Do you eat your exercise calories?
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I don't. But I do so little cardio that it probably just makes up for some days I spend lying around all day in bed and evens out.
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Shoutey I thought we had an agreement. We are nice to you, and you stay in your own threads. Don't try to expand and make us no longer willing to play, ok?10
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collectingblues wrote: »I don't either. What's the point in working out to assist with weight loss if you are just going to eat it all back?
Because you're set to lose without exercise, and while creating a larger deficit may sound appealing it isn't necessarily a good thing. Plus your body needs the additional fuel if you work out.
Meh. When I add up the calories burned from the weight lifting and cardio I do, it maybe comes out to 1,500/week, which won't even equate to 1/2 a pound of loss.
If you are at your ideal bodyweight, that's one thing, but when you are carrying around 35 lbs of excess fat like I am, your body can tap into those reserves for energy.
Good for you.
I run 20-25 miles a week. I'm fueling those.
Well, yes, if you are running 25 miles per week, you had better be fueling up. I see a lot of people who walk so many steps with their Fitbit and then think they should eat significantly more to compensate. Some people don't realize that if you are not getting your heart rate up to your target rate, you aren't burning a ton of calories.
Really? My weight loss and maintenance tells me that this is not the case.4 -
If you use the mfp calorie goal, it is set assuming you will log exercise and eat back those calories. As calorie burns can be overestimated it can help to start eating back half and then adjusting as needed based on your actual rate of weight loss. The more aggressive the rate of loss you've chosen, the more important it is to eat back your calories. Also make sure you don't leave exercise cals uneaten if that puts your net cals under the minimum for your gender.
I ate all my cals back and lost as expected.3 -
elisa123gal wrote: »I'm somewhere in the middle. I agree you need to fuel your body for a workout..if not it can stall weightless. but.. do you need to eat 800 exercise calories back to do that? no. Some fruit..or small portion of oatmeal or a hard boiled egg would do it.
Well, if one actually BURNS 800 calories, they definitely need to eat at least half of those back. When I was losing 2 lbs. per week I ate back all my exercise calories (and still do) but it was very important then. I had the fat reserves to lose the 2 lbs. but I had a deficit of 1000 calories. I was eating between 1400-1200 calories to make that deficit. If I worked out and burned 800 calories and didn't eat them back I was only taking in 400-600 calories. Eating an egg, about 100 calories or oatmeal (plain would be 150 calories) would NOT be enough. When you are big, you burn a lot of calories because it takes more to move. On some days in the summer I would walk 90 minutes and then swim in the evening or take a zumba class. That was easily 800 calories when one weighs 230 lbs. A couple of times I wasn't that hungry and only ate back a few hundred calories, and I REGRETTED IT. I would wake up at 3:00 a.m. starving and have to eat something. And the edginess or hunger would last through the next day. I learned my lesson quick with that. I have to work with people so I cannot be cranky and hungry.
Nowadays my deficit is less, only 500 calories per day and I'm currently eating 1610 before exercise calories. If I don't eat back 800 exercise calories now, it is not as bad. If I'm not that hungry I will always manage to eat at least 1300-1400 NET that day. Since my overall deficit is smaller the effect of not eating back the exercise calories is not as crippling. In general though, I still eat them back, and I've been losing at 1 lb. per week since I changed my weekly weightloss goals.7 -
I generally eat at least some of my exercise calories back, it really depends on how many there are. I don't think I've ever eaten all of the calories burned cycling back because I'm just not hungry enough to do so. That said I eat a much larger portion of the calories I burn swimming back because it's a far smaller number and thus easier to do so.0
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My amount of activity fluctuates a lot so yes and no. I had a personalized goal set for calories and macros based on my minimum weekly workouts with a 250 deficit. It’s easier for me to have a consistent goal to aim for and it makes meal planning easier but I also did not want to calculate based on my regular full workouts because I didn’t want to have to recalculate if I’m injured or need extra rest so it really doesn’t account for all of my exercise.
I do weight lifting and boxing for 2 hours 3-4 days a week, yoga once a week, and usually fit in a 4-5 mile hike on a day off or I run that day. I take 1 day for full rest. My calculation was for 90 minutes of moderate activity 4 days.0 -
depends for me... at the moment I don't eat them back - but that's because I eat around 1300 a day and I exercise roughly every other day... + mfp estimates my half an hour of exercise to be around 150 calories so my average net calories should not dropping below 1200
now, a couple of years ago when I was just trying to lose some "vanity" weight and get in shape I was working out an hour a day 6 days a week, yes, I did up my intake from 1300ish to 1700ish and it worked out fine, still managed to lose about half a pound a week (keep in mind i'm a 5'2 woman, and I was at a normal BMI at the time)
I wouldn't have had the energy for all the exercise without eating some of it back2 -
nickipurnell wrote: »Just wondering whether I can still loose weight if I am eating my calories gained through exercise? I'm a bit worried about eating too little as in the past I have got very hungry when I have dieted in the past as then ended up binging. But will I loose weight if I eat my exercise calories?
That's how MFP is designed. I definitely do. I have lost over 100 lbs eating them.
