WHAT AM I DOING WRONG? (Eating back exercise calories)

You'll have weeks like that. I lost .2 last week and 2.8 this week. I've lost 10 in a month. Don't be discouraged. I haven't figured out the eating calories back. I sometimes do, sometimes I don't. I just started out, so I don't have a lot to go by.

Thanks for viewing my post in advance

This week I only lost a couple of ounces. (from 266.4 to 260.0). I want to lose POUNDS,specifically 2 lbs a week if its possible.

I was exercising every single day except Sunday. I made sure I would burn 600 calories each day. Therefore at the end of the week (600 x 6= 3600. There is 3500 calories in a pound) I would lose at least a pound.

After I exercised I was eating most of my exercise calories back. My daily goal is 1910. But i was eating over 2,000 calories a day.

I think i went wrong by eating my exercise calories back because MFP set my calories to 1910 to lose 2 lbs a week. Eating over 2,000 was not the calorie goal MFP generated for me to lose weight.

Any advice on what I could be doing wrong? Is eating my exercise calories back a good thing?

-Thanks again.

I wouldn't eat exercise calories back as you have a good amount of weight to lose and can afford to lose 2 pounds per week.

Yes. I agree. Thatz how I do it & itz worked for me.

It could be sodium causing you to retain fluid. Check out the group Eat More 2 Weigh Less....It's very interesting and could help you. I figured out my BMR and TDEE and eat 20% below my TDEE and do not eat exercise calories back. I shoot for the about the same amount of calories every day. It really helped me. Check it out and decide for yourself.

I don't think eating exercise calories back is your problem--I think it's your daily calorie goal. That's pretty high, especially for the goal you're trying to reach. What are you diary settings?

It does seem really high to me as well. When I started I was about 97 lbs. overweight and my 2 lbs. per week loss calorie goal was around 1460. I don't know how tall the OP is though - I'm only 5'4".

I use my exercise calories as extra padding. I can eat 1350 a day. If I go over a little, it's ok. But I rarely go over. It's like having a little extra money in the bank. It makes me feel my secure.

You need to celebrate your losses no matter how small they are. You're doing GREAT!! Keep up the hard work!!!

I don't lose weight if I eat back my exercise calories. It works for some and not others. I would stop eating back most if not all of your exercise calories for a few weeks and see if that helps. HOWEVER have you measured yourself? You could be losing inches and not pounds.

Also, if you do change your calorie goal, don't expect immediate results. It can sometimes take a few weeks for your body to catch up. Losing weight is a long and arduous process...as they say, we didn't put this weight on overnight and it isn't going to come off overnight either.

I don't think eating exercise calories back is your problem--I think it's your daily calorie goal. That's pretty high, especially for the goal you're trying to reach. What are you diary settings?

It's a perfectly reasonable goal for someone who is 260+ pounds currently. She will need to adjust downward as she loses, but it's fine place to start.

To the OP: As for eating the exercise calories - that's the way MFP was designed. The 1910 is your 2 lb a week goal without exercise - the deficit is already built in. Exercise 3600 calories away in a week and ostensibly you should be losing 3 pounds a week, because you just added more to the deficit MFP created for you. Unfortunately, there is a window with calories. You need a deficit, but you have to be careful it's not too large. Where is that threshold for you? I don't know, and I'm not going to tell you to eat your calories back if you don't want to. But that is how the site was designed to be used, and many people have found that it works. If you've been eating all your calories back you might find that eating part of them instead is more effective - expecially since there is no way of knowing how accurate your calorie burn really is.

That part does not matter it is the sedentary, active, very active setting that MFP takes into account... you can tell it your are gonna exercise 10 hrs 7 days and your cals will not change because MFP does not give cals for what you are gonna do, just for what you actually do... If that makes sense, but if you told it you are active, but you realy have a desk job and sit most of the day that WILL make a difference...

chlorisaann, I set my exercise to 4 days a week for 45 mins ...

Did you select sedentary or active when you set things up? If you selected something other than sedentary, you shouldn't be eating the exercise calories back if you included those in your activity estimate.

I have been here for almost 3 months and I have not figured out what works for my body. There are parties supporting both sides on this site.

In the first 8wks I lost 12 lbs. Not eating exercise back.

Then I very hungry; I do high burn workouts 600-1000, 5-7 days a week (strength & card). After the 8wks I stopped losing weight lost some inches; clothes fit better.

But it has now been 4 weeks without losing any weight and in fact gained 5 lbs back.

Where are the ppl who support eating back exercise calories to explain this?

It is simple, if you set your profile on MFP to sedentary without taking credit for workouts, you eat back your exercise calories. If you included the exercise in your calorie goal calculations then you don't, other wise you are double dipping.

If you don't eat back your exercise calories you might be creating too high a deficit and your body might crash and your weight loss stall.

I eat my most of my exercise calories back unless I am not hungry