Those who eat back exercise calories?

ToFatT0B3S1ck

I eat them back if I am hungry and always make sure my net is at least 1200 if I'm hungry or not. Check out the ticker for weight loss.

MinnieInMaine

I have eaten back every little morsel of exercise calories since I started nearly 4 years ago.

kbresso

I usually eat most of my exercise calories. I've been counting calories for almost two years, more or less (except when I was bulking for about 4 months). For awhile, I calculated my calories at sedentary and then ate back the calories (I didn't use MFP's calculation) and now I'm at TDEE-17%, and with TDEE the exercise cals are already built in. Either way, I eat my exercise calories because I've learned, at least for me, if I don't eat enough to support my activity level, my weight loss plateaus. I workout out 6 times a week, lifting 4 days and I run twice a week. I'm losing weight eating just over 2000 calories a day and I'm in the if-it-fits-in-your-macros camp, so I can usallly get away with a chocolate chip cookie a few times a week

ChristineinMA

I eat them back if I am hungry and always make sure my net is at least 1200 if I'm hungry or not. Check out the ticker for weight loss.

This has been my experience as well.

Remember, it is not just whether you eat exercise calories or not, the amount of body fat available to lose makes a difference too. I am in the Obese category of the BMI and have fat to spare. As I get closer to goal, I expect that the weight will come off more slowly.

danofthedead1979

If you've set your calorie limit at a deficit to start with, then eat back your workout cals. You're still in deficit. Its the deficit that will generate weight loss, not the exercise. If you've set your cals at maintenance level, then don't eat back the cals burned, as this creates the deficit and generates the weight loss.

Saraisamom

If you are worried about eating too many calories back because of overestimating calories burned during workout, get yourself a good quality heart rate monitor. You don't have to eat all your calories back, but you can work on a percentage that doesn't feel like sabotaging your deficit.

GemmaRowlands

Personally I never ate them back, but my settings were to lose slowly, so that probably works out as similar who set to lose 2lbs a week but ate them back. Maybe. Anyway I did okay, hit my goal, and have thus far managed to maintain for 10 months.

JazzKat71

It all depends on how you set up your profile. If you set your activity level to "sedentary", then YES you should eat back your calories. If you set it to "active" or "lightly active", then you should not. Since MFP has you at a calorie deficit whether you exercise or not, it all depends on your activity level.

This post is also very helpful: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13

THIS!! I think this is VERY important!!!! I wish I could bold that second sentence.

Jess1caLe

I do, but to a certain extent. I work out in the evenings a lot, so I have to prepare myself to burn the calories I take in. Of course everyone is different and has a different perspective on things, but I don't see it as a calorie deficit--I see it as a way to earn my exercise for the day. I need the calories for energy, gain, and strength to work out. Though it is hard at times when I happen to do an intense work out and MFP says I've burned 700 calories and it's 8pm. I can't bring myself to eat that much just a couple of hours before bed. :ohwell:

summermac96

I always tried to leave a slight deficit when I first started out. Then I lost too much weight. Well guess what? The MFP exercise calories are extremely OFF for me which I only discovered upon using a HRM to track it. No wonder I felt like I was STARVING but my diary didn't show it. I do usually eat my calories now but I am maintaining.

I highly recommend you get a HRM if you don't have one. It has been eye opening for me!

awise19

I usually burn between 300-700 cals during exercise. If I am on the high end I DO NOT eat all of them back. More like half. I try to always get over the 1200 cal goal (sometimes I fail that when I work my two jobs and have no time to work out and only an hour to eat). I always try to end the day with a defecit of 100-300 cals (unless I don't work out sometimes I got over the 1200 but only by a little bit and sometimes I stay under but only by a tiny bit). I have lost 70 lbs, have crazy amounts of energy and feel amazing.

If you are exercising you want to eat to ensure that you have energy. Listen to your body. If you try to start not eating those cals back, you will most likely realize you are going to be fatigued. Food is fuel.

