Exercise Calories and Regular Activity

Stewie316

I keep reading on here how you should eat your exerise calories and how you shouldn't go under a net of 1200 calories and I'm just trying to make sense of this. So I did the math.

Scenario 1
BMR 1,600 (sedetary lifestyle)
Exercise 400
New BRM 2,000
Food (1,200)
Net Calories 800


Scenario 2
BMR 2,000 (active lifestyle)
No Exericse -
New BRM 2,000
Food (1,200)
Net Calories 800

I'm Scenario 1. Now according to the eat your exerise calories rule and not going under a net of 1200 calories. I would have to eat back those 400 calories and have my net at 1200 (and lose less weight). But if I was Scenario 2 and had a higher BMR just by either having a more active job or doing more housework and did no exercise, my net would still be at 800. But in this scenario, myfitness pal and others wouldn't say eat some of your bmr calories. In both of these situations, there isn't major weight loss, they're just at around 1.5 pounds a week. So, unless you're starving yourself and/or trying to lose more than 2-3 pounds a week, why eat your exercise calories in scenario 1 when you wouldn't in scenario 2?

jrich1

Just the basics I understand are when you exercise you are burning fuel and if you dont eat some of that back your body isnt getting what it needs to function

jimmydeanbakker

If you don't eat your exercise calories, your body will go into starvation mode. You'll lose more weight safely when you're eating your exercise calories.

Stewie316

Starvation Mode is very exaggerated and thrown around too much. But besides that, so what I'm taking from this is, if I walk on a treadmill for an hour, I need to eat back those calories thus negating the exercise, but if I cleaned the house for a few hours and increased my bmr this way I wouldn't have to eat those calories. I'm not seeing the logic in this.

As long as I'm not starving myself (1200 calories isn't starvation), why eat back exercise calories. I just seems like the eat exercise calories rule is a blanket statement that doesn't take into account other factors.

Raina0512

Starvation Mode is very exaggerated and thrown around too much. But besides that, so what I'm taking from this is, if I walk on a treadmill for an hour, I need to eat back those calories thus negating the exercise, but if I cleaned the house for a few hours and increased my bmr this way I wouldn't have to eat those calories. I'm not seeing the logic in this.

As long as I'm not starving myself (1200 calories isn't starvation), why eat back exercise calories. I just seems like the eat exercise calories rule is a blanket statement that doesn't take into account other factors.

Agreed :happy:

321Detonate

Stewie, I think your math is off, which would explain your confusion.

If your daily cals are set at 1200, and you burn 400 exercising, that leaves you with 800 cals for the day. So MFP will add those 400 to your goal so that you don't slip under the 1200. In Scenario 2, if your BMR is 2000, and you don't exercise, but you only eat 1200, then you will have a 800 cal deficit for the day, which should still allow you to lose weight.

Stewie316

Mello, I understand MFP adds back the exercise calories, but I don't see where the math is off. Under both situations you still have a net of 800 calories.

AnnaPixie

The reason MFP asks for your lifestyle is so that they can account for it in the calories you burn.

If you lead an acitive lifestyle your BMR will be rated higher.

FOR EXAMPLE:

A sedentary person, your BMR will be 1700

As a more active person your BMR will be 2000

THEN, they take off the 500 per day, so your daily minimum will be 1200 and 1500 respectively.

THEN you add on exercise.

The theory works for thousands. If you dont want to eat your exercise cals, then don't. Personally, I eat half of them.

Your dog looks really silly in that hat :laugh:

321Detonate

Sorry Stewie, I re-read your original post a few more times and I misunderstood you. My bad! You're right, in both scenarios the calorie deficit is the same. I'll just shut up and go stand in the corner now. :laugh:

tbernard

Starvation mode is definitely an over used term. You definitely do not need to eat back all of your exercise calories. What you do need to do is to make sure you are putting enough fuel into the tank to build, or rebuild muscles after exercise, and to fuel your body for the work it will have to do throughout the day so that it doesn't feel the need to start converting muscle to energy. If you are doing a lot of exercise it only makes sense to think that your body is going to need more fuel. So be prepared to eat a little more to support that lifestyle. But feel free to maintain a reasonable caloric deficit.