Eating back exercise calories

lartishs

I have 2.5 kg to go till goal. Been plateauing for 8 weeks. Ok burn around 2000 calories a week exercising. Am eating some back but not all. What are your thoughts? Should I be concentrating on total or net calories?

sijomial

Net calories, just like you will need to when you lose that last 2.5kg and want to maintain.

Total calories only works when that total goal already takes your exercise into account - like TDEE calculators and wearable trackers do.

Making your diary public might help spot a problem but overall your intake has a far bigger impact on your true calorie balance than your exercise.
e.g. Compare your total food calories and total exercise calories for a week and you will see accuracy variations on a much bigger number have far more power than the much smaller exercise number.

lartishs

So to get your total exercise calories that would be the difference from total to net?

sijomial

lartishs wrote: »

So to get your total exercise calories that would be the difference from total to net?

Have a read of the Help text.....

https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032273692-What-are-Net-Calories-

MichelleMcKeeRN

I prefer to increase my daily calorie goal and not add back exercise calories. I like not having huge fluctuations in the amount of food I can eat. The deficit is the same.
Many time exercise calories are overestimated anyways.

kshama2001

MichelleMcKeeRN wrote: »

I prefer to increase my daily calorie goal and not add back exercise calories. I like not having huge fluctuations in the amount of food I can eat. The deficit is the same.
Many time exercise calories are overestimated anyways.

So you are basically using the TDEE method. Assuming you're not losing faster (or slower) than intended, that's a legit method.

I prefer to keep it simple and use MFP the way it was designed.

Unlike other sites which use TDEE calculators, 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 for them and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back. Others, however, are able to lose weight while eating 100% of their exercise calories.

https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals-

TwistedSassette

MichelleMcKeeRN wrote: »

I prefer to increase my daily calorie goal and not add back exercise calories. I like not having huge fluctuations in the amount of food I can eat. The deficit is the same.
Many time exercise calories are overestimated anyways.

This TDEE method works if your exercise is consistent. If you're ever ill or injured or busy and can't exercise (or limited exercise), then you'd need to remember to reduce your calorie goal to account for that.

Agree that the exercise calories can be overestimated, a lot of people choose to only eat back a portion of their exercise calories for that reason. Which is the same as leaving yourself "in the green" using the TDEE method.

westrich20940

You should be concentrating on NET calories. If you used MFP to set up and chose that you wanted to lose weight - the calorie goal that it gives you is already set at a deficit. That's why it gives you cardio calories back if you log it.

There are many ways to do this and I think it's personal for everyone for what they find less confusing/easiest to do.

For example: I used a TDEE calculator and used 'sedentary' as my lifestyle bc I have a desk job and am sedentary at home other than my intentional exercise. So I manually set my MFP calorie goal to my TDEE. Then, if I do intentional activity (run, walk, hike, etc.) I log that activity in the cardio section (I try to manually put in the best estimate of calorie burn, the ones preloaded on MFP may not be accurate), and then MFP adds those cals back to my goal - I am in maintenance so I eat them back. So on days I do activity I eat more than on days I don't. That works for me. I *could alternatively, use a TDEE calculator and put my activity level to 'active' and eat more every day - but eat the same every day whether I work out or not. I don't do that personally because of what another poster above said --- I may not always do the number of runs I had planned on for the week and I'd rather just eat more on the day I run. I am more hungry and so it makes sense for me to have an extra meal that day.

lartishs

Hi all I have opened up my diary today. I'm still plateauing. Ive been using my fitbit for last 3 weeks which has been great. Even if i could loose .5 kg a week a would be happy. Any feedback pleaee

sijomial

As you have now changed your methods (Fitbit) you will need to give that change a decent amount of time to settle out to get an idea of your device's accuracy for you.

Do be aware the Fitbit adjustment isn't just exercise, it's both daily activity and exercise combined and compared to the predicition you made.

Not understanding why you are logging dog walking manually when your Fitbit would have picked up that exercise.

lartishs

The dog walking is because the fit bit wasn't on. No charge. Days that I do a lot of tennis I'm burning more than was calculated before fit bit. I guess loosing confidence in myself that I can shift the last few kgs.

sijomial

lartishs wrote: »

The dog walking is because the fit bit wasn't on. No charge. Days that I do a lot of tennis I'm burning more than was calculated before fit bit. I guess loosing confidence in myself that I can shift the last few kgs.

Ah I see.

The focus for weight loss really has to be your food intake vs your needs and with not much to lose consistency and patience are required.
Very few people do the sheer volume of exercise that inaccuracy in estimating can completely wipe out their deficit. Even if your original 2,000 cal a week estimate is double reality that's not enough to fully explain the problem.

In many ways losing the last few KG and maintenance can be very similar, a bit like steering an oil tanker - make a small adjustment and wait for the impact of that adjustment to take effect.

There are alternatives such as on / off dieting (alternating time periods of deliberate maintenance and significant deficit) but that suits some people and not others. A spell at deliberate maintenance (diet break) can also be physically and mentally refreshing.

lartishs

For the last 2 weekends I have gone over on my calories which had put my weekly amount up which in turn potentially cancels out a loss.
Thankyou so much for your input I will definitely put some thought into it.