Do you eat your exercise added points?

Lisavalente38
Lisavalente38 Posts: 4 Member
edited December 3 in Fitness and Exercise
Just curious if you eat your added calories from exercise. I burn about 550 a day which brings me to 2000 or so and then feel guilty i ate 2000 calories.
Other than the gym im not that active otger than light work and chores

Replies

  • RNinPitts
    RNinPitts Posts: 19 Member
    I do not. I am trying to create consistent deficit. I understand from other members that many do.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    MFP is set up for you to lose weight without exercise, so you should be eating at least a portion of them back to both keep the deficit consistent and fuel your body.

    A great explanation can be found here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf
  • LUHAN27
    LUHAN27 Posts: 211 Member
    I try not to eat them all. However, I heard it's fine to eat them back. But I also heard MFP calories burnt is not always accurate, so I eat at most, half of the calories back.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited September 2016
    Yes I do but I'm sure of my data after tracking for over 2 years

    But that burn is around an hour of intense activity ...I wouldn't be burning that amount daily in a gym
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,690 Member
    550 calories would be a 20+ km bicycle ride ... over 2 hours of walking briskly ... 75-ish flights of stairs.

    If I did that (and I do sometimes ... the bicycle ride, that is) ... I would probably eat about 75% of those calories back. :)
  • _mr_b
    _mr_b Posts: 302 Member
    You should eat some of them back. Your body needs fuel for the exercise and also additional protein etc for recovery.

    It's up to you how much you eat back and a lot of that will be based on the accuracy of your burn - are you using a HRM to calculate it or are you using a figure calculated by algorithms? My HRM calculates my burn about 50% less than MFP would.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Why feel guilty?
    It's a perfectly valid energy requirement for your body.

    If you are interested in exercise performance then creating an excessive calorie deficit by ignoring your calorie burns is counter productive.

    I would waste away if I didn't fuel my exercise!
  • kingdomtech
    kingdomtech Posts: 24 Member
    edited September 2016
    _mr_b wrote: »
    You should eat some of them back. Your body needs fuel for the exercise and also additional protein etc for recovery.

    ^This is wrong^

    As long as you are not starving yourself, NO. However, if you find yourself hungry, eat. You should not feel shame in eating extra but don't do it if you don't need it
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    Are you 100% confident that the calorie burn you received via device or calculator is completely accurate? It may be that this calorie burn number is over inflated a bit. Perhaps consider eating back a percentage of your calorie burns from exercise to eat back. Trend your weight progress, if its too little eat more, etc..
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    RoxieDawn wrote: »
    Are you 100% confident that the calorie burn you received via device or calculator is completely accurate? It may be that this calorie burn number is over inflated a bit. Perhaps consider eating back a percentage of your calorie burns from exercise to eat back. Trend your weight progress, if its too little eat more, etc..

    It doesn't have to be "completely accurate", reasonable and consistent is all anyone needs.

    Just like food logging accuracy, consistency and the wit to adjust your calorie goal based on long term trends and results is all that's required.

    BTW - inaccuracy can also mean under not over-estimates.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,690 Member
    _mr_b wrote: »
    You should eat some of them back. Your body needs fuel for the exercise and also additional protein etc for recovery.

    ^This is wrong^

    What mr b said is correct. When we exercise, our bodies need fuel.

    I simply couldn't do the bicycle rides I do if I didn't eat a minimum of half my exercise calories back, and believe me, when the rides get really long, I eat all the calories back.

  • kingdomtech
    kingdomtech Posts: 24 Member
    edited September 2016
    Machka9 wrote: »
    _mr_b wrote: »
    You should eat some of them back. Your body needs fuel for the exercise and also additional protein etc for recovery.

    ^This is wrong^

    What mr b said is correct. When we exercise, our bodies need fuel.

    I simply couldn't do the bicycle rides I do if I didn't eat a minimum of half my exercise calories back, and believe me, when the rides get really long, I eat all the calories back.

    That's funny that you say bicycle. I ride 18 miles a day and keep a 500 calorie deficit. It's all about CICO. If you feel that you need to eat more that's great. However, that is you. It's a simple rule. Don't starve yourself and DONT EAT for the sake of eating. Don't complicate it buddy!

