Eating back calories...

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  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    TeaBea wrote: »
    Many people will eat back a percentage (50-75%) because calorie burns are estimates.

    I do the same. I eat back up to 60-70% of exercise calories because I figure the apps I use to calculate those exercise calories are inflated by about 30%. If you don't eat some of the calories back you'll be at an unhealthy rate for losing weight. You'll end up sick, tired, or even injured in the future all because of malnutrition. Of course if you are severely over weight some of that can be compensated by burning existing body fat, but once you get lower and closer to your goals your body needs those extra calories to function efficiently.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    jammer1963 wrote: »
    Shazr2 wrote: »
    Does everyone eat back calories burned with exercise? I'm planning not to, will this effect my loss? TIA

    I don't. I normally don't exercise until about 6pm and I don't feel hungry after that. I don't want to eat just because it says I've earned back calories. To me, the whole idea of working out is to get healthier and burn calories. Why burn a couple hundred calories on the treadmill only to eat it back?

    Timing isn't relevant. If you know you will be working out then plan those calories somewhere in your day.....or even the next day.

    Why eat them back?

    There are people that set aggressive weight loss goals .....say eat 1200 calories & then exercise for 400 calories. That person is only netting 800 calories. That is dangerously low. If you've set a moderate goal, and are doing moderate exercise....then it's not such a big deal. BUT, be aware that when most people lose weight (obese people not so much) but most people lose fat+lean muscle mass. Fast weight loss makes it harder for your body to support existing lean muscle mass.

    It's not just the number on the scale....it's body composition too.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    edited June 2016
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    JamesBost2016 wrote: »
    I am definately no expert, but if you eat the workout calories wouldn't you stay at the same weight? Less calories equal more weight loss?

    No!!!!

    If you borrow $5 from a friend and then immediately pay it back, do you have less money than when you started?
  • Shazr2
    Shazr2 Posts: 33 Member
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    Today I've ate 1128 calories but burned 412 calories. My total calories per day is 1200, so I then think I have 72 left so how many should I aim to eat back??
  • wickedmaineah
    wickedmaineah Posts: 50 Member
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    My husband and I do NOT. There is no way I am eating up my hard work. No matter how much I want that snack. My MFP is set to sedentary with a 1 lb loss. I consistently lose 2lbs a week eating the calories it specifies for 1 lb by not eating my exercise calories. If I move the loss up to 2lbs it puts my calories down to 1200 and I get HANGRY.
    Every one does it differrent. You have to do what works for you.
  • Vicxie86
    Vicxie86 Posts: 181 Member
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    Shazr2 wrote: »
    Today I've ate 1128 calories but burned 412 calories. My total calories per day is 1200, so I then think I have 72 left so how many should I aim to eat back??

    If you are set to 1200 and you have burned 412kcal, then it's ok to eat between 1200-1400kcals.
  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    Shazr2 wrote: »
    Today I've ate 1128 calories but burned 412 calories. My total calories per day is 1200, so I then think I have 72 left so how many should I aim to eat back??

    In theory, you can eat 484 more calories and still lose at the rate you've set the ap to. Though, in practice most people eat only a portion of their exercise calories if they "eat them back" at all.
  • Pikashel
    Pikashel Posts: 61 Member
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    I don't unless I'm really hungry afterwards
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    jammer1963 wrote: »
    Shazr2 wrote: »
    Does everyone eat back calories burned with exercise? I'm planning not to, will this effect my loss? TIA

    I don't. I normally don't exercise until about 6pm and I don't feel hungry after that. I don't want to eat just because it says I've earned back calories. To me, the whole idea of working out is to get healthier and burn calories. Why burn a couple hundred calories on the treadmill only to eat it back?

    part of working out and being/getting fit and healthy is also learning how to actually fuel your fitness...failure to fuel your fitness retards fitness gains. burning some calories is a nice bi-product of exercise...but not the purpose of exercise.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    jammer1963 wrote: »
    Shazr2 wrote: »
    Does everyone eat back calories burned with exercise? I'm planning not to, will this effect my loss? TIA

    I don't. I normally don't exercise until about 6pm and I don't feel hungry after that. I don't want to eat just because it says I've earned back calories. To me, the whole idea of working out is to get healthier and burn calories. Why burn a couple hundred calories on the treadmill only to eat it back?

    part of working out and being/getting fit and healthy is also learning how to actually fuel your fitness...failure to fuel your fitness retards fitness gains. burning some calories is a nice bi-product of exercise...but not the purpose of exercise.

