Eating back my exercised calories!
belindanjumo
Posts: 109 Member
I exercise six times a week and burn atleast 400calories every day. MFP put my baseline calories at 1200calories a day since i lived a mostly sedentary life before i started exercising. I read on most forums that it is advisable to eat back the calories you burn since the baseline calories MFP puts is already a deficit. After the first two weeks, i lost 6pounds and then gained all that back in the following week. I seem to be gaining weight instead of losing. Please tell me what I should do!!
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Replies
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More info is needed such as height and weight. Also, if you make your diary public it might help.
Are you eating back the exercise calories? If so, how much?0 -
i am 5ft 2inches and as of today I weigh 72.5, thats 159lbs. I do eat back all the calories exercised. Thats about 400cals.0
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I have the same problem! First couple weeks I lost lost lost, then I started eating more because it told me after exercise I was eating too few, now even though I am running 2-4 miles a day I am GAINING!
( I did drink some beer over the weekend, that didn't help!)0 -
How are you estimating calories burned?
How are you measuring calories in?0 -
as long as you are getting your daily recommended nutrients and aren't hungry, don't worry about eating back your exercise calories. So many people are worried about starvation mode... you have to be next to anorexic to get there. Do what works for YOU.0
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It's possible that you're overestimating your exercise calories, or underestimating how much you're eating.
However, I don't think either would be sufficient enough to make you gain back that much that fast. More likely, the early large loss was mostly water, and so is most of the gain. You said you lost 6 lbs in 2 weeks and gained that back in a week. It's nearly impossible for it to be fat or muscle causing the fluctuation.
There's a lot of things that cause a fluctuation in weight. I can weigh as much as 5 pounds more in the evening than in the morning of the same day. Make sure you're always weighing at the same time of day, with the same amount of clothes (I prefer 1st thing in the morning, after bathroom but before eating, undressed) and with the same scale, since that can make a difference too. And dehydration or water retention can come into play, especially as you start new exercise programs. As women, we are also "blessed" with extra fluctuations around TOM.
Keep tracking and eating back most of those calories, and give it time. Also, start measuring other ways than the scale - waist, hips, chest, etc. And bf% if you have easy access to it
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This happened to me after the first month or so of losing. I am by no means a weight loss veteran on MFP or a dietician for that matter, but I have noticed the scale finally moving again after I stopped eating back all my exercise calories.
For me, I was physically active at least three years before I joined MFP so I had a lot of muscle tone already despite being overweight. I think my body was burning calories more efficiently than I realized, and it seems the calorie calculators on MFP are quite generous. I still eat back some of my exercise calories, especially if I did a particularly intense workout like kickboxing or insanity, but I always try to leave a 250-300 calorie deficit at least. That seems to be working for me.0 -
^^ Agree with this, I eat about 500/600 of my exercise calories (I usually burn around 2k cals give or take 4/5 days a week).It's possible that you're overestimating your exercise calories, or underestimating how much you're eating.
However, I don't think either would be sufficient enough to make you gain back that much that fast. More likely, the early large loss was mostly water, and so is most of the gain. You said you lost 6 lbs in 2 weeks and gained that back in a week. It's nearly impossible for it to be fat or muscle causing the fluctuation.
There's a lot of things that cause a fluctuation in weight. I can weigh as much as 5 pounds more in the evening than in the morning of the same day. Make sure you're always weighing at the same time of day, with the same amount of clothes (I prefer 1st thing in the morning, after bathroom but before eating, undressed) and with the same scale, since that can make a difference too. And dehydration or water retention can come into play, especially as you start new exercise programs. As women, we are also "blessed" with extra fluctuations around TOM.
Keep tracking and eating back most of those calories, and give it time. Also, start measuring other ways than the scale - waist, hips, chest, etc. And bf% if you have easy access to it0 -
It's possible that you're overestimating your exercise calories, or underestimating how much you're eating.
However, I don't think either would be sufficient enough to make you gain back that much that fast. More likely, the early large loss was mostly water, and so is most of the gain. You said you lost 6 lbs in 2 weeks and gained that back in a week. It's nearly impossible for it to be fat or muscle causing the fluctuation.
There's a lot of things that cause a fluctuation in weight. I can weigh as much as 5 pounds more in the evening than in the morning of the same day. Make sure you're always weighing at the same time of day, with the same amount of clothes (I prefer 1st thing in the morning, after bathroom but before eating, undressed) and with the same scale, since that can make a difference too. And dehydration or water retention can come into play, especially as you start new exercise programs. As women, we are also "blessed" with extra fluctuations around TOM.
