Want to log my exercise but don't want those "eat back" calories- ugghh.
ColoradoDan
Posts: 85 Member
So I have been working out five days a week - crazy for me. Went from none to loving it.
I do cardio every day + high intensity strength training (almost like cardio - breathing heavy and sweating like wild).
I want to log it just because it feels like I should log it, track my progress, show I am working out......but I know that is just for my personal feelings. I don't log it because MFP, fitness trackers, fitness apps, workout apps, etc all seem to way, way, way, way over estimate the calories burned and I don't want to go and eat 600 extra calories because MFP says that is what I burned when really I only burned 150.
Guess maybe I could log it in another app or all under strength since strength does not count calories right?
I do cardio every day + high intensity strength training (almost like cardio - breathing heavy and sweating like wild).
I want to log it just because it feels like I should log it, track my progress, show I am working out......but I know that is just for my personal feelings. I don't log it because MFP, fitness trackers, fitness apps, workout apps, etc all seem to way, way, way, way over estimate the calories burned and I don't want to go and eat 600 extra calories because MFP says that is what I burned when really I only burned 150.
Guess maybe I could log it in another app or all under strength since strength does not count calories right?
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Replies
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You can do what a lot of us did and eat back just a portion of the calories to account for the over-estimation.
If you feel confident that you burned 150, then eat 150.0 -
If you have a different way to calculate your calorie burn, you can enter it manually.0
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You can also log your exercise in MFP and manually change the calorie burn to 0 or 1.0
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janejellyroll wrote: »You can do what a lot of us did and eat back just a portion of the calories to account for the over-estimation.
If you feel confident that you burned 150, then eat 150.
This^^^ Before I started using my FitBit I would only enter in about 70% of my actual time.0 -
so eat back only part of your calories - if you burn 600 according to MFP, eat back 250 calories and enjoy
you could get a heart rate monitor, do some figuring and probably track more accurately. i used to use mine with endomondo, but it didn't always stay connected. or you could log your cardio as walking, and on MFP you can choose the walking intensity. with a little experimenting, you could probably get close to what you burn.0 -
I agree with jane. Just eat back a portion of the exercise calories. If you find that you are losing faster than your goal then you know you can eat back more if you are losing slower then eat back less. I started eating back about 50% but I have found that eating back 75-80% works best for me for the exercise that I log.0
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Most people eat back 50-75% because calorie burns are estimates.
Just over ride your calorie burn to something like 50%. Eat those calories back for awhile. MFP is designed this way because large deficits make it harder for your body to support existing lean muscle mass. Earned calories should in theory bring you back to the original deficit you signed up for.
After a few weeks you will have a good idea as to whether 50% was a good number or not. Then you can tweak that 50% up or down to match actual progress.0 -
agree, just put 150. I recently started doing a lot more strength training and I want to keep track of it. unfortunately putting things in strength dont transfer the activity to other places I log and report on my exercise (like Garmin) so I usually put a low number (half of circuit training) in cardio as well.0
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The stupid green number makes me happy - so I always log the exercise and just sort of mentally calculate what I REALLY have left.0
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kathrynjean_ wrote: »You can also log your exercise in MFP and manually change the calorie burn to 0 or 1.
LOVE THIS IDEA - WOO HOO - FOUND A SOLUTION.
The truth is I have no idea what my real calorie burn is. I have a heart rate monitor that tells me one thing, treadmill tells me another, workout app says something really high, MFP tells me another number - all for the same exercise and all 100-200 different from each other. It's madness.0 -
I add it and then manually change it. Its not hard. I've found that a treadmill will give me one number, the other app I used gives me another and MFP will give me a third. Through trial and error, I've figured out which one works best for me and I adjust accordingly. I also either ignore the added calories or eat back a portion of them. My walking doesn't give me much of a burn anyway.0
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If you have a heart rate monitor. That is the most accurate calorie estimation.0
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ColoradoDan wrote: »So I have been working out five days a week - crazy for me. Went from none to loving it.
I do cardio every day + high intensity strength training (almost like cardio - breathing heavy and sweating like wild).
I want to log it just because it feels like I should log it, track my progress, show I am working out......but I know that is just for my personal feelings. I don't log it because MFP, fitness trackers, fitness apps, workout apps, etc all seem to way, way, way, way over estimate the calories burned and I don't want to go and eat 600 extra calories because MFP says that is what I burned when really I only burned 150.
Guess maybe I could log it in another app or all under strength since strength does not count calories right?
I only eat back my work out calories if I am hungry. Alot of the MFP calculations are off anyway so if I eat all the calories back I gain weight or plateau.0 -
ColoradoDan wrote: »kathrynjean_ wrote: »You can also log your exercise in MFP and manually change the calorie burn to 0 or 1.
