eating back your calories?

valcala23
valcala23 Posts: 35 Member
in Food and Nutrition
What do you guys think about eating back your calories, everytime i add a workout, mfp adds more calories for my daily intake, wouldn't that contraindict my hard work outs....!!!?

Do you eat back your calories

Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited February 2016
    valcala23 wrote: »
    What do you guys think about eating back your calories, everytime i add a workout, mfp adds more calories for my daily intake, wouldn't that contraindict my hard work outs....!!!?

    Do you eat back your calories

    Think about it logically...if that activity is not included in your activity level, it's logical that you would have to account for it elsewhere. The more active you are, the more calories you need, even to lose weight.

    With MFP you're not trying to create a deficit through exercise...it's already built into your calorie targets. Part of what you're doing with MFP is learning how to be healthy...exercise is for fitness and health...disassociate it with weight loss...there are a million reasons to exercise that go well beyond weight management. Part of this is also learning to actually fuel those hard workouts...fit and healthy people eat and train, they don't diet and exercise. Learning to properly fuel exercise activity...particularly more vigorous activity is kind of important to recovery and whatnot...I mean, if I go ride 50 miles and that isn't included in my activity level and those calories are unaccounted for...well, that would just be stupid.

    ETA: you have to be careful estimating your calories out...too many people put way too much stock into the numbers in this and other databases and they're often wildly incorrect. You want to make some kind of an allowance for estimation error both in CI and CO. This is why many people just arbitrarily choose to eat back 50% or whatever.
  • BurnWithBarn2015
    BurnWithBarn2015 Posts: 1,026 Member
    yes i do.

    MFP is the NEAT system which means your daily goal is calculated WITHOUT exercise...this is why it adds your exercise calories. You should eat at least the NET given calorie amount daily.
    You can imagine when you are already eating the minimum ( so this is only the amount to just exist to breath, think, let your heart beat so be alive, and you put your body to move more exercising. You take away important nutrition/energy for your muscles and organs/body to exist normally)

    Most people only eat a part of their exercise calories back, this because MFP over estimate.

    I always ate back and guess what you feel better and stronger and you can even put more in your exercise the next time and get fitter

    Now i do TDEE ( maintaining) so that means i always eat everything back. I have a daily/weekly total that includes my exercise.


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  • piggysmalls333
    piggysmalls333 Posts: 450 Member
    Yes I do! I try not to go overboard, but working out makes me more hungry so I definitely eat some of those calories back
  • MimiOfTheFraserValley
    MimiOfTheFraserValley Posts: 108 Member
    I'm like piggysmalls. I try to not go over the allotted calorie limit before exercise, but I often do & don't feel bad about it. As long as I don't go overboard, I'm doing well. :smile:
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,321 Member
    You are meant to eat them. The calorie goal you received from MFP includes a deficit, and by exercising you take a deficit that is reasonable and moderate and make it extreme. Eat your exercise calories, and to avoid the potential of over estimated burns, perhaps limit that to 75% of them.
  • juliet3455
    juliet3455 Posts: 3,015 Member
    A few links to good reads Posts and Dietician Blog about Eating Back Exercise Calories and one about Nutrition 101:Calories.
  • bellabonbons
    bellabonbons Posts: 705 Member
    So, so helpful! I was always paranoid about 80 my calories back but after reading all these posts it makes total sense. I'm new to my fitness pal I have 37 to lose. I can't believe how much everyone has two offer here in the area of knowledge and experience. Awesome.
  • Sharon_C
    Sharon_C Posts: 2,132 Member
    edited February 2016
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    fit and healthy people eat and train, they don't diet and exercise.

    I love this. I may have to print this out and post it where I can see it every day.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    when ifollowed the NEAT system, i ate back roughly half or so.

    I do TDEE now and dont eat back any except for sometimes running cals (as those are not factored into my tdee)

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