I am sure this in a thread somewhere, but I can't find it.

I have been trying to figure out the balance between how many calories to intake/calories burned...etc.

I have gotten mixed advice:

1) some people say eat around 1200 calories; exercise and DON'T eat the calories back...

2) some people told me to eat around 1200 calories; exercise and DO eat the calories back (so really I'd be eating roughly 1500-1600 calories)

A little background on me...I am 8 weeks post op and have only lost about 14 pounds total. I started this journey with a BMI of 31.8 (so I know weight loss is going to be much slower). I have been watching what I am eating and plugging it in to MyFitnessPal. I just started doing workout videos (Shaun T's Rockin Body/Chalene Johnson's TurboFire) where I burn roughly 300-600 calories per workout (depending on the specific workout that day). I have a Polar Ft7 watch and heart monitor to give me more of an accurate reading of calories burned.

I know it is different for everyone...but can anyone give me advice for what works the best for them.

Thank you in advance for your advice!

For me the more I exercise the less hungry I am and the more consistently I lose weight regardless of calorie intake so generally I count calories to make sure I stay under the goal recommended by my fitness pal (I have it set to calculate for a goal of losing 2lbs per week).

If I exercise I'll sometimes take in less than the 1200 calories regardless of the extra calories I "earned" when I don't exercise I'm more likely to bump closer to my recommended limit.

My personal theory is when I exercise I'm tapping into my fat reserves and since I have so much in reserve my body gets more than enough to keep me active but without the exertion of formal exercise (increased cardio) my body finds it easier to just demand food from my brain.

I doubt this is typical and it's far from scientific but it's my personal experience.

2) some people told me to eat around 1200 calories; exercise and DO eat the calories back (so really I'd be eating roughly 1500-1600 calories)

..... with a BMI of 31.8 .............. I have a Polar Ft7 watch and heart monitor to give me more of an accurate reading of calories burned.

Why is someone giving you advice to "EAT THE CALORIES BACK"?

Some starvation idea? I don't understand that....with US having appropriate "reserves".

Congrats on having the HRM...best exercise money I ever spent.

When I was tracking calories this past spring...heres what I showed.

I used LoseIt! to track what I ate/exercised from Jan 14th- July 14th...just out of curiosity. Here was my avg then.

Calories eaten 1858

Exercise 779

Net Calories 1079

I think the best thing to do is start with a calorie goal of 1200 and do not increase that based on your exercise. If you find yourself hungry then maybe increase it a little. I have never eaten my exercise calories because that just does not make sense to me if you are trying to lose weight. LOL so I ignore that part of MFP and stick to my own personal intake goals. I use MFP to track other factors that seem to be important in my success and that is carb and sugar intake. I follow Chris Powell's turbo carb cycle plan and it is working like a charm. I am losing approx 4 pounds per week....consistently. I am never hungry and have lots of energy.

I think since everyone is different you just have to test things until you find what works for you. Weightloss is not a one size fits all plan. Trial and error. But as long as you are watching your calories and getting your exercise in you will stay on the path of loss even if you have to tweak things now and then.

Best of luck to you! Hope you find your sweet spot soon!!

I have been working around this equation for a few months, I can't work out and burn 800-1000 cals a day and only eat 1200. Not only am I starving but I really don't have the energy I need. I have my calorie goal set to 1400 and usually with exercise come in with a total intake between 1400-1600 and a burn of 800-1000 so my "net" calories are 600-800. I consider that eating back my calories, but it's high protein good stuff not carby crap. I just can't function on 200-400 calories net a day, I have tried and I can't work out as hard as i want or beat the feeling of being hungry.

I eat my calories back if I am hungry. I think the best advice would be to see what helps YOU lose. I can eat my exercise calories back and still lose around 2 pounds a week. I am HUNGRY if I don't. I'm going in for a fill tomorrow and I'm hoping that changes things. But everyone is different and what works for some will not work for you.