Do yall eat back the calories you burn during exercise?

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  • JonathanBB
    JonathanBB Posts: 252 Member
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    I did at first but once day I did yard work in 95 degree heat and burned about 600 calories. I couldn't see how I could eat all that so had pizza, 3 slices over the course of the night. I woke up bloated and 2 lbs heavier). It was temporary. So now I just try to stick with my 1200 a day and if I exercise I might eat a little more but otherwise just ignore the warning when I complete my day (you're not heating enough!!!)

    This is probably bad advice but I just started a few weeks ago.

    That short term weight gain may well have been due to the huge amounts of sodium in the pizza causing water retention, nit eating too many calories. Eat back your exercise calories. It is the fuel your body needs to run on. It is like expecting your car to go the same distance on 1 gallon of gas and 10 gallons of gas. If you take a long trip or are stuck in a lot of traffic you need to refill the tank more than if you are just doing your normal driving around town. Same with your body: if you are working it harder it needs more fuel than it does for just normal everyday activities.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
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    I try not to (unless it's on one of my indulgence days).

    I've always been a healthy weight so I say log it. Gotta fuel the machine.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    Of course.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
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    I did at first but once day I did yard work in 95 degree heat and burned about 600 calories. I couldn't see how I could eat all that so had pizza, 3 slices over the course of the night. I woke up bloated and 2 lbs heavier). It was temporary. So now I just try to stick with my 1200 a day and if I exercise I might eat a little more but otherwise just ignore the warning when I complete my day (you're not heating enough!!!)

    This is probably bad advice but I just started a few weeks ago.

    That short term weight gain may well have been due to the huge amounts of sodium in the pizza causing water retention, nit eating too many calories. Eat back your exercise calories. It is the fuel your body needs to run on. It is like expecting your car to go the same distance on 1 gallon of gas and 10 gallons of gas. If you take a long trip or are stuck in a lot of traffic you need to refill the tank more than if you are just doing your normal driving around town. Same with your body: if you are working it harder it needs more fuel than it does for just normal everyday activities.

    Thank you. There's no way the person ate an extra 3,500 calories on top of maintenance from pizza alone and actually gained 2 lbs.
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
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    Always.
    I may eat most of them and leave a little left over to make room for error, but I never leave them completely uneaten. The calorie goal that MFP gives you already has the necessary deficit built in. If you don't eat any of your exercise calories, the deficit is larger than it needs to be and increases the possibility that you will lose muscle mass as well as fat.
    My ticker is proof that eating back your exercise calories totally works. :smile:

    Yep, I lost 20 lbs in 2011 using MFP and ate back all of my exercise cals.
  • mrslcoop
    mrslcoop Posts: 317 Member
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    No. Here is what I do: On cardio days I eat back up to my BMR at a minimum (around 1450). On lifting days I eat my TDEE-15% + 200 Kcals (which is usually 1800-ish for me).

    EDIT: I'm trying to lose only 1/2 or less lbs per week.
  • MaydayParadeGirl
    MaydayParadeGirl Posts: 190 Member
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    NO!! I never eat them back.. I always work out at night,and refuse to eat late and then go to sleep !!

    That's a good idea because your body burns less calories when you are sleeping and therefore is storing more foods, you aren't supposed to eat for like...three hours before you go to bed or something? At least anything heavy
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    I did at first but once day I did yard work in 95 degree heat and burned about 600 calories. I couldn't see how I could eat all that so had pizza, 3 slices over the course of the night. I woke up bloated and 2 lbs heavier). It was temporary. So now I just try to stick with my 1200 a day and if I exercise I might eat a little more but otherwise just ignore the warning when I complete my day (you're not heating enough!!!)

    This is probably bad advice but I just started a few weeks ago.

    just log exercise....yeah...you might have the odd day of extra yard work or extra cleaning...but it's an isolated incident, not routine activity. Don't log that stuff...just actual exercise. My philosophy...I've always done a lot of yard work and cleaning, and I still got fat...it's not exercise.

    If I spend all day raking my yard I'm logging it. Bad advice to not log it. I always add something new to my workout routine and if I do something like kayaking but only once per month and hurt for two days afterwards you can bet your bottom I'm logging it as a workout.

