Should I eat all the extra calories burnt during exercise?

lpd11

Tell me about the TDEE method...

SaffronSunrise

I've never used the exercise database , but have heard (read) that it estimates high. I'm getting ready to mow the lawn, so I decided to check it out. It said that I would burn 210 calories in 15 minutes. There's no way that is any where near accurate. I have a HRM & I burn about that on the elliptical & I know I'm working harder on the elliptical than I am walking around the yard. Wow! Eye opener.

lemurcat12

The TDEE method estimates your maintenance including your exercise. It works well if you do a generally consistent amount of exercise per week and prefer eating about the same every day (or otherwise not eating more on days you work out vs. those you don't -- you could still flex calories to the weekend, of course).

I do it, since I got tired of trying to estimate workout calories and (mostly) because at a certain point I found trying to do 1200 on non workout days unpleasant and had more calories than I could deal with on long run or bike days, so an average seemed more appealing.

There are lots of calculators that can help you estimate TDEE, but the main thing is you pick a number, try it for a few weeks, evaluate results, and keep it or move it up or down.

Here's one: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

There are different options in it, as you will see in the model option (I like Mifflin, but it's good to see how they differ and also to try a few different activity settings to see what the variation is). The Katch with bodyfat is probably the most accurate for the most people, but it need a good estimate of bodyfat. Anyway, like I said, the beauty is you tailor it to individual results.

If you have been logging for a while you can just figure yours out based on your actual numbers too. That's what I did when I switched.

-20% for most women tends to be about 1 lb/week, or you can just -500 for the same result (or -750 for a 1.5 lb loss, etc.).

Dnarules

lpd11 wrote: »

ASKyle wrote: »

lpd11 wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

1400 seems really high but not impossible--for me that would be about 15-16 miles.

I think calorie calculators for running can be quite accurate, so long as you include your weight and the time and distance covered. However, you have to be careful, because they usually don't subtract out the calories you would have been burning in that time period anyway, so the longer the run, the more overstated it may be.

Back when I used to eat back calories I'd eat back most of the calories from a run of an run or less, and then less (maybe 50-75%, although the lower was more because I'd never want all the extra calories) for longer runs or the amounts over 1 hour.

Gym stuff is much less accurate and is quite hard to figure out. I'd eat back 50% or just figure out a sensible amount to eat back (I would do maybe 150 for an hour of mostly strength stuff, more for an hour of mixed cardio and strength or a class--maybe 300 or so for the class). On the whole everything would average out okay over the course of the week, but the best thing to do is just pick a method and then evaluate based on your losses over a few weeks. If less than expected, eat back less; if more than expected, eat back more.

My long runs are between 10 and 12 miles and as I am a slow runner they take over 2 hours to complete, prior to using the ap I always based my calories on 100 cals per 10 minutes. I'll try cutting back and leaving a few extra's and see how it goes.

How tall are you OP? I highly doubt you (or me, or most people) are burning 1400 extra exercise calories a day on top of their BMR.

I am short and fat lol! 35lbs overweight according to the BMI charts. I have entered my height and weight on a number of aps and they all give me approx the same calorie burn for a 130 minute 5MPH run, but that wasn't my question. I have decided to just eat back 75% of the calories expended. Up to now I have had a steady 1lb a week weight loss eating everything I use. I run approx 20-25 miles a week and do 3 hours gym cardio a week so I don't want to loose my energy.

If you are losing 1 pound per week, then you're doing fine. Weight loss is the best measure. If you stall, then re-assessing calories in vs calories out is a good idea.

loulamb7

Dnarules wrote: »

lpd11 wrote: »

ASKyle wrote: »

lpd11 wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

1400 seems really high but not impossible--for me that would be about 15-16 miles.

I think calorie calculators for running can be quite accurate, so long as you include your weight and the time and distance covered. However, you have to be careful, because they usually don't subtract out the calories you would have been burning in that time period anyway, so the longer the run, the more overstated it may be.

Back when I used to eat back calories I'd eat back most of the calories from a run of an run or less, and then less (maybe 50-75%, although the lower was more because I'd never want all the extra calories) for longer runs or the amounts over 1 hour.

Gym stuff is much less accurate and is quite hard to figure out. I'd eat back 50% or just figure out a sensible amount to eat back (I would do maybe 150 for an hour of mostly strength stuff, more for an hour of mixed cardio and strength or a class--maybe 300 or so for the class). On the whole everything would average out okay over the course of the week, but the best thing to do is just pick a method and then evaluate based on your losses over a few weeks. If less than expected, eat back less; if more than expected, eat back more.

My long runs are between 10 and 12 miles and as I am a slow runner they take over 2 hours to complete, prior to using the ap I always based my calories on 100 cals per 10 minutes. I'll try cutting back and leaving a few extra's and see how it goes.

How tall are you OP? I highly doubt you (or me, or most people) are burning 1400 extra exercise calories a day on top of their BMR.

I am short and fat lol! 35lbs overweight according to the BMI charts. I have entered my height and weight on a number of aps and they all give me approx the same calorie burn for a 130 minute 5MPH run, but that wasn't my question. I have decided to just eat back 75% of the calories expended. Up to now I have had a steady 1lb a week weight loss eating everything I use. I run approx 20-25 miles a week and do 3 hours gym cardio a week so I don't want to loose my energy.

If you are losing 1 pound per week, then you're doing fine. Weight loss is the best measure. If you stall, then re-assessing calories in vs calories out is a good idea.

100% agree. If you are set to lose 1 lb/week and are eating 100% back and losing 1 lb/week, then the MFP numbers are working for you. Keep doing what you're doing.