Keep tracking and eating back most of those calories, and give it time. Also, start measuring other ways than the scale - waist, hips, chest, etc. And bf% if you have easy access to it
Thanks a lot. This makes more sense now0 -
I have the same problem! First couple weeks I lost lost lost, then I started eating more because it told me after exercise I was eating too few, now even though I am running 2-4 miles a day I am GAINING!
( I did drink some beer over the weekend, that didn't help!)
Hahahah. "It told me after exercise I was eating too few."
I was also concerned when I see their disclaimer. Yesterday, I was a mere 80 cals under my goal and I got that disclaimer. I will no longer worry. Seems they want us at 1200 perfectly. Who can do that?! Not I! Good luck!!
Right or wrong, I've been successful with consuming 1200 cals max each day and buring 150-365 cals/day. I do not eat back my cals. This is not recommended, but it worked for me. Water water water!!!0 -
This happened to me after the first month or so of losing. I am by no means a weight loss veteran on MFP or a dietician for that matter, but I have noticed the scale finally moving again after I stopped eating back all my exercise calories.
For me, I was physically active at least three years before I joined MFP so I had a lot of muscle tone already despite being overweight. I think my body was burning calories more efficiently than I realized, and it seems the calorie calculators on MFP are quite generous. I still eat back some of my exercise calories, especially if I did a particularly intense workout like kickboxing or insanity, but I always try to leave a 250-300 calorie deficit at least. That seems to be working for me.
I burn atleast 400cals per workout and instead of eating all, i will definitely try leaving 200 for my weight loss. lets see how it goes. Any other suggestions guys?0 -
I thought that if you eat them all back that is the amount you are suppose to eat to maintain your weight if you are maintaining. So I eat some of them back for added fuel but not all of them so I have a calorie deficit and will still lose weight while I'm trying to lose weight. I usually aim for somewhere in the 1450 range if I work out really hard I might eat little more than that but very rarely do I ever eat all of them bk0
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You should use common sense. Eat a little more if you're hungry and weigh yourself several times a week to see what your weight is doing. Do not automatically eat an additional 400 calories because some device or app said you burned 400 calories.
Some people here act as if weight loss is a perfect mathematical formula. First of all, the data often is inaccurate, secondly, it is more complicated than every calorie is the same. It's a complex process that is not entirely understood. But for ordinary folks like ourselves, creating a reasonable calorie deficit with a balanced diet is a good enough rule of thumb, if we adjust our eating based on our observations.
In addition, exercise is good for your health, but it is not critical for weight loss. You should treat it as one more healthy thing you do for yourself, not as a license to overeat.0 -
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This is almost exactly my situation. Yesterday I weighed almost 4 lbs more.. but it's just water fluctuation in my opinion. Like everyone else said, there's no way you can gain that much fat or muscle in a day or two.
As far as eating back the exercise calories, I sometimes eat my calories back, sometimes I don't. We're similar weight and height also. Mine told me I was under my calorie suggestion and gave me the warning.. but if you're not hungry, you're not hungry. Your body will tell you if it's hungry. If it is, snack on something healthy. I'm listening to my body now more than anything. And I've actually adapted to the 1200/cal a day. It's easier now as my body has gotten accustomed to it.
Also, good luck to you!
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I'm so grateful for people who ask questions like this because they don't know & want to do it right. I am more grateful for ALL of you who KNOW what they are talking about & SHARE it!!!!!!! You're awesome & I just wanted to say thanks for sharing what you know. I can't really add much more cuz everything I know has been said
Good luck to you! Some really good advice has been given I must say 0 -
I do the same as others have stated - eat when I am hungry if I have calories to eat.
I also leave some leway for things like mustard or ketchup that I may not have added, or that bite I take to sample the dish I am making so far this has been working for me!0 -
Good info everyone, I will no longer be concerned when it tells me to eat more calories lol
after all, the goal is to burn more than I eat! How can I do that if I'm compensating for calories lost during exercise?0 -
You should use common sense. Eat a little more if you're hungry and weigh yourself several times a week to see what your weight is doing. Do not automatically eat an additional 400 calories because some device or app said you burned 400 calories.
Some people here act as if weight loss is a perfect mathematical formula. First of all, the data often is inaccurate, secondly, it is more complicated than every calorie is the same. It's a complex process that is not entirely understood. But for ordinary folks like ourselves, creating a reasonable calorie deficit with a balanced diet is a good enough rule of thumb, if we adjust our eating based on our observations.