Fragilebird24

Like most people have already said, MFP has a habit of overestimating exercise calories. I personally do not own an HRM (I wish I did!) so I'm always weary about eating back all of my exercise calories. For me, days when I exercise it's much easier for me to make healthy choices, therefore I normally don't have an issue. It's the days that I don't exercise that eating more calories than I'm allowed becomes an issue. You're calories should already be set at a deficit so you should be losing weight whether you eat them back or not! Good luck!

echofm1

I've always eaten back most of my exercise calories, the whole time I've been losing. Now if you feel full and still have extra calories at the end of the day, then don't eat them back. However, there's no reason to starve yourself if you had a great workout and your stomach is growling. Your deficit is built in, even without exercise, so you'll still lose weight.

farniente8

I eat back my calories, or at least 95% of them. I like that I can have cake, cookies, ice cream and pizza (okay, not all on the same day!) as long as I am willing to do something in return. So far I have lost over 27 pounds in 90 days and continue to lose steadily. My goal is always to net 1200 calories, but with exercise that usually means I'm eating between 1400-1700 a day. Feel free to friend me if you would like to check out my food/ exercise diary.

Also, now that it's become a habit I love to exercise just for the way it makes me feel. It may have started as a way to eat that hot fudge sundae, but it's become a part of my daily routine and the benefits to every part of my life are amazing!

dsimmons107

The concept of eating calories back is confusing. The goal is not to eat back or not eat back the calories. The goal is to eat the right amount of calories for your body’s needs.
If you eat more than you need your body will store the extra. That becomes fat. If you eat less and your body needs more it will use what it has stored. What I found difficult was figuring how many calories my body uses each day. That should consider all activities including sleep. After a little effort I concluded that my body burns about 1660 calories a day. That is if I do nothing but normal activity with no exercise. That means that I need to eat at least 1660 just to maintain my weight and normal function of my internal organs. If you do not eat enough your body does not have enough energy to power all of your internal organs. It has to decide which organs get priority. That is why under eating is not a good thing over long periods of time.
Now if I add exercise and continue to eat 1660 calories each day I lose weight. I lose because my body uses stored energy. Now the concern is what kind of weight am I losing? If you are exercising and losing weight are you losing muscle or fat? We wish it would be just fat. It is usually fat and muscle. The goal here is to lose fat and gain muscle. This is the very difficult part. It is very difficult to just lose fat and adding muscle takes lots of effort. This is what makes it so difficult as you get closer to your goal weight. You don’t want to be, as some call it, skinny fat.
Now with exercise I set my goal at burning a minimum of 2800 calories a day. That means as long as I hit my goal of burning 2800 calories each day I can eat up 2800 calories and not gain weight. If I want to lose I just need to stay below the 2800. Depending on how fast I want to lose I decide how much below the 2800 I should be. I originally I was 500 – 800 below. My goal was 1.5 to 2 pounds a week.
When you are stuck don’t just look at weight. Look also at body measurements. Your body will change shape as fat goes away and muscle develops. You have to take into account the none scale victories. They are just as important.

Leaping_Lemur

I eat them all back. Sometimes I go over. I've lost 21 pounds since joining MFP four months ago. Over the same time period I've lost 2.8 inches off my waist, three inches off my navel, 1.8 off my thighs and a half inch off both my chest (armpits) and calves. I went from trousers with a 38 inch waist (relaxed fit, getting kinda tight) to 36 inch straight leg trousers that are currently a little loose. I realized last night at the mall that I can fit into 34 inch pants, though I have big endomorphic thighs so I'm going to put off buying any for a while, till my 36s are a bit looser in the legs.

jaysull21

MFP sets a "net" calorie amount at a deficit for you to lose X per week. For some of us whose activity level is sedentary, it is very easy to eat back your calories and still lose weight. Most of my weight came off in the summer when I was eating back all my calories, but exercising every single day. I think I may have even gone over most days, to be honest, but I was changing my lifestyle from sedentary to active.

Remembering that the goal is net is big, IMO.

Southernb3lle

<---My progress as of this spring is in the profile photo. I eat back most my calories..all depending on if im hungry or not. Of course, exercise plays a big part. The before photo was from last year.

OH, and I use the TDEE method

andijean31

I eat back most if not all of my exercise calories. I think I average around 1,500 calories today, but I usually burn 300, making my net almost exactly 1,200. I've been doing it this way since starting MFP in April and I've lost 33 pounds on MFP, 40 total since January.

beeblebrox82

I'll let my ticker speak for itself. Eat your exercise calories. But make an effort to validate and accurately count your exercise calories.