When trying to lose weight…

Do I Eat Back the Calories I Burn Exercising?

Hell no! Look at the picture above and tell me if it makes sense for you to do that if you're trying to lose weight and if you truly believe you must eat back the calories you burn exercising then…

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What's the F'ING point of exercising for weight loss?

Forget about all the other wonderful benefits of exercise (like looking younger, living longer, stronger bones & etc.) but when you're trying to lose weight and I'm going to assume you know basically how weight loss works but…
Why would you work your ass off and burn 1000 calories doing my fat loss workouts, T25 or Tae Bo for example and then turn around and eat back the fat you burned or the 1000 calories you burned!? And if you're going to do that…

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Why Not Just Diet?

Yes, you can lose weight from dieting alone but…

If you're a firm believer of "I have to eat back every single calorie I burn exercising" and If you're exercising mainly just to lose weight then can't you clearly see how It's a waste of time to exercise if you're going to eat back every calorie you burn?

Think About It

EVERY Single Pound of fat you're trying to lose has 3500 calories in it.
You burn those calories with diet AND EXERCISE so Why Exercise If you're going to burn calories and then put those calories or the fat you just burned right back in your body?

Don't I have to eat back the calories I burn exercising Since my body is like a car?

Some experts say your body is like a car because…

As you burn calories exercising you're 'emptying out your gas tank' causing your body to run on a low amount of calories like a car that's low on gas and if you don't eat back those calories or fill up your gas tank…
Your metabolism will slow down and your body will go into starvation mode (which is largely just a myth) causing you to actually gain fat instead of losing weight but don't worry…
That is 100% NOT True, This WILL NEVER Happen if you don't eat back the calories you burn exercising and let's say this actually did happen…

Then why even exercise at all for weight loss?

Your Body is Nothing Like a Car

Car: When you put too much gas in a car just like eating too much… The gas will spill out and the car won't get any fatter - LOL.
Your Body: When you eat too much food or too many calories/energy just like putting too much gas in a car… The excess calories will not spill out or vanish. Those excess calories/energy get stored as body fat making You Get Fatter & Yes…

Your body does have a gas tank in the form of stored carbs/calories (or the glycogen stored in your muscles and liver) but…

When a car runs out of gas ITS DONE and finished until you fill it up with more gas.
When your body runs out of gas (or gets low on carbs/glycogen) it is going to start burning off the fat you desperately want to lose for energy preventing your metabolism from slowing down keeping you out of the mythical starvation mode &…
That's generally why you do Intermittent Fasting and/or workout in the morning before breakfast to Lose Fat Faster (read more about that here) &…

Depending on how overweight or how fat you are…

You almost have an unlimited source of backup energy (which is your bodyfat providing 3500 calories of energy per pound) ready to be burnt once your gas tank or carbs/glycogen gets low.
You can literally starve yourself up to a certain point where you almost burn off all the fat on your body or use up all your backup energy WHICH I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU DO NOT DO for permanent weight loss

But I Don't Want to Lose Weight Too Fast because…

Some experts say you should eat back all the calories you burn exercising because its unhealthy to lose more than 2 pounds a week or you may get loose skin but again if that's true then Why Waste Your Time Exercising!?

Depending on how overweight you are and these other weight loss factors you will always almost certainly lose more than 2 pounds per week at the beginning of any weight loss program whether you exercise or not but…
As you get closer and closer to your weight loss goal you MAY at that point start to lose less than 2 pounds a week especially If you have less than 5-to-20 pounds to lose
There's many examples here of people losing over 5 pounds a week without any unhealthy side effects of fast weight loss and I'm not saying loose skin doesn't exist but…
Loose skin is 9 times out of 10 just loose fat or more fat you have to lose so if you suddenly lost 100 lbs. overnight and you still have saggy areas on your body then you simply have more fat to lose but…

If losing weight fast terrifies you…

Don't exercise at all and/or…
Don't cut too many calories from your diet and/or…
Just eat back all the calories you burn exercising.

The Confusing "Net Calories" Argument

Let's say you're supposed to eat 1500 calories a day to lose weight and you burn 500 calories exercising then according to the net calories argument…

You'll need to eat those 500 calories back because if you don't then that's just like you actually eating 1000 calories or 'netting' 1000 calories so in that case…
Your body simply will not be getting the nutrition, calories or energy it needs plus your body may go into starvation mode (esp. if your net calories is less than 1200 calories) causing your metabolism to slow down forcing you to store fat but again…

If That's True, Then Why Exercise?

Remember: Your body is not built like a car so if you eat 1500 calories and burn 500 calories exercising then all that means is…

You took in 1500 calories worth of energy and then…
You burnt 500 calories of energy exercising (and we'll assume for the sake of this article that all those 500 calories came from the 1500 you ate) but to make up for the 500 calorie energy deficit…
Your body or your metabolism will burn 500 calories worth of backup energy (which is your body fat) causing you to lose weight so as you can see…
Your metabolism doesn't slow down, go into starvation mode and cause you to gain fat because you're not eating enough or not eating back the calories you burn exercising because…
Your body or your metabolism simply uses your backup energy or burns up your body fat for energy when you create an 'energy deficit' by not eating enough and/or exercising more as you do in any normal weight loss plan but…

Let's quickly talk about starvation mode (which is largely a myth)

Starvation mode is only true when you become very lean (or under 5% body fat) and at that point your metabolism MAY slow down and hold onto fat but other than that…
If you're over 10, 20 or 30% body fat and you are trying to lose weight then Starvation mode DOES NOT EXIST & if don't believe me…
Literally stave yourself or get stranded on an island (like anyone off the Reality TV show survivor) and I guarantee you it's virtually impossible for you not to lose any weight & NO…
I'm not saying starvation or Very Low Calorie Diets are smart ways to permanently lose weight but the idea of you having to eat back your calories to avoid something like starvation mode that is largely a myth is silly & consider this…

If it's true that you absolutely MUST eat back all the calories you burn exercising then…

Why Not Eat Back the Calories Your Metabolism Burns?

Naturally your body's metabolism burns about 2000-to-3000 calories per day (more or less deepening lots of other factors) and you simply eat less than that to burn fat or lose weight - See the chart below…

So here is a simple question for you if you believe in eating back all your exercise calories… Why not eat back all the calories your body's metabolism burns? because you would say…

"Adrian, Then I Wouldn't Lose Any Weight at All" and that's exactly the same situation you put yourself in when you eat back all the calories you burn exercising.

What About When You Can't Lose Weight or Hit a Weight Loss Plateau?

You mainly have 3 options whenever you Can't Lose Weight or Hit a Weight Loss Plateau…

Make sure you're eating the right amount of calories to lose weight.
You need to eat less calories and/or…
You need to exercise more or burn more calories when you exercise so if you firmly believe in eating back all the calories you burn exercising then…

Making drastic changes to your diet is your only option for losing weight because…

You're defeating the purpose of exercising to solve any weight loss problem you have if you're just going to eat back everything you burn &…

If You Still believe you need to eat back the calories you burn exercising then…

You accept the fact You WILL NOT Lose weight that fast or as fast as someone who does NOT eat back their exercise calories.
You may just simply want to maintain your weight.
You are exercising NOT TO LOSE Weight but to look younger, get stronger bones and other health benefits.
You understand you're JUST on a weight loss diet plan & NOT a weight loss diet and exercise plan since the exercise part won't be helping you lose weight if you're eating back the exercise calories.
Why not KILL 2 birds with one stone? Eat something while you workout on the Treadmill, Bike or Elliptical!

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