I exercise to eat more...

Charlotte596_

Everyone I see is on minimal cals exercising and doesn't eat back there exercise cals..

Am I the only person who exercises more so I can eat more?

Ex. I have 1380cals a day to loose 1lb a week.. Then I exercise and my hrm tells me I have burnt 500cals. So that day I can eat 1880cals. & I can still loose a pound a week.

Does anyone else work like this? I thought that's what mfp was made for?

Charlotte xxxxx

SezxyStef

When I used NEAT yes I ate my exercise calories back...I even would exercise to eat.

It is the way MFP is designed yes and more people need to take that part of it and apply it.

Esp when they are on low calories.

North44

I'm the same. I already was exercising so it's not a big deal for me. I'm on 1220 to lose 1lb per week and I eat back every calorie pretty much. I average 1600 calories per day and I'm losing a pound a week. I can't eat 1220 a day. It's just very difficult. They days I don't exercise I go over my cals, but it hasn't seemed to hinder my loss very much. Weekends can be tough! Lol

karenrich77

I am too scared to eat mine. What if my HRM is overestimating lol. I wish I would cause I get pretty hungry but hey I have lasted 16 months doing that so I am not falling off any wagons yet lol

michellepearson224

Yep me too. I'm on 1200 a day to lose a pound a week and I couldn't survive without exercise calories.

slideaway1

I used to eat and exercise like that. I used to run 10 miles a day which gave me an extra 1200 cals to eat what I wanted and could still loose weight. However, it is something that is not sustainable for the rest of your life so I now have my diet (cals/macros etc) on point and I exercise to support it and benefit from it rather than just doing loads of cardio loads to eat loads of Pizza. Although there is nothing really wrong with this approach, I just dont think its very optimal for progression.I hope that makes sense.

DeterminedFee201426

North44 wrote: »

I'm the same. I already was exercising so it's not a big deal for me. I'm on 1220 to lose 1lb per week and I eat back every calorie pretty much. I average 1600 calories per day and I'm losing a pound a week. I can't eat 1220 a day. It's just very difficult. They days I don't exercise I go over my cals, but it hasn't seemed to hinder my loss very much. Weekends can be tough! Lol

Same here

kshama2001

Hi Charlotte,

Yes, running low on calories definitely motivates me to push away from the computer and get in some exercise, especially after work, when my motivation to exercise is low. Also, I like high fat foods like butter, cheese and peanut butter, and I need to exercise in order to be able to afford them in my calorie/fat budget and otherwise eat the way I like to eat. Furthermore, my house is less cluttered because being able to log exercise for housecleaning provides some extra motivation.

999tigger

I think you exercise for a number of reasons with the calorie burns just being one. It does make it more sustainable for some people by giving you extra flexibility in your calorie allowance.

Some people it just makes hungrier so they have to eat back, but others it does not, so they dont have to eat them all back. The one thing you should watch out for is that the calorie burns are accurate so as to aboid overestimations and eating calories you havent burned in reality. I eat my calories according to needs, sometimes ive adequately fueld and am not hungry so I cna live without eating all of them back, other times I will eat all.

kshama2001

Ya, I don't eat all my exercise calories back - I invariably have a lot of them left over on days I exercise a lot.

Machka9

I absolutely exercise so I can eat more ... but I don't eat all my exercise calories back. I think I've come close a few times, but most of the time I try to leave about half as extra calories burned.

MaVieEntiere

I eat back some calories for exercise but not all. I don't have a HRM so I rely on online calcs and MFP, which I am afraid might vastly overestimate. However, if I know I am going to eat out later and will want to eat/drink some extra calories, I will put in some extra exercise.

As someone said above about eating loads of Pizza, I don't think of it that way. Some people find it hard to eat 1,200 calories a day, and by exercising, even a really healthy 1,500 per day can be more doable. Some days, that is me.

Also, exercising regularizes my appetite. Before MFP my appetite was out of control but exercising makes my mind clearer and I don't feel like binging like I did a few years ago.

ncboiler89

CupcakeTheWedding wrote: »

Am I the only person who exercises more so I can eat more?

Hardly

belimawr

Machka9 wrote: »

I absolutely exercise so I can eat more ... but I don't eat all my exercise calories back. I think I've come close a few times, but most of the time I try to leave about half as extra calories burned.

I'll vary. I'm sure that even if the exercise calories are overestimated, there's no way that by eating them all back here and there is going to kill me, as long as I don't do it on a regular basis. I think some people may be too anxious about the exercise calorie thing. Monitor your weight, eat them back if you desire, and adjust if necessary.

