Do you eat back your burned calories?
rikkejanell2014
Posts: 312 Member
Also do you only log intentional work outs? I personally will eat back some but usually have a few hundred calories left unless i didn't work out. I stopped logging exercise unless it's an intentional work out because the scale wasn't moving. Now its moving again. 45 more pounds to go.
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Good question! I don't always log my workouts only the automatic steps counter. And I try not to eat my exercise calories, but sometimes I break and eat some back.0
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I only log and eat back cardio. Strength I don't feel confident about being accurate so I just act like it never happened.6
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I eat back some of my calories. Sometimes I log cleaning because I have stairs and 4 kids it is actual exercise when I do some real cleaning. I only do that because I don't have a fitbit or anything like that. I usually do not eat back those calories. But is literally just to track my activity.1
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I only log intentional exercise and eat back about half of my cardio calories...I do bank some calories for my two cardio days, because running 3-5 miles leaves me ravenous.0
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Personally I log intentional exercise only. And I try not to eat back and of my workout calories unless I really am super hungry.0
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I only log intentional exercise, and when I was losing weight, I was eating about half my exercise calories back.0
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I eat my Cal's back
.. bad habit lately1 -
Never. I eat my nutritional requirements on a daily basis and don't stuff more food in depending on calories burned.2
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i use the TDEE method now, as long as im consistent ( definitely 3 times a week body combat for now) then my exercise cals are incorporated into my allowance. im on 1600 and i eat no calories back0
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I eat my Cal's back
.. bad habit lately
But this is how My Fitness Pal (MFP) is designed.....it's not "bad" at all.
MFP gave you a calorie goal before exercise. When you do intentional exercise, you make the deficit larger. A larger deficit can help you lose weight faster.....but the price can be losing existing lean muscle mass.
People should be able to eat their calories back and lose at the same weekly goal they signed up for. But there are lots & lots of estimates that get in the way. Some people are great at logging (use a digital scale) ...others eye-ball. Your activity level is actual a range of activity. You could be at the high end, or the low end. Exercise calorie burns are a guess too.
TDEE as referenced by @leahcollett1 above is a method that includes exercise up front. This is great for people that have a consistent exercise pattern in place.2 -
EricaCraigie wrote: »Never. I eat my nutritional requirements on a daily basis and don't stuff more food in depending on calories burned.
But your MFP daily calorie goal is in NET calories. That NET number is calories after intentional exercise.
Example my "net" goal is 1400 (I'm older). Let's say I exercise for 250. 1400 + 250 = 1650. If I eat 1650, then I have "netted" 1400 (1650-250=1400).
The reason for eating calories back - large deficits make it harder for your body to fuel existing lean muscle mass. Fast weight loss doesn't lower your body fat % as effectively as moderate paced weight loss does.
Great explanation below
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p11 -
Yes- I eat mine back (in fact I look forward to being able to eat a candy bar after a run). I do log dancing (I try to err on the side of underestimating that one)(since that can burn a few hundred calories in 2 hours depending on style and floor time, and I am usually very hungry afterward) in addition to running/cycling.1
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Yes, I eat mine back. But not the amount that MFP says. Through trial and error I think I have figured out roughly how many calories I burn. For example, I eat back about 110-120 calories per mile when I go running. That is based on some calculators I found online and seems to make sense for me given how my weight responds. My running app and MFP estimate higher calories so I make a manual adjustment.0
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I'm in maintenance now and every day is different for me. I'm learning to balance my exercise and intake because both vary a lot on any given day. I have extreme cardio days involving steep long hikes and snowshoeing and then days where I don't do much so it's been interesting to figure out how much or little I can actually eat. When I was losing I never ate back all of my exercise calories only because I didn't trust the numbers. It's becoming more intuitive for me as time goes on and I stay at the same weight. Good luck on reaching your goal!0
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EricaCraigie wrote: »Never. I eat my nutritional requirements on a daily basis and don't stuff more food in depending on calories burned.
Your nutritional requirements change depending on what you do.4 -
Of course I eat my exercise calories, and I've (1) lost about 80 pounds this way, and (2) seen beautiful and amazing sites on my bike, skis, and while hiking.4
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EricaCraigie wrote: »Never. I eat my nutritional requirements on a daily basis and don't stuff more food in depending on calories burned.
This seems like a bad and potentially unhealthy approach. Our bodies need fuel to sustain our workouts and not eating any exercise calories back is akin to trying to drive a car that's run out of gas. If you do this long enough, you'll likely start to experience fatigue, which will have an adverse affect on your performance, which will have an adverse effect on the benefit your workout is supposed to be providing.
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EricaCraigie wrote: »Never. I eat my nutritional requirements on a daily basis and don't stuff more food in depending on calories burned.
That's not really the best approach.
When I was losing weight, my calorie target before exercise was 1,900 to lose 1 Lb per week. I often go for a 30+ mile ride on weekends...on a 30 mile ride I burn roughly 1200 calories which would leave me all of 700 calories for my body to function and go about my daily...it would be the exact same thing as me only eating 700 calories...not too healthy.
To boot, recovery would be an issue, performance would be an issue, and fitness development would be blunted. Part of eating healthy is taking in an appropriate amount of calories for what you do.0 -
EricaCraigie wrote: »Never. I eat my nutritional requirements on a daily basis and don't stuff more food in depending on calories burned.
But your MFP daily calorie goal is in NET calories. That NET number is calories after intentional exercise.
Example my "net" goal is 1400 (I'm older). Let's say I exercise for 250. 1400 + 250 = 1650. If I eat 1650, then I have "netted" 1400 (1650-250=1400).
The reason for eating calories back - large deficits make it harder for your body to fuel existing lean muscle mass. Fast weight loss doesn't lower your body fat % as effectively as moderate paced weight loss does.
