Do I eat back the calories burnt during exercise?

MissKirstyBee90

Hi everyone... I'm a little confused and need some advise.

I'm not sure if I should be eating back my calories burnt during exercise?

My maintenance cals are 1800 per day, so I've been eating 1400 per day putting myself in a deficit. I burn on average 300-400 cals during a workout (according to my smart watch).

I've been eating my calories back... putting me at about 1700-1800 cals consumed per day (after exercise).

I'm wondering if I should be doing this? Or just keeping to my 1400 cals per day regardless of exercise cals.

I'm so confused and reading stuff online has only added to my confusion!! Any info would be VERY much appreciated thanks!!

paddydiver24

Hello Kirsty, if your goal is to just maintain where you are at weight, body fat and dress size, just don't eat all of those calories expended and you'll be right on track.

MissKirstyBee90

paddydiver24 wrote: »

Hello Kirsty, if your goal is to just maintain where you are at weight, body fat and dress size, just don't eat all of those calories expended and you'll be right on track.

So don't east calories burnt during exercise? My goal is do loose a little.

paddydiver24

That is correct. Don't eat them. If you eat the 1800, you'll still be in a deficit because of the exercise.

ps...interested in being friends?

Evamutt

your body needs fuel for exercise. I've always eaten exercise calories back & lost 50lbs. You may find yourself getting weak if you don't eat them.

MissKirstyBee90

Evamutt wrote: »

your body needs fuel for exercise. I've always eaten exercise calories back & lost 50lbs. You may find yourself getting weak if you don't eat them.

Hmmmm yes thats what I originally thought. By not eating back cals I would possibly put myself in too big of a deficit. I'm currently eating them all back and have been for a few weeks and have noticed no body change. I may try eating back only half of them and see how I go in a month 👌🏻

kimny72

KirstyBlundell697 wrote: »

Evamutt wrote: »

your body needs fuel for exercise. I've always eaten exercise calories back & lost 50lbs. You may find yourself getting weak if you don't eat them.

Hmmmm yes thats what I originally thought. By not eating back cals I would possibly put myself in too big of a deficit. I'm currently eating them all back and have been for a few weeks and have noticed no body change. I may try eating back only half of them and see how I go in a month 👌🏻

Yes, the MFP calorie goal gives you the deficit you need to lose at the pace you chose, BEFORE exercise. If you don't eat back your exercise cals, you'll lose faster.

Having said that, exercise cals are hard to pin down and are often overestimated, so many people start out eating back half and tweak from there.

It also couldn't hurt to tighten up your logging just in case (use a food scale, double check the database entries you're choosing have the correct cals, make sure you aren't skipping logging anything). But then I always think that's a good exercise!

You'll see different advice online because most places use TDEE to get your calorie goal, which already includes exercise. MFP uses NEAT, which does not. So you use it a little differently.

:drinker:

yirara

Eat them back, but maybe only half of it to start with and see within a few weeks how far away from your weight loss goal you are. this because fitness trackers overestimate a lot for many people, are spot on for some, but understating seems to be rare (if not impossible). With a deficit of 400kcal you can expect to lose about 0.8lbs per week if your tracking is spot on.

dhartmann34

I think the big issue is that depending on how specific you are with your food and exercise, the calories burned and eaten may be off.... Usually underestimated on the eaten part and over estimated on the exercised off part. As folks have said, eating back half of the calories burned off is a good start. Then adjust from there.

maureenseel1984

Yeah It depends on the exercise and how many calories were burned. For some exercise you probably should eat at least some of them back.
Ex: When I was running long distances, I'd sometimes burn over 2,000 calories. If I wasn't trying to refuel my body after that kind of a workout...I could have (and actually did) have some really negative consequences.

However, if it's a typical day, typical workout, I may not eat them back-at least not all of them...if that makes sense.

It's also important to note that you can end up eating them back over the course of a few days if it is a larger amount burned/very strenuous exercise. Days I had really long training runs, my appetite was actually horrible-I'd almost be sick to my stomach, but then my appetite would ramp up significantly the days after the run.

MissKirstyBee90

Thanks for all the awesome info everyone!! I'm definitely going to tighten up my logging and make sure everything is accurate. I will also start eating only HALF of the cals burnt during exercise back and see where I'm at in 4-6 weeks. 👌🏻👌🏻