    BTW, my diary is open if you would like to check it out.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,690 Member
    edited September 2016
    Machka9 wrote: »
    _mr_b wrote: »
    You should eat some of them back. Your body needs fuel for the exercise and also additional protein etc for recovery.

    ^This is wrong^

    What mr b said is correct. When we exercise, our bodies need fuel.

    I simply couldn't do the bicycle rides I do if I didn't eat a minimum of half my exercise calories back, and believe me, when the rides get really long, I eat all the calories back.

    That's funny that you say bicycle. I ride 18 miles a day and keep a 500 calorie deficit. It's all about CICO. If you feel that you need to eat more that's great. However, that is you. It's a simple rule. Don't starve yourself and DONT EAT for the sake of eating. Don't complicate it buddy!

    BTW, my diary is open if you would like to check it out.

    Yes, it is about CI<CO ... that's how I've successfully lost the weight I want to lose. :)

    The calories that MFP gives you when you enter your details include a deficit. Exercise is in addition to that deficit. Therefore, you can eat at least some of your exercise calories back. The only reason we suggest 50-75% is that it can be easy to over estimate the number of calories burned.


    As posted earlier in this thread:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    _mr_b wrote: »
    You should eat some of them back. Your body needs fuel for the exercise and also additional protein etc for recovery.

    ^This is wrong^

    What mr b said is correct. When we exercise, our bodies need fuel.

    I simply couldn't do the bicycle rides I do if I didn't eat a minimum of half my exercise calories back, and believe me, when the rides get really long, I eat all the calories back.

    That's funny that you say bicycle. I ride 18 miles a day and keep a 500 calorie deficit. It's all about CICO. If you feel that you need to eat more that's great. However, that is you. It's a simple rule. Don't starve yourself and DONT EAT for the sake of eating. Don't complicate it buddy!

    BTW, my diary is open if you would like to check it out.

    That's fine if you have a consistent exercise routine - you are including that in your daily goal effectively (a.k.a. the average TDEE method).
    But if your exercise isn't regular/consistent your calorie needs do vary, that's when the MFP method works better.

    So when I cycle 0 miles one day and 100+ miles the next to maintain my calorie balance I do have to estimate and eat back my calories. It's not really complicated.
  • medic2038
    medic2038 Posts: 434 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    _mr_b wrote: »
    You should eat some of them back. Your body needs fuel for the exercise and also additional protein etc for recovery.

    ^This is wrong^

    What mr b said is correct. When we exercise, our bodies need fuel.

    I simply couldn't do the bicycle rides I do if I didn't eat a minimum of half my exercise calories back, and believe me, when the rides get really long, I eat all the calories back.

    Most people here have an abundance of stored fuel though, it's called body fat. So in that regard I feel like it's unnecessary. If you'd find yourself constantly hungry though, by all means eat some more.

    Personally I find it to be overly complicated to attempt to adjust for exercise calories. Calorie estimates are typically inaccurate at best (and typically on the over estimated side).

    Now more lean people (those sub 15% body fat) have to be a little more on point with this, mostly because it's harder to make a deficit through dieting alone.
  • Myki3012
    Myki3012 Posts: 152 Member
    Not yet. I started maintenance recently but haven't added anything new yet to my intake so I'm still on the same diet.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,690 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    Machka9 wrote: »
    _mr_b wrote: »
    You should eat some of them back. Your body needs fuel for the exercise and also additional protein etc for recovery.

    ^This is wrong^

    What mr b said is correct. When we exercise, our bodies need fuel.

    I simply couldn't do the bicycle rides I do if I didn't eat a minimum of half my exercise calories back, and believe me, when the rides get really long, I eat all the calories back.

    That's funny that you say bicycle. I ride 18 miles a day and keep a 500 calorie deficit. It's all about CICO. If you feel that you need to eat more that's great. However, that is you. It's a simple rule. Don't starve yourself and DONT EAT for the sake of eating. Don't complicate it buddy!

    BTW, my diary is open if you would like to check it out.

    That's fine if you have a consistent exercise routine - you are including that in your daily goal effectively (a.k.a. the average TDEE method).
    But if your exercise isn't regular/consistent your calorie needs do vary, that's when the MFP method works better.

    So when I cycle 0 miles one day and 100+ miles the next to maintain my calorie balance I do have to estimate and eat back my calories. It's not really complicated.

    +1

    My situation as well. :)
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