Do you use Workout Calories?

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kswinterk
kswinterk Posts: 2 Member
in Getting Started
Hello, I am starting to workout and been tracking my workouts and I am having a hard time if I should be using my calories that I got back from working out or not. I am needing to loose 40lbs and need some good advice on what I need to be doing. Thank you in advance for your feedback.
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Replies

  • Krista916
    Krista916 Posts: 258
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    This is a huge debate on MFP. I belieive according to their guidlines, it says you should eat back about 50% of the calories earned through exercise. I personally sometimes do and sometimes don't. Personal preference.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    If you are using the MFP method then your deficit has already been established for you and your exercise calories are to be eaten to full your body for the workouts you are asking of it to do.... Been using this approach myself and have lost a few pounds.... Best of Luck.....
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    If you are using MFP's goals then yes, the site is designed for you to eat back at least a portion of your workout calories. MFP calculated a goal for you without taking exercise into account. The deficit for weight loss is already built into that goal. When you exercise and burn more calories you make that deficit larger, possibly larger than your body can handle safely. Eating back those earned calories helps to protect your lean muscle and make sure that you're fueling your workouts with adequate nutrition.

    With the caveat that this assumes you have your activity level set to sedentary or lightly active. MFP and cardio machines may overestimate your actual calories burned. Eating 50-75% of the calories burned should help counteract this.
  • Shoechick5
    Shoechick5 Posts: 221 Member
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    Most weeks I eat all of mine, sometimes 80% or so. I don't stuff myself on purpose to use them but I fully understand the need to be fueled and I'm always hungrier on good workout days. I also sometimes carry them over a day. I left about 250 calories on the table yesterday because I'm going out for dinner tonight and I know I'll be over.
  • Julesbait
    Julesbait Posts: 190 Member
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    Eat them back. Understanding that if you don't use a HRM and you're relying on MFP's calorie burn calculations, MFP tends to overestimate.I generally eat back half of them.
  • TheGymGypsy
    TheGymGypsy Posts: 1,023 Member
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    I set my own calorie goal and input my calorie burns from my HRM, then eat back all the exercise calories. This puts me at a net of 1400 every day which is roughly a 300 calorie deficit each day.
  • bf43005
    bf43005 Posts: 287
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    I think a lot of it will depend on how much I burn. If it's only 200 calories then I don't bother, but if it's 1,000 I have to eat some back.
  • ellybeann
    ellybeann Posts: 122 Member
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    As someone else said, this is a big debate on MFP and you need to figure out what works best for you and in a healthy way. With that said, I do not eat back my calories. I spoke with 2 trainers and neither of them reccomended eating them back. One of them uses MFP to logg his food intake, so he knew this subject well.

    Good Luck
  • FitForFunKanata
    FitForFunKanata Posts: 41 Member
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    I eat back some of the calories I burn working out, but honestly, not very often. My first time here on MFP I did the same and had very good results. Worked for me. May not work for others. If I am hungry and still have calories in the bank then I eat.
  • brdnw
    brdnw Posts: 565 Member
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    i'm down 90 pounds or so and i lift every day, do cardio every day and eat 1400 calories, with eating nothing back.

    i don't understand why you'd want to eat back calories you burned off, what's the point in that?

    and don't tell me "starvation mode" bs.

    deficit = loss.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    I lost my 40lbs eating every single workout calorie.
  • hmaddpear
    hmaddpear Posts: 610 Member
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    As explained above. If you're using the MFP method, it's already got the required deficit built in - so eat at least a proportion of your exercise cals back. If you're using the TDEE method, then your daily goal includes those exercise calories, so you don't eat them back.

    MFP tends to overestimate calorie burns, so you may need to play around with numbers before working out what proportion you need to eat back to keep on track.

    Personally, my walking calories are what fuel my wine drinking...
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    As someone else said, this is a big debate on MFP and you need to figure out what works best for you and in a healthy way. With that said, I do not eat back my calories. I spoke with 2 trainers and neither of them reccomended eating them back. One of them uses MFP to logg his food intake, so he knew this subject well.

    Good Luck

    this is why gym trainers aren't dieticians and should stick to helping their clients with the exercise side of things... MFP is designed for you "Too eat back your calories burned because your deficit has already been established. Weight loss will happen strictly with your diet and the exercise (for weightloss purposes) part isn't needed... You exercise for fitness and overall well being so the two aren't mutual. Now if someone is using the TDEE approach then mostly definitely you would not consume those exercise calories cause they are already figured into that method...
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    As someone else said, this is a big debate on MFP and you need to figure out what works best for you and in a healthy way. With that said, I do not eat back my calories. I spoke with 2 trainers and neither of them reccomended eating them back. One of them uses MFP to logg his food intake, so he knew this subject well.

