Eating Back Exercise Calories

anbrdr

I've just re-started my journey, after going through a severe burn-out. I'm trying to do it right this time around. MFP allots me 1780 cal/day, and I can't make it there without pigging the eff out. I feel like I'm eating more than I did before I started. Throwing exercise calories on top of that 1780 just seems like an unbearable amount of food. Any tricks or tips for getting calories in without resorting to unhealthy means?

earlnabby

I've just re-started my journey, after going through a sever burn-out. I'm trying to do it right this time around. MFP allots me 1780 cal/day, and I can't make it there without pigging the eff out. I feel like I'm eating more than I did before I started. Throwing exercise calories on top of that 1780 just seems like an unbearable amount of food. Any tricks or tips for getting calories in without resorting to unhealthy means?

Nuts, peanut butter, whole eggs instead of egg whites, full fat dairy instead of fat free, 5 oz of meats instead of 4 oz,, large banana instead of medium,

jennifer_417

For the 1st several months of my weight loss, I exercised just I COULD eat more. I know I'm not the only one, either.

crescentgaia

I'm confused as well. Hopefully someone can help - I'm going to put what I'm at for today (Wednesday).

Goal is 2010.
I've already eaten / plan to eat 1777 calories.
Exercise (from 56 minutes of walking - dog and my 5K training) gained back is 412.
My net is 1365.

So, I plan to find a way to eat the other ~300 calories. Should I also be eating back the 412? It seems like so much more to eat, since all my meals are done, but popcorn might help.

earlnabby

I'm confused as well. Hopefully someone can help - I'm going to put what I'm at for today (Wednesday).

Goal is 2010.
I've already eaten / plan to eat 1777 calories.
Exercise (from 56 minutes of walking - dog and my 5K training) gained back is 412.
My net is 1365.

So, I plan to find a way to eat the other ~300 calories. Should I also be eating back the 412? It seems like so much more to eat, since all my meals are done, but popcorn might help.

Eat back about half so try to eat somewhere around 500 more

crescentgaia

I'm confused as well. Hopefully someone can help - I'm going to put what I'm at for today (Wednesday).

Goal is 2010.
I've already eaten / plan to eat 1777 calories.
Exercise (from 56 minutes of walking - dog and my 5K training) gained back is 412.
My net is 1365.

So, I plan to find a way to eat the other ~300 calories. Should I also be eating back the 412? It seems like so much more to eat, since all my meals are done, but popcorn might help.

Eat back about half so try to eat somewhere around 500 more

Thank you, especially for getting back to me so quickly.

tzdani

I'm guilty of this, too. I KNOW that I need to eat more, but when MFP had suggested 1200 calories, I've been pretty much sticking to that, despite exercising for 2 hours a day and burning over 1000 calories just from exercise. Most days I net around 0. Despite the knowledge (now), that I need to focus on net, even when I net around 400, I end up gaining weight. Do I keep eating and keep gaining until my body gets the hint? Even though I tell myself to increase gradually, eating 1300-1400 a day, I still find many days where I end up back at 1200 (or less), and the net is a negative number. Funny, after all these years of having no idea what I was putting into my body, eating a BAG of potato chips for dinner that now I'm trying to figure out how to add calories back (and still lose weight).

RllyGudTweetr

I'm guilty of this, too. I KNOW that I need to eat more, but when MFP had suggested 1200 calories, I've been pretty much sticking to that, despite exercising for 2 hours a day and burning over 1000 calories just from exercise. Most days I net around 0. Despite the knowledge (now), that I need to focus on net, even when I net around 400, I end up gaining weight. Do I keep eating and keep gaining until my body gets the hint? Even though I tell myself to increase gradually, eating 1300-1400 a day, I still find many days where I end up back at 1200 (or less), and the net is a negative number. Funny, after all these years of having no idea what I was putting into my body, eating a BAG of potato chips for dinner that now I'm trying to figure out how to add calories back (and still lose weight).

