Not logging exercise....a good idea or not?

AriesGal329

I don't input my exercise because it increases my calorie allotment for the day. I really want to stay with 1350 calories and figure if I exercise, it will just help in the end. If I worked out an hour or two a day, it would make sense, but since I exercise moderately (swim half an hour 3-4 times a week, walk my dog daily....maybe a hike every 1-2 weeks) I don't want extra calories for it.

Do others do this, or am I missing out on some positive things by not logging exercise?

kimcalica

I log some of my exercise but I try to log less exercise than I actually do.. That way I'm sure that I'm not short changing myself.. I'm always worried that I'm not really burning the calories it says I am.. So I want to make sure I am truly at a large enough deficit.. Especially if I end up going out or eating most of my calories.

47Jacqueline

Do whatever you want to do.

dmt4641

Make sure your net calories do not fall below 1200. Meaning, if you are burning more than 150 calories a day through exercise then you need to eat back some of those calories.

ColinsMommaOC

I have decided to log exercise and then if I am hungry I eat SOME of the calories back. Even if I do not eat them back, I make sure to log the exercise because if something happens (like I stall in my weight loss, get sick, etc) and I need to know what I did on certain days the information is right there for me to see.

lemurcat12

I think it's important to eat back some calories for intense or lengthy workouts, especially if you are already at the max deficit (2 lbs, less if you are closer to goal). (This is especially true since it kind of makes these workouts pointless if you don't fuel them -- you can't really train well on too few calories.) For the kinds of workouts you described I'd be okay not, or just considering it part of my activity level. Similarly, if I had lots to lose so could aim for 2 lbs and instead aimed for one I'd think it was okay to not eat back exercise.

kimcalica

I just make sure I EAT at least 1200.. Not really net.. But if I get hungry.. It's safe to eat more

Kalikel

Either way. I don't eat my exercise calories all the time, but I log the exercise to make comparisons over time.

When I'm hungry, though, I eat more and I don't worry about it.

azulvioleta6

Just because the program gives you more calories doesn't mean that you have to eat them!

I track just to have an accurate record of what I am doing. When you carefully track everything, it is easier to see trends and to learn more about what works and does not work for your body. A small example: over time, I have noticed that I need to start eating a bit more when I get over x number of exercise calories. I generally do not eat back exercise calories, but if I know now that if I am going to burn over x, I may have a problem. This allows me to plan an extra snack or a bigger meal ahead of time so that I don't get hungry at an inconvenient time/place.

Ready2Rock206

I log exercise as 1 calorie if I log it - but I've set my calorie goal higher to account for not eating back exercise calories.

ki4eld

I log my walking, but that's pretty much it. I focus on my walking, since I do it pretty much every day. It's my measuring stick for progress.

Everything else (yoga, swimming, strange feats of house cleaning) I might log is just exercise I do because I want to do it or psychotic house cleaning I do because my OCD went off like an air raid siren and it's clean or go nuts.

Verivus

I don't log any of my exercise. I also don't each back any exercise calories.

oh_happy_day

I log my exercise because I want to ensure that I'm netting an appropriate amount. You don't have to eat your exercise calories back even if you log them. Sometimes I don't feel the need and then use them later in the week when I have an extra-hungry day.

Svenn1974

Log it. Don't starve yourself. If you burn it and don't eat your body will take its energy from the fastest place and that's your muscle.

Steam_Powered_Awesome

I log everything and eat back my burnt calories. I didn't realize so many people don't do that.

LunaBrighton

I log my exercise at the very end of the day, after I've logged in all my food. That way I'm sure not to eat any back.

malibu927

I'm not logging it, but only because I'm going by TDEE right now. When I follow MFP's goals, I eat them back because my Fitbit adjustments run into 500-600 calories. At 1500 a day, that would put me at a very low net.

hotnumber

I stopped logging exercise for that very reason. I was eating back almost all the extra calories that I was working so hard to eliminate. When I stopped recording my workouts, I lost more weight... But that's just me

arditarose

I don't log mine but that's because I'm fairly lean and do very light/minimal cardio.

But when I was 165ish and sweating my butt off on the treadmill or circuit training? You bet I did! It allowed me to eat more but lose at the same rate mfp had me set to lose.

Owlfan88

I log my workouts so I have a record of them. I try not to eat the calories back because they seem awfully inflated. People say that MFP inflates workout numbers and my walks from MapMyWalk seem to give me even higher numbers. But I do want to know what I've been doing for historical data. And if I have a day I go over my allowed calories, hopefully I have the exercise calories to still not be "in the red".

