Eating back calories.. your thoughts, please!

HeatherMaile24

Hey everyone!

I'm interested in knowing:

1) do you eat back your calories?

2) what is your weekly rate of weight loss?

I haven't been eating mine back (except for the exceptional splurge) and I'm curious to know if there is a big difference for those who do.

Thanks in advance for your insights.

HeatherMaile24

bumping for a response!

I never seem to get any... going to give up on "Community" posts!

Danicacub

I used to eat them back and lost... 0lbs a week.. today i started 30ds and am not even logging the exercise so I cant have the calories.. hope it will work better!

RoyBeck

If your logging food and exercise honestly you can't not lose weight. Eat back your exercise calories. I'm 56lb down and always ate them.

beattie1

I eat back all or most (at least half) of exercise calories - working so far!

hwoeltjen

Eating back calories is necessary to maintain a set caloric deficit. If you don't eat back your calories you will most likely lose more weight since your deficit is now larger.

The point of eating back your calories spent during exercise is to prevent you from eating too few calories.

If you have a set goal as far as your deficit goes I would recommend eating your exercise calories back. If not, you risk running an unhealthy caloric deficit.

Panthers89

I'll answer although I am surely not an expert. If you have your MFP settings to lose weight, then you should eat back your workout calories. If you aren't hungry on a certain night, no big deal. But accuracy of calories burned through exercise and accuracy of your intake are the most important things:

I have been on this site for 2 1/2 years and I have read a lot of posts such as this, and you will see many other reponses that are similar. Here are the 2 main things to pay attention to as you start your weight loss journey:

1) Know when to trust your body and eat if you are hungry, but eat smart. If you are exercising, be sure to have an accurate measure of what is burned, then you can trust yourself to eat back the necessary calories.
2) Exercising is very helpful and will make you look fantastic, but a calorie deficit is the only way to lose weight. Burning calories through physical or cardio activity will occur, especially when you are starting out...but as you get closer to your goal weight and your body gets used to the exercise, weight loss will slow down and the same exercise that you burned 400 calories a year ago may only burn 200 calories now (a lousy example, but just wanted to give a description). You constantly need to change things up every few months (eating & types of exercise) because the body's natural reaction is to fight back to a stable, non-changing situation. By varying exercise and eating routines, the body will constantly adjust in your favor.

I'm sure there will be a more articulate and qualified responses below mine, but those 2 suggestions should get you started in the right direction.

mockchoc

When I was losing I ate back every single brisk walking calorie

I_Will_End_You

Eat them back, but make sure your burn estimates are correct. If you aren't using a heart rate monitor, I'd only eat about 60% of what MFP tells you you're burning. The estimates on here are really inflated.

zoeysasha37

I don't set out to eat mine back. If I'm hungry, I eat. And if I'm not,I don't eat them back. I just try to listen to my body and make sure I'm always getting what I need nutritionally.

Mokey41

I don't eat mine back, never have.

The reason you didn't get many answers to this is because it's usually ask at least once a day and if you use the search function you'll find pages and pages of responses to the same question.

meganuhl1

I come very close to eating my calories back every day. I also am burning up between 700 and 1400 a day depending on how much I use my treadmill. I walk at least 1 hour every morning and if I have time during the week I will walk another hour later that night. On weekends I walk at least 2 hours a day. I try to go by what I lost the previous week if I need to or not depending on my weight loss.

HeatherMaile24

thanks everyone!

I have been staying as close to my 1200 calorie goal as I can, even when I exercise and have felt satisfied, most of the time. Good to know that eating back calories still results in weekly loss.

When I'm hungry, I will eat back what feels reasonable.

