exercise, calories and am I doing this right?

ok....I am almost 3 weeks out.  I just started using my fitness pal.  So much easier than writing everything in my journal.  I am averaging around 550 - 600 calories a day.  I am exercising every day.  I have a very bad back so I am not walking on the treadmill, I am biking on a stationary bike for 45 minutes with a 5 minute cool down every day.  I am averaging 8 miles per day on the bike burning about 170 calories.  So if I subtract the calories burned from the calorie intake I am somewhere between 350 and 450 net calories.  Should I be trying to burn those 350 calories as well or since is so minimal that my body needs to retain them?  I am seeing a dr tomorrow for a non surgery issue and I am going to have him look at my incisions so hopefully I can start swimming laps again.  I usually swim laps for about an hour or an hour and a half....if I bike in the morning and swim at night is that going to be too much?

I see that some programs have an exercise physiologist the program I am in does not and other than the "walking for 30 minutes a day" with a goal of "walking 2 miles per day after 6 weeks post op" we really did not spend too much time on the topic of exercise to calorie burn ratio etc.

Thanks!

I had the same question starting out and the advice given is do not eat the calories back.  Excercise for health and not weight loss.  My doctor was the same, exercise for 30 minutes a day is about all they said.  They did refer to a trainer but I went out on my own and started working out.

As for the, "Is this too much?" question, your doctor would probably be the best judge.

I would also say to get a HR monitor.  You have to get your HR rate up to get the best benefit of exercise.  What sucks is the longer you work out, the harder you have to work.    When I first started, I could walk at a 3 MPH pace and get my HR up to 140-145.  Now at that pace, I barely hit 110.  In the same time, my resting HR went from 80+ to 62.

Thanks so much for your reply!!! I just got off the phone with my docs office and the nurse said...if I am tolerating it, and it is not causing pain I can do as much as I want.  I guess it is about really staying deeply in touch with my body and what it is telling me.  My appt. is at 2 40 today with my primary doc. Fingers crossed that I get cleared to swim!!!!

I think its best not to eat the calories back. Exercise is good for the body, so kudos to you for starting an exercise routine. Besides the numbers that show how many calories you burned are usually very inaccurate. I agree with the previous poster about getting a heart rate device to make the most of your exercise routine. Hope you get to swim soon!

Thanks so much!! The bike I ride has the heart monitor built into iit...I check it every couple of minutes and at the end it gives me my avg for the workout...I am usually averaging between 130 and 145 which for my age (42) is in the fat burning zone.  I hope I get to swim soon too!! Fingers crossed!

Thanks so much!! The bike I ride has the heart monitor built into iit...I check it every couple of minutes and at the end it gives me my avg for the workout...I am usually averaging between 130 and 145 which for my age (42) is in the fat burning zone.  I hope I get to swim soon too!! Fingers crossed!

From what I have read, the fat burning zone is a little misguided.

http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/a/The-Truth-About-The-Fat-Burning-Zone.htm

Don't worry about calories at this point.  

When you get farther out don't worry about making up for a caloric deficit.  Many of what people say can be countered by another study.  I can burn 800-1200 calories an hour there are days I am almost 2K in activity calories burned, along with my RMR I am somewhere at 3500 burned on those days and still eat my 1600-1900.  

I admit that there are days I am more lenient in that total calories or where I get them from but as a practice I eat the same most days regardless.

My advice is to ignore the calories you burn in exercise.  The estimates for how much you burn are notoriously incorrect to begin with and, if you eat those calories back, you'll just negate any benefit that exercise might give to your weight loss.  

Exercise as much as you can, switch your meal times around if you need to so that you don't feel light headed, and eat according to your plan.  Treat exercise and diet as completely independent things.  (Although they're certainly complimentary!)