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exercise calories on or off?

2

Replies

  • JDixon852019
    JDixon852019 Posts: 312 Member
    I do not eat back my exercise calories. However, if I am hungry and at my calorie limit, I will absolutely eat some raw fruits and veggies guilt free.
  • Sapphire_Elf
    Sapphire_Elf Posts: 76 Member
    edited July 2016
    This is a really interesting article around the whole exercise calorie debate - I found it when I was looking for the answer as to whether I should eat my calories back or not:

    http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/eating-back-calories-burned/

    Still don't know whether I should or not but I am struggling to hit my calorie goal any rate even without trying to eat them back.....
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,724 Member
    This is a really interesting article around the whole exercise calorie debate - I found it when I was looking for the answer as to whether I should eat my calories back or not:

    http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/eating-back-calories-burned/

    Still don't know whether I should or not but I am struggling to hit my calorie goal any rate even without trying to eat them back.....

    You probably realize this, but many people seem not to: If you've let MFP set your calorie level, and you told it you want to lose weight (whether 2 pounds a week or half a pound a week), then your deficit is already built in to your calorie goal.

    The article you linked is a good & sensible one, and helpfully recognizes that the deficit can be created by eating less, exercising more, or a combination. Sometimes things from outside MFP say "never eat your exercise calories" and people here believe it, not understanding that MFP is designed to work differently from some other similar tools.

    If you're at a conservative weight loss rate (half a pound a week or something), and exercising only a hundred or two calories, not eating them back is probably not a huge error . . . but exercising a lot on top of a fast weight loss rate is really not a good, healthy idea at all, unless a person is very significantly obese. (By "a lot" of exercise, I mean several hundred calories routinely, if those calories are estimated reasonably accurately.)

    If you're having trouble eating enough, consider adding a bit of some very nutritious and calorie-dense food, like (say) nuts or avocado. I hope we all want to strong & healthy while losing weight!
  • Sapphire_Elf
    Sapphire_Elf Posts: 76 Member
    I did know that about mfp, mostly because I've seen a few threads where ninerbuff mentions it - it's the tools based on TDEE where exercise is already accounted for, yes?

    I'm currently walking a couple of miles a day plus which I am doing beachbody Chalean Extreme and T25. Having thought about it I'm going to set my calorie goal to 1600 a day. So this is my 1200 that mfp gives me for weight loss plus an additional 400 for exercise. i hope that 400 should cover a 25 minute HIIT workout and a 35-40 minute weight session (t25 is 6x a week, Chalean is 3x). So I won't now log it separately unles I do anything over and above, like the 2 hours horse riding I will be doing tomorrow :) on my rest days I will eat less than the 1600.

    Is my thinking about right or total nonsense???
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,724 Member
    I did know that about mfp, mostly because I've seen a few threads where ninerbuff mentions it - it's the tools based on TDEE where exercise is already accounted for, yes?

    I'm currently walking a couple of miles a day plus which I am doing beachbody Chalean Extreme and T25. Having thought about it I'm going to set my calorie goal to 1600 a day. So this is my 1200 that mfp gives me for weight loss plus an additional 400 for exercise. i hope that 400 should cover a 25 minute HIIT workout and a 35-40 minute weight session (t25 is 6x a week, Chalean is 3x). So I won't now log it separately unles I do anything over and above, like the 2 hours horse riding I will be doing tomorrow :) on my rest days I will eat less than the 1600.

    Is my thinking about right or total nonsense???

    Conceptually, it sounds sensible enough, but I'm not the right woman to ask. I used MFP as designed: I set my basic activity based on my daily routine non-exercise life (adjusted as needed so that my actual loss matched my targeted loss rate), then separately added intentional exercise (estimated conservatively) and ate it all back. In maintenance, that's still my basic approach.

    Also, I'm not at all familiar with those forms of exercise, and I don't know how big you are, so I don't have any way to know whether 400 is a good exercise estimate, or not. You could try it for a month, and see how the results come out (obviously, adjust sooner if it becomes evident it isn't working). Sorry - wish I could be helpful!
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,481 Member
    @Sapphire_Elf.
    You could just enter your exercises into MFP and using their NEAT method the eat 59-75% of them back. MFP tends to over estimate the calorie burn for some exercises so adjust as needed.

    Use an online TDEE calculator IIFYM, scoobysworkshop, fitness frog, sailor rabbit. And include all your exercise. This will spread your burn over the week so you don't go up and down on your cals. This works best for a stable routine.

    Or from the data you have in MFP extrapolate what you actually burn then you can use that information to account for your calorie burn by either TDEE or NEAT.
    The nice thing about working out you own calories is that it takes into account any logging foibles you may have.

    I think just adding 400, unless you have a good reason to know that it is a good approximation, will lead to a lot of calorie adjustments over time.

