Exercise calories-- do you eat them or not?

Dnarules

Canadian_Empire wrote: »

obscuremusicreference wrote: »

TDEE=/=NEAT method, which is what MFP uses.

True, but you don't have to use that method. MFP also lets you edit calorie allowance, and your macros. You won't be able to get you exact needs (normally) but you can get them ball park...

No, you don't. But there is nothing in the OP's post that says she isn't using MFP's numbers.

cwolfman13

learning how to fuel your fitness and other activities and balancing that with your weight control goals is important...but unfortunately a lesson that is lost on a great many.

AFitJamie

SO! In Summary - Some say you do, some say you don't, and every side of the argument seems to have seen appropriate weight loss..... So WHY IS THAT?

The nutritionist's article is a good reference point for this, but if we want to keep it fairly simple:

You want to lose weight gradually for many reasons - One of the more significant is that if you try to lose quickly you are creating a large daily deficit and that causes your body to actually breakdown some of your muscle for energy.

To try to retain as much muscle as possible while losing fat, you want to use the muscles - it helps the body maintain them (pick up some moderately heavy stuff and put it back down and repeat with appropriate care and consideration of your starting point) and do some cardio. Don't overboard on cardio to start, but some is typically good for most people. Make sure you have enough protein, but again you don't need to eat nothing but chicken....

Because everything we are trying to accomplish sounds like it can be broken down into easy and precise math we often see detailed accounts of how many calories you need to eat and how many people are eating.... and if information was perfect, this could work... However, because the majority of the volume of food most people eat, and modern labelling on the packaging, are estimated and may in actuality vary substantially from what is being estimated, it is in fact very challenging to dial in what will work for you. We are ESTIMATING our amount of an ESTIMATED calorie density of food intake, and burning off an ESTIMATED amount by exercise and comparing that to an ESTIMATE of what we really burn... If anyone tells you it is more precise than that - run from that advice.

Nobody except the most exceptionally tiny and petite individuals can possibly eat 1200 calories and not lose weight..... The body doesn't work like that - unless someone has tragically damaged their metabolism in brutal ways-this isn't happening for people... but as evidenced here on MFP - many people think they are actually eating 1200 and not losing.... likewise very few people (except the largest and most muscular) are consuming +2500 calories and not gaining slowly... Add to this people who believe they burned 2000 calories in a 30 minute work out (They didn't ... at least the vast vast vast vast majority of people couldn't possibly.) and you get a really murky view of what is really happening in your weight loss journey.

But all is not hopeless!

... and what does this have to do with eating exercise calories?

My strong recommendation is to start doing your best at estimating - it does help and does work...BUT THEN - use your weight loss trends as a gage to help you determine how well you are counting and how well you are burning... It can be frustrating with changes in water retention (and water is heavy!) that may cause swings (water is often retained as a result of your body repairing muscle, or women't monthly cycles, or salt consumption...) but be patient with yourself...

Watch what you consume in a balanced way, move and workout gently in a balanced way and if you are losing 2.5 pounds a week for a couple of weeks then eat back a few more calories - this is likely too fast a weight loss (except perhaps for those who may be *very* overweight in the initial stages of loss.) if you are not losing, but you think you should, then do not eat them back and see... your progress will tell you what is happening.

It is true that approximately 3500 calories are in a pound of fat and if you build a 500 calorie deficit each day you will generally lose a pound in a week (but the scale may not show it depending on water retention, waste retention, etc. etc)

So let your progress be your guide. You say you are not losing "every" week... but is it generally working? Sounds like it is pretty good (and YAY FOR YOU FOR getting in workouts - celebrate the wins!) Your suggestion that you may not eat them *all* back and see how that goes, is *exactly* what I think you should do... be patient and pay attention to your progress as your feedback... and best of luck.

(P.S. Based on my estimations of food and my workout estimates and my target #s, When I'm in loss mode, I eat a portion of them back and that seems to keep the right progress happening for me)

MeanderingMammal

AFitJamie wrote: »

SO! In Summary - Some say you do, some say you don't, and every side of the argument seems to have seen appropriate weight loss.

Depends how you define appropriate. If one is on a low calorie goal already, then intentionally goes under threshold then I'd challenge the view that it's particularly healthy in the long term or sustainable. You're getting well into eating disorder territory.

That said, most of the people advocating eating back here are serious trainers who understand how to fuel their training.

AFitJamie

My use of the word "appropriate" was simply to indicate that there is evidence that many people have a healthy weight loss trajectory despite what seem to be wildly differing approaches to the math and eating back exercise calories....

Nowhere in anything I wrote did I venture anywhere near eating disorders - Your comment is irrelevant - and NO this thread isn't about someone trying to "fuel their training" - read the OP - this is a question about a reasonable person trying to figure out next steps in learning and bettering themselves when they haven't exercised in the past "... first time in my life...." - Read the whole post - celebrate this person's attempt to be more active and healthy - then read my post, think about it... then post something helpful to the **OP**... stop trying to rip apart a post with a useless comment.

AmazonMayan

Most of the time nope. Even though I've checked with other sites to see how accurate my exercise calories burned are, I still don't really trust that my activity level is burning all of it.

MeanderingMammal

AFitJamie wrote: »

Nowhere in anything I wrote did I venture anywhere near eating disorders

I forgot that this was in GD&WL where we're all about the cheerleading rather than meaningful input... Note that there was no need to get personal about it, the originator got meaningful input.

Talking about 1200 cals goals, then not refueling after training is into ED territory, and not particularly sustainable given the failure to replenish the system.

The everyone's different argument only works when you're not talking about how the physics works.

lemurcat12

I do TDEE method now (factor exercise into overall calorie goal), so don't, but when I did MFP method I ate back about 75%, depending on the exercise. (I think the running counts are pretty good, the circuit training or exercise machines ones are high, since there's such an obvious variation depending on how you do it and what it is.)

Go with results, though--I typically lost what I was predicted to lose or more, so apparently was not underestimating food/overestimating exercise.

RaspberryTickleChicken

meltsaway wrote: »

So… it's been about 4 weeks. I'm exercising for the first time in my life (yay me) doing zumba and some other good cardio, but I'm not losing every week. I have been eating calories to make up for the exercise, but maybe I will cut back. Would love to hear from others! Do you eat your exercise calories?

For the average gym goer or regular exerciser the answer to OP is no.

If you are an avid body builder or competing (body definition) then yes eat every ounce back.

47Jacqueline

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It depends on how I'm eating for the day. I, however only log exercise tracked with my HRM.

BWBTrish

I dont agree with that blog article at all.
It doesn't take in account that people who are on a low calorie diet and exercise a lot need more nutrition to do so.

I know there will be people here who kick me again. But i am on a 1200 calorie diet for medical reasons. Monitored and i know pretty much what i am doing. Not totally unknown with nutrition's

But that article is to general. For people who eat "only" 1200 calories a day ( for what ever the reason is) not eating back a part of your burned calories is a bad thing. You dont fuel up your body good enough.

And nope i dont eat all my burned calories back just 1/4 of them. This indeed for over estimating from devices and underestimating calorie intake.


But for me it is pretty simple as a former sport coach i learned that when you exercise you need the right and more nutrition's. When you only on a 1200 calorie diet you cant get enough. And i mean not for sometimes a bit of exercising. But like me 6 days a week for 90 minutes has an impact.

For me i dont even try to eat 1/4 back but i try to get my nutrition's/macro's