Eating back exercise calories.

LaurenAOK · July 2013

Didn't you make another (better) thread about this? Maybe link it here, then people will know what you're really trying to say

I get what you're saying. I think unfortunately people will just read your first post and get the wrong idea. I know I did at first.

amberlykay1014 · July 2013

It's OK, you have have the right idea...

If you are following MFP's guidelines, you do eat back your exercise calories.

If you are doing a custom plan where you are eating TDEE -20% (for example), you DO NOT eat them back.

Most people seem to favor the latter plan because MFP often gives too few calories for people, so it's important to do some math and see what's right for you.

sourmash1973 · July 2013

Nope, I don't eat them back. I used to once upon a time,

babyj0 · July 2013

Lol you dont sound like an *kitten*, not to me at least.

Off topic..
You kind of look like CM Punk in your profile pic! (WWE wrestler)

LaurenAOK · July 2013

Yes, this! Hallelujah :drinker:

sourmash1973 · July 2013

This is the link to a better thread, a more helpful one where I don't sound like and *kitten* :-/

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1042682-going-from-getting-no-where-to-melting-fat-off

melissaamooney · July 2013

bump

scottstephens79 · July 2013

Throughout most of my adult life I had an issue of overestimating my calories burned when I worked out. Because all I basically did was row (I have a bad back), my body became incredibly attuned to it and there really wasn't much burn at all. Yet according to online calculators they said I burned twice what I actually did. For anybody who works out w/o a HRM, I'd say eat back half of what your theoretical burn is. But if you can swing it, do buy a HRM and eat back 100% of that burn. Just my two cents

sourmash1973 · July 2013

LOL...Thank you!!!

caly_man · July 2013

you're not. Lots of people complain about not losing and they are doing exactly what you say are doing.

yeah, I ate 1500 cals today (wrong, more like 1700 b/c you aren't weighing out your food)
yeah, I exercised and burned 500 cals today (wrong, that machine at the gym is so off)

so eating at 1500 in this example would negate two wrongs

sure, you left a lot to the imagination, but the essence is correct

bottom line, food calories and exercise calories only work when you do your part and measure them properly (and yeah, buy yourself a heart rate monitor)

I suppose you could have posted it like this:

If you are the type of person who is just winging it, you know i'll track my food by estimating and track my burned calories by estimating, then please dont eat back your exercise calories. you'll save yourself from months of frustration. OP talking not me.

jacksonpt · July 2013

There is no 1 right answer. You start off with the basics: eat them back or don't (determined by how you calculated your calorie goal). Then adjust as necessary after a few weeks based on how your expected results line up with your actual results.

joleenl · July 2013

I was told in one of my recent threads to make sure I net 1200 calories so eat back enough of your exercise calories to make sure you don't net under 1200. Having said that I have found no research that supports this theory. There has been some studies/research that suggests that netting low calories and/or consuming at a calorie restriction can cause metabolism damage. How much damage and what the safe zone is unclear.

psuLemon · July 2013

Threads like this make me sad... There are 3 options that you can set up your account with.

1. MFP way - eat back exercise calories
2. Modified MFP (include exercise in your calculators - do not eat back exercise calories
3. Custom TDEE method

All of them will have to be adapted based on results.

susannamarie · July 2013

Might be a better idea to phrase it as "If you're not losing/you've stopped losing weight, and you don't understand why, investigate inaccuracies in exercise calories."

My loss is pretty consistent with what MFP says it should be. I do martial arts but I don't enter the full time I spent in class, because I figure that the figures in the database are for someone going flat-out for the full time. I enter 1/4 to 1/2 of the time spent depending on perceived exertion level. I do enter the full time for biking, because I keep track of both the time and distance. If I stopped losing weight or slowed to significantly less than MFP predicts, I would re-evaluate what I'm doing.

For me, my schedule is so variable day by day and week by week that a model based on weekly TDEE just wouldn't make sense.

laurenz2501 · July 2013

:laugh:

haleylehane · July 2013

i find that for me personally, i lose weight more if i don't eat back my exercise calories. i have tried eating them back but just seem to stall. when i reach my goal though i know then that i will be just fine eating them back to stay stable

dta4ever · July 2013

I think this post shows that everyone is different. For some people, eating the calories back DOES work. For some people, it DOES NOT work. For some people, eating back half of the calories DOES work. It just depends on each individual person. Do what works for you. If you are steadily losing weight by NOT adding back the calories, keep doing what you're doing. If you're not losing weight steadily and have hit a plateau, change it up and try something different.

emilycarr71404 · July 2013

I half agree with this statement. I exercise 6 days a week and some days I use a few exercise calories and some days I don't touch them. Most often I don't touch them for fear I have overestimated my exercise burn. But some days I know I killed it in the gym and do need to eat a little more. That said, most days I don't touch them. This works for me now but may change down the road.

WaterBunnie · July 2013

I'd be too weak to keep up with the exercise if I didn't touch mine. I've burned more than 1,000 this morning (using HRM for gym & FitBit's lower calculations for swimming) and would be really depressed if I couldn't have a decent sized meal tonight.

Eating back is also retraining us for when we hit maintenance when we will have to eat more on active days to ensure we don't carry on losing weight! It's good to learn your body's needs.

jacksonpt · July 2013

While I generally agree with the point of your post, I don't agree with the way you made it.

When people talk about different things working for them... it's not because the method works or doesn't, it's how they do it.

For some people, eating back exercise cals doesn't work because the overestimate how many cals they burn and thus eat back too many cals. Or because they underestimate how many cals they eat.

It's not that certain methods don't work for some, it's that they don't do them correctly, and thus they need to tweak things to work with how they count calories, estimate daily goals, etc.

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Eating back exercise calories.

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