Who still loses weight by eating back the calories they burned off from exercise?

Summerweightlosscollege

I want to start eating back the calories i burn off, but i feel like then my workout goes to waste (especially when it is just cardio). However I feel extra hungry after I come back for a jog. Does anyone continue to eat their exercise calories and still lose weight? Let me know!

Geocitiesuser

Yes absolutely, or I might literally die.

But I don't eat what MFP lists. I estimate most my exercise at 50 to 75 calories per 30 minutes depending on activity. Some of the exercises in the MFP database are way out of portion. Some people eat back half of what MFP says.

InkAndApples

Yup, all of them as provided by my Fitbit.

cwolfman13

It's the way the tool is designed. Exercise is unaccounted for activity in your activity level...common sense would dictate that it should be accounted for somewhere. Lean, healthy, and fit people eat and train...they don't crash their diets and then do a bunch of exercise on top of it.

ETA: yesterday I did a 30 mile date ride with my wife....I burned over 1,000 calories...If I ate what MFP gives me for 1 Lb per week before exercise I would have been left with around 800 calories for my body to work with...I burn around 1700-1800 calories merely existing, so obviously providing my body around 800 calories would not be a very healthy proposition...

I'd also suggest taking a step back and realizing that regular exercise has numerous health benefits...increased energy expenditure is just one of them. The purpose of regular exercise goes well beyond just burning some calories...ergo, it wouldn't be pointless.

kgirlhart

I always ate back most of my exercise calories and lost weight. Mfp is designed for you to eat them back. If you got your goal from mfp then your deficit is built in and not eating the exercise calories will increase the deficit which is not really a good thing. If you used a tdee calculator to get your goal then it is already including exercise calories so you should not add them again because you are already eating the exercise calories. That is why Tdee calculator will give you a higher goal than map gives you. Your tdee goal should be about equal to tour map goal + exercise calories.

estherdragonbat

I usually eat back half my exercise calories. Dropped just shy of 61 lbs to date (after about 7 months).

RamboKitty87

I eat back between 40% - 60% depending on if its the weekend or not, my daily calorie is set to 1,320, I eat around 1,500 -1,600 and burn between 500 - 800 calories per day, I like to make sure my net is around 1,200 I'm 5"4 and 254lbs as of 3d June, I started at 308lbs in January of this year, I have been losing 2lbs per week.

dragon_girl26

Yup, lost 80 lbs eating the calories MFP gives me, plus my exercise calories. I lost at the expected rate, sometimes even a tiny bit more.
I like the point mentioned above about how fit people eat and train, and I completely agree. Under fueling your body is not a good fitness plan.

ogtmama

I eat them back but I always lowball whai did. I count a 60 minute class as 45 or my hike as a slow walk

justkeeprunning91

I eat back exercise calories as given by my fitbit. I've done the math and they're pretty accurate. If I didn't eat them back, I would be too tired to function. For example, I ran 8 miles this morning, burning about 1,000 calories according to my fitbit. With a net goal of 1,200 calories, if I didn't eat them back, I would be netting about 200 calories in a day, which isn't healthy at all.

TigerLily100

I eat back if hungry, if not I don't bother.
I have a fitbit, but I think it over estimates my calories burned, although a bit early to say as I'm only about 2 weeks in.
I just can't believe the calories it gives me some days, and for what seems so little effort - way above my BMR.
So am being cautious at present, but open minded to changing my views on it if the weight loss increases. I only want to lose at 1lb a week and no greater.

bwogilvie

I have always eaten back my exercise calories, with one important caveat: I use a couple of methods of estimating calories, choose the lower amount, and completely ignore MFP's exercise database, which inflates exercise calories ridiculously. While I was losing weight, I averaged about 450 exercise calories a day (cycling, running, and hiking—I try to do something active every day, and on weekends I'll go for 2-4 hour bike rides, sometimes longer), so if I didn't eat them back, I would have been hungry and crabby (hangry) all the time, and I would have lost weight far too quickly.

lynn_glenmont

Yes.

WendyLeigh1119

Just be sure your activity level is set on "sedentary" regardless of what your non-exercise activity level is. And then like many others here....I eat back around 50% or so of my exercise calories if I think the calories awarded are accurate. I also use Fitbit (which always allows me significantly less than mfp)...but again, considering that FB slips out of place, can't know that I'm lifting weights, but not moving around a lot...etc.

An hour of Strength training or lifting weights might *for example* show FB that your HR is 130 or so. It might show the same HR for a leisurely walk and award significantly more calories for the walk because of "steps". But steps don't equal effort or resistance. Nor can FB guess "afterburn" or muscle mass in calculations.

So there's a lot of factors to consider yourself on how much to eat back and definitely consider your muscle mass and factor in strength training vs cardio when eating back calories. I am set up for 2lbs per week weight loss, but have lost 20 lbs since March 15th. So not quite 2 lbs per week.

