Do you "eat" your calories earned with exercise?

lululemonsquare

When I first started MFP, I stayed within the original calorie allotment and lost about 6 pounds in a couple of weeks. But as the weeks passed, I have increased my calories based on what extras are given to me via exercise. Not only did I not lose weight, I even gained a little (depending on the day). So, my question is, do I just ignore those extra calories and only go over once in awhile? Obviously I think I know the answer, but I am a little bummed out...

ksenya03

I think most people have found that MFP over estimates calories burned during exercise. So if you eat back all the calories you may see a stall in weight loss. However, eating back some of the calories works for most people as moderation between not starving and not over eating. Also bear in mind that body weight varies day to day and even during the course of the day. If your over all weight trend is downwards, then you are still losing weight. Even if the scale is up a couple of pounds one day and down again the next.

SamMarriottPT

My advice to you is to not track your exercise or steps in the MyFitnessPal app. If you've calculated your macros properly, it should have already taken into account the amount of exercise you do on a weekly basis, so there's no need to track the exercise you're doing! All its doing is encouraging you to eat more and has probably taken you towards your maintenance calories, hence why your weight loss has stalled!

kami3006

After taking about 6-8 weeks to determine what my burns were, I started eating 100% of my calories earned. Lost, maintained, bulked, and cut doing the same.

sijomial

SamMarriottPT wrote: »

My advice to you is to not track your exercise or steps in the MyFitnessPal app. If you've calculated your macros properly, it should have already taken into account the amount of exercise you do on a weekly basis, so there's no need to track the exercise you're doing! All its doing is encouraging you to eat more and has probably taken you towards your maintenance calories, hence why your weight loss has stalled!

@SamMarriottPT
That's not how MFP works though - it excludes all exercise and assumes you will indeed eat them back.
What you are describing is a TDEE calculator and MFP isn't a TDEE calculator

Both methods work and suit different people. What you shouldn't do is mix the two methods with a goal from one and a method from the other.

OP - you don't lose weight day to day, that's just normal weight fluctuations. Work out your trend over an extended period and make adjustments based on actual results.
It's just as likely your food estimates are wrong as your exercise estimates.

leooftheyear

SamMarriottPT wrote: »

My advice to you is to not track your exercise or steps in the MyFitnessPal app. If you've calculated your macros properly, it should have already taken into account the amount of exercise you do on a weekly basis, so there's no need to track the exercise you're doing! All its doing is encouraging you to eat more and has probably taken you towards your maintenance calories, hence why your weight loss has stalled!

Not this unless you're using TDEE, calculate your goals correctly and eat back some of your exercise points. And as others have said your weight fluctuates from day to day, so its normal. you're looking for a tread rather than an actual number on the scale

Meghanebk

Rarely - but only because I barely exercise. The short walks and such I do don't burn a lot of calories. If I walk all afternoon, I'll up my calories to about half of what MFP estimated, since I get really hungry if I don't. MFP does tend to overestimate calories burned, so I stick to half that estimate.

You may also have your Activity Level in Goals set too high. Many people think they're Lightly Active when really they're Sedentary, and so on.

vanmep

I set my activity level to sedentary and then I add in my exercise. I pick the lowest intensity option of whatever I am doing from the drop down option ie: for walking I pick the slowest option or sometimes I only count about half the time ie: when I am kayaking. I eat back my calories and have found that I am losing what I expected.

It is hard to trust what MFP calculates for calories burned. I have been taking the Body Flow class at Good Life gym. Good Life advertises that you will burn 390 calories in that class. The Body Flow company estimates something like 250 calories for the class. I recently wore my FitBit to class and it told me I burned 115. So you need to be careful. It is probably good to experiment a little and see what works.

kami3006

sijomial wrote: »

SamMarriottPT wrote: »

My advice to you is to not track your exercise or steps in the MyFitnessPal app. If you've calculated your macros properly, it should have already taken into account the amount of exercise you do on a weekly basis, so there's no need to track the exercise you're doing! All its doing is encouraging you to eat more and has probably taken you towards your maintenance calories, hence why your weight loss has stalled!

@SamMarriottPT
That's not how MFP works though - it excludes all exercise and assumes you will indeed eat them back.
What you are describing is a TDEE calculator and MFP isn't a TDEE calculator

Both methods work and suit different people. What you shouldn't do is mix the two methods with a goal from one and a method from the other.

OP - you don't lose weight day to day, that's just normal weight fluctuations. Work out your trend over an extended period and make adjustments based on actual results.
It's just as likely your food estimates are wrong as your exercise estimates.

All of this ^

Tacklewasher

lululemonsquare wrote: »

When I first started MFP, I stayed within the original calorie allotment and lost about 6 pounds in a couple of weeks. But as the weeks passed, I have increased my calories based on what extras are given to me via exercise. Not only did I not lose weight, I even gained a little (depending on the day). So, my question is, do I just ignore those extra calories and only go over once in awhile? Obviously I think I know the answer, but I am a little bummed out...

Let's start at the beginning.
What are your stats (Weight, height, sex, age,)
What is the goal you put in MFP for loss per week
What activity level did you select
What exercises are you doing and how do you calculate the calorie burn.
Do you have something linked to MFP (fitness tracker) or are you adding in exercise manually.
What is MFP giving you for calories to eat before exercise.
How are you tracking the calories you eat (scale or guesstimate)

6 pounds in a couple of weeks may have been a lot of water loss, and little actual fat loss. Once that slowed or stopped, the scale will stop going down so quick.

