Who eats back exercise calories and who doesn't?

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  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
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    Phoebeg1723 wrote: »
    just curious at the ratios. I personally don't eat back exercise calories. It seems very backwards to me as the idea of working out is too increase the calorie deficit so you lose weight more, but eating back those calories is basically the equivalent of not having worked out.

    Anyone else?

    MFP uses a method that requires you to try and calculate what you expend in calories during an exercise session and eat those back to ensure you're at a healthy deficit. It works, although I think their protein targets are a bit low and I think that it overly complicates things by requiring a piece of equipment that isn't entirely accurate in the first place depending on your form of exercise. Using something like TDEE is a bit simpler in that you only have to worry about what you eat for the day, keep it simple.
  • flabassmcgee
    flabassmcgee Posts: 659 Member
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    I follow TDEE, so no, I don't eat a logged burn. I eat a set amount to account for them though.
  • Phoebeg1723
    Phoebeg1723 Posts: 88 Member
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    Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »
    Phoebeg1723 wrote: »
    just curious at the ratios. I personally don't eat back exercise calories. It seems very backwards to me as the idea of working out is too increase the calorie deficit so you lose weight more, but eating back those calories is basically the equivalent of not having worked out.

    Anyone else?

    MFP uses a method that requires you to try and calculate what you expend in calories during an exercise session and eat those back to ensure you're at a healthy deficit. It works, although I think their protein targets are a bit low and I think that it overly complicates things by requiring a piece of equipment that isn't entirely accurate in the first place depending on your form of exercise. Using something like TDEE is a bit simpler in that you only have to worry about what you eat for the day, keep it simple.

    You can change the protein targets in goals though?
  • Phoebeg1723
    Phoebeg1723 Posts: 88 Member
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    Am I missing something as well? :s I don't know what TDEE. Tbh I just use mine to make sure I'm eating an allowance of calories as my biggest downfall with food is portion size.
  • BWBTrish
    BWBTrish Posts: 2,817 Member
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    I eat about a 1/4 back of what my HRM gives me as burned calories. This because of overestimate.
    And i do eat them back because when you exercise your not only burning calories but you also need more nutrition.
    So what i do is trying to hit those goals to provide my body with the fuel/nutrition it worked so hard for.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,459 Member
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    At 0.5 lb/ a week setting, eating back all the calories left me eating too much, I thought. I played around with intake until I hit a sweet spot of not feeling deprived and having enough energy on exercise days (a totally subjective feeling, no reference to the scale at all).

    For me the number I ended up with was the same as eating back 50% of the exercise calories for the 0.5/week setting. So, I changed my target to reflect the new number.
  • Morgaen73
    Morgaen73 Posts: 2,818 Member
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    I do sometimes, but just a portion. Sometimes I will exercise more just so I can eat pizza lol

    Bit me in the *kitten* this morning after I had chocolate last night though :(
  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
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    snowflake930 wrote: »
    adowe wrote: »
    snowflake930 wrote: »
    adowe wrote: »
    snowflake930 wrote: »
    GiveMeCoffee wrote: »
    I lost over 120 lbs eating back my exercise calories, worked pretty damn well

    ^I lost 160+ NOT eating back my exercise calories, worked pretty damn well for me. I have been maintaining for 14 months.

    We all ARE snowflakes! Do what works for you in all facets of this new way of living. :)

    Sorry but we aren't snowflakes

    I am. I am not the same as you or anyone else.

    You are more alike all of us than you think. Biology proves that.

    Really? How so? Prove that I am the same as you in my nutrition needs. I am truly interested in how you can say this not knowing anything about me.


    Might be time for you to take a Biology class.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    You're supposed to if you're using MFP.

    But yeah, if you don't weigh your food or don't log everything, you're probably better off not eating them back.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Phoebeg1723 wrote: »
    Am I missing something as well? :s I don't know what TDEE. Tbh I just use mine to make sure I'm eating an allowance of calories as my biggest downfall with food is portion size.