But I'm doing 65% or more strength training, so those missing lbs are likely muscle gained. Your scale won't reflect that, either. I was a Size 12 and 172lbs in March and now a Small Size 8 and 151lbs. But when I tell someone I'm 151lbs they look shocked because I look more slender than that (muscle/fat loss).

All of these trackers and apps are a big help, but you still have to account for your body and learn and adapt what is most effective for your body as far as the end result you want.

TL;DR Version: When in doubt....drink a protein shake instead of a meal to be sure you're not eating back too much and manage hunger/keep carbs in check. Add BCAAs (to water before and during workouts) to retain muscle in case you're not eating enough calories back.

NorthCascades

Summerweightlosscollege wrote: »

I want to start eating back the calories i burn off, but i feel like then my workout goes to waste (especially when it is just cardio). However I feel extra hungry after I come back for a jog. Does anyone continue to eat their exercise calories and still lose weight? Let me know!

Do you think that no one has ever lost weight with exercise and that MFP is set up to fool you, like they secretly want people not to lose weight?

SafioraLinnea

I eat it all back.

I used to not eat any exercise calories back until I did that for six months, got really really sick and it took eight months to recover. I was netting less than 500 calories a day and some days a negative net amount after exercise. Lost a ton of weight but I will never ever do that again.

Now I eat it all back and still lose between 0.5 and 1.5 pounds weekly. It works. It feel healthier and the pounds are vanishing. Love eating my exercise calories!

Asher_Ethan

I log 75% of the time i spend working out and eat those calories. I've been doing this over 2 years and its what works best for me.

AnnPT77

I estimated my exercise calories carefully, ate pretty much all of therm back, and lost 60+ pounds in less than a year.

How fast are you losing weight without eating the exercise calories? Obviously, you'll lose a little more slowly if you eat back some or all of your exercise.

If you're losing more than 1% of your body weight weekly (even less than that if you're closer than 25 pounds or so to goal), definitely eat more - you're losing at a rate that may be unhealthy.

If you're losing more slowly than that, just do the arithmetic to estimate your new loss rate. Let's pretend you're losing on average a pound a week, and doing 250 calories of exercise daily but not eating those calories. Your average daily deficit is about 500 calories (roughly 3500 calories in a pound, divided by 7 days in a week, equals 500 calories per day).

In that scenario, eating back the 250 daily exercise calories will reduce your daily deficit to 250 (500 calorie deficit minus the 250 calories of increased eating that makes the deficit smaller). At a 250 calorie daily deficit, you'd expect to lose about half a pound a week.

If eating more when you're hungry after exercise makes it easier to stick to eating in a deficit - i e., if it helps you stuck to weight loss longer without falling off the wagon - then in practice you may actually lose just as much while eating some exercise, because slipping off track has as calorie "cost" and hinders weight loss, too. Losing slowly but more steadily gets you to the same place.

One further thought: You say "I want to start eating back the calories i burn off, but i feel like then my workout goes to waste". Workouts never go to waste. They make you more fit. They improve your mood. They can help other aspects of your health, such as blood pressure or blood sugar. Even some cardio can help with preserving existing muscle as you lose fat, even if it's not quite as good for that as weight training is. They help build the habit of being active, which will help you keep weight off more easily once you reach goal weight.

lynn_glenmont

AnnPT77 wrote: »

One further thought: You say "I want to start eating back the calories i burn off, but i feel like then my workout goes to waste". Workouts never go to waste. They make you more fit. They improve your mood. They can help other aspects of your health, such as blood pressure or blood sugar. Even some cardio can help with preserving existing muscle as you lose fat, even if it's not quite as good for that as weight training is. They help build the habit of being active, which will help you keep weight off more easily once you reach goal weight.

^^Exactly this. In fact, workouts that you don't fuel -- well, they may not be a waste, but you won't get the full benefit, because you won't have the energy to put full effort in, and your body won't have the energy and building materials to repair and build muscle.

loulouowens

Im still not eating my fitbit adjustments. Becuase today for eg i have done no specific exercise, but had a busy day and done 13000 steps im set to sedentry so fitbit and mfp has given me an positive adjustment of 400 calories.
I just dont eat them becuase i feel like i will sts or gain if i do! Now if i got for a run or a specific hike then i will eat half of those.

kshama2001

loulouowens wrote: »

Im still not eating my fitbit adjustments. Becuase today for eg i have done no specific exercise, but had a busy day and done 13000 steps im set to sedentry so fitbit and mfp has given me an positive adjustment of 400 calories.
I just dont eat them becuase i feel like i will sts or gain if i do! Now if i got for a run or a specific hike then i will eat half of those.

A calorie burned is a calorie burned, whether it comes from walking, running, or hiking.