Earning calories with exercise: to eat or not to eat...?

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  • Kettle_Belle14
    Kettle_Belle14 Posts: 246 Member
    I save them and cheat on weekends.....

    Ditto! I haven't lost any weight in over 3 weeks though :sad:
  • andrewjuu
    andrewjuu Posts: 76 Member
    Someone mentioned that eating their exercise calories earned makes doing this bearable.....and I totally understand that. For me, it is the more rapid weight loss I see that makes it more bearable & incentivizes me to continue. To each their own! But to unilaterally state that one loses muscle mass by not eating their exercise calories back is blatantly false. As far as i can tell, I have lost no muscle mass. I say "as far as I can tell" because loss of muscle mass is another hard thing to measure. The only thing I can go by is my fitness level, which is dramatically improved, so I am guessing loss of muscle mass is not a problem for me.
  • SteelySunshine
    SteelySunshine Posts: 1,092 Member
    I think there are so many factors you can't say yes eat them back or no don't. I try to hit a happy medium. I average eating back about 200 or 300 a day. If you have 50 pounds or more to lose it's a lot less important to eat them back. Your body isn't going to start cannibalizing (eating muscle) nearly as soon as someone that is closer to their goal or ideal weight. The key is to be as accurate about what you need to lose as possible. There are people that think they need to lose 50 pounds and they are off by more than 10 and there are people that need to lose much more than that, but think they need to lose less (not a huge deal as well they aren't likely to set themselves up to have muscle burnt), in any case it's more about personal preference if you have a lot to lose. How fast do you want to lose. If you want 2 pounds a week well eating all your calories back will probably slow that down. If you want 1 pound a week well then you can eat more. It's those that should be losing a bit slower to avoid losing muscle that really have to know with some accuracy what their BF% is, because it's a lot easier to lose muscle mass when you are near your ideal weight. And it's harder to replace muscle mass than it is to lose it.
  • andrewjuu
    andrewjuu Posts: 76 Member
    ^^What she said^^

    I am totally on board w/ that. 100% agree.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Sigh....so many people using a tool and don't know how to use said tool...never read the instructions, etc.

    Anyone who can't figure out that you're supposed to achieve your GOALs on MFP, google NEAT method. MFP is a NEAT method calculator. Exercise is extra activity with the NEAT method, so long as you set your activity level correctly.

    This gets so damned frustrating...there is no debate...there should be no confusion. You eat back exercise calories with the NEAT method...you don't with the TDEE method...it's really not complicated and takes about 10 minutes to research what the hell you're doing.

    Also...dictionary...look up the word GOAL...start achieving your goals people.

    Lastly, think about it...if you're grossing 1200 calories and doing a **** ton of exercise and thus netting some ungodly low number like 500-800 net calories per day...does that even sound healthy to you? Does that even sound like what the intake of an adult human being should be? The average female who does little in the way of exercise burn roughly 1800-2000 calories per day just livin' (i.e. they maintain at roughly 1800-2000 calories)...and you really think your 500-800 net calories is adequate fuel. I just wish people would use some flippin' common sense.
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
    I don't exercise to earn calories to eat-I exercise to stay fit and trim, I eat to fuel my body.
  • andrewjuu
    andrewjuu Posts: 76 Member
    A goal is a desired result a person sets for themselves. It's great to meet a goal but I would argue that it's even better to outperform that goal. In fact in most US businesses today the reward is greater for people that outperform their goals. Meeting your goal is the minimum level of performance expected today. So outperformance is a good thing :)

    To be perfectly honest, I don't know what the difference is between NEAT & TDEE & I don't really care. I use (as you yourself suggest) common sense to guide me on my path. Common sense & due diligence have told me that a) outperformance is good & b) I am not losing muscle mass by not eating my calories back. As far as whether I am doing it right or not…..its kind of like sex, I know I am doing it right because it feels so good :smile:

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