NOT RECORDING

seansqatar

Hi, I have just started MFP yday and have completed 2 days of my diary. I plan on doing exercise most days as im active with going to gym, playing tennis, football and in my job. I plan not to record my exercise and use it a s a bonus. If I do record it and gain back say 600 calories I will use them on treats like chocolate at night and I dont want to do so.

Does anyone else do this or do you prefer to work out to eat more?

malibu927

The way MFP is set up you're supposed to eat those calories back. And I always make sure I save calories for a treat (usually ice cream).

kshama2001

MFP uses the NEAT method (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), and as such this 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. Others, however, are able to lose weight while eating 100% of their exercise calories.

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

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1

veganbaum

I prefer to fuel my body appropriately for my level of activity.

I simply use a fitbit and eat the adjustments. I don't bother logging exercise because my fitbit has been fairly accurate when I just let it log all my activity as steps. Works well for me. My deficit would be far too large if I didn't eat my adjustments.

That being said, I also look at weekly and not daily deficits. I eat more on the weekends, but still eat at least 200 of my adjustments each weekday.

sijomial

What are you going to do when you get to goal weight?

TavistockToad

Use a TDEE calculation if you don't want to worry about exercise cals.

spiriteagle99

I exercise every day, and I know I couldn't do what I do if I don't fuel properly. Eating too few calories is likely to leave you very hungry and will make it harder to stick to your diet. If you feel deprived, you are more likely to binge. Think long term.

collectingblues

I don't work out more to eat more, but I begrudgingly admit -- thanks to years of therapy, and seeing a dietitian -- that I need to actually fuel my exercise. I still keep a deficit (which neither the therapist nor the dietitian would prefer), but I am gradually getting over my guilt of eating those calories back.

I don't use MFP for exercise calorie calculation. I go by my Apple Watch and Runkeeper, and the data is consistent between the two. So I have Runkeeper populate MFP automatically, and then I top up/decrease based on the Watch as needed.

Machka9

I recorded my exercise and then ...

If I just did a little bit of exercise like an hour's walk, I would eat approx. 50% of that back.

If I did a moderate amount of exercise like a 2-hour bicycle ride, I would eat approx. 75% of that back.

If I did quite a bit of exercise like a 100 km, 5-hour bicycle ride, I would eat approx. 90% of that back.

That worked for me.