I know, I know... another one of those...

MK608

I've done my best to search around for old posts about this specific part of the topic, but to no avail. I was hoping someone might be able to help me. I've been trying to eat back my calories from exercise as per MFP's recommendation; however, when I do eat back even a majority of the calories, I do not lose ANY weight. Sometimes I gain! I wear a HRM when I workout so I know exactly how many calories I am burning and try to journal as honestly and accurately as possible. Any advice? Thanks!

James1935

I'm the same - very frustrating....

moontyrant

If eating back your exercise calories stalls your weight loss, then don't eat all your calories back. Eat back half of your exercise calories if you must, but find out what works for you. Do what works because it works. Don't do what people say you should do because Dr. Oz/Internet says so/broscience.

Serah87

Do you weigh your food?? If your just guessing you could be way off. Also did you just start eating your exercise calories back??

pastryari

Height, current weight, goal weight, your calorie goal, your exercise routine, and open your food diary.

HollisGrant

I eat them back if I'm hungry, otherwise I don't. So far that's working for me. I'm not starving by any means.

Calliope610

How much weight to you have to lose? What is your daily caloric requirement? What method did you use to get that number? What is your activity level? Do you exercise on a regular basis?

More info is needed in order to make any suggestions.

DesdemonaRose

I'm not an expert, but from some online reading:

What kind of workouts are you doing? If you are gaining muscles your numbers will decrease slower but you are losing inches and will look better in the long run.

Look at you calories from carbs vs fat. Some people process carbs better some don't. Maybe altering your ratios will help.

Lots of salt and carbs will make you retain water and have bigger numbers.

How often are you weighing yourself? 1 pound a week is healthy weight loss.

MinnieInMaine

Hate to add to all the questions, but I have to ask - what kind of HRM are you using? Not all are made the same. Does it have a chest strap?

yarwell

Are you subtracting the calories MFP already knows about from the calories on your HRM ? At least 1 calorie per minute is already in there for your BMR & sedentary, so it'll get accounted twice if you use the whole HRM reading.

HeidiCooksSupper

Any figures of calories needed or burned given by any calculator for any individual, food, or exercise are only estimates. As the infomercials say, "Results vary." If the average estimate isn't working for you, vary your consumption and or/activities until the desired result is achieved.

trisH_7183

I don't eat them back,cause it adds too much food.That's just me,know it works for a lot of people.

Are you drinking all your water? Eating mostly healthy? Do you measure your food by weighing or

With measuring cups & spoons? Are you doing so much exercise,it gives you more calories than you need?

I'm not an expert,hope you find the help you need.

reach4thestar

I eat them back if I'm hungry, otherwise I don't. So far that's working for me. I'm not starving by any means.

THIS...just listen to tummy rumbling

MK608

Thanks for all the suggestions already, I appreciate it. To try to answer the questions people are asking (I also opened my food diary):

Just started trying to eat back calories recently
I'm 5/2. CW: 140.8 and my GW is 125
Calorie goal is 1,200
I exercise 5 days per week, cardio and strength each day (burn 400-650 calories per day typically)
I use the Polar FT60 HRM and yes, it has a chest strap
I have linked my apps so that my calories burned are only counted 1 x

bethlaf

lots of us have messed up metabolisms, that burn less to start with , so eating back all the exercise calories is not a good idea, personally wouldn't recommend doing not more than HALF the exercise calories

EmilyOfTheSun

Are you logging your food accurately?
Get a food scale. It's very beneficial.

LizL217

How much time are you giving each method? Are you talking about day-to-day changes, or are you eating back your exercise calories consistently over a period of weeks and still seeing no loss/gains?

Your weight will fluctuate from day to day, so certainly don't expect instant weight loss the day after your workout (especially since exercise can make your body retain some extra water).

Also, HRMs are not always 100% accurate, nor is the estimate that MFP gives you for how many calories you should net to achieve a certain amount of weight loss. The estimates are based on averages, and not every human being is exactly average.

What I would recommend is the following 6-WEEK experiment:

1) Start by weighing yourself every morning for a week, and taking basic measurements (waist, hips, thighs, arms). Take the averages of these measurements and call that your Week 1 starting point.

2) Every day for 6 weeks, net the number of calories that MFP recommends. Try to do so very consistently every day. Don't think of that calorie level as a maximum, think of it as a target. You want to get as close to the target as you can, every day.