LOVE THIS IDEA - WOO HOO - FOUND A SOLUTION.
The truth is I have no idea what my real calorie burn is. I have a heart rate monitor that tells me one thing, treadmill tells me another, workout app says something really high, MFP tells me another number - all for the same exercise and all 100-200 different from each other. It's madness.
Then you pick a method that seems reasonable, go with it, and track your results. Your own progress will let you know whether your chosen method of estimation is too high or too low -- you'll see the results in your weight loss/gain.
They're all estimates. But if you're working out seriously, you've got to account for the calorie burn somehow.0 -
ColoradoDan wrote: »kathrynjean_ wrote: »You can also log your exercise in MFP and manually change the calorie burn to 0 or 1.
LOVE THIS IDEA - WOO HOO - FOUND A SOLUTION.
The truth is I have no idea what my real calorie burn is. I have a heart rate monitor that tells me one thing, treadmill tells me another, workout app says something really high, MFP tells me another number - all for the same exercise and all 100-200 different from each other. It's madness.
Another solution: Use a calculator that factors exercise in. MFP does not. This is a TDEE (or maintenance) calculator: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
Take your cut from maintenance. You can over ride the daily calorie goal that MFP gave you.
That way you are still eating enough to help fuel a larger % of existing lean muscle mass. Eating zero exercise calories does result in faster weight loss. However, the price for faster weight loss is often a larger percentage of lean muscle lost. Losing more fat results in a firmer look.0 -
ColoradoDan wrote: »kathrynjean_ wrote: »You can also log your exercise in MFP and manually change the calorie burn to 0 or 1.
LOVE THIS IDEA - WOO HOO - FOUND A SOLUTION.
The truth is I have no idea what my real calorie burn is. I have a heart rate monitor that tells me one thing, treadmill tells me another, workout app says something really high, MFP tells me another number - all for the same exercise and all 100-200 different from each other. It's madness.
Doesn't your HRM sync with MFP? Just use that number and ignore the rest. Or change the MFP # manually to reflect your HRM value.0 -
If you are consistently training and under-eating by an additional 600 exercise cals to your deficit already set up in MFP then you'll eventually find that you can't keep a long term deficit of over 1000-1200+ cals without your exercise and health suffering - it might be fine for a while, but keep in mind that you also want to fuel performance of those exercise session.0
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ColoradoDan wrote: »kathrynjean_ wrote: »You can also log your exercise in MFP and manually change the calorie burn to 0 or 1.
LOVE THIS IDEA - WOO HOO - FOUND A SOLUTION.
The truth is I have no idea what my real calorie burn is. I have a heart rate monitor that tells me one thing, treadmill tells me another, workout app says something really high, MFP tells me another number - all for the same exercise and all 100-200 different from each other. It's madness.
No method is going to be 100% accurate, but the HRM will be the closest to accurate. Take that amount and enter it in MFP manually. If you feel that's still too high, shave 100-200 calories off the top. If you're doing a lot of exercise, you do need to eat back most of it. If you cut your calories too low because of exercise, your body will not be getting the nutrition it needs, and you run the risk of losing muscle mass as well as fat.0 -
ColoradoDan wrote: »kathrynjean_ wrote: »You can also log your exercise in MFP and manually change the calorie burn to 0 or 1.
LOVE THIS IDEA - WOO HOO - FOUND A SOLUTION.
The truth is I have no idea what my real calorie burn is. I have a heart rate monitor that tells me one thing, treadmill tells me another, workout app says something really high, MFP tells me another number - all for the same exercise and all 100-200 different from each other. It's madness.
Another solution: Use a calculator that factors exercise in. MFP does not. This is a TDEE (or maintenance) calculator: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
Take your cut from maintenance. You can over ride the daily calorie goal that MFP gave you.
That way you are still eating enough to help fuel a larger % of existing lean muscle mass. Eating zero exercise calories does result in faster weight loss. However, the price for faster weight loss is often a larger percentage of lean muscle lost. Losing more fat results in a firmer look.
Yes - sorry, I should have said this in my original post as well. Exercise needs to be factored in somehow. So if you want to log your workouts as 1 calorie, use the TDEE method.
