would harm you. We're all here to HELP one another, including keeping each other healthy and redirecting bad decisions, no matter how well-intentioned those decisions are.

    I'm guessing that you probably aren't going to listen, based on the "do I HAVE to listen or can I just eat as few calories as possible" attitude in your original post, but if you really want to know the truth, there it is for you. For what it's worth, I do know what I'm talking about - I'm working with a nutritionist.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Now if one eats all their exercise calories back than how is someone loosing weight?
    I am doing Jamie Easons lifefit plan and I sure a daisy don't eat all my exercise calories.
    Lost 9 pounds so far, and with her eating plan, even with less calories your body does not have time to get starving.

    Haha that's what I was thinking!! Just seems like an excuse to eat more and not gain weight-- which would happen, but I want to lose!! I eat every two hours a day. I just get some "tiffs" sometimes. HATAS GON HATE.

    So what exactly was the purpose of you post other than to start the same old sh*tstorm about this same old topic? It is pretty obvious you already have your mind made up - so what were you trying to achieve.

    And what the h*ll is wrong with using exercise as an excuse to eat more.....sounds like a pretty damn good reason to me. Well, that and the cardiovascular improvement of cardio and body composition improvements of strength training. Who exactly is the 'hata' here? If done properly (using reasonable estimates and tracking) people will lose weight because there is already a deficit built into the base number.
  • JillyBean819
    JillyBean819 Posts: 313 Member
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    I found eating that low works for about 12 weeks before a plateau. But protein is a HUGE consideration if you're lifting and eating at such an extreme deficit.

    I agree. From past experience, I found that eating about 1200 plus cardio wasn't bad but when I started lifting weights I felt like poop (teeth were sensitive, fatigue) likely bc I want eating enough calories/protein.
  • chocl8girl
    chocl8girl Posts: 1,968 Member
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    If i'm hungry I eat them back. If I'm not hungry I don't. Listen to your body.

    THIS.
  • MustangCindy67
    MustangCindy67 Posts: 91 Member
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    I watched Etreme weightloss last evening and the lady ate 1500 calories a day for her 355 lbs body and also exercised at a 3500 deficit......wow..... she survived....goes to show you dont have to eat your calories back....I think each person is different and should do what works for them.... main thing is to lose, feel healthy and be energised.....
  • belgerian
    belgerian Posts: 1,059 Member
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    Read this topic http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/81391-starvation-mode-myths-and-science from what I understand true starvation mode will not even set in until you hit about 6 percent BF. As you eat less your BMR will slow down but this can be offset by excercise. I ate about 1600 Cal a day my minumum never ate back any excercise caloires and I am doing GREAT run 8 miles a day 5-6 days a week a longer on the weekends spend most of my work day on my feet moving. I do eat closer to 2200 cal now my minimum maintaince cal but I do not eal all my excercise Cal back. THis has woked wonderful for me for the last 2 years. Get informed so you can make the best decision for yourself.
  • belgerian
    belgerian Posts: 1,059 Member
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    The main thing is that eating back exercise calories preserves lean muscle. If you don't you'll still lose weight but a portion of it will be lean muscle. Not everyone cares about having lean muscle, sure, a lot only care about fitting into the next dress size down or the number on the scale. But for those of us who are concerned with lean muscle, yes, it's necessary.

    Whenever you losse it will be a portion of muscle just like when you gain a portion of it will be fat becouse to gain muscle you need to eat a surplus and that surplus is stored ast fat.
  • dosmundos
    dosmundos Posts: 64
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    Now if one eats all their exercise calories back than how is someone loosing weight?
    I am doing Jamie Easons lifefit plan and I sure a daisy don't eat all my exercise calories.
    Lost 9 pounds so far, and with her eating plan, even with less calories your body does not have time to get starving.

    Haha that's what I was thinking!! Just seems like an excuse to eat more and not gain weight-- which would happen, but I want to lose!! I eat every two hours a day. I just get some "tiffs" sometimes. HATAS GON HATE.

    So what exactly was the purpose of you post other than to start the same old sh*tstorm about this same old topic? It is pretty obvious you already have your mind made up - so what were you trying to achieve.