    Yep. As someone who has gotten more and more serious about fitness over the past year and a half, it's made me realize how important fueling my workouts really is. I don't just *feel* better when I eat enough to fuel my activity. I run faster/longer, can do more reps, recover more quickly, etc.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    Shazr2 wrote: »
    Today I've ate 1128 calories but burned 412 calories. My total calories per day is 1200, so I then think I have 72 left so how many should I aim to eat back??

    If you feel that estimate of 412 calories is correct, then you can eat the 412 calories back. How were the 412 calories calculated? App? Fitbit? If it were me, I'd figure on eating back 60% of them, so 60% of the 412 = 247, plus you had 72 calories left before the exercise, so you can easily eat back up to 319 of them. Here's the rub. Don't do it with a candy bar. Eat within your macros, if you're low on protein for the day, eat some protein, if you've got a ton of carbs left, eat some carbs or a combo of both. Think healthy foods. I say that, and I just had a piece of Coconut Cream Pie for 425 calories lol! I just don't do that every day, and it fit within my macros, but you get the point.

    If you are doing a regular amount of exercise; For instance I work out for 60 minutes each morning 6 days a week. I work out as hard as I can handle, hell I can't even hold a conversation while I'm doing it. I use the free calculator at iifym.com to calculate that exercise plus my age, weight, etc. to see what I should be eating without worrying about the exercise calories. Then I know when to stop. IIFYM.com's calculator will tell you how much to eat 7 days a week without constantly worrying about how much exercise you do. But it doesn't really work unless you're on a set exercise schedule. If all you are doing is counting steps you may want to stick with MFP and eat back 60-70% of exercise calories.


  • Shazr2
    Shazr2 Posts: 33 Member
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    Spliner1969 wrote: »
    Shazr2 wrote: »
    Today I've ate 1128 calories but burned 412 calories. My total calories per day is 1200, so I then think I have 72 left so how many should I aim to eat back??

    If you feel that estimate of 412 calories is correct, then you can eat the 412 calories back. How were the 412 calories calculated? App? Fitbit? If it were me, I'd figure on eating back 60% of them, so 60% of the 412 = 247, plus you had 72 calories left before the exercise, so you can easily eat back up to 319 of them. Here's the rub. Don't do it with a candy bar. Eat within your macros, if you're low on protein for the day, eat some protein, if you've got a ton of carbs left, eat some carbs or a combo of both. Think healthy foods. I say that, and I just had a piece of Coconut Cream Pie for 425 calories lol! I just don't do that every day, and it fit within my macros, but you get the point.

    If you are doing a regular amount of exercise; For instance I work out for 60 minutes each morning 6 days a week. I work out as hard as I can handle, hell I can't even hold a conversation while I'm doing it. I use the free calculator at iifym.com to calculate that exercise plus my age, weight, etc. to see what I should be eating without worrying about the exercise calories. Then I know when to stop. IIFYM.com's calculator will tell you how much to eat 7 days a week without constantly worrying about how much exercise you do. But it doesn't really work unless you're on a set exercise schedule. If all you are doing is counting steps you may want to stick with MFP and eat back 60-70% of exercise calories.


    Was calculated with a Fitbit, I ate back 113 calories.

  • lauracups
    lauracups Posts: 533 Member
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    I've lost 60 lbs eating back exercise calories. Depending on the intensity of my workouts will determine how many I eat back. Now that I'm almost to goal and given my age , my allowance is low, I post usually half of what a machine or app tells me I burned so I automatically decrease the bank.

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