DianneP6772

Since i began my weight loss journey in May i have been obsessive regarding exercise. I think it worked! I am very pleased with the rate of loss. For 5 months it was about 1.5 lbs per week. My exercise would usually range from 800-1200 calories burned. I would usually be exercising 2-3 hours a day. 1 to 1.5 hours were spent cycling at a rate where i was always trying to better my mph average. I know that MFP exercise calories are inflated - so you need to keep that in mind. For cycling if i did an average of 16.5 mph
i would record it as 14-16 mph instead of bumping it up to the 16 plus mph. Mainly to get a more accurate level of calories burned.
But i still would very rarely eat back all of my calories. I would usually leave 300-500 not eaten just to be sure that i wasn't over
eating.
Now in the last 6 weeks or so, i am eating more as i have really reached my original goal. But - i still want to lose a little more to have a cushion. So i have only lost about 2 more lbs in that period of time. It definitely slows down when you get close to your goal.
I have not been using a HR monitor, so possibly with that you could be more accurate on calories burned.

Anyway - stick with it - log everything and if possible weigh items that you are not sure of the amount.
You can do this!

redladywitch

I eat back most of the calories I burn. MFP is set up so that you eat the calories back.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

www.shouldIeatmyexercisecalories.com

MB_Positif

I've always eaten mine! And now that I am eating at maintenance I eat them...and I am maintaining. The system works.

broox80

I go back and forth about it. I go through phases where I eat them all back then I will not eat any back. It just depends on my mood I guess. Either way I lose about the same.

j6o4

If your calories burned is correct eat them all back, the point of eating back your exercise calories is to keep your original deficit.

Ready2Rock206

I switched to the TDEE (minus between 15-20%) method rather than the MFP calories and now I do not eat them back. Using MFP numbers I would. I hate trying to track them - nothing seems to be accurate and I don't burn enough to care about them anyway. Just made me frustrated to kill myself working out and barely burn a thing. Much happier doing TDEE method where I don't have to care.

KateK8LoseW8

1. I use TDEE method, so no.
2. Used to be 1 lb per week, but lately 1.5. Guess I need to increase calories.

Mr_Knight

bumping for a response!

I never seem to get any... going to give up on "Community" posts!

Probably because (a) this topic has already been discussed ad nauseum in a million previous threads and (b) the question wasn't specific enough.

Kestrel45

bump for later

AllonsYtotheTardis

I eat back all of mine. And I've consistently lost at exactly the rate I was expecting to.

PikaKnight

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

nikki6_2002

Hi,

I have been using MFP for about 4 months. Initially I wanted to lose 10kgs but now that I have lost 8 I will probably aim to lose another 2-3 kgs.

I have not been eating back my exercise calories, I'm of the opinion that if I do that its a waste of time exercising.

I am on 1200 calorie goal and only go over this by around 100 calories and then only on exercise days (except this weekend just gone when I went crazy at the work Christmas party).

I consistently lost 500gms a week, now as I near my goal I have slowed to about 200gms a week.

amysgottadothisthang

Thanks for asking, it makes more sense when explained in easier terms Good luck to u!

HeatherMaile24

Thanks for all the positive responses! :flowerforyou:

(For all the snarky ones... I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE SEARCHING, mkay?)

It's nice to get responses from current users. Was able to start a dialogue with many members and build my community.

RGv2

Hi,

I have been using MFP for about 4 months. Initially I wanted to lose 10kgs but now that I have lost 8 I will probably aim to lose another 2-3 kgs.

I have not been eating back my exercise calories, I'm of the opinion that if I do that its a waste of time exercising.

I am on 1200 calorie goal and only go over this by around 100 calories and then only on exercise days (except this weekend just gone when I went crazy at the work Christmas party).

I consistently lost 500gms a week, now as I near my goal I have slowed to about 200gms a week.

Why would it be a waste of time exercising?

BlueBombers

1) do you eat back your calories? Some or most of them, depends on the day

2) what is your weekly rate of weight loss? Now about .5 lbs a week as I am 8 lbs away from my goal so it has slowed down a lot

beastmode_kitty

Since I've started my journey I have never eaten back my calories. I know MFP already creates a deficit for you, but to me it makes no sense to eat back what you have just burnt off. I guess it all depends on what foods you eat back.

By not eating back i have lost .5 - 1pd a week give or take and im happy with that. I have less than 20 pounds to go, so it'll be harder to take off those last few pounds. But I know I can do it!