Most folks in this situation get here because, in addition to the exercise they're doing, they're restricting their diet to (some definition of) "good foods" and eliminating calorie-dense options they consumed regularly when they weren't trying to lose weight. In general, the key is portion control, rather than control based upon types of foods.

monstermum7

I always eat back some of my exercise calories.
I use a Polar FT4 which is the most effective may to measure although I find MFP to be very close to the HRM.
I run aprox 5 miles+ 4 nights & also Shred & do Kettlebell workouts. I can burn anything from 500 - 1300 calories in a day. Last night I had a warning from MFP advising I had under eaten, I mostly workout in the evenings so can be difficult to eat back such a high calorie burn. Your body can go in to starvation mode & end up hindering weight loss. It is very important to eat some if not all calories burned.

jjinteso

Bump

myrna125

.................!.

myrna125

..........................

myrna125

I have lost over 30lbs. I am now having a hard time maintaining my current weight. I get from a lot of people that I am to small and I need to eat more. I am still in the mind frame to lose weight. It is hard for me to realize it is okay to eat more. I workout every day for an hour. I have set my calorie intake to 1340. If I want to maintain my weight should I also eat back my calories that I burn? If I do that I would be taking in 1748. I am 4,10' and I weigh 100lbs. I am scared that If I eat my calories burned I will gain weight when all I am trying to do is maintain what I have worked so hard to get.

It sounds like you are at a normal weight. I think as a society we have become accustomed to seeing everyone overweight, so when someone gets down to a healthy weight, those close to them will say, You're too thin, when in reality they're not. Get your body fat measured and if you are within normal range, ignore what other people have to say. You know you are healthy, congrats! Don't let everyone else's perception of what healthy looks like, second guess all of the hard work you've done.

myrna125

I think the calories calculated for my exercise are too low. I have a hard time believing that a 5k run only burns 320 cal but if I put my time and pace in that's all MFP gives me.

I would suggest a heart rate monitor. That way you can find out what you're ACTUALLY burning. As for everything else, I agree with the OP. I try to eat back at least half (if not all) of my exercise calories, otherwise I do NOT feel good. I feel tired, weak, and I get constipated as well (even though I drink 8-12 glasses of water a day).

Usual rule of thumb for a 150 pound person, 100 calories burned for each mile, regardless if walked, jogged or ran. Give or take.

rgrady33

Interesting. Question:

I have lost 30 pounds and am at my lowest adult weight ever, but I am trying to lose another 16 more. At what point is it appropriate to adjust the "loss per week" setting? Right now I am allowed 1490 (6'3", 216). My new GW is 200.

erickirb

I am glad that this topic continues to help people. I have now lost 90% of my final goal and in a healthy way!! I have only 8.6 pounds to go. I have actually increased the number of calories that I eat so I only lose 1.5 pounds per week instead of 2 and it works better for me.

with less than 10 lbs to go you should be aiming to lose no more than 0.5lbs/week, otherwise a large % of your loss will come from lean muscle.

If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal,
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal, and
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal.

erickirb

As an example say MFP gives you 1450 calories to lose 1 lb/week, and you plan on exercising 5x/week for an average of 400 cals per workout. well MFP will tell you to eat 1450 on the days you don't workout and 1850 on the days you do whereas a "professional" or TDEE calculator may tell you to eat 1700 everyday regardless if you workout.

So for the week MFP will have you eat 12,150 (1450*2+1850*5) whereas doing it the other way will have you eat 11,900 (1700*7) almost the same number of cals for the week (250 dif). The issue in not following MFP is if you don't workout the full 5 days or burn more or less than planned. If that is the case you may lose more or less than your goal, whereas MFP will have you lose your goal amount regardless how much you actually workout.