I tried not eating them once while I did a program called X-Trainfit at Home (avg 6-7 hrs a week working out). It didn't go well. I was hangry, fatigued, and had headaches. I felt miserable. I lasted about 2 weeks before I decided I had enough and would prefer to eat the most that I could while still losing weight. Sure it's a little slower, but I'm not miserable, I don't get the urge to eat everything in the house, and I have energy to get through my day.3 -
I think it depends on each individual person. When I began using MFP I ate back exercise calories. For me, it didn’t work until I stopped eating those calories. Then, and only then, did I start to lose weight. I agree you should eat your daily goal of calories, whatever you’ve set for yourself, or MFP set for you. Undereating does more harm than good! Undereating actually made me retain my weight because my body needed it to fuel my exercise. Try it both ways, for at least a couple of weeks or so each, (because no one thing will give you results overnight) and watch your results. Everyone’s body reacts/retains/loses differently. What works for one might not work for another. You’ll need to listen to your body and follow what works best for you.9
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SouthernCountryGirl wrote: »I think it depends on each individual person. When I began using MFP I ate back exercise calories. For me, it didn’t work until I stopped eating those calories. Then, and only then, did I start to lose weight. I agree you should eat your daily goal of calories, whatever you’ve set for yourself, or MFP set for you. Undereating does more harm than good! Undereating actually made me retain my weight because my body needed it to fuel my exercise. Try it both ways, for at least a couple of weeks or so each, (because no one thing will give you results overnight) and watch your results. Everyone’s body reacts/retains/loses differently. What works for one might not work for another. You’ll need to listen to your body and follow what works best for you.
It's not really about different things working for different people, though. It is fundamentally part of the CICO equation. If you didn't lose, then there was something wrong in the calculations somewhere, whether it was a logging food issue (perhaps choosing incorrect entries in the database, eye-balling, or using cups and spoons for measuring), logging exercise calories that were too generous, or using a daily activity level that was too high.
Everyone loses in a deficit - everyone. Just because someone "eats their exercise calories" and doesn't lose, doesn't mean "eating exercise calories" in and of itself doesn't work for them. It means they were not calculating a deficit appropriately (provided they didn't try it for something like two or three weeks without seeing a loss and thought "oh, it's not working" - you need more time than that, at least 4-6 weeks). All calculations we use are estimates - activity and food. There are tools we can use to be more accurate with those estimates, but after that, we as individuals have to look at the data and make adjustments. Maybe a person's activity level is lower than the average estimate (but it is highly unlikely it will be off by a tremendous amount). Maybe a person uses the MFP exercise database and identifies a "strenuous" workout, when really it wasn't, and they log and eat all those calories. So, in a sense, you can kind of say eating exercise calories didn't work for that person, but it's not the method that doesn't work, it's the calculations.
MFP is designed to provide a deficit to lose a person's weekly goal without exercise. Other calculations from other sites include exercise. Because it's understood that fueling one's body appropriately for one's activity is important. MFP just gives more control, in a way, to the user. Unfortunately, that also means the user will go for the most aggressive goal possible without understanding the method and without understanding the potential consequences of a too-aggressive goal.
And regarding the PP about not eating exercise calories from fitbit steps - you bet I am eating all of those calories. If I didn't, I'd be eating 1450 per MFP's numbers and be freaking hangry. Eating those I average anywhere from 1700-1900 Sunday-Friday and 2500-3500 on Saturdays. Imagine how much I would be undereating if I didn't consume those calories.10 -
I do, but I use a HRM for more accurate calories as MFP usually gives me about double, which is very generous and all but stops me from losing weight!1
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Yes! I will say that when I had more weight to lose, it was easier not to eat all of them back. Now that I'm getting closer to my goal, I have to eat all of it back or else I will just be miserable.1
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Every last one. In fact, for a long time I mostly exercised to be able to eat more.4
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SouthernCountryGirl wrote: »I think it depends on each individual person. When I began using MFP I ate back exercise calories. For me, it didn’t work until I stopped eating those calories. Then, and only then, did I start to lose weight. I agree you should eat your daily goal of calories, whatever you’ve set for yourself, or MFP set for you. Undereating does more harm than good! Undereating actually made me retain my weight because my body needed it to fuel my exercise. Try it both ways, for at least a couple of weeks or so each, (because no one thing will give you results overnight) and watch your results. Everyone’s body reacts/retains/loses differently. What works for one might not work for another. You’ll need to listen to your body and follow what works best for you.
It's not really about different things working for different people, though. It is fundamentally part of the CICO equation. If you didn't lose, then there was something wrong in the calculations somewhere, whether it was a logging food issue (perhaps choosing incorrect entries in the database, eye-balling, or using cups and spoons for measuring), logging exercise calories that were too generous, or using a daily activity level that was too high.