    If I did it as a matter of routine, I would log it...otherwise I'm just having a few extra hard earned beers. I don't think it's bad advice...it's an isolated incident, not routine...no harm is going to come to the body if it's not routine.
  • TDavis0001
    TDavis0001 Posts: 2 Member
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    I usually burn about 600 per day, and I make it a point to not consume at least 500 of them.
  • kgraves3
    kgraves3 Posts: 28 Member
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    You should absolutely eat back your exercise calories. If you're worried that you will overestimate them, I wouldn't be. I personally don't count things like house or yard work (even though they are in the MFP database) because MFP takes into account that sort of activity, based on how you describe your daily activity level. It's not vital that you eat ALL of your exercise calories, but you need to be eating the majority of them. Not doing so could cause you to go into starvation mode, because it drastically increases your calorie deficit. MFP was designed with all of these things in mind.
    The calorie goal that MFP sets for you is more accurately a NET calorie goal, meaning the difference between what you eat and what you burn through deliberate exercise should equal your calorie goal.
    For instance, my calorie goal is 1200 kcal/day. So to put my situation mathematically:
    calories eaten - calories expenditure through exercise = 1200
    Again, it's not absolutely vital that you eat every single exercise calorie your burn every single day, but you should eat most of them. Here's a more detailed explanation of why you should always eat your exercise calories (for future reference, this can be found in the Newbies Read Me 2 Post in General Diet and Weight Loss Help along with answers to other frequently asked questions): http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    And to scribe68, pizza is sodium laden, so that bloating and temporary two pound weight gain was probably water retention rather than fat gain, if I had to give my non-expert opinion on it. To gain two pounds overnight you would need to eat a calorie surplus of over 7000 kcal.

    And if you are still skeptical, my own experience has shown that eating them doesn't necessarily slow weight loss. I average almost three pounds of weight loss per week (which is unusually high) and I eat the majority of my exercise calories every day.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    NO!! I never eat them back.. I always work out at night,and refuse to eat late and then go to sleep !!

    That's a good idea because your body burns less calories when you are sleeping and therefore is storing more foods, you aren't supposed to eat for like...three hours before you go to bed or something? At least anything heavy

    Actually, that's stupid and meal timing is irrelevant. I eat my full dinner at 8:30/9:00 PM every night and am in bed by 10...I've lost 40 Lbs. Meal timing is irrelevant...calories in/calories out period.
  • LadyIntrepid
    LadyIntrepid Posts: 399 Member
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    Yep. I eat 'em. When I was in weight loss mode, I focused more on netting than actual calories eating. So as long as I was netting 1200-1400 a day, i was losing. And losing more quickly when it was closer to 1400 than 1200. But everyone has to find what works for them.
  • trud72
    trud72 Posts: 1,912 Member
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    only if I am hungry! :bigsmile:
  • crowlg94
    crowlg94 Posts: 41
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    No, do not eat back what you burn. It's OK if you need a small snack but if you want to lose the weight don't over do it. Without the exercise the program allow you to lose about 2 pounds a week plus or minus. If you are exercising that is extra and you will lose more faster.
  • MaydayParadeGirl
    MaydayParadeGirl Posts: 190 Member
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    NO!! I never eat them back.. I always work out at night,and refuse to eat late and then go to sleep !!

    That's a good idea because your body burns less calories when you are sleeping and therefore is storing more foods, you aren't supposed to eat for like...three hours before you go to bed or something? At least anything heavy

    Actually, that's stupid and meal timing is irrelevant. I eat my full dinner at 8:30/9:00 PM every night and am in bed by 10...I've lost 40 Lbs. Meal timing is irrelevant...calories in/calories out period.

    Your body goes into recovery mode when you go to bed, it naturally slows down, if you're eating a ton of calories before bed it's goign to slow down the calorie burning rate.
  • cindy5761
    cindy5761 Posts: 28
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    I wouldn't eat them all back.....just remember you need a 500 calorie deficit a day to lose 1 lb a week.....either through cutting calories or with exercise.
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
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    NO!! I never eat them back.. I always work out at night,and refuse to eat late and then go to sleep !!

    That's a good idea because your body burns less calories when you are sleeping and therefore is storing more foods, you aren't supposed to eat for like...three hours before you go to bed or something? At least anything heavy

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  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
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    NO!! I never eat them back.. I always work out at night,and refuse to eat late and then go to sleep !!

    That's a good idea because your body burns less calories when you are sleeping and therefore is storing more foods, you aren't supposed to eat for like...three hours before you go to bed or something? At least anything heavy

    Your body is not going to store calories just because you're asleep. You burn calories 24/7, because calories are fuel, and they are what your body uses to do anything and everything. Whether you eat food 3 hours before you go to sleep or right before you sleep, that food is still in your system being digested. According to the Mayo Clinic, it takes 6 to 8 hours for food to pass through your stomach and small intestine, and around 40 for food to pass through your large intestine. It varies depending on a variety of factors, but on average, your meal spends 50 hours inside your body before it is completely digested and the waste is excreted.

    So no, it doesn't matter when you eat.

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/digestive-system/an00896

    A deficit is a deficit. A small to moderate calorie deficit plus regular exercise is optimal to lose fat and retain muscle mass. Use the website as it was designed and eat back your exercise calories, or use the TDEE method.
  • bethheyyy
    bethheyyy Posts: 25 Member
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    oh.. good to know. Thanks!
  • kgraves3
    kgraves3 Posts: 28 Member
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    NO!! I never eat them back.. I always work out at night,and refuse to eat late and then go to sleep !!

    That's a good idea because your body burns less calories when you are sleeping and therefore is storing more foods, you aren't supposed to eat for like...three hours before you go to bed or something? At least anything heavy

    vRsqmro.gif


    Right there with ya...

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