Does anyone NOT count their Exercise calories??

skymel14

Does anyone NOT count their Exercise calories??

I ask because it seems to me like it would be counter-productive. Let's say I am on 1200/calories a day, then I see that with exercise I suddenly have 400 calories left to eat. If I don't eat them that creates a greater deficit, right? Is there harm in NOT counting exercise, like just putting it in as 1 calorie burned sans what the treadmill/etc says?

Any thoughts/comments are appreciated!!

FarAway02

Our bodies need fuel... if you're eating, for instance, 1200 calories a day (which isn't enough for me as it is) and then you burn 400 calories through exercise your net calories would be 800 calories.

The recommended daily intake for a 1 year old baby is 900 calories. So eating 800 calories is really unhealthy.

Your body needs fuel and it needs to repair. Even if you eat back all your exercise calories there is still a serious POINT to exercising...:

1) Exercise builds up your lean muscle. Lean muscle burns more calories per day than fat does. The more lean muscle you have the more calories you'll be burning just by being alive

2) An exercised body is a healthy body. For now and for the future. Do you want to be the old lady that's stuck at home or do you want to be the old lady who still gets out and about when she's 85?

3) Being fit is awesome. Muscle is awesome. Not only will you FEEL great, but you'll LOOK great.

4) Following on from 3.... FIT is the new skinny.

Serah87

Our bodies need fuel... if you're eating, for instance, 1200 calories a day (which isn't enough for me as it is) and then you burn 400 calories through exercise your net calories would be 800 calories.

The recommended daily intake for a 1 year old baby is 900 calories. So eating 800 calories is really unhealthy.

Your body needs fuel and it needs to repair. Even if you eat back all your exercise calories there is still a serious POINT to exercising...:

1) Exercise builds up your lean muscle. Lean muscle burns more calories per day than fat does. The more lean muscle you have the more calories you'll be burning just by being alive

2) An exercised body is a healthy body. For now and for the future. Do you want to be the old lady that's stuck at home or do you want to be the old lady who still gets out and about when she's 85?

3) Being fit is awesome. Muscle is awesome. Not only will you FEEL great, but you'll LOOK great.

4) Following on from 3.... FIT is the new skinny.

^^^^THIS!!!!!!

ETA: I eat between 1700-2000 calories!!!

notworthstalking

The main 'trick' to losing weight is to eat less than your body uses. There are a lot of variable , but eating ways less the your body needs isn't a good idea. Neither is losing weight too fast. For me the purpose of exercise is to get fit, strong, maintain muscle and bone density and look better. When you use the mfp method and tell it how much you want to lose,it takes what you would burn in everyday life (from what activity setting you pick) and takes a number of calories from that to help you lose weight. I believe it's 250 calories less a day to lose 1/2 a pound and so on. When you add exercise into that you increase the deficit. This can be a good thing, but not so good if you don't have much to lose, are on really low base calories, or workout a lot. It's hard to maintain muscle and get enough nutrients if you eat too few calories. So using the mfp method it's better to eat more when you work out. I've heard that the online calculator over estimates burns and even with a hrm it's not always perfect, so you might need to play with it a bit. I generally always try to at back exercise calories unless I truly am not hungry. After those days, I find I am hungry the next day. Even now I am on maintenance if I am hungry I will eat more.

notworthstalking

Our bodies need fuel... if you're eating, for instance, 1200 calories a day (which isn't enough for me as it is) and then you burn 400 calories through exercise your net calories would be 800 calories.

The recommended daily intake for a 1 year old baby is 900 calories. So eating 800 calories is really unhealthy.

Your body needs fuel and it needs to repair. Even if you eat back all your exercise calories there is still a serious POINT to exercising...:

1) Exercise builds up your lean muscle. Lean muscle burns more calories per day than fat does. The more lean muscle you have the more calories you'll be burning just by being alive

2) An exercised body is a healthy body. For now and for the future. Do you want to be the old lady that's stuck at home or do you want to be the old lady who still gets out and about when she's 85?

3) Being fit is awesome. Muscle is awesome. Not only will you FEEL great, but you'll LOOK great.

4) Following on from 3.... FIT is the new skinny.

Yes, well explained too.

FarAway02

The main 'trick' to losing weight is to eat less than your body uses. There are a lot of variable , but eating ways less the your body needs isn't a good idea.

Exactly. You have to find a medium ground.

I did some trial and error... I now have a diet (and by diet I mean what I eat as opposed to a fad) that I'm never hungry on (if I am hungry I EAT MORE) and yet I'm still losing weight and my body is toning up gradually.

Dear OP... you can, of course, do whatever you wish. But I recommend you eat back as many of those exercise calories as you can stomach. Listen to your body - if you're hungry, eat. Just keep the foods healthy!