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SIMPLE . . . I just separate the two in my mind and in my determination. I allow 1200 calories for food. So, no matter what my exercise calories burned (example: 600), I just ignore the 600 hundred and still only eat my 1200. It doesn't have to be difficult. If you allow 1500 calories for food, just eat the 1500 and no more. Just because exercising shows how many calories burned, there's no need to eat those calories. SIMPLE0
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sugargrammy45 wrote: »SIMPLE . . . I just separate the two in my mind and in my determination. I allow 1200 calories for food. So, no matter what my exercise calories burned (example: 600), I just ignore the 600 hundred and still only eat my 1200. It doesn't have to be difficult. If you allow 1500 calories for food, just eat the 1500 and no more. Just because exercising shows how many calories burned, there's no need to eat those calories. SIMPLE
The problem with this if you are using mfp is that if you eat 1200 calories and burn 600 calories then your net calorie intake for the day is only 600 calories. That is extremely unhealthy. I understand that you may not feel confident that you actually burned 600 calories. That is why you should only eat back a portion of the exercise calories and then after a few weeks you will be able to tell if you are eating back enough or not enough or too much. If you are using TDEE figures then this isn't a problem, you just eat the calorie goal you set. But if you are using mfp to calculate your goal you should be eating back some of your exercise calories.0 -
Yeah - my heart rate monitor is in a watch so it does okay for walking, jogging, etc but then nothing for my workouts. It does sync if I wanted but I turned that feature off because it was estimating way way over.
The reason I use MFP is so that I can watch my calories go down and keep eating till zero. I realize just leaving a few hundred calories on there (only eating back part of workout) seems like a good idea but I think I would constantly be like "i have 300 more - what should i eat".
I think the best option is just to go back in and log them as 1 calorie burned. I am sure it's a couple hundred calories I am burning in reality so not eating those back isn't a biggy. I am still eating around 1900 calories a day so it's not unhealthy.0 -
sugargrammy45 wrote: »SIMPLE . . . I just separate the two in my mind and in my determination. I allow 1200 calories for food. So, no matter what my exercise calories burned (example: 600), I just ignore the 600 hundred and still only eat my 1200. It doesn't have to be difficult. If you allow 1500 calories for food, just eat the 1500 and no more. Just because exercising shows how many calories burned, there's no need to eat those calories. SIMPLE
No.......this is not how MFP is designed
1200 - 600 exercise = 600 remaining calories for heart, lungs, kidneys, etc. All adults have a BMR that is higher than 600 calories.
This is why MFP gives you exercise calories back. To help you FUEL your body. Your body needs fuel and unfortunately it won't get everything from fat stores.
I'm 55 years old and have lost plenty of lean muscle mass already (age & yo-yo diets). So I eat my exercise calories back because I want to protect the lean muscle I still have. Granted I have to tweak calorie burns, but it's worth it.
Older people especially need to protect lean muscle. I don't want to be in assisted living (ever) if I can help it. That means I need to stay strong.0 -
I use an HRM with a watch that has a gym specific timer app downloaded to it. I eat all my exercise calories. I lose at the expected rate.
As others have said, particularly if you're doing cardio and other cardio intense work you will be burning calories and they need replaced using the MFP method or you are depriving your body and at some point will hit an energy wall too.
I enjoy every damn one of those earned calories!0 -
Of course the estimates are all different - that's the nature of estimating something that can't be measured.
Bet none of the estimates were zero or one so that seems a really odd choice!
Think ahead to maintenance at goal weight - you will need to take exercise into account then so why not learn the skill now?
Pick a method, be consistent, make adjustments.
Not difficult and no great precision required.0 -
I mean I really don't want to eat them back but I suppose if I have too I will. From my experience in past 35 days when I eat them back I don't lose weight. When I don't eat them back I lose about 1-2lbs a week.
I am so full already from my normal meals during the day. I hate the fact I get to end of day and MFP is like - hey you better eat an extra 400-600 calories because you worked out. I mean that is a big full meal basically. I feel like I am stuffing myself.
If I am supposed to say eat 2000 a day and I burn 500 calories (which is a stretch - I don't work that hard) then I would be at 1500 if I don't eat them back. That doesn't seem bad - I know a lot of men on here that eat at 1500 normally. FUNNY ENOUGH - that is actually my suggested calorie intake once I get to my goal weight!!!!
There is no way I am working out hard enough to earn 1 extra full meal a day. I mean for the most part I am walking or slow jogging for 15 minutes with some hard sprints in between and doing some circruit machines at a high intensity to get the heart rate up.0 -
No matter what, you should be eating back a portion of them at the very least when using MFP's method. Those who are responding "eat back none" are giving terrible advice and it should be ignored. MFP is not designed that way and netting too low will lead to burnout as well as other health issues. Start with 25 to 50% and reevaluate after a few weeks. A greater deficit does not equal better.0
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I don't eat back my exercise calories either. I log the exercise and manually change the calories burned to 1.0
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