I walk at least 4 miles a day, and on rough days (I get a bit stressed at work sometimes) I'll either walk more or do extra exercise just so I can eat more - enabling me a treat if I do well (and if I don't handle the stress of the day well, I don't get my treat which means it ends up a greater deficit for the day).

In a way it's rewarding myself in two ways, extra exercise for better health and extra food. It's a win-win. I monitor myself, and keep myself in check, and it's worked fairly well.

Life is stressful enough at times without worrying about an "estimate".

aliciamariaq

You are definitely not alone!

I normally eat back a portion of my excercise calories.

Just like others have said above, yes, I will sometimes excercise to eat, especially if I know I am going out to eat or to a party where there will be lots of drinks/snacks. On those days, I will up my excercise so I don't have to worry too much about what I am consuming.

Also excercising gives me more energy and helps me regulate my appetite. I tend to drink a lot of water when I excercise so that helps keep me feeling sated.

Liftng4Lis

If you're using the MFP way, the point IS to earn more through exercise. I personally have been know to exercise just for cheesecake!

grammyhoyt

I usually eat back some of my exercise calories, but I like to leave about 300 calories "on the table" to adjust for any inaccuracies in logging both calories and exercise. This seems to work for me, so far, but I am at about 1300 per day right now, so when I have to cut back to 1200' I guess I will have to walk a little longer!

jediguitarist

I've been trying to put on weight so I've been eating back as much as I can. Sometimes, finding food to eat is tough...lol

daaaaaanielle

When I first starting, my main motivator for exercise was definitely to get more calories to eat. Since I started seeing actual progress in terms of my ability to exercise harder and for longer, my motivations have shifted a bit more towards gaining muscle and being fit in general. But I'd still say I'm 60/40 in favour of getting more calories.

I started a new week of C25K last night and did my longest run so far and about 1/2 of the way through I felt like stopping but I decided not to because I knew that if I stopped, I would be missing out on a lot of precious calories. I thought it was quite funny that that was how I convinced myself to carry on, but either way it worked and I finished that run and I'll get the benefit from it. It doesn't really matter what words you use to convince yourself to exercise, as long as you manage to convince yourself and get it done!

I don't always eat them all back now but I think that's mainly because I upped my calorie goal from 1200 to 1460 (which still puts me at 1lb a week) and 1460 gives me enough room to budget for most things that I enjoy. Not all of them by any means, but enough that I don't feel deprived. I usually exercise towards the end of the day and I have my dinner afterwards so often my exercise calories will be used for a dessert of some kind.

jemhh

Yes I exercise so I can eat more. These days, I can't cut below 1900 cals for long before feeling super hungry and losing strength. The cardio I do doesn't make me hungry but does give me enough calories to make me comfortable.

TimothyFish

I do that. My "normal" calorie goal is 1600, which is kind of low for a 6'5" guy over 200 lbs. So, I get out and ride my bicycle 20 miles and then my goal is above 2100. I don't like the idea of using my average TDEE. Last week, for example, because of bad weather and because I was waking up two and three times a night with muscle cramps, I decided to scale my bicycle riding back significantly. Instead of putting in over a hundred miles, I put in 40. That meant I had more days when I had to stick to 1600, but if I'd been using my average TDEE, I would've gained weight instead of losing.

But my reason for riding isn't to gain calories to eat. I ride to clear my head. Even though I knew I needed the rest, I was disappointed that I couldn't ride more this week.

darrensurrey

I exercise so I can enjoy food.

Or do I eat so I can enjoy my sports?

AmazonMayan

I eat mine back up to the point it would be if I used TDEE minus 20% method on days that I'm much more active. I am conservative with exercise burned calories I claim and even on slower days I eat a 100 or 200 over MFP numbers (before exercise). I'm lucky I get more calories and will never be as low as 1200. I am losing at a good rate. I eat the extra because I need the fuel to function.

If I become sedentary again for whatever reason, I'll go back to what MFP recommends.

Charlotte596_

Thanks for your replies guys nice to see everyone's view on this, I personally love food and I love exercise so if I can do both and loose weight (I have 9lb) to loose before target then irl be happy... Xx also I'm relatively new so I just want to get to grips with what I'm doing and get myself on the right path to get the last few pounds off xx

ninerbuff

I exercise to stay fit and increase my health, but the by product of being able to eat more is a bonus!

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Mezzie1024

I exercise because I like to exercise, but I certainly enjoy the fringe benefit of eating more food than I would get to otherwise.

kshama2001

Ya, I feel better and sleep better when I exercise.

arditarose

I used to do that. But in the end, what MFP gives me for NEAT is basically my TDEE including my lifting-so now I don't even cardio because the little I would do wouldn't even make a difference (calorie wise).