Eating Back Exercise Calories
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Dont be to concerned about your thoughts about a low calorie burn. If you are doing more now than before you will see progress. As that happens you will become more active due to your success. But yes eat back some calories proportional to maintaining a responsible weekly weight loss. Eat real food too. Not 3 smoothies a day and a bowel of green beans, you cant stick to that for a lifetime. Regulate your loss to 1 or 1 1/2 lbs a week. Good eating.0
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How many of you are eating back your exercise calories? In full or partial?
When I started MFP last month, I was not exercising. Since then, I have started walking a few miles a day (which burns very little thanks to an 18 min/ mile pace :frown: ) and doing strength training and cardio a few times a week. I really don't feel that I'm burning enough right now to justify eating extra calories, but I've never been this motivated to lose the weight, and I really want to make sure I'm going about it the "right" way.
Stats (if it helps): I am 5' 2.5" (yes that half is important). My weigh-in this morning was 181 lbs (though I my official weigh day is Tuesday). I started at 190 and change. I have 1370 calories for the day, and I use them all.
If you chose to exercise you must eat most or all of your exercise calories back, assuming that your exercise calories are accurate. Warning: MFP highly overestimates calorie burns so you need to do some research for the correct amount, unless you have a heart rate monitor which calculates the calories burned for you.
The reason you eat exercise calories is to properly fuel your body for your workouts.
So, if your base calorie allowance is 1,370 and you go out an do a forty minute run and burn 400 calories but don't eat them back, your NET calories for the day is 970, which is below your basic metabolic rate. However, when you eat back your 400 calories, you satisfy your NET calories of 1,370. The reasoning behind this is that your calorie deficit is already figured out when MFP gives you your 1,370 calories.0 -
You should burn 500 more calories than what you eat to see changes
I see this is your first post. Welcome. Do you mean you should or should not eat back exercise calories?0 -
I do understand MFP, I don't buy in so I speak in more general terms.
By weight loss specialists, I meant like the researchers who publish, not the corner medspa with their HCG plans.
I'll leave it at this. I think the LBM- losing phobia here is waaayyyy too connected to some mythical 'right' calorie level that people think they've discovered, and that there are advantages to losing weight in a more expedient manner, too. It's not all '2 lbs a week is BAD, .5 lbs a week is THE WAY.' 2 lbs a week isn't considered dangerous. 1200 calories per day isn't considered dangerous.
Most dieters don't go overboard with over-restricting, though there is a tendency for teens to do it for a short time and post about it, if you ask me. I think a lot more dieters quit because they under-restrict and expect results too soon. Aiming for 2 lbs/week is one way to fix that.
There is no mythical calorie number to lose weight. It's all through trial and error. Why do I eat my exercise calories back even though my base calories are 1,670 now? Because I workout every day and I want to properly fuel my body for those workouts. Now, MFP said I am supposed to lose .5 pounds per week with a lower calorie allowance (I had my activity setting at lightly active), but did I? No, not me. I lost 1.5-2 pounds a week. I set my calorie allowance to active to see what works for me.
MFP is not magic in any way, it is just a tool to help you become accountable to your health. That's all it is. Now, the forums are magical in a way because I learn a lot here, get support, and have learned to do my own research despite what people say While there are some sages here, there are a lot of posters that provide, to put it nicely, inaccurate information.
Now, I eat approximately 2,000 calories a day, which includes my exercise calories, and 1,670 if I do not exercise that day, and I'm still losing weight. For me, this is the amount I need to get off the last few pounds. It will be different when I am ready to maintain, though.
However, I do not arbitrarily recommend that people eat the same as I do. I say to find the number that works for you, but be sure to eat back exercise calories because it properly fuels your body.
As for dieting, I refuse to diet because that's not what losing weight and maintaining weight is all about-it's about a lifestyle change. I will never diet again, I will only adjust calorie intake to what is appropriate for me at any given time.0 -
"If you chose to exercise you must eat most or all of your exercise calories back."
