Burning and Eating Calories back, what's the point!
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leon0897
Posts: 35 Member
I've decided to start doing 2 a day workout sessions that will more than likely total 60 minutes of working out and buring 400 calories per 30 minute session (according to the ifit cardio machine using my age and weight) My point is why workout and burn 800 daily calories just to eat them back. I'd rather have a decent deficit especially considering the fact that after I workout in the evening (normally 10pm) I'm not hungry. I might assume that working out and when I mean working out I'm referring to cardio on the treadmill with every other day strength and cardio training will build lean muscle which will in turn burn more calories thoughout the day but from creating the defcits and not eating back the majority of calories burned I'm losing weight and not have spikes when I eat greater than normailly (some spikes could be up to 5 pounds from a morning weigh-in)
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I've decided to start doing 2 a day workout sessions that will more than likely total 60 minutes of working out and buring 400 calories per 30 minute session (according to the ifit cardio machine using my age and weight) My point is why workout and burn 800 daily calories just to eat them back. I'd rather have a decent deficit especially considering the fact that after I workout in the evening (normally 10pm) I'm not hungry. I might assume that working out and when I mean working out I'm referring to cardio on the treadmill with every other day strength and cardio training will build lean muscle which will in turn burn more calories thoughout the day but from creating the defcits and not eating back the majority of calories burned I'm losing weight and not have spikes when I eat greater than normailly (some spikes could be up to 5 pounds from a morning weigh-in)
MFP gave you a calorie deficit BEFORE exercise. That way people who can't/won't exercise still lose weight.
Now, the point of eating back calories is this....when your calorie deficit is too large, your body won't be able to support lean muscle mass. Your cardio workouts may actually contribute to muscle loss.
To find out if you are eating enough find your TDEE (this includes workouts) and find your BMR (this is if you slept all day).
People hoping to MAINTAIN lean muscle will take a small(ish) cut from TDEE, will strength train, and eat lots of protein. People using TDEE less a % don't log workouts or eat calories back because it's already in the overall total. The percentage taken from TDEE should taper down as you get closer to goal. Some people are at TDEE less 5%0 -
Well I don't really understand TDEE or BMR but what I do know is that when I work out at night then I'm typically lower in weight the next morning and I typically have a decent workout deficit (400-600 calories for that day) When I consume my 1850 calories for the day without working out or sometimes create a deficit on that number from consuming less calories then the 1850 I'm typically heavier each morning. Its weird but I feel as if I can't lose weight without excercising even if I consume less then my needed daily calories of 1850. I feel like from working out at night my body burns more calories throughout that night and that is what leads to the scale continuing to drop. I also noticed that when I workout in the morning I typically either way the same or have substantially less weight loss then if I would have worked out in the evening. I guess that is what let me to the decision of working out 2 times a day for a few weeks (morning and evening) and seeing what type of results occur.0
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:noway:0
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Well I don't really understand TDEE or BMR but what I do know is that when I work out at night then I'm typically lower in weight the next morning and I typically have a decent workout deficit (400-600 calories for that day) When I consume my 1850 calories for the day without working out or sometimes create a deficit on that number from consuming less calories then the 1850 I'm typically heavier each morning. Its weird but I feel as if I can't lose weight without excercising even if I consume less then my needed daily calories of 1850. I feel like from working out at night my body burns more calories throughout that night and that is what leads to the scale continuing to drop. I also noticed that when I workout in the morning I typically either way the same or have substantially less weight loss then if I would have worked out in the evening. I guess that is what let me to the decision of working out 2 times a day for a few weeks (morning and evening) and seeing what type of results occur.
Evening/morning......weight day to day.......workout timing........it's pretty much irrelevant. Weight loss is long term.
When you have sore muscles....they hold water. When you eat higher sodium....you hold water. It could be water weight. Not eating enough (on a regular basis) will not allow you to maintain lean muscle.0 -
Here is a simple way to put it, a female needs around 1200 calories a day just to survive and not start to lose muscle mass and a male needs about 1800 calories. If you are currently eating 1800 calories and not exercising then you are good but if you are exercising then you are not netting 1800 calories a day so as someone else said you will start to lose lean muscle mass which is not a good thing.
People like to call in starvation mode but that is not correct (don't remember the proper name for what happens). If you go for a couple of months without eating a net of around 1800 calories a day your body will start to react badly and may not lose weight (this depends on the person).0 -
Great post - OP read that ^^0 -
Well I don't really understand TDEE or BMR but what I do know is that when I work out at night then I'm typically lower in weight the next morning and I typically have a decent workout deficit (400-600 calories for that day) When I consume my 1850 calories for the day without working out or sometimes create a deficit on that number from consuming less calories then the 1850 I'm typically heavier each morning. Its weird but I feel as if I can't lose weight without excercising even if I consume less then my needed daily calories of 1850. I feel like from working out at night my body burns more calories throughout that night and that is what leads to the scale continuing to drop. I also noticed that when I workout in the morning I typically either way the same or have substantially less weight loss then if I would have worked out in the evening. I guess that is what let me to the decision of working out 2 times a day for a few weeks (morning and evening) and seeing what type of results occur.
How long did it take you to lose that 26 lb and how much of it did you lose before you decided that you needed to add in exercise?
I am 5' 10" and started at 238 lb and was a couch potato. Lost the first 30 lbs or so without exercise and the rest has been lost eating back what I think are an accurate estimation of my calorie burns. I even started on a similar calorie goal to you, in hind sight I lost a bit too fast, have a little loose skin which might have been avoided and am sure that I lost a little more lean mass than I needed to
Don't try and do this too fast0 -
First, let me say...I don't feel like I understand this perfectly, and I'm no expert. That said, I have been learning a lot about this from my personal experience. I normally eat back half of my exercise calories, and I don't do it after my work out. If I know I'm going to burn 500 calories in a day, I spread those out throughout the day, for when I am hungry.
The scale is higher in the morning, or if it's lower, has absolutely nothing to do with fat loss. If you're at a deficit, than you'll get to where you want to be over time. I'm a little obsessive myself with checking too often, but this is what I've learned anyways.0 -
I will jump in here. The reason you work out, cardio or weight training, is to get fit. You can lose weight without being fit. If you only goal is weight loss then, sure starve yourself and you'll be thin in no time. But don't confuse thin with healthy. Running, burns calories but it works your heart and muscