DO YOU EAT YOUR EXERCISE CALORIES?

WALKINGLADY14

Hi There, I just wondered if people out there ate their exercise calories? Would be interesting to hear your views. Thank you!

zainabel83

I try not to, more often than not I don't. I am looking to lose weight so I am eating less, maybe when I get to the maintenance phase I will start eating them

Ninkyou

Yes.

erickirb

Yes. I use to when I followed MFP's caloric intake guideline. The other option is to use the TDEE method where exercise planned exercise cals are taken into account and averaged for the week so you eat the same amount everyday (more than that base cals MFP gives you) instead of less on days you don't workout, and more on days you do.

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 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.

laserturkey

Yes, I eat them! I do make sure my burn estimates are conservative, though. MFP reports excessively high numbers for some activities.

NRSPAM

Yes, that's what you're supposed to do. Although some people only eat 1/2 of them back.

shaynepoole

I generally don't, but I burn just a couple of hundred calories a day from walking mostly. I'm sure you can find pros and cons for both sides of the argument and I would say that you really need to see what works for you. If I did more strenuous workouts where people are logging in thousands of calories I would maybe reconsider but that is probably not going to happen for me

JesterMFP

Yes

kiwigal41

I rarely eat them all back and I don't use the mfp numbers for calorie burns during exercise.....I have a HRM but I don't really trust that either...lol...so I don't log the full amount it says and then I don't eat that much back either.....

for instance, if the HRM says I burned 480 doing a workout, then i'll enter about 300 in for exercise and of that 300, i'll probably eat back maybe 180-200....

ladymiseryali

If I'm netting under 1200, I eat some of them.

Swiftdogs

Absolutely! I wear a Fitbit and have found that it's adjustment is pretty accurate. I aim to be slightly under every day. That works better for me than TDEE-x% because my activity varies greatly day to day and week to week.

gmthisfeller

I typically eat back 50% - 75% of them every day.

Krista916

I try not to but there are days I dip into them a little.

RllyGudTweetr

Yes. Engines need fuel, and MFP's numbers have a built-in deficit. I do try to leave a little margin for error, though.

CookieDoughYummy

Yes, if I didn't I would fall over :P

parmoute

I do, both because that's how I'm using MFP and because my nutritionist said to

But, I enter them low because I know a lot of the estimates are high. Here's my conversion: 85% of cardio (running, walking, elliptical, incline treadmill, dancing, etc.) and 10% for things like yoga, Pilates, stretching, and MFPs generic "strength training" (this is mostly so that I can log having done it).

I don't use the TDEE method because my physical activity is still extremely variable from week to week depending on what else is going on in life.

40andFindingFitness

I don't usually. I would think the folks who are burning 500+ a day would have to.

rileysowner

When I used the MFP numbers I did, not I use TDEE minus a percent and include my exercise in the number of the calorie goal.

Eli716

I don't usually. I would think the folks who are burning 500+ a day would have to.

This. ^

I usually don't, or try not to, rather, since I workout after my meal curfew that I gave myself. But, if I know that I want to eat a little more one day, I'll do some extra work for it.

Jestinia

I do if I'm hungry. And if I'm not hungry the day I workout, I find I might end up hungrier the next day, so I eat them then.

zyxst

No, but I don't follow the MFP method.

gabrielleelliott90

Ok I'll get quoted for this but who the heck gaf.

Yes I do eat them back, I have 1470 a day, and I don't want to eat less than that, so I eat all or most of them back. My logic is, that is the amount you are meant to eat a day, so why eat less from the ones you have burned, it's quite a bad behaviour to have towards calories, that to me could be the start of an eating disorder.

If you want to lose more weight simply set your goal to 2lb or whatever you want. Not eating the calories from exercise back will give you more of a weightloss but it's just stupid. I personally exercise to be able to have more calories to eat again on whatever I want. It's recycling calories. In goes some food, it's burned, then you get to eat something else.

gabrielleelliott90

BTW I do exercise a lot and burn a lot so it's a necessity for me.

cwolfman13

It is the way this tool is designed...if you're using MFP's calorie goals, they already include a deficit from maintenance WITHOUT exercise in your activity level setting. You just have to be careful not to overestimate your burn. Other calculators include an estimate of your exercise burn up front in your activity level so they are already included in the gross number that the calculator takes it's cut from...MFP only give you credit for it when you actually do it...thus you get the calories after you log exercise.

That said, it really depends on where you're at...if you're extremely overweight you can get away with a bigger deficit so it's not as big of a deal...especially if your exercise is basically doing some walking, etc. If you're actually training or working out with any kind of vigorous effort and you don't have a ton of weight to lose it is vital to fuel your exercise activity. Creating too large of a calorie deficit burns muscle mass when you don't have the fat stores necessary to sustain said deficit.

RyanJK85

I eat if I am hungry....

40andFindingFitness

I eat if I am hungry....

Ditto.

Mr_Bad_Example

Yes... I also eat caps lock keys.

cavia

Yes, because I like to eat, a lot.

scubasuenc

I try not to, but on some days I do. Particularly during the holidays where it allows me to enjoy a treat or two without guilt.

Snow3y

mhm

cwolfman13

I eat if I am hungry....

Ditto.

for most people who have struggled with weight, hunger cues aren't exactly the best way to go about things. Overweight individuals and individuals who over-eat have higher levels of leptin which cue the brain that you are hungry even if you're not and do not require fuel; chronic under-eaters have substantially lower levels of leptin hormone...so they can eat like a little birdie and not feel hungry even though they are severely malnourishing their bodies...just ask an anorexic.

Crappy advice is crappy...