That's the part I take issue with. There is a logical fallacy here that says you need to 'eat back' to properly fuel your workouts. Your body's functions, all of them, are fueled just fine by stored calories or today's intake alike. The calories aren't dated.
If you need to fuel today's run with today's calories, why can you use last month's excess calories to fuel some other portion of today's burn? It just doesn't matter where your deficit comes from, just that you maintain a sensible deficit level and a sensible food intake, which is generally considered to be 1000/day deficit and 1200/day intake.0 -
"If you chose to exercise you must eat most or all of your exercise calories back."
That's the part I take issue with. There is a logical fallacy here that says you need to 'eat back' to properly fuel your workouts. Your body's functions, all of them, are fueled just fine by stored calories or today's intake alike. The calories aren't dated.
If you need to fuel today's run with today's calories, why can you use last month's excess calories to fuel some other portion of today's burn? It just doesn't matter where your deficit comes from, just that you maintain a sensible deficit level and a sensible food intake, which is generally considered to be 1000/day deficit and 1200/day intake.
You're right.
The problem with threads like these (especially ones that are asked multiple times daily) is that few people either know enough or care enough to post context with their answers. An absolute "yes, eat them back" or "no, don't eat them" is wrong is virtually every instance.
There's weight loss then there's healthy weight loss... there are several ways to estimate your daily calorie need, not to mention that most people suck at estimating calorie intake and calorie burns. And I haven't even mentioned goals, sustainability, etc.
There are some very general guidelines, and there is some wiggle room based on diet, available fat stores, workouts, etc, but ultimately it comes down to picking a reasonable starting point and then trial and error.
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"If you chose to exercise you must eat most or all of your exercise calories back."
That's the part I take issue with. There is a logical fallacy here that says you need to 'eat back' to properly fuel your workouts. Your body's functions, all of them, are fueled just fine by stored calories or today's intake alike. The calories aren't dated.
If you need to fuel today's run with today's calories, why can you use last month's excess calories to fuel some other portion of today's burn? It just doesn't matter where your deficit comes from, just that you maintain a sensible deficit level and a sensible food intake, which is generally considered to be 1000/day deficit and 1200/day intake.
True, absolutes are hard to state when people start off on wrong foot. Like where does 1000 and 1200 being sensible come from? Or is that rather maximum and minimum?
That phrase indeed should have a caveat to it (which it did in the post), but something like "for best continued success, start with ....". Then reasons can be given as to why recommendation.
But there is absolutely a problem of under-eating and trying, perhaps for a short bit succeeding, until your body adapts by slowing down your performance. Read around on MFP, go look at diet programs. Absolutely do ones go to extremes, until they have yo-yo dieted their lives away and come to realize what is important, or learn from others before hitting that road.
And actually, if you workout intense everyday as many go gung-ho with, no you can't use last months excess from fat stores - it's going to come from carbs currently stored, no way around it, or a vast majority will.
And if you are undereating for your level of activity, you very easily have constantly short glucose stores, just a fact that happens on a diet, even more depending on amount of deficit, level of carb eating, and intensity/frequency of cardio.
So actually, at intense levels in that case, not only are you NOT dipping in to last months excess, you don't even have the needed levels now for day after day, not without dipping in to another energy source.
Now, once the workout is done, very true as you say, on in to normal fat burning mode. Food eating replenishing those glucose stores to some level, and current activity energy needs.
Sensible is answer - but for long term success, what is that? Sensible to lose weight but some muscle mass also? That's going to be bad for future, actually current too, success. But may be acceptable.
