For those who are losing...do you use your activity calories

lindaloo1213

Some days I do but most I do not.

anna_jewel

I usually eat them back. I have a HRM, so my exercise calories are pretty accurate. I try to eat as much as possible while still losing weight. Esp if this is going to be a consistent and maintained weight loss for me. I have lost 23 pounds so far, 9 pounds left till goal.

Castrofreak

I don't eat back my calories, just because I dont trust MFP's 'calories burned' estimates. I just eat my 1300 calories a day and not add my exercise to MFP

runner_girl83

I use a HRM so usually eat back my exercise calories.. Sometimes I leave up to 100-200 cals if I'm not hungry. I find that logging exercise with MFP, the calorie estimates are way off for me. A 30 minute walk will come up around 120 cals on MFP (logged through Endomondo - an app which tracks the distance you walk) and yet my HRM says I burn around 100 more cals than that so it goes to show how the accuracy counts!

bwogilvie

I ate all of mine back once I found a HRM/GPS gadget (two, really) whose calorie estimates appear to be accurate (Garmin Edge 800 for cycling, and Garmin Forerunner 620 for running). My old HRMs overestimated calories burnt by 30-50%!

As you get closer to goal, it becomes harder to lose, and you'll need to pay closer attention to your numbers. But if you log food as accurately as possible, you can continue to eat back exercise calories and lose. After losing 65 pounds, I'm now in maintenance, which suggests that my HRM estimates are pretty good. (They are a lot lower than my old HRM and MFP's estimates.)

Liftng4Lis

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

999tigger

It depends doesnt it. Are you happy that your calorie estimates are accurate? The worst of both worlds is to eat calories back that you havent burned because that will have a knock on effect to diminish the deficit and maybe put you in surplus.

Accurate calorie counts are very important.

I exercise quite a lot so have quite high calorie burns. I make sure im properly fueled for the workout. I eat them back depending on whether im hungry. Exercise calories give me that freedom, but you have to do a lot.

RoseBred

Thanks all!

SteampunkSongbird

I ate most of mine back throughout most of my weight loss but then I hit a 3-week plateau and stopped eating them back to see if it helped. I started losing again soon after that, so now I don't plan to eat them back anymore since I don't do much exercise anyway. When I was eating them back however, I was cutting mfp's calorie burn estimates in half, since it tends to overestimate rather a lot.

happygalah

No, I don't eat them back.

calz994

I agree. I don't eat back my calories. My goal is to stop eating because of boredom. I need to get accustom to a lower calorie count regardless to activity. I'm just starting, so I want to get familiar with my baseline.

Sued0nim

This thread makes me sad. For those following the MFP method, it is designed that you should eat back exercise calories, at least following the general advice to eat back 50-75% due to potential overestimation

There are no medals for not doing so. In fact for many there is the risk of inadequate nutrition and wasting more LBM than necessary if you don't

Eating them back helps fuel your body for your workouts; widens your diet; can offset the desire to crash and burn; leads to easier maintenance in the long run and is an altogether healthier approach

This is absolutely a worthwhile read, I hope some of you change your minds

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

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

bigres20

Depends on how much you want to burn in pounds per week. On average most programs will tell you 500 cals lost a day equals 1 pound of fat lost a week. As you get closer to your goal weight, this tends to slow down as the fat that has been with you longer has been stored longer and it takes that bit of extra effort to burn it, but there are ways to make that work to your advantage. Its simple though, we're a walking energy equation, energy = energy out. Fat is stored energy. Muscle is stored (built up) energy. Carbs are quick energy, the bodys main fuel source. You can keep it constant (same calories daily), drop it down ( lesser cals/day) or up (more cals/day). What you eat is also very important, the "healthier" the better the results

"RoseBred;10106039"]Just wondering if there are people who use their regular MFP calories and also use all their activity earned calories and still lost weight? [/quote]

Sued0nim

bigres20 wrote: »

Depends on how much you want to burn in pounds per week. On average most programs will tell you 500 cals lost a day equals 1 pound of fat lost a week. As you get closer to your goal weight, this tends to slow down as the fat that has been with you longer has been stored longer and it takes that bit of extra effort to burn it, but there are ways to make that work to your advantage. Its simple though, we're a walking energy equation, energy = energy out. Fat is stored energy. Muscle is stored (built up) energy. Carbs are quick energy, the bodys main fuel source. You can keep it constant (same calories daily), drop it down ( lesser cals/day) or up (more cals/day). What you eat is also very important, the "healthier" the better the results

"RoseBred;10106039"]Just wondering if there are people who use their regular MFP calories and also use all their activity earned calories and still lost weight?

[/quote]

Hang on you think it's last fat on, first fat off? :huh:

Not doubting it gets harder but that's down to less margin for error, and higher likelihood of inconsistencies sneaking into logging

As long as you hit your protein and fat macros and have a good spread of nutrition, you can eat whatever you want

ChristianRW

I don't want to eat them back.
If i'm extra hungry, i snack an extra apple or something. It has happened that i've been so hungry after a workout, and then i eat it all back, but that's rather rare!
I regularly do exercise in the amount of 5-600 calories, calculated with endomondo.
I might eat back 1-200 calories through apples, carrots and such.

I'd say 9/10 times i do not eat back more than 1-200 so i have 400 extra calories in my deficit when i get my 5 week projection as i close shop.

My weightloss has been really steady with .5 kg per week, and i feel great. In the first 2-4 weeks i was a bit hungry, but now it's no problem at all not eating as much as i used to. I figure it has more to do with me loving and eating extra large portions before MFP than with me eating too little now.
When i go to bed at night i'm not hungry at all, not even when i've done exercise and have a 400 calories extra deficit, and i still lose weight.

I've come to the conclusion that my body probably knows best, and will tell me if it's hungry or not.

Hope this helps .

kendikendrah

MFP can be too generous with how many calories you burned. A lot of people recommend eating back half of the activity calories.

stacey_rayner

Some days yes some days no. Depends on the type of day you have. I always try to eat my minimum regardless.

Dave2041

I try to eat them back... not always possible! (700 calorie deficit the past two days )

veganbaum

calz994 wrote: »

I agree. I don't eat back my calories. My goal is to stop eating because of boredom. I need to get accustom to a lower calorie count regardless to activity. I'm just starting, so I want to get familiar with my baseline.

This is backwards thinking. You shouldn't get used to a lower calorie count regardless of activity. If you exercise, you need to fuel your body appropriately. And if you're just starting, I'd suggest starting with using MFP as it is designed.

RoseBred

Thanks all!

suruda

I am a super slow loser, at 1200 calories a day I am lucky to lose a pound a week. I typically don't eat back activity calories but will if I feel hungry and have some to eat. In the back of my mind is what I keep reading that we typically overestimate the calories we burn and underestimate the calories we consume....