Short answer to your question is if you have MFP set up correctly and your exercise calories are accurate, then you will lose weight. But most find the exercise calories are overstated and only eat back a portion of them, say 50%.

I've compared what my exercise from my tracker says for calories in MFP vs. what my chest strap says and I think I get 20% more in MFP than the chest strap (when on a treadmill or doing weights) so I eat between 50% and 75% back.

nutmegoreo

I use TDEE (based off my own actual results) to set my calorie target, so I don't eat back my exercise. As an example of the two:

1) MFP target 1200: + exercise 400 (swimming, weightlifting, kickboxing varies day to day, but 400 is an average over the week) = 1600 calories

2) TDEE target 1600 calories

Same amount in, just less variability from day to day. As others have said, the MFP exercise calories seem to be off for many people (but not all). Try eating back about half of them to see and then adjust according to your own results.

An even more important concern is the accuracy of logging. Inaccurate measurements (eyeballing or measuring spoons and cups are much less accurate than using a scale) along with inaccurate database entries can easily wipe out your daily calorie deficit.

Finally, daily fluctuations happen and do not reflect your results from the day before. Results over time are the best way to gauge what is going on. I would recommend looking into a trending app such as Libra or Trendweight. Keep in mind, these won't be too accurate in the first couple weeks, but they will show an overall trend in your weight which takes out the daily fluctuations.





See the daily fluctuations, but the overall trend?

sijomial

@nutmegoreo

Semantics I know but as you are doing the TDEE method you are actually including your exercise and eating back exercise calories - just as an average instead of a variable daily amount.
The only time TDEE doesn't include exercise is if you do none at all and the whole debate become moot!

nutmegoreo

sijomial wrote: »

@nutmegoreo

Semantics I know but as you are doing the TDEE method you are actually including your exercise and eating back exercise calories - just as an average instead of a variable daily amount.
The only time TDEE doesn't include exercise is if you do none at all and the whole debate become moot!

Yes I know that. I was trying to simplify.

romancefan1983

You will have day to day fluctuations so definitely quit comparing those numbers. Day to day is a good way to track trends but look more on the week to week fluctuations.

As previous posters have mentioned, MFP does overestimate calories burned so I would start by eating back a small percentage of your exercise calories and then increase based on the results. Here I will reference the first point....your weight will fluctuate and when you start to add calories back into your diet the scale might possibly go up a bit but should begin going back down within a few days (As long as you are still in a deficit).

spiriteagle99

I do eat back my exercise calories, but only the deliberate exercise, not random steps. (i.e. walk for 75 minutes or run 60 minutes, but not wandering around the grocery or up and down the stairs at home when I'm doing laundry.) It works for me, because I lost 8 pounds in 6 weeks.

ccsernica

I eat back about half my exercise calories, generally speaking. I don't want to over-stress my body by not giving it the nutrition it needs to rebuild muscle or recover energy, but I'd like the exercise to help some with weight loss.

kshama2001

lululemonsquare wrote: »

When I first started MFP, I stayed within the original calorie allotment and lost about 6 pounds in a couple of weeks. But as the weeks passed, I have increased my calories based on what extras are given to me via exercise. Not only did I not lose weight, I even gained a little (depending on the day). So, my question is, do I just ignore those extra calories and only go over once in awhile? Obviously I think I know the answer, but I am a little bummed out...

MFP uses the NEAT method, and as such the system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back.

My FitBit One is far less generous with calories than the MFP database and I can comfortably eat 100% of the calories I earn from it back.

Additionally, women with menstrual cycles often gain (water) weight at ovulation and premenstrually. Because of this (and because Lyle McDonald said to) I compare myself to last month, not last week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6846ZTBu08k&index=4&list=PLUXvX9BaxgqG9yO5XWB3gA_QshvrrcjVr

britneyf07

What i did when i got on here i went online and found by doctors a scale. You put in your weight , age, gender, how tall you are and how long you worked out. When it is calculated it tells you how many calories are burned. Then i went back on this app and put it in my self so I knew it was right. Then I asked my doctor if she could help with calculating it and it was the same as what I got online. just put in calculate calories in your search and it will come up.

WinoGelato

Tacklewasher wrote: »

lululemonsquare wrote: »

When I first started MFP, I stayed within the original calorie allotment and lost about 6 pounds in a couple of weeks. But as the weeks passed, I have increased my calories based on what extras are given to me via exercise. Not only did I not lose weight, I even gained a little (depending on the day). So, my question is, do I just ignore those extra calories and only go over once in awhile? Obviously I think I know the answer, but I am a little bummed out...

Let's start at the beginning.
What are your stats (Weight, height, sex, age,)
What is the goal you put in MFP for loss per week
What activity level did you select
What exercises are you doing and how do you calculate the calorie burn.
Do you have something linked to MFP (fitness tracker) or are you adding in exercise manually.
What is MFP giving you for calories to eat before exercise.
How are you tracking the calories you eat (scale or guesstimate)

6 pounds in a couple of weeks may have been a lot of water loss, and little actual fat loss. Once that slowed or stopped, the scale will stop going down so quick.

Short answer to your question is if you have MFP set up correctly and your exercise calories are accurate, then you will lose weight. But most find the exercise calories are overstated and only eat back a portion of them, say 50%.

I've compared what my exercise from my tracker says for calories in MFP vs. what my chest strap says and I think I get 20% more in MFP than the chest strap (when on a treadmill or doing weights) so I eat between 50% and 75% back.

OP please answer these questions in order to get the most helpful advice.