And 1200 minimum, not maximum, minimum for reasons of safety is for sedentary woman to get all her nutrition in with average diet. So to have that 1000 cal deficit (which is not reasonable in all cases unless muscle mass loss is acceptable) means a total daily burn of 2200 calories is somehow needed. Which isn't that hard really unless very short and light. In which case the 1000 cal deficit isn't reasonable.
or are you imagining that eating that 1200 minimum in total not net, and taking that 1000 deficit max, will somehow see long term success?0 -
MFP is setup to eat your calories back. As long as you don't fall below 1200 consistently you should be fine.
Question-why is falling below 1200 a day bad? I don't normally, but sometimes I do.0 -
If you need to fuel today's run with today's calories, why can you use last month's excess calories to fuel some other portion of today's burn?
Because a one hour, 10k run for me burns ~1000 calories, and it takes my body about 16 hours to metabolize 1000 calories worth of energy from fat stores. Which means my body *has* to hit the glycogen and intramuscular fat stores. Which means if I don't replenish them - ie, eat a significant amount of my exercise burn back - my body will be physically unable to keep running 10k.0 -
I personally do not eat back all of my calories-I leave 200-250 left. I do insanity so I burn anywhere from 300-400 calories. But leaving a deficient of about 200 a day-if your buring a lot-is good.0
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At the weekend I was watching the biggest looser couples that is running on a Sunday morning and one of the guys on there put two pounds on and the trainer suggested it was because he was eating his exercise calories.
If an individual gains weight after starting to eat calories burned through exercise, that is because: (1) the individual was miscalculating his or her maintenance needs; (2) the individual was failing to properly log his or her intake; and/or (3) the individual overestimated calories burned during exercise.
I blame a combination of (2) and (3) primarily.
OP, it's really pretty easy. You're probably lightly active now. Look up what the lightly active TDEE is for your size, age, and sex. http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html
Now subtract some calories from that. You have 70 to lose, so you can have a pretty big deficit. Adjust your intake based on scale trends over time (using more data points than one week, especially if you are female). If you follow this method, ignore calories burned when planning your intake.
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"If you chose to exercise you must eat most or all of your exercise calories back."
That's the part I take issue with. There is a logical fallacy here that says you need to 'eat back' to properly fuel your workouts. Your body's functions, all of them, are fueled just fine by stored calories or today's intake alike. The calories aren't dated.
If you need to fuel today's run with today's calories, why can you use last month's excess calories to fuel some other portion of today's burn? It just doesn't matter where your deficit comes from, just that you maintain a sensible deficit level and a sensible food intake, which is generally considered to be 1000/day deficit and 1200/day intake.
1000% agree with this entire post!
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I personally do not eat back all of my calories-I leave 200-250 left. I do insanity so I burn anywhere from 300-400 calories. But leaving a deficient of about 200 a day-if your buring a lot-is good.
Are you aware your calorie eating goal already has a deficit in it - without any exercise being done?
if bigger is better, why do you think it would be unwise to just stop eating until you lost your weight?
That same thing can happen, it just takes longer.0 -
Oops!! I eat 500 cals less than my tdee to give an average loss of 1 pound per week. I don't eat my exercise calories back because it is already factored into my total. I feel i can stick to this long term and that is what really mattered to me. Once I lose a bit more I will adjust this with my me BMR and tdee.0
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MFP is setup to eat your calories back. As long as you don't fall below 1200 consistently you should be fine.
Question-why is falling below 1200 a day bad? I don't normally, but sometimes I do.
If you don't know the answer to this, you probably shouldn't be giving advice regarding calorie intake:I personally do not eat back all of my calories-I leave 200-250 left. I do insanity so I burn anywhere from 300-400 calories. But leaving a deficient of about 200 a day-if your buring a lot-is good.
But going back to your question... falling below 1200 (1200 for the sake of conversation, but it's really more about an unhealthy calorie intake) occasionally isn't a problem. Doing it regularly and consistently can lead to a variety of undesirables, most commonly muscle loss.
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Some days I do, some days I don't.0
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MFP is setup to eat your calories back. As long as you don't fall below 1200 consistently you should be fine.
