Success in eating back exercise calories

Pattie74

I know this is topic has been discussed a billion times and everyone has a different opinion. I was just wondering if any have truly had success in eating back their exercise calories.

janejellyroll

I usually eat back most of mine and I am having success.

futuremanda

It's just math. Assuming your logging is good and you hit your targets:

If you tell MFP you want to lose 2 lbs a week, it'll tell you to eat a number of calories that give you a deficit of 1000 calories per day under your maintenance. That will get you 2 lbs a week (on average). (250 deficit for 0.5 lb, 500 for 1 lb, 750 for 1.5, 1000 for 2)

At this rate, you will lose 1 lb every 3.5 days if all is correct, no exercise needed. (The scale may not show this when expected though because actual weight fluctuates a lot for many reasons.)

If you then burn 300, you either have a deficit of 1300 or you eat back some, or all. Leaving you back still with a deficit of 1000 and a 2 lb projected weekly weight loss.

In reality, your food log will have some inaccuracy, as will your estimated calorie burn. And sometimes the default numbers are slightly off for an individual -- you may be able to eat a bit more or need to eat a bit less than MFP originally gives you.

But yep. Math. Don't be afraid to eat food. Just be consistent and accurate in logging.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I ate back every one. Lost 48 pounds, have kept it off more than 2 years so far.

shadow2soul

This is my reply to another post with questions about eating back calories:

shadow2soul wrote: »

NoelFigart1-

1. What is your desired rate of weight loss?


1lb per week

NoelFigart1-

2. Does that rate of weight loss happen as averaged over a period of time longer than a month?

Yes, I guess you could say that.



NoelFigart1-
3. How do you calculate how many calories burned?

I did use a Fitbit to help get a closer estimate of my TDEE. I recently switched to Garmin VivoFit.
I use a HRM for workouts that aren't walking/running and then use a spreadsheet that was created by heybales to determine how many calories to actually log.



NoelFigart1-
4. How many calories an exercise session do you generally burn

Depends. I break my workouts up. Some are 1hr. Some are 20 mins. Some are 80 mins. Sometimes I do a 20 min workout, a 45 min workout, and a 10 min workout all in the same day. Here's what last week looked like:




NoelFigart1-
5. How many exercise sessions do you log a week


Varies. I usually get in at least 250 mins a week and some weeks I get around 400 mins.
As for sessions, well I generally break up my workouts into smaller segments. I have 2 young boys and can't always get in the amount of time I want. Take yesterday for example, I restarted the same workout 3 times. The first time amount to more than 5 mins but less than 10 and wasn't logged (vivofit won't create activity for anything less than 10 mins). The second time I was able to get 11 mins in, and I logged it. Third time I was able to get 29 mins in, but was too tired to finish at this point (was supposed to be my 3rd workout for the day, but ended up being the 5th from all the restarting).

Edit: There have recently been a few changes since I answered the questions above. Updates:

3. I'm back to using Fitbit. I have the Surge. I'm not using the spreadsheet at the moment. The surge gives me fewer calories for my workouts than my HRM and Vivofit did. For this reason, I'm doing a little test period where I just trust the device and see what happens.

Sued0nim

50lbs worth of success enough?

fitmomhappymom

I eat back calories, have PCOS and I'm usually a size 4 (currently 7mo preggo so that's why I say usually)

annaerobic

I would be hungry almost constantly if I didn't eat mine back. But I try to leave a cushion of 100-200 calories to compensate for errors in logging (food, exercise or both). I'm relatively new to MFP but have lost 10 pounds in 40 days, so I'd say this approach is working.

davis978

I eat back all of mine - but I wear a HRM so I know how much I really burn - don't trust the database. Lost almost 30 pounds and keeping it off so far.

sarbear112084

I really think it depends on the person and their metabolism. I think their activity level outside of the workout time plays a factor too. I'm one of the few that does not do well eating back the exercise calories. I have a desk job so I sit from 7-4. I workout for about 45 min a day 5-6 days a week. When I eat back my calories consistently each day, I dont really lose like I want. It will take me 3-4 weeks to lose a pound but it has always been very hard for weight to come off me. Genetics! So I found it better to only eat them back on days that I felt like I really needed them or bank them for a special dinner or something on the weekend. That is how I have found success for my body, metabolism, and lifestyle. Good luck!

SkinnyGirlCarrie

I use a Fitbit and HRM for my workouts and usually eat back some, if not all, of my exercise calories, down 30lbs

satisfyingmyinnerfatkid

fitmomhappymom wrote: »

I eat back calories, have PCOS and I'm usually a size 4 (currently 7mo preggo so that's why I say usually)

Congrats! and also that's awesome that a person with PCOS isn't using at as an excuse as to why they can't lose weight.

999tigger

I cant really see why this is an issue? If you eat back and its accurate, then on a cico basis it will be neutral. Eat more than you burn it has a knock on effect, with diet taking the strain and less than you burn then it promotes increased weight loss. It still depends whether you are in overall deficit or surplus though.

cwolfman13

Pattie74 wrote: »

I know this is topic has been discussed a billion times and everyone has a different opinion. I was just wondering if any have truly had success in eating back their exercise calories.