    Good Luck

    this is why gym trainers aren't dieticians and should stick to helping their clients with the exercise side of things... MFP is designed for you "Too eat back your calories burned because your deficit has already been established. Weight loss will happen strictly with your diet and the exercise (for weightloss purposes) part isn't needed... You exercise for fitness and overall well being so the two aren't mutual. Now if someone is using the TDEE approach then mostly definitely you would not consume those exercise calories cause they are already figured into that method...

    Plus, trainers pretty much always assume all clients are incompetent at calorie counting and cut corners to get fast results, so you'll keep coming back to them. Their end-game is not you successfully maintaining weight loss on your own, it's keeping business afloat.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    i'm down 90 pounds or so and i lift every day, do cardio every day and eat 1400 calories, with eating nothing back.

    i don't understand why you'd want to eat back calories you burned off, what's the point in that?

    and don't tell me "starvation mode" bs.

    deficit = loss.

    Yeah and a deficit can be achieved through diet alone for weight loss, has little to do with exercise... but if you figure in exercise then food becomes fuel.... The larger the deficit isn't always the best option. I workout 6 days a week with 4 days in the weight room and 6 days of cardio (in some form). I lost the vast majority of my 312 pounds eating no less than 3000 calories a day... The last year of maintenance I have consumed 4200 calories a day... Your 1400 daily calories is my morning breakfast.... lol.... No talk of starvation mode here, just using food to fuel my workouts....
  • weightedfootsteps
    weightedfootsteps Posts: 4,349 Member
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    Yes! I almost always eat all my exercise cals back! Unless I just can't because it is too much of a burn..But also don't worry about it if I splurge on a non-exercise day then. :) I know I have to hit those cals or I won't lose...been dealing with not getting enough lately and didn't lose weight in four months...I had to eat those exercise cals back...and I also raised my cals..it worked. So sometimes you gotta play around with the cals and see what works for you! :)
  • svsl0928
    svsl0928 Posts: 205 Member
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    Sure Do! Sometimes all or half of them .
  • delicious_cocktail
    delicious_cocktail Posts: 5,797 Member
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    i'm down 90 pounds or so and i lift every day, do cardio every day and eat 1400 calories, with eating nothing back.

    i don't understand why you'd want to eat back calories you burned off, what's the point in that?

    and don't tell me "starvation mode" bs.

    deficit = loss.

    a) sounds a bit more like an eating disorder than anything else.
    b) I paged through about 75 pages of your diary . . . for someone who logs about 2% of the time, you're certainly very confident in your intake.

    On the flip side, congratulations on your loss. 93 pounds is awesome. Keep up with your annual physicals - bloodwork, etc.
  • Pamaro10
    Pamaro10 Posts: 2 Member
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    Ok, I'm laughing out loud over here for real...you've lost "a few pounds" by eating your earned calories?! Quite an understatement :)
    Oh, and I agree with you. I usually eat most of the calories I earned, I just try to make them valuable calories instead of junk.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    It is the way this tool is designed so long as you do NOT include your exercise activity in your activity level. Your activity level is just your day to day stuff...going to work, driving the car, etc. This is how the formula looks and I'll use my numbers to illustrate.

    To maintain my weight with ZERO exercise...just my day to day stuff (which is light active) I require 2350 calories. To lose 1 Lb per week requires a deficit of 500 calories...so MFP gives me a goal of 1,850 calories (2350 - 500 = 1,850).

    Now...I decide to go and start working on my fitness so I start exercising...exercise will increase my body's calorie requirements to maintain...thus it would also increase the amount of calories I could consume to maintain that same 500 calorie per day deficit. Let's say I burn 400 calories for exercise...if I add that number to my 1,850 I get 2,250 calories (1,850 + 500). I still have a 500 calorie deficit because now my theoretical maintenance will have increased to 2,350 + 400 = 2,750 calories. 2,750 - 2,250 = 500. As you can see, I do in fact have the same calorie deficit as I did before while consuming more food and properly fueling my exercise activity.

    You just have to be very careful that you aren't overestimating your burn...I always used about 80% of what my HRM told me I burned for an aerobic event. If you're using a database, you'd probably want to cut whatever number you're getting in half. Also, always keep in mind that burning around 10 calories per minute is working pretty damned hard...it's hard to burn much more than that for and sustained period of time. You can burn slightly more than that for the same effort if you are heavier and slightly less than that if you are already pretty lean.

    Also, you have to be as precise as possible with your intake...

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