Should I eat all my exercise calories back??

MrsHazra

Hi All,

This week is my second week and I only lost 0.2kg which is nothing compared to me 1st week of 4.9kg. Do you think it is because I am not eating back my exercise calories? I have been trying get as close too if not a little over my min 1200 a day and I drink plenty of water. I have tried added fiber tablets to help in that area. I am worried that I am doing something wrong and next weigh in will be the same.. On that note how often should I be weighing in also??

lizardskin

Hi, I weigh in with my dietician every 2 weeks, don't ever way in midweek when you see a scale at your friends or something. it will only lead to dissapointment.

In the 8 months i have been losing weight I have had some really big weeks and some really low weeks as far as 1 week sticking at even gaining once! but fro 8 motnhs i don't think gaining and sticking once isd that much of a blip. i came back a fortnight later with a loss of 3KG which i'm happy with. We all have blips so don't worry about it. If you're not hungry. don't eat your calories back. I don't eat them back because in my mind that defeats the object of burningt hem off xD

Good luck!

TammyK777

eat your calories!! and I try to only weigh 'officially' once a week, but I 'peak' almost daily.

ddpmkrupa

I am newbie (just on week one), but I just wanted to say congrats on your weight loss. Maybe, focus on the tape-measure rather than the scale.

crc822001

I think it depends on if you are really hungry. If you aren't hungry, don't eat. Maybe you could drink some juice or a glass of milk in those cases. I would say that you want to be as close to the suggested caloric intake recommended as possible. You don't want to send you body into starvation mode.

crasula

I've got a slightly different view although i'm pretty tough on myself when it comes to control.
I never eat the calories I burn from exercise as it's effectively reducing the impact of my work out. If your goal is weight loss then you'll get there much quicker if you leave yourself with a reasonable gap between your calorie intake and calorie allowance. Of course your fitness level will increase and you'll lose weight at a slower rate if you eat your budget but i'm looking for noticable results quickly.

I'm also one of those people that religiously weighs myself every day at exactly the same time but only do this if you're consistent with your diet and exercise regime. You will see peaks and drops but over the space of a week you'll see the impact of your hardwork through the reports available on MFP. I will only ever use the same scales too as there is too much inconsistency using different scales, say at a gym or a friends. If you're seriously rigid with the routeen then you'll comfortably be able to work out the impact of 7 mile run for example on your weight at your next weigh in. Seem's a little compulsive i appreciate but dieting is all about dicipline so why bothering dieting if you can't control yourself? When you do eventually have that control the impact is fantastic both physically and mentally so it's worth the hard work!

Finally, with regards to your first week weight loss it's pretty normal to have a massive first week loss when you're starting out. Things like water retention and sodium in the diet for example, make you feel bloated, so as soon as you hit the diet and exercise hard in the first few weeks you see a big drop in weight. It will eventually stabilise and you'll find a pattern, just remember to be consistent with your approach. If you're going to weight yourself once a week make sure you do it at the same time (not after lunch for example).

Don't be disheartened, you'll be fine if you stick at it.

angie0184

I've got a slightly different view although i'm pretty tough on myself when it comes to control.
I never eat the calories I burn from exercise as it's effectively reducing the impact of my work out. If your goal is weight loss then you'll get there much quicker if you leave yourself with a reasonable gap between your calorie intake and calorie allowance. Of course your fitness level will increase and you'll lose weight at a slower rate if you eat your budget but i'm looking for noticable results quickly.

I'm also one of those people that religiously weighs myself every day at exactly the same time but only do this if you're consistent with your diet and exercise regime. You will see peaks and drops but over the space of a week you'll see the impact of your hardwork through the reports available on MFP. I will only ever use the same scales too as there is too much inconsistency using different scales, say at a gym or a friends. If you're seriously rigid with the routeen then you'll comfortably be able to work out the impact of 7 mile run for example on your weight at your next weigh in. Seem's a little compulsive i appreciate but dieting is all about dicipline so why bothering dieting if you can't control yourself? When you do eventually have that control the impact is fantastic both physically and mentally so it's worth the hard work!

Finally, with regards to your first week weight loss it's pretty normal to have a massive first week loss when you're starting out. Things like water retention and sodium in the diet for example, make you feel bloated, so as soon as you hit the diet and exercise hard in the first few weeks you see a big drop in weight. It will eventually stabilise and you'll find a pattern, just remember to be consistent with your approach. If you're going to weight yourself once a week make sure you do it at the same time (not after lunch for example).

Don't be disheartened, you'll be fine if you stick at it.

