do you eat all of your calories earned?

clearlyme

So, you have your base calorie intake and that amount goes higher when you exercise. Do you stick to your original base or is it necessary to attempt to eat all of your calories, plus what you earned? Example...I get 1420 every day and then burn 401. Should I eat it all back to lose the weight?

OLeoLionessO

I heard if you are at a plateau (aka not losing weight) you should switch to that method. But if you are losing weight right now I would just stick with the recommended calories and only eat back some of the calories you burn. You are only burning 400 calories which isn't A HUGE AMOUNT. 1000 calories you are definitely gonna need to eat back a lot more.

Glynneybug

Thank you for posting this! I have been wondering the same thing!!!!

aquarabbit

Personally, I eat them back. I EARNED THOSE EXTRA CALORIES! I always try to net in between 1200 and 1400. I RARELY go below 1200 and if I do it's usually only 50 calories or so and usually due to me forgetting to eat if I get too into my work (happens way to often and I need to stop that). I've noticed that while I don't drop as much weight all at once, I drop it more consistently and it stays off if I don't go below 1200. Just make sure that you are eating at least the bare minimum your body needs to run properly and give yourself a bit of wiggle room just in case you go over.

shadow2soul

Personally, I eat them all back. It's working just fine for me and I have tons of energy. I'm averaging 2lbs per week loss (even with fitbit and mfp set to only 1lb per week loss). I've been doing it this way since I started counting calories in March and haven't encountered any problems with it. If I didn't eat them back, I would probably be incredibly cranky all the time (I am very cranky when I don't get enough to eat) and I probably would have a massive binge eventually. I always figured that it wouldn't add the calories you burned to your food goal, if it wasn't designed for you to eat them.


edit:

If you decide to eat them back, few tips:

- If your unsure of your calorie burns (not using a HRM) then only eat 50-75% back
- When you increase calorie intake, it is not unusual to maintain or gain for the first 2-3 weeks, but most people will notice a big drop between weeks 4-6 (weight gained after increase + some comes off). So if you decide to do it, give your body 4-6 weeks to adjust. The initial gain will be from the fact that there is more food moving through your system.
- you don't have to eat them back the day you burn them.....you can save them for later in the week for a night out (in other words look at your weekly average calorie intake)

motamo

I started eating all of my earned calories and I went into maintenance mode for two weeks. I stopped eating them and lost 3 and half pounds this week. I have a feeling the answer will vary. I would suggest eating your baseline one week, and then the next week consume the earned calories and see what happens.

fashioncapital1

wen u excersice and burn calories ur body does need to more calories to maintain energy levels this is why u "earn" more cals on MFP! so u should defo eat it but only if ur actually hungry.. sometimes i eat it all and are starved after still but sometimes i dont eat most of it.. if ur eating to few calories MFP will let u knw at the end of the day it will say in red u need to eat more or watever..

rachseby

My doc told me not to...she told me that I wouldn't risk going into starvation mode. She said that on 1200 I should be fine, and that not eating calories back after exercising is not like not eating them in the first place...it makes sense to me, and so I am trying to stay b/w 1200 and 1400. My elliptical says that I am burning about 650-700 cals in an hour, and she said that she thought that sounded like too much...so I am afraid to eat all of them back for now..

AmyRhubarb

If you're using MFP properly (and assuming all your calorie burns as well as calories consumed are as accurate as possible), you should eat them back. Your daily goal has a deficit built in - meaning eat to goal every day and do zero exercise, and you'll lose weight. This is why the exercise cals are added back into your daily goal, not eating them creates a much larger deficit, too large, and can cause problems for you in the long run, such as screwed up metabolism, messes with your hormones, etc.

Food is fuel!

gymteachermommy

So, you have your base calorie intake and that amount goes higher when you exercise. Do you stick to your original base or is it necessary to attempt to eat all of your calories, plus what you earned? Example...I get 1420 every day and then burn 401. Should I eat it all back to lose the weight?

I try not to eat back the burned calories. I was on fitness pal a year ago with no success and I think it is because I would exercise and justify eating back those calories. I also guessed too much at portion sizes back then! My dad chooses to not even enter his exercise calories so as to hold himself more accountable. He is 70 and his exercise is very light. That said, it differs for everyone. Sometimes I am just more hungry and need to eat more especially if I have lifted weights or swam with the kids on top of using the elliptical. I take it as a day by day thing...

ladynocturne

My doc told me not to...she told me that I wouldn't risk going into starvation mode. She said that on 1200 I should be fine, and that not eating calories back after exercising is not like not eating them in the first place...it makes sense to me, and so I am trying to stay b/w 1200 and 1400. My elliptical says that I am burning about 650-700 cals in an hour, and she said that she thought that sounded like too much...so I am afraid to eat all of them back for now..

I would suggest asking for a referral to a Dietitian, doctors get about 7 total hours of actual training in nutrition and losing weight.

At 1200, you are already at a deficit, exercising on top of that makes your net calories really low and you will start losing lean muscle mass. I'd be seriously concerned if I received this kind of advice from a health professional.

That being said yeah 700 calories an hour on the elliptical seems inflated. I usually eat back 80% of my calories from what MFP says.

The only time you wouldn't eat back your exercise calories is if it was the ONLY way you were creating your caloric deficit.

mockchoc

I eat all mine because I love to eat/drink. Works for me but I don't like to tell others to since I've heard so many on here say the calories burned aren't always right.

CLFrancois

Get them back in you.
I prefer it in the form of beer or cupcakes. But that is just me.

raneylfrick

So, when you fill out all the information when signing up for MFP, it asks you what your weight is and how quickly you want to lose the excess. It also wants to know what kind of lifestyle you have and how often you are planning on working out. With all that information, they calculate the very minimum amount of calories you need to lose the 1-2 pounds per week you are planning to lose. So, you are already eating a deficit. The calories you burn on top of that are putting you under that minimum deficit that is healthy for your body. So, long story short....EAT BACK YOUR CALORIES! (PS...I have a huge problem with this because I have some very high exercise days, but in general you want to eat them back.)

sarahthes

I eat back most or all of them. Sometimes I even eat a few extra . It worked for me when I lost the weight the first time and its working now as I lose the baby weight.

Joehenny

No I did not earn those cals, they are apart of what makes up my tdee avg

Becca1637

I've decided to not count any of my exercise because determining my calories took my exercise level into consideration. If one day I suddenly have a burst of extra exercise, I just let it be. That's how I am starting off and we will see how it works. Keep in mind if you aren't hungry, why eat?! Your body will talk to you and let you know what you need. Good luck!

eileen0515

After much experimentation, no I don't eat them back. I do have exceptions though. If I feel underfed, I will eat something nutritious. Or I have had a long strenuous hike, I will eat some. Just till satisfied though.

geckospot

Don't starve yourself.
I do try to leave a few calories on the table, but not hundreds. That's how you sabotage yourself.

EDollah

"You must eat back your calories" is the biggest falsehood I see propagated on these forums. If I ate back my exercise calories, the number on my ticker below would be more like 26. Let me head off the "but you lost so much muscle too" responders by saying no, I measure body fat and no, I have not lost muscle as the "you must eat your calories back" crowd warns.

mockchoc

No I did not earn those cals, they are apart of what makes up my tdee avg

When I did it the TDEE way I didn't eat them back of course because we already figured those in. They are talking about the way MFP is set up in this case.