Question-why is falling below 1200 a day bad? I don't normally, but sometimes I do.
If you don't know the answer to this, you probably shouldn't be giving advice regarding calorie intake:I personally do not eat back all of my calories-I leave 200-250 left. I do insanity so I burn anywhere from 300-400 calories. But leaving a deficient of about 200 a day-if your buring a lot-is good.
But going back to your question... falling below 1200 (1200 for the sake of conversation, but it's really more about an unhealthy calorie intake) occasionally isn't a problem. Doing it regularly and consistently can lead to a variety of undesirables, most commonly muscle loss.
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I don't have an unhealthy calorie intake-I eat about 1350 a day. And I can give advice-been on here a while-I just LOVE to hear why people think its so bad....there a 1000 reason people give-yours is right.0 -
www.shouldIeatmyexercisecalories.com
and
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/475726-very-low-calorie-diets-and-metabolic-damage (it's not what you think)0 -
Partial because I believe that the number that comes through from the Endomondo synch is overcalculated.
Plan to add more calories once I get closer to the maintenance/toning phase - still trying to lose another 100 -
I am currently eating back most of my exercise calories. I didn't start really losing until I started eating them back (my MFP calories are currently 1470, and I burn 400-600 calories per workout). In the end, you will do what works best for you :-)0
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MFP is setup to eat your calories back. As long as you don't fall below 1200 consistently you should be fine.
Question-why is falling below 1200 a day bad? I don't normally, but sometimes I do.
If you don't know the answer to this, you probably shouldn't be giving advice regarding calorie intake:I personally do not eat back all of my calories-I leave 200-250 left. I do insanity so I burn anywhere from 300-400 calories. But leaving a deficient of about 200 a day-if your buring a lot-is good.
But going back to your question... falling below 1200 (1200 for the sake of conversation, but it's really more about an unhealthy calorie intake) occasionally isn't a problem. Doing it regularly and consistently can lead to a variety of undesirables, most commonly muscle loss.
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I don't have an unhealthy calorie intake-I eat about 1350 a day. And I can give advice-been on here a while-I just LOVE to hear why people think its so bad....there a 1000 reason people give-yours is right.
Yes, dear.0 -
I determine the calories burnt using HRM..and then deduct around 50-100 from them to accomodate BMR and yes, i eat those back. Because i am always hungry Lol..If you are not burning too many, reaching your macro goals and netting what you say you are, you should be fine.0
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I always did. Now I just do TDEE-20% though... but definitely factor in my walks in there.
It doesn't burn 'very little' though. At 170 lbs I was burning 200-250 calories walking for 45 minutes. It's not negligible on a 1200/1400 calories diet.
TDEE means Total Daily Energy Expenditure.
TDEE -20% means that you eat back 20% fewer calories than you burn.
It doesn't matter if you sit on the couch all day and burn 1450cals (goal of 1160 for -20%), or if you run a marathon and burn 4857cals (goal of 3885 for -20%), the number of cals burnt is TDEE.0 -
MFP is setup to eat your calories back. As long as you don't fall below 1200 consistently you should be fine.
Question-why is falling below 1200 a day bad? I don't normally, but sometimes I do.
If you don't know the answer to this, you probably shouldn't be giving advice regarding calorie intake:I personally do not eat back all of my calories-I leave 200-250 left. I do insanity so I burn anywhere from 300-400 calories. But leaving a deficient of about 200 a day-if your buring a lot-is good.
But going back to your question... falling below 1200 (1200 for the sake of conversation, but it's really more about an unhealthy calorie intake) occasionally isn't a problem. Doing it regularly and consistently can lead to a variety of undesirables, most commonly muscle loss.
.
I don't have an unhealthy calorie intake-I eat about 1350 a day. And I can give advice-been on here a while-I just LOVE to hear why people think its so bad....there a 1000 reason people give-yours is right.