Thanks for this post, I have to admit, I've been quite confused about MFP giving me back the calories I exercised off. What's the point of exercising if I'm just going to eat those calories back? I am concerned about 1 thing and hopefully someone can clear this up for me. MFP set my calorie intake at 1200 a day based on my own goals & I make sure I eat those 1200 every day. But I burn between 400-600 calories a day, depending on how lazy I feel that day. If I don't eat those 400-600 calories back, am I putting myself in starvation mode and hurting myself? Or is it ok because I did actually eat 1200? I'm confused...

caribear

I don't eat my exercise calories back but i try to have a snack (50 cal or so) About every few hours so my body don't think i wont feed it.

stringcheeze

Thanks for this post, I have to admit, I've been quite confused about MFP giving me back the calories I exercised off. What's the point of exercising if I'm just going to eat those calories back? I am concerned about 1 thing and hopefully someone can clear this up for me. MFP set my calorie intake at 1200 a day based on my own goals & I make sure I eat those 1200 every day. But I burn between 400-600 calories a day, depending on how lazy I feel that day. If I don't eat those 400-600 calories back, am I putting myself in starvation mode and hurting myself? Or is it ok because I did actually eat 1200? I'm confused...

What I've learned from the "MFP Way":

MFP builds in a calorie deficit for you automatically based on what you entered in as your starting height/weight/activity level.

Keep in mind that 1200 calories per day is the minimum recommended to consume else you'll go into starvation mode and stagnate your weight loss (your body will hold on to all food you consume).

For example's sake, let's say you'd burn 1600 calories per day by just existing. MFP subtracts a set amount from that to give you a calorie deficit -- so you're encouraged to eat 1300 calories per day which will give you 2100 less calories consumed over the course of the week -- your body will make up that difference by using your fat stores as food in order to make sure it has the 1600 calories per day in order to exist.

Now you decide to work out and burn 350 calories. 1300 - 350 = 950 calories your body has to work with if you only eat your recommended calories. That puts you under 1200 calories for the day and into starvation mode. This is why you should consume at least some of your work out calories back (I say most because most overestimate the amount of calories they burned and underestimate the amount of calories they consume). The more you work out, the more you have to eat because there's a limit to how much you're going to "burn" off your body by exercising. You're not "ruining" your good work. You'd only ruin it if you ate so much you didn't have any calorie deficit for the day.

The point of exercising is to increase your metabolism which makes how you process your fat stores more efficient but you can very easily lose weight through MFP and not do any exercise at all simply because you're eating less calories than your body needs on a daily basis.

astridfeline

For example's sake, let's say you'd burn 1600 calories per day by just existing. MFP subtracts a set amount from that to give you a calorie deficit -- so you're encouraged to eat 1300 calories per day which will give you 2100 less calories consumed over the course of the week -- your body will make up that difference by using your fat stores as food in order to make sure it has the 1600 calories per day in order to exist.

Your example is almost correct. I would just ilke to point out that the "1600 cal per day by just existing" is one's BMR. Once you select an activity level, (sedentary, active, whatever), MFP calculates your MAINTENANCE calories. For example, a sedentary person with a BMR of 1600 might have a maintenance calories amount of 1900. 1900 is the amount of cals required to maintain the current weight. It's from this number that MFP takes the deficit for weight loss. So if this person wants to lose 1 lb per week, that is a 500 cal/day deficit, or 1400 net calories before exercise. Note, it's also recommended to not eat below one's BMR, so if the person in this example stayed at 1600 net, the weight loss would be somewhat less than 1 lb per week.

MrsHazra

so many different answers ,, I am still confused will prob need to do some research cause I see both points of view.. And both ways seem to be working for the people commenting.. I havent been eating my calories cause I want to lose more quickly. I will see how I got next weigh in and the week after I will try and eat at leasy=t half my exercise calories and see how that effects the scales.. Feels like a lot of food though..

Mcapossela

I think it is okay to eat the calories burned during exercise BECAUSE not only do you burn those calories but you raise your metabolism which will help you burn more effectively the rest of the day. That is why you exercise-to raise metabolism. Also, to be healthier!

scuba6randy

stringcheeze basically has it right. Yes, eat your exercise calories. If you burn 100 calories in exercise, not that big a deal, don't worry about it. But If you burn 500 calories in exercise, Yes eat those calories. Too few calories causes the body to burn not only fat, but muscle tissue for use as fuel. Muscle is part of your body's metabolic machine. Lose muscle, lose metabolism. MFP bases caloric intake on a healthy sustainable weight loss, eat less than recommended and yes you'll lose more weight quickly but your losing muscle weight too, do you really want that? Add to that a lower metabolic rate and when you eat more "normally" your more likely to put on the weight you lost plus some, because the body " remembers" you trying to "starve" it, and packs on more energy stores in case you do it again.

MyaPapaya75

I personally dont eat them back unless im hungry and then i fill the void with fruits and veggies.good luck