In addition, exercise is good for your health, but it is not critical for weight loss. You should treat it as one more healthy thing you do for yourself, not as a license to overeat.
Well said!0 -
You should use common sense. Eat a little more if you're hungry and weigh yourself several times a week to see what your weight is doing. Do not automatically eat an additional 400 calories because some device or app said you burned 400 calories.
Some people here act as if weight loss is a perfect mathematical formula. First of all, the data often is inaccurate, secondly, it is more complicated than every calorie is the same. It's a complex process that is not entirely understood. But for ordinary folks like ourselves, creating a reasonable calorie deficit with a balanced diet is a good enough rule of thumb, if we adjust our eating based on our observations.
In addition, exercise is good for your health, but it is not critical for weight loss. You should treat it as one more healthy thing you do for yourself, not as a license to overeat.
I actually am not keen on exercising because I want to overeat. I have been told i have a high cholesterol level and I am overweight. I am only 26 so my desire to lose weight is rather crucial to me, so thus i see exercise as a means of loosing the weight. But you made perfect sense when u stated that the machines maynot be entirely accurate. I guess the best thing to do is not to eat as much. By that i mean eating exactly what i lost through exercise.0 -
This is almost exactly my situation. Yesterday I weighed almost 4 lbs more.. but it's just water fluctuation in my opinion. Like everyone else said, there's no way you can gain that much fat or muscle in a day or two.
As far as eating back the exercise calories, I sometimes eat my calories back, sometimes I don't. We're similar weight and height also. Mine told me I was under my calorie suggestion and gave me the warning.. but if you're not hungry, you're not hungry. Your body will tell you if it's hungry. If it is, snack on something healthy. I'm listening to my body now more than anything. And I've actually adapted to the 1200/cal a day. It's easier now as my body has gotten accustomed to it.
Also, good luck to you!
I tried eating only when am hungry. I found that I ate little because I am not usually hungry, so I didn't even lose much weight, though i lost like 0.5kg per week but then i platued. So i included exercise lost a good amount of weight, started eating my calories back and gained nearly all back. I know several people have said it might be water weight and all but am not totally convinced as i took my measurements, and i had really added. But yea thanks for the wishes0 -
With MP, you are supposed to eat back exercise calories; the difficulty is that it is very easy to overestimate burn, particularly if you are using a database to give you burn results and/or you do a lot of exercise that is NOT steady state cardio. A reasonable rule of thumb is to allot for estimation error...many people, including myself, eat back 50% to 70% depending on how confident I am.
It is also important to weigh and measure your foods as well. Underestimation of intake is a whole other problem.0 -
Good info everyone, I will no longer be concerned when it tells me to eat more calories lol
after all, the goal is to burn more than I eat! How can I do that if I'm compensating for calories lost during exercise?
At a minimum, I eat back to my BMR and then 2/3 of the remaining exercse calories above that. I do this to account for food labeling inaccuracies (which tend to slightly underreport) and/or overreporting of calories burned by HR monitors, GPS watches, etc.0 -
With MP, you are supposed to eat back exercise calories; the difficulty is that it is very easy to overestimate burn, particularly if you are using a database to give you burn results and/or you do a lot of exercise that is NOT steady state cardio. A reasonable rule of thumb is to allot for estimation error...many people, including myself, eat back 50% to 70% depending on how confident I am.
It is also important to weigh and measure your foods as well. Underestimation of intake is a whole other problem.
Wao ive actually never thought of buying a food scale. Good advice!0 -
Good info everyone, I will no longer be concerned when it tells me to eat more calories lol
after all, the goal is to burn more than I eat! How can I do that if I'm compensating for calories lost during exercise?
Because mfp gives you a goal that includes a deficit without exercise. Exercising increases that deficit which is not always a good thing, especially if maintaing LBM is important to you. Why would someone join a site without having a clue how the site works?0 -
Good info everyone, I will no longer be concerned when it tells me to eat more calories lol
after all, the goal is to burn more than I eat! How can I do that if I'm compensating for calories lost during exercise?
Your logic assumes that you're trying to create a weight loss deficit with exercise. With MFP, this is not the case; your weightloss GOAL includes a massive deficit from a maintenance level of calories...this is also NET of exercise because MFP is a NEAT method calculator. It's logic like this that has so many women here vastly undereating and netting well below 1,000 calories on a regular basis. This can be extremely dangerous; learn how to use this tool.0
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