What many MFPers do is take the low 1450 and not eat back exercise calories which is wrong, if you are not eating them back then your daily activity level should reflect the higher burn with would be covered in the 1700/day above.

thepandapost

People just need to understand how this tool works and this method of calorie counting. You're not going to get validating information elsewhere because by and large the TDEE method is the most common method for determining calorie needs. With that method you include some estimate of exercise up front in your activity level...so it's included in your estimate of total calorie requirements from which you take your cut. Essentially you are eating you exercise calories with this method, just not deliberately...they're built into your goal already.

With MFP, it is NOT accounted for in your activity level. It has to be accounted for somewhere and with MFP, that somewhere is on the back end after you do it and log it. It's actually all very simple if one takes about 5 minutes to actually read up on this particular and specialized tool...there really is no debate when you actually understand how this tool works.

Good job OP and glad you're losing in a healthy way now.

Exactly what I do. MFP was too confusing with eating back calories. TDEE has been much better for me.

ChrisM8971

I have always eaten back my exercise calories and it has worked for me.

One word of warning though, it depends on accuracy, accuracy of logging what you eat (weighing and making sure the entries you use are also accurate) and accuracy of exercise burns.

I tend to use an HRM (not 100% accurate I know and then deduct my NEAT maintenance calories/24 per hour of exercise. That may sound a little OTT but if my HRM said I burn 350 calories in the hour my body would have burnt about 90 ish of those in that hour anyway so I would log it as 260 and eat those back.

Because no method of calculating calories burnt during exercise is 100% accurate this does take some trial and error.

MKEgal

My doctor & dietician told me to ignore "net" or exercise calories while I'm losing weight.
1 - most people underestimate what they eat
2 - most machines (including MFP) overestimate calories burned
They'll balance each other out.

If your weight goal is 150, eat 1500 calories per day TOTAL to get there.
(10x your healthy goal weight based on BMI is the formula they use.)

In the last 30 days, my net calories have always been below my 1650 cal goal.
14 days I was below 1200 net, and 1 day I was at 1208 net.
1 day I was at 75 net. LOL!
My actual calories have never gone below 1200, because that's the lower limit for women.
Calories burned are generally 450-700.
My doctors are pleased with my progress & health & have told me to keep doing what I'm doing.

I am now having a hard time maintaining my current weight. I get from a lot of people that I am to small and I need to eat more. I am still in the mind frame to lose weight. It is hard for me to realize it is okay to eat more. I workout every day for an hour. I have set my calorie intake to 1340. If I want to maintain my weight should I also eat back my calories that I burn? If I do that I would be taking in 1748. I am 4,10' and I weigh 100lbs. I am scared that If I eat my calories burned I will gain weight when all I am trying to do is maintain what I have worked so hard to get.

Start by adding 50-100 calories to what you've been eating. Give it several weeks to see the effect on your body. Repeat until you start maintaining instead of continuing to lose.

feeling nauseous every day

You don't feel nauseous, you look nauseous to other people.

I work out 3 times a week (weights) for about an hour and tend to do one cardio for about 30 minutes. I eat 2100 calories a day - 138g P, 64g Fat & 258g Carb. The goal is to lost 1 pound a week

If you want to burn calories & lose weight, do cardio.
Do at least 30 minutes every day.

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/may/16/health/la-he-fitness-muscle-myth-20110516
"Claude Bouchard of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La., who has authored several books and hundreds of scientific papers on the subject of obesity and metabolism... told me that muscle, it turns out, makes a fairly small contribution to RMR.
... muscle, contributes only 20-25% of total resting metabolism.
... intense aerobic activity like running burns twice as many calories per hour as hard weightlifting, and the metabolic boost from added muscle is not nearly enough to compensate for this difference... "

"Most weight loss occurs because of decreased caloric intake.
However, evidence shows the only way to maintain weight loss is to be engaged in regular physical activity.
"To maintain your weight: work your way up to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or an equivalent mix of the two each week."
(The page explains moderate & vigorous.)
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/physical_activity/index.html