3) During the 6 weeks, record how you feel, how your workouts are going, whether you're tired or sluggish or any other changes to your body or mood.

4) For the final week, record your weight every day and take your measurements every day. Take these averages and call that your Week 6 ending point.

5) Compare your starting point to your ending point. Did you gain or lose? Did you add inches, or subtract? Do you feel tired or energized? Did you get stronger or weaker in your exercises (doing weight training throughout will also give you a more measurable sense of whether you're getting stronger or weaker).
* If you gained weight and you added inches, you should lower your calorie target.
* If you gained weight but lost inches, you're retaining muscle mass and are probably on the path toward a rockin' strong body. Yay! This is why the measurements are important, as weight won't give you the complete picture. Keep at this calorie target for another 6 weeks and see if you keep losing.
* If you lost weight but gained inches, you probably lost some muscle and added some fat, which is not what you want at all. Re-evaluate what you're eating every day and whether your exercise routine is promoting muscle retention/growth.
* If you lost weight and lost inches, but feel terrible and seem to be getting weaker, you probably set your calorie level too low.
* If you lost weight and lost inches and feel great, then you should keep doing what you're doing!

Unfortunately MFP and your HRM are just tools, they won't be able to give you all the answers. A bit of (controlled and scientific) trial and error is the best way to find out how your body responds to various levels of energy intake and output.

sarajeanelles

I am the exact same way. I don't have much more to lose (I'm 5'10 and 153 now, trying to get back to pre baby weight of 148) and if I do eat back my exercise cals I do not lose anything. I also use a HRM, a Polar FT4 and I do Spin class and weights 5 days a week, usually burning anywhere from 550-900 calories a session. I do not weigh my food, but I eat out nearly every night and other than fruit and veggies and veggie burger type things I don't eat much else at the house so I don't feel that I need a scale since I'm not eating cuts of meat, etc. and I look up ALL of my food when I eat out. I have finally figured out that if I put in my spin and weights sessions at 100-200 calories each and only eat back that much of them then I lose about a pound a week. I absolutely cannot eat back all of my exercise calories, I tried it and it doesn't work for me. So basically my recommendation is to only eat back a portion of your exercise cals, I know there are people here who will say that you can eat them all back and still lose but that simply is not true for everyone. I was overweight up until I was 17 years old (over 215 lbs) and most of my family is overweight, I lost the weight 11 years ago and have kept it off ever since. even through a pregnancy and after. it's in my genes and that's just the way it is for me.

kennethmgreen

Height, current weight, goal weight, your calorie goal, your exercise routine, and open your food diary.

Yep. I see that you did come back and provide that info.

But the fact that people are willing to jump in and offer advice so quickly, on so little information, is indicative of the problem. "Eat back your exercise calories" seems to be more a movement or ideology than simply how the math of MFP was designed. And people will have opinions about ideologies.

I suspect that is the problem you alluded to in your OP when you said you did a search and couldn't find what you are looking for. (assuming you are looking for specifics about eating back exercise calories and still gaining weight). Because I know there are plenty of search results related to eating back exercise calories.

You wrote in your follow-up: "Just started trying to eat back calories recently" - Whatever you do, try to be patient with making changes to your routine. Our bodies don't respond the way our TV does when we change the channel. It takes time. Don't be in a rush.

CoderGal

I've done my best to search around for old posts about this specific part of the topic, but to no avail. I was hoping someone might be able to help me. I've been trying to eat back my calories from exercise as per MFP's recommendation; however, when I do eat back even a majority of the calories, I do not lose ANY weight. Sometimes I gain! I wear a HRM when I workout so I know exactly how many calories I am burning and try to journal as honestly and accurately as possible. Any advice? Thanks!

The bold part is wrong. There's no way to know exactly. And if you are cycling or running in a straight line you get a good idea, but if you're not doing a straight out cardio based workout then the HRMs can be off. They're off by a lot for strength training workouts or yoga or sitting around for example. The HRMs get your calories via your heart rate under cardio conditions. If you're sitting down on a hot day or get a fright or try to hold something heavy your heart rate can spike but you're not burning the same amount of calories. The math in the HRMs are based on cardio.

Sarauk2sf

You have only been logging since May 28th and have some missing days.

You need to log accurately and consistently before deciding whether something is working or not.

Also, are you using a digital food scale?