    Cheers, h.
  • Sapphire_Elf
    Sapphire_Elf Posts: 76 Member
    Thanks both, very helpful. I will have a think on best way :) for info, Ann, I'm 43, female, current weight 156 lbs, want to lose about 30 lbs. Chalean Extreme is weights based, lift heavy as you can go for 12 reps etc. T25 = jumping about like a total idiot for 25 minutes, no breaks.
  • Lazz5k
    Lazz5k Posts: 251 Member
    i don't log my exercise calories burned.. otherwise i would eat them ALL back.
  • bibliocephalus
    bibliocephalus Posts: 74 Member
    I lost 60lb at a 1lb a week goal on MFP and ate back my excercise calories, I would have been too hungry all the time and would not have succeeded otherwise. HOWEVER, I verified the calories MFP said I burned with other calculators on line. Some of the figures (particularly the elliptical numbers) are really inflated- that one is almost 50% higher than what both the machine, and other exercise calorie calculators said. I went with the lower figures. Walking calories on MFP are accurate.
  • _annevalerie
    _annevalerie Posts: 17 Member
    Personally I don't like adding the exercise calories because it causes me to eat more even when I'm full
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    edited August 2016
    Personally, I keep mine off but I set my calorie goals higher on workout days than on rest days (+400 calories for a typical workout, or more if I go on a long hike).

    The reason I keep mine off, BTW, is because I plan all my meals in advance and I want to know the day before what I have to work with. If I knew my actual exercise calories in advance I'd definitely keep it on.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    I don't log exercise. My Fitbit handles that. I do eat my exercise calories. Yes weight loss is slow. Last I checked it wasn't a race. I tried at first to do a much lower calorie goal and, while I dropped a lot of weight fast, I could barely function. Fuzzy brain and no energy. I need my body working well every day since I use it to make a living.
  • Budjola
    Budjola Posts: 148 Member
    i burn roughly 1000kcal during my cardio sessions i rarely take them back with food, but (check this out) i got 50% of them back for past few days and i feel and look better. go figure
  • bshrom
    bshrom Posts: 71 Member
    I would say it depends on how I feel that day. If the exercise I did was very intense and I am more hungry because of that then I will eat some of those calories back. If it was just moderate exercise and I am not really hungry then I won't eat those calories back.
  • sbubenchik
    sbubenchik Posts: 75 Member
    Yeah I don't typically log my training sessions, I also don't eat back my calories. I simply stay in my same caloric deficit even with training. I've gotten amazing results and I'm never hungry. Went from 200lbs mid march down to 153lbs this morning and feel great. Just do what works for you and what you can easily stick with.
  • Katie_Y89
    Katie_Y89 Posts: 330 Member
    bshrom wrote: »
    I would say it depends on how I feel that day. If the exercise I did was very intense and I am more hungry because of that then I will eat some of those calories back. If it was just moderate exercise and I am not really hungry then I won't eat those calories back.

    I do the same.
    If I'm hungry, then I'll eat some back. If I'm feeling good that day, then I'll leave it be.
  • rebel_26
    rebel_26 Posts: 1,826 Member
    I dont pay attention to that portion as its inaccurate. I dont log my gym sessions for same reason. I stay around my TDEE number based on my activity level. If i am hungry at bedtime I look for foods to keep my macros balanced as close to that goal. If I go over oh well.If I am under oh well , but as long as I dont go to bed hungry its all good.
  • tommytorpedo
    tommytorpedo Posts: 53 Member
    I eat my exercise calories; but, I found that the calories credited for the amount of exercise I do is ridiculously high. This caused me to gain weight. To counter the inaccuracy I don't put the correct time of exercise. I reduce the time by 1/3 or 1/2. That works for me.
  • jeepinshawn
    jeepinshawn Posts: 642 Member
    I'm inclined to eat back calories that were from specific exercise such as deliberate running. Imo though non aerobic exercise calories such as those earned from 10K steps throughout the day are really inaccurate. I used to be a really big believer in myfitbit and credited it for helping me lose about 120lbs, however after entering maintenance I found the trackers calorie burn to be off pretty significantly, in that it over inflated the burns every day. Maybe I just got into good enough shape that I was no longer burning very many calories walking around, IDK but I know now I can't really trust it at all.

    The other issue that comes to mind in all of this is logging in accuracies. Many people don't log the 2T of olive oil that they cooked their chicken in or the lick off the peanut butter knife. Exercise calories can make up for those, but if you are logging your exercise calories and eating right up to that limit you are likely going over, never mind the fact that most burns are overinflated anyway.

    I think it is best to use MFP to log your food, and use the calorie goals as a starting point. Log as accurately as possible, then as your weight changes adjust your calorie goals to match. Your real world results and your honesty with yourself and your logging are they keys to continued success.
  • JaxxieKat
    JaxxieKat Posts: 427 Member
    It depends on my level of fitness. For starters, unless you're being really diligent about tracking your heart rate, the number of calories burned is an estimate. A lot of trackers tend to err on the side of more calories burned, so as others have stated, aim for eating back around 50% and see how you are doing. If I'm doing strength training, HIIT, or circuit training I will eat back around 50%-75% of my calories. If I just take my dance classes or go for a brisk walk around the block, I won't.