Christine_72

I have my fitbit synced with mfp. It's up to me if I eat them back or not.
I just like to see those exact numbers everyday.

Liftng4Lis

NOT. MFP is designed to eat back exercise calories, as your deficit is already built in. The winner get's to eat the most and still lose.

KittensMaster

The MFP based programs including Map My Ride give way high calorie burn numbers

Like 40% high

I added a food Calorie Burn Off that 500 per cup. I usually take of half of bicycle ride calories

bhanvi

lauragreenbaum148 wrote: »

I don't input my exercise because it increases my calorie allotment for the day. I really want to stay with 1350 calories and figure if I exercise, it will just help in the end. If I worked out an hour or two a day, it would make sense, but since I exercise moderately (swim half an hour 3-4 times a week, walk my dog daily....maybe a hike every 1-2 weeks) I don't want extra calories for it.

Do others do this, or am I missing out on some positive things by not logging exercise?

You should log the exercise at the end of the day before bedtime when you are done eating 1350 calories just to keep the track and not having it affect your diet.

lorrpb

I have a fitbit. I work with trainer 2x week. Neither of those are loggable, so there's not much point of messing with it for anything else. I don't eat back any fitbit calories, not ususlly very many and it just gives me a small buffer.

AnnPT77

If you log your exercise, at the most accurate estimates you can come up with - even if you don't eat those calories back - it can help you track progress.

In theory, you should lose at 1 pound per week for every 500 calories of deficit per day, regardless of whether that deficit comes from exercise or restricting what you eat.

If you're losing more or less than you wish per week (averaged over a period of weeks, since individual weeks can vary), but you haven't logged your exercise calories, you don't have the needed data to estimate/calculate what adjustment you need to make to accomplish your goal. (But maybe I just like data more than most people do !)

tashywashywoo

I log my exercise but usually do so at the end of the day so I don't eat it back. I used to eat it back when I exercised less and ate less (1300) but found that I wasn't losing. I now exercise 10 hours/ weeks and eat a more realistic amount (1550) and the weight is coming off. BTW these may seem like small amounts to eat - but I had a misdiagnosed hormonal illness for 3 years and had a lot of muscle wastage.

AriesGal329

tashywashywoo wrote: »

I log my exercise but usually do so at the end of the day so I don't eat it back. I used to eat it back when I exercised less and ate less (1300) but found that I wasn't losing. I now exercise 10 hours/ weeks and eat a more realistic amount (1550) and the weight is coming off. BTW these may seem like small amounts to eat - but I had a misdiagnosed hormonal illness for 3 years and had a lot of muscle wastage.

Excellent idea! I'm going to start logging exercise after I've finished eating for the day. Thanks!

999tigger

It depends whether you wish to be accurate or not, but MFP was designed for you to eat them back. it all depends how much exercise you are doing. Exercise starts getting significant at the 250-500 per day range. Some people just let it ride to cover their inaccuracies in food logging. Users on the fitness section would be very against running large deficits.

Oh and yes its a ood idea because its relevant data and you cna track progress by doing so.
Earing back? Yes a % of them becayse you are puting extra demands on your body.

TeaBea

Steam_Powered_Awesome wrote: »

I log everything and eat back my burnt calories. I didn't realize so many people don't do that.

This is what I do. It's all about where you are at, and how you figured your calories at the beginning.

People closer to goal are more at risk for lean muscle loss. People with large deficits are more at risk for lean muscle loss. I've been skinny-fat....no thanks.

Some people just want fast weight loss.....and will deal with the consequences later.

arditarose

999tigger wrote: »

It depends whether you wish to be accurate or not, but MFP was designed for you to eat them back. it all depends how much exercise you are doing. Exercise starts getting significant at the 250-500 per day range. Some people just let it ride to cover their inaccuracies in food logging. Users on the fitness section would be very against running large deficits.

This is an important factor for me. I rarely do cardio and I'm actually working on trying to get it in twice per week. I know I'm only burning 200 ish calories from it. Once per week. I'm not eating those back. Who knows? Maybe I was more lazy at work one day and burned 200 calories less. Maybe I had a super sedentary weekend.

Now when I first started and I was doing cardio 4x per week, I really really looked forward to eating those calories back and still losing at the appropriate rate.