0OneTwo3

I don't count them BUT i count the exercise to my general activity level in the formula increasing it from very light activity to moderate activity. This only makes sense because i do exactly the same program every week.

if you want to eat only 1200 and don't eat back exercise cals however you will loose weight (and fast probably) but you will end up with a very unattraktiv body composition that will also be very hard to maintain.

learnerdriver

Sort of. I'm using the TDEE activity method- I amend the calories to 1=100, 2=200, so I can track how much I have done, and I watch my net calorie level for the week.

skymel14

TDEE method? What is that?

MFP put me on 1200 calories/day... what should I be on then?

Thank you all!

jamiek917

TDEE is your total daily energy expenditure- and it includes your exercise cals... enter in your info here http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ --and then subtract no more than 20% to find the amount u should eat for weight loss, which will no doubt be much higher than 1200, but then u dont eat your exercise cals. if u use what MFP says, eat them back. make sense?

FarAway02

MFP put me on 1200 calories/day... what should I be on then?

Thank you all!

Very much depends on your height and build and what you do in your day to day life. I'm 5 ft 11 and I work with kids - I'm ALWAYS on my feet, picking kids up and down, crawling around on the floor etc etc. 1200 calories left me dizzy and exhausted. 1600 calories is perfect for me.

I would spend a day eating whenever you're hungry (but make sure you ONLY eat healthy food - snack on fruit - try not to eat too many carbs as well) and see how many calories you hit... and then I would stick to around that amount for 2 - 4 weeks and see what happens to your body.

I actually levelled out at 1200....my body stopped losing weight. The second I upped to 1600 I started losing again

zyxst

I don't count them BUT i count the exercise to my general activity level in the formula increasing it from very light activity to moderate activity. This only makes sense because i do exactly the same program every week.

I do this. I wanted a flat number of calories per day rather than calories that fluctuate depending on what I logged as exercise.

55in13

It depends on how far over goal you are, or more accurately how high your BF% is. I am just starting to count mine. I did not count them while I still had a lot to lose.

skymel14

So then I need to:

- Increase my calories to around 1400
- Try to include more exercise if possible
- Avoid carbs??

Saratini76

Personally, my doctor who is supervising my weight loss told me NOT to eat my exercise calories back. I am not to the point yet that I work out consistently, but I do think that if you are vigorous with exercise then you should probably account for those calories burned and eat at least some of them back. At this time, I am only able to walk a few miles a few times a week and do some resistance-band training. I don't feel I burn that much, and I keep to my calorie goals. Don't starve your body, but don't obsess over the deficit. Good luck with everything!

Faye_Anderson

TDEE method? What is that?

MFP put me on 1200 calories/day... what should I be on then?

Thank you all!

MFP only "puts you on" 1200 if you choose "lose 2lbs per week" and sedentary, especially if you have quite a lot to lose.
Go to http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ and find out your BMR/TDEE and eat between those numbers. I have a lot of MFP friends who lose weight steadily on 2000 calories and they are very close to their goal. It's not a race or Biggest Loser. It's supposed to be a healthy, sustainable lifestyle change

TheVimFuego

Never logged exercise, never logged alcohol ... Somehow I trust they will cancel each other out

toutmonpossible

I believe it is extremely counterproductive to automatically eat back your exercise calories. Most people are eating more than they think and not burning as many calories as they believe through exercise. The calculations (BMR, TDEE, calorie burn) are often inaccurate. If you're working out very hard and are hungry, then sure, eat a small but filling snack, say, a handful of nuts, and keep track of your weight on the scale to make sure that you still are creating an appropriate deficit and losing.

toutmonpossible

TDEE method? What is that?

MFP put me on 1200 calories/day... what should I be on then?

Thank you all!

MFP only "puts you on" 1200 if you choose "lose 2lbs per week" and sedentary, especially if you have quite a lot to lose.

If you are short, and already at a low weight it also may give you 1200. 1200 is just a starting point. Some women need to go below that to lose. You can't generalize and you have to use your own judgment after observing how your body responds to diet and exercise.

skymel14

TDEE method? What is that?

MFP put me on 1200 calories/day... what should I be on then?

Thank you all!

MFP only "puts you on" 1200 if you choose "lose 2lbs per week" and sedentary, especially if you have quite a lot to lose.
Go to http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ and find out your BMR/TDEE and eat between those numbers. I have a lot of MFP friends who lose weight steadily on 2000 calories and they are very close to their goal. It's not a race or Biggest Loser. It's supposed to be a healthy, sustainable lifestyle change

Thank you very much!!

skymel14

I believe it is extremely counterproductive to automatically eat back your exercise calories. Most people are eating more than they think and not burning as many calories as they believe through exercise. The calculations (BMR, TDEE, calorie burn) are often inaccurate. If you're working out very hard and are hungry, then sure, eat a small but filling snack, say, a handful of nuts, and keep track of your weight on the scale to make sure that you still are creating an appropriate deficit and losing.

I agree! That was my mindset as well. Thank you!