    Total Daily Energy Expenditure - the amount of calories needed to maintain your current weight.
    People following the TDEE method calculate this and then take a percentage cut from that to create their chosen calorie deficit to lose weight.

    With TDEE method your exercise estimate is factored in already and you eat an average amount of these "exercise calories" every day and have same calorie goal every day.
    With MFP method your exercise calorie estimate is made after the event rather than before - so you get a variable calorie goal depending if you exercise or not.

    Six of one and half a dozen of the other. They both work. If your exercise is very variable in terms of duration, intensity or calorie burn then in my opinion MFP method is better but it's very much personal preference.

    In effect you are doing the TDEE method but instead of calculating your numbers you have found the number that works for you by trial and error. Nothing wrong with that - any method should be adjusted based on real results over time.

  • Phoebeg1723
    Phoebeg1723 Posts: 88 Member
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    Ah I see :)
  • SwankyTomato
    SwankyTomato Posts: 442 Member
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    My head is spinning after reading all of this, lol. My exercise is sporadic right now and I am trying to lose weight. However I do want to build muscle as well.
    I will look into the TDEE method.

    Really good thread for those of us that are noobs to all of this.
  • joolsmd
    joolsmd Posts: 375 Member
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    I'd eat them back if I was hungry, but I rarely am. At this moment in my weightloss (just started - again!) i doubt very much that any lean muscle is in danger of me sticking to my daily cals, and although I walk briskly, I also doubt that my 70 min walk a day is likely to burn as many calories as 70 mins HIIT.
    -
    Obviously, when the lard starts reducing and my exercise minutes increase then I will certainly consider eating some back. but, as someone says above, using MFP means I have no idea how many caloies I burn doing strength exercises, so until they start calculating my calories for that I'll just have to assume I haven't earned any exercise calories doing them.
  • kateangel2312
    kateangel2312 Posts: 242 Member
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    I don't eat them back i just eat 1500 each day
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    SwankyTomato wrote: »
    My head is spinning after reading all of this, lol. My exercise is sporadic right now and I am trying to lose weight. However I do want to build muscle as well.
    I will look into the TDEE method.

    Really good thread for those of us that are noobs to all of this.

    If your exercise is sporadic why would you choose the TDEE method? Calculating TDEE will involve estimating the frequency/duration of your exercise so if it's sporadic your estmate is going to be flawed.
  • Revcminor
    Revcminor Posts: 42
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    I try to keep between 1000 and 1200 no matter what while losing, but occasionally I go above - but only on days I do a heavy workout. I work out about four days a week.
  • votick
    votick Posts: 77 Member
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    The way I see it I'm shooting for a 400-500 calorie deficit daily regardless of exercise or not. If I go and burn 700 calories working out, I'm sure as heck going to make sure I eat them back otherwise I'd be at a 1100-1200 deficit for the day.
  • jpaulie
    jpaulie Posts: 917 Member
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    have to otherwise my net cals are around 800, did that one day and didn't work out so well
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    joolsmd wrote: »
    I'd eat them back if I was hungry, but I rarely am. At this moment in my weightloss (just started - again!) i doubt very much that any lean muscle is in danger of me sticking to my daily cals, and although I walk briskly, I also doubt that my 70 min walk a day is likely to burn as many calories as 70 mins HIIT.
    -
    Obviously, when the lard starts reducing and my exercise minutes increase then I will certainly consider eating some back. but, as someone says above, using MFP means I have no idea how many caloies I burn doing strength exercises, so until they start calculating my calories for that I'll just have to assume I haven't earned any exercise calories doing them.

    FYI - Strength training can be selected under the cardio exercises section. It's just a stab in the dark as it's impossible to really measure.
    By the way "70mins of HIIT" would say to me that is 70mins of interval training not HIIT.
  • xcalygrl
    xcalygrl Posts: 1,897 Member
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    I follow TDEE, so my exercise calories are accounted for in my daily goal. I guess you could say I do eat mine, but I don't eat the ones that are logged in MFP by my FitBit (so some days it looks like I ate 1800 calories, burned over 500, and only netted 1300 which isn't the whole truth).

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