It's not really a matter of opinion...it's how this tool is designed. When you select your activity level in MFP you do NOT include exercise...just your day to day. So your calorie goal is just based on your day to day...meaning if you just ate to your calorie goal you would lose weight WITHOUT any exercise whatsoever.

You have to account for exercise activity somewhere...some calculators do include that estimate upfront in your activity level and those calories are just included in your goal...with MFP you account for them after the fact when you log exercise and you "earn" those calories.

I don't see how this doesn't make sense to so many people...it seems like basic common sense that the more active you are, the more calories (energy) your body requires...and thus you could eat more and still lose weight.

Here's a simple math breakdown...let's say you maintain on 2000 calories per day WITHOUT exercise and you tell MFP you want to lose 1 Lb per week...you will get a goal of 1500 calories. Now, you decide that exercise is awesome so you start doing that...let's say you burn 350 calories. Well, now you get to eat 1,850 calories, but you still have your 500 calorie deficit...because your maintenance would no longer be 2000 calories, it would be 2,300 calories and 2,300 - 1,800 = 500 calorie deficit still.

It's just 5th grade math...and part of being healthy and fit is not only getting to a healthy weight and rocking your nutrition...part of being healthy and fit is also appropriately fueling your body for your activities. People who don't properly fuel exercise and fitness generally have recovery issues and suffer from "overtrain" injuries...even though they're really not over-training...they're just under-feeding.

Fit people eat.

dawnna76

i didnt do well eating them back. so 6 days a week i dont. the one day i run 6+ miles i do, cause i am usually just hungrier. i spent a year at the same weight despite exercise and dieting ( i was eating them back) so i learned that unfortunalty my maintance calories is really close to what I eat daily to begin with (1700 losing) 1900 (maintained)

the unfortuante thing is no one way works for everyone and its all trial and error.

orlandodenise

I cant eat mine back. I eat low carb low fat healthy stuff - I dont have treats unless its a glass of wine - and I dont like fatty food - the food is currently too much for me. I may creep into my exercise calories now and again but not often. 34 pounds since 1st Jan

MKEgal

My doctor & dietician told me not to eat them back, and I usually don't, and it's working for me.
When I do, I lose weight more slowly (or not at all), but I haven't gained yet.

TeaBea

Pattie74 wrote: »

I know this is topic has been discussed a billion times and everyone has a different opinion. I was just wondering if any have truly had success in eating back their exercise calories.

This is how MFP is designed. If you think about it like this.....you put in a weight loss goal. MFP gives you a deficit BEFORE exercise. That way people who cannot exercise, still lose weight. Exercise is not mandatory for weight loss, it's merely suggested. Because your deficit is BEFORE exercise....eating back calories "should" get you back to your original deficit.

The problem with this is people overestimate calories burned, and can underestimate calories eaten.

I eat back calories, BUT I am conservative. Sedentary is not zero activity. I eat back calories because my goal is to lose fat. I need a moderate deficit so I have enough "fuel" to support lean muscle. Success is more than just the number on the scale. Healthy weight loss is reducing body fat...not just weight.

Pattie74

I'm down to my last 10 lbs to my goal weight. I've lost 37 lbs. and the last 10 is taking forever. At the gym, I usually work off 400-700 calories 5-6 days a week and thought if I eat back some or all, that might actually help it to come off quicker...just a thought.

bwogilvie

As @cwolfman13‌ and @TeaBea‌ said, MFP is designed to work that way. And as they say, you need to input your activity level without exercise, and estimate your exercise calories as accurately as possible.

I have lost 65 pounds doing just that and am now successfully maintaining doing just that.

Pattie74

Ok, should I not put in MFP any intention to exercise?

shadow2soul

Pattie74 wrote: »

Ok, should I not put in MFP any intention to exercise?

The part where it asks how many times a week you plan to workout is just so you have a goal to strive for. It doesn't effect the calorie goals at all. In other words, MFP doesn't trust you to workout as frequently as you claim you will and so you don't get calories for working out until you do it/log it. Does that make sense?

leggup

I eat back my exercise calories and I have been so successful that I hit my goal early and decided to lose more weight.

That said, I have my own system for determining how many calories my exercises burn. For anything outside of steady-state cardio, I use low estimates.

Liftng4Lis

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1

DawnieB1977

I have MFP set to lose 1lb a week and I don't eat back exercise calories, apart from maybe once every couple of weeks I eat back some of them. I workout a lot, and I also walk a lot, and I'm lucky to lose 0.5lbs some weeks. I use a scale to weigh food too. So eating back exercise calories wouldn't work for me.

debrakgoogins

My doctor and my personal trainer/nutritionist both agree that eating back calories is important if you are working out regularly. As my PT says, you have to fuel your workouts. I eat about half of mine back (sometimes more if I am wicked hungry) to account for any errors in my logging and because calorie burn from exercise can vary. I have lost 15 pounds since Christmas so about a pound a week. Even half a pound a week would be success for me.

katherine_startrek_fan

I eat back half of my exercise calories. In under ten months, I've lost over 56 pounds.