Yes, dear.
your such a pain in the a**-you now that? (in a good-I know everything so don't go under cals kinda way):laugh: :drinker: :flowerforyou:0 -
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your such a pain in the a**-you now that? (in a good-I know everything so don't go under cals kinda way):laugh: :drinker: :flowerforyou:
[/quote]
typos-sorry!!!!0 -
If you need to fuel today's run with today's calories, why can you use last month's excess calories to fuel some other portion of today's burn?
Because a one hour, 10k run for me burns ~1000 calories, and it takes my body about 16 hours to metabolize 1000 calories worth of energy from fat stores. Which means my body *has* to hit the glycogen and intramuscular fat stores. Which means if I don't replenish them - ie, eat a significant amount of my exercise burn back - my body will be physically unable to keep running 10k.
Are you saying you can't physically run a 10k without first eating a significant portion of the 1000 calories that you burn running it, in addition to a sensible base level of calories, despite being overweight?0 -
Find your sedentary maintenance calories, subtract 500. Eat that.
Wear a heart rate monitor to track calories burned during exercise and eat your exercise calories back.
The confusion comes in because a lot of people have unwittingly already factored exercise into their maintenance calories, so they inadvertently count it twice.
And/or, they are going by the mfp exercise calculations, which are wildly inaccurate. It usually tells me I've burned 2X the amount of calories I actually burned.0 -
"If you chose to exercise you must eat most or all of your exercise calories back."
That's the part I take issue with. There is a logical fallacy here that says you need to 'eat back' to properly fuel your workouts. Your body's functions, all of them, are fueled just fine by stored calories or today's intake alike. The calories aren't dated.
If you need to fuel today's run with today's calories, why can you use last month's excess calories to fuel some other portion of today's burn? It just doesn't matter where your deficit comes from, just that you maintain a sensible deficit level and a sensible food intake, which is generally considered to be 1000/day deficit and 1200/day intake.
I understand where you are coming from. The only absolute to weight loss is you must burn more calories than you take in. That's it. Nothing else is required.
If you choose to exercise and don't eat at least a portion of those exercise calories each day, you're not going to have the energy to keep exercising. It's the bottom line. I know this because for awhile when I started logging my food and exercise, I did not eat much of my exercise calories back. Sure, I lost weight but my energy level was seriously lacking. Once I listened to people here regarding eating back exercise calories, my energy level went up and I am now able to exercise at the intensity that I really enjoy.
If I exercised like I do and ate only 1,200 calories a day, I'd be stupid and comatose after a few days. I don't want to be either of those.
However, you're free to do whatever you please.0 -
Find your sedentary maintenance calories, subtract 500. Eat that.
Wear a heart rate monitor to track calories burned during exercise and eat your exercise calories back.
The confusion comes in because a lot of people have unwittingly already factored exercise into their maintenance calories, so they inadvertently count it twice.
And/or, they are going by the mfp exercise calculations, which are wildly inaccurate. It usually tells me I've burned 2X the amount of calories I actually burned.
While I agree about accurately tracking calories in/expended, I don't know if you mean your TDEE for sedentary or your BMR for sedentary.0 -
If you need to fuel today's run with today's calories, why can you use last month's excess calories to fuel some other portion of today's burn?
Because a one hour, 10k run for me burns ~1000 calories, and it takes my body about 16 hours to metabolize 1000 calories worth of energy from fat stores. Which means my body *has* to hit the glycogen and intramuscular fat stores. Which means if I don't replenish them - ie, eat a significant amount of my exercise burn back - my body will be physically unable to keep running 10k.
Are you saying you can't physically run a 10k without first eating a significant portion of the 1000 calories that you burn running it, in addition to a sensible base level of calories, despite being overweight?
It's not a day by day thing. Eating properly is an everyday thing. I normally exercise in the morning at 5 a.m. on an empty stomach (can't eat that early). Calories are stored, but what if you eat too few for the workouts you do? You get exhausted.0
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