    And what the h*ll is wrong with using exercise as an excuse to eat more.....sounds like a pretty damn good reason to me. Well, that and the cardiovascular improvement of cardio and body composition improvements of strength training. Who exactly is the 'hata' here? If done properly (using reasonable estimates and tracking) people will lose weight because there is already a deficit built into the base number.

    Since you asked about the purpose of my post. I was only answering the original post. I did not know that the answers have to be in sinc with the majority of the people.
  • mjsunshine16
    mjsunshine16 Posts: 251 Member
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    Everyone's body is different, do what works for you!
  • dosmundos
    dosmundos Posts: 64
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    omg, i just wanted to respond to you, 'cos i am in LOVE with those damn turkey meatloaf muffins. have you been eating 'em? SOOOOOO good. i eat them alllllll the time. so good.

    Yes, I like them too.
  • CynthiaAnnGA
    CynthiaAnnGA Posts: 95
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    My husband diets this way, he saves his calories for 1 cheat day a week & still is able to lose. I find if I eat on a cheat day, it makes me less able to stay on track, so I don't go off even for a day. I have to eat all through the day so I won't feel hungry, so I cook a big pot of veg. stirfry & eat on that all day & then eat a healthy supper. I don't deny myself a few glasses of red wine a day either. I guess that would be my cheat! Everyone is different, so what works for you, do it!
  • Marla64
    Marla64 Posts: 23,120 Member
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    What is this business about starvation mode? I find myself wrapped up in these "debates" with people telling me that eating 1200 and not eating back my calories from exercise will make me starve. Not everybody eats their calories back, and they are fine. Is this just another example of people thinking they know everything and they know it best, or is this a legitimate concern?

    It is a legitimate concern-- I joined MFP in July of '08. Eating 1200 calories with moderate exercise, never eating back calories, by June of '09 I'd lost 46 pounds. Determined to hit my goal of 50 pounds, I went on a full court press-- cut out all crap, and went on a diet of basically rice cakes, sugarfree peanut butter and greens. I began training for a half marathon, and didn't eat back my calories because I wanted those last rascally pounds off. I was on a mission.

    By the end of September, my weight started creeping back up. My eating never changed, so I upped the exercise. Still crept up. I then tried a veggie juice fast-- four days of nothing but vegetable juice. Still training for the half, and adding Insanity into the mix-- by June of '10 I was up 20 pounds. By Christmas, I'd gained back nearly all of it.

    My eating never changed. I was a faithful calorie counter. I never wanted to be fat again, so I'd totally changed my eating. As I tried to figure out what happened, along the way, I read about starvation mode. Keeping up the long-term cell deprivation hurt me. I didn't have any more fat to burn-- I began burning muscle, and my body's self-preservation kicked in. The lady on here who lost 100 pounds on 1200 calories still had some to give-- I didn't.

    Nearly three years later, and with the help of some T3 hormones, my body seems to have finally forgiven me and is healing. I've taken 15 of the gain back off, and am working on eating sensibly, and religiously eat back all my calories.

    I know everyone's story is different-- and what works for some, doesn't work for all. But there is a simple principle of credits and debits-- you see it in your bank account. You spend more than you deposit, you overdraw your account. Not so different with your calories. You burn more than you ingest, problems over time will occur-- for me, it was a year and a half of sustained deprivation.

    Food for thought-- it is real. It does happen. It gets overblown here, for sure, but be wise about your choices.
  • Phoenix59
    Phoenix59 Posts: 364 Member
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    I watched Etreme weightloss last evening and the lady ate 1500 calories a day for her 355 lbs body and also exercised at a 3500 deficit......wow..... she survived....goes to show you dont have to eat your calories back....I think each person is different and should do what works for them.... main thing is to lose, feel healthy and be energised.....

    You're talking about a morbidly obese individual, not someone who only has 10-20 lbs. to lose. Someone that overweight can eat at a huge deficit without the consequences being discussed here. No one is saying you won't lose weight eating 1200 calories or less, but after some time a body will suffer the effects of eating so little. IMO, if you want to lose weight at the expense of your long-term health, have at it. Fortunately, I love food and I love exercising, so I get the best of both worlds, thankyouverymuch.

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