Everyone loses in a deficit - everyone. Just because someone "eats their exercise calories" and doesn't lose, doesn't mean "eating exercise calories" in and of itself doesn't work for them. It means they were not calculating a deficit appropriately (provided they didn't try it for something like two or three weeks without seeing a loss and thought "oh, it's not working" - you need more time than that, at least 4-6 weeks). All calculations we use are estimates - activity and food. There are tools we can use to be more accurate with those estimates, but after that, we as individuals have to look at the data and make adjustments. Maybe a person's activity level is lower than the average estimate (but it is highly unlikely it will be off by a tremendous amount). Maybe a person uses the MFP exercise database and identifies a "strenuous" workout, when really it wasn't, and they log and eat all those calories. So, in a sense, you can kind of say eating exercise calories didn't work for that person, but it's not the method that doesn't work, it's the calculations.
MFP is designed to provide a deficit to lose a person's weekly goal without exercise. Other calculations from other sites include exercise. Because it's understood that fueling one's body appropriately for one's activity is important. MFP just gives more control, in a way, to the user. Unfortunately, that also means the user will go for the most aggressive goal possible without understanding the method and without understanding the potential consequences of a too-aggressive goal.
And regarding the PP about not eating exercise calories from fitbit steps - you bet I am eating all of those calories. If I didn't, I'd be eating 1450 per MFP's numbers and be freaking hangry. Eating those I average anywhere from 1700-1900 Sunday-Friday and 2500-3500 on Saturdays. Imagine how much I would be undereating if I didn't consume those calories.
Someone asked for opinions/thoughts on a subject. I gave mine. I didn’t say I was right. I gave my personal experience.4 -
I was told to eat more calories since I was eating 1200, so I’ve been eating the exercise calories back. But I’ve had 0 progress since, and even gained 3 pounds back that stayed on all week. I don’t know, maybe my lifestyle is tooo sedentary and I don’t burn as many calories as I think I do exercising.
It’s hard to get to a sweet spot where I can still lose 1lb a week but still have a “healthy” diet at my already normal BMI.
I don’t think I want to eat my exercise calories back anymore though, unless I’m really hungry.
My logging is pretty tight, I even log low sodium soy when I use it which is only like 10cal, use no oil, and measure butter. I measure my food etc. Drink nothing except 0 calorie water or tea.1 -
I was told to eat more calories since I was eating 1200, so I’ve been eating the exercise calories back. But I’ve had 0 progress since, and even gained 3 pounds back that stayed on all week. I don’t know, maybe my lifestyle is tooo sedentary and I don’t burn as many calories as I think I do exercising.
It’s hard to get to a sweet spot where I can still lose 1lb a week but still have a “healthy” diet at my already normal BMI.
I don’t think I want to eat my exercise calories back anymore though, unless I’m really hungry.
My logging is pretty tight, I even log low sodium soy when I use it which is only like 10cal, use no oil, and measure butter. I measure my food etc. Drink nothing except 0 calorie water or tea.
Could be an over-estimation of calories out, but it more likely a combo of errors with calories in and out. Logging can be tight, but if the information in the logging is inaccurate, you can still be off in your calculations. Weigh all solid foods on a food scale (including pre-packaged foods and things like slices of bread of eggs), and measure all liquids in measuring cups/spoons (they're aren't accurate for solids). And there are a lot of whack entries in the database. Be sure and use one that matches the packaging of your product or the USDA database. When you have a small deficit, it all matters. Like my 1.15 slices of bread and my eggs which are always 1.5 eggs.
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^^^ I didn't think the response was getting personal at all. They were just explaining the concepts and it was done in a very respectful and objective manner.2
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I was told to eat more calories since I was eating 1200, so I’ve been eating the exercise calories back. But I’ve had 0 progress since, and even gained 3 pounds back that stayed on all week. I don’t know, maybe my lifestyle is tooo sedentary and I don’t burn as many calories as I think I do exercising.
It’s hard to get to a sweet spot where I can still lose 1lb a week but still have a “healthy” diet at my already normal BMI.
I don’t think I want to eat my exercise calories back anymore though, unless I’m really hungry.
My logging is pretty tight, I even log low sodium soy when I use it which is only like 10cal, use no oil, and measure butter. I measure my food etc. Drink nothing except 0 calorie water or tea.
A lot of people think that if you eat below BMI, you will destroy your muscles and end up in a coma, but its just not true, unless you are drastically under. Harvard Medical, Mayo Clinic, and other well known research and health facilities recommend that you don't go below 1,500 calories a day for men and 1,200 for women. They also recommend 1 to 2 lbs per week as an ideal goal for weight loss. I can tell you that 1,500 calories is below BMI for a lot of men. I highly doubt these established facilities would recommend a caloric intake that would cause you to waste away and go into a coma, and most recommend exercising with that diet.
Now, if you are at your ideal body weight, or eating, say 800 calories a day, then yes, you could have significant health issues if you do this for long. You do not, however, need to eat 2,400 calories a day just because you did a half hour of cardio, or lifted weights for 45 minutes. Now if you are running 5 miles a day, six days a week, then obviously you are going to need more fuel.
I always let my weight loss guide me. If my goal is two pounds per week, and I am losing more than that, I add more calories. If I am not achieving my weight loss goal, I cut adjust calories or exercise more until I am back on track.9
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