Great explanation below
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
I don't go by calories though.. I go by macros. I only use mfp as an easy tool to track my macros, not for guidance.0 -
I only log into intentional workouts. And I try not to eat the calories back because I feel the amounts given are very generous.
In saying that, I find it hard to stick to my allowance and I often go over it.0 -
I got a Fitbit for Christmas, and I didn't trust the calorie burns it was giving me in January, so I basically ignored the 'exercise calories'... And I've lost 14 pounds this month.
So, I'm thinking it's at least somewhat accurate and I probably should be eating some of those calories. I'm starting with half, and will see what happens in February!
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I probably eat about 1/4 of the calories back. For some reason to me it feels like they are far too generous in giving me calories for the fitness I do. But usually I am not hungry anyway, if I was I'd eat more of them back.
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EricaCraigie wrote: »EricaCraigie wrote: »Never. I eat my nutritional requirements on a daily basis and don't stuff more food in depending on calories burned.
But your MFP daily calorie goal is in NET calories. That NET number is calories after intentional exercise.
Example my "net" goal is 1400 (I'm older). Let's say I exercise for 250. 1400 + 250 = 1650. If I eat 1650, then I have "netted" 1400 (1650-250=1400).
The reason for eating calories back - large deficits make it harder for your body to fuel existing lean muscle mass. Fast weight loss doesn't lower your body fat % as effectively as moderate paced weight loss does.
Great explanation below
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
I don't go by calories though.. I go by macros. I only use mfp as an easy tool to track my macros, not for guidance.
Okay - so you're not trying to lose weight.....that's different.
Everyone who is trying to lose weight needs to manage calories.0 -
I only count intentional workouts. Stuff like cleaning the house, grocery shopping, etc - NOT exercise IMO. I also don't count things like snowmobiling or ATV riding even though you are burning more calories than most people think. I generally don't eat back any calories (unless I need to..lol) if I burn less than 500 calories. If I burn more - I do eat some of them back but never more than half.0
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rikkejanell2014 wrote: »Also do you only log intentional work outs? I personally will eat back some but usually have a few hundred calories left unless i didn't work out. I stopped logging exercise unless it's an intentional work out because the scale wasn't moving. Now its moving again. 45 more pounds to go.
Not sure what you mean by "intentional". I always log (what I consider to be) actual exercise - no matter whether it is a part of my daily exercise plan (such as the gym) or a hike in the woods. I don't log things like mowing the lawn, or cleaning the house, or sex (LOL). Is that what you meant?
And no - I never "eat back" my exercise calories. I am trying to lose weight, so that would not be beneficial to me.1 -
I eat a lot of my calories back, but not always. I only log intentional workouts done with fitness in mind.EricaCraigie wrote: »EricaCraigie wrote: »Never. I eat my nutritional requirements on a daily basis and don't stuff more food in depending on calories burned.
But your MFP daily calorie goal is in NET calories. That NET number is calories after intentional exercise.
Example my "net" goal is 1400 (I'm older). Let's say I exercise for 250. 1400 + 250 = 1650. If I eat 1650, then I have "netted" 1400 (1650-250=1400).
The reason for eating calories back - large deficits make it harder for your body to fuel existing lean muscle mass. Fast weight loss doesn't lower your body fat % as effectively as moderate paced weight loss does.
Great explanation below
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
I don't go by calories though.. I go by macros. I only use mfp as an easy tool to track my macros, not for guidance.
Okay - so you're not trying to lose weight.....that's different.
Everyone who is trying to lose weight needs to manage calories.
You can be focused on losing weight and watching macros at the same time. Honestly that is the most healthy way to do it. I don't find the calorie recommendations this app makes to be the best for most people and sometimes it suggests dangerously low amounts of calories to people. For example, it suggested 1200 calories to me per day and in reality that number is 300 calories below my BMR and I can eat up to 1841 calories on an average day and still lose weight every week.
That said, the program (if you follow it) is designed with the idea that you eat those calories back. Assuming that OP is following the calories recommended by the app, the only responsible answer is yes, eat them back or at least eat some back.
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fitmom4lifemfp wrote: »rikkejanell2014 wrote: »Also do you only log intentional work outs? I personally will eat back some but usually have a few hundred calories left unless i didn't work out. I stopped logging exercise unless it's an intentional work out because the scale wasn't moving. Now its moving again. 45 more pounds to go.
Not sure what you mean by "intentional". I always log (what I consider to be) actual exercise - no matter whether it is a part of my daily exercise plan (such as the gym) or a hike in the woods. I don't log things like mowing the lawn, or cleaning the house, or sex (LOL). Is that what you meant?
And no - I never "eat back" my exercise calories. I am trying to lose weight, so that would not be beneficial to me.
If you're using exercise to create your deficit, it wouldn't be beneficial. If you are already at a deficit through diet, eating back exercise calories (or at least some of them) can be an important part of avoiding excessive hunger, maintaining energy, and reaching body composition goals.
It's something that isn't necessarily important if your deficit is smaller or you aren't that active, but for people with larger deficits or are more active, it can be really important.3 -
janejellyroll wrote: »If you're using exercise to create your deficit, it wouldn't be beneficial. If you are already at a deficit through diet, eating back exercise calories (or at least some of them) can be an important part of avoiding excessive hunger, maintaining energy, and reaching body composition goals.
It's something that isn't necessarily important if your deficit is smaller or you aren't that active, but for people with larger deficits or are more active, it can be really important.
For ME, it's important to not to eat back the calories that I have burned off, in a normal day. If I have run a half marathon, or done a 10 mile hike up a mountain, then obviously my calorie consumption would be higher. But for normal daily exercise, no - I never count up how much I burned, and then go find that many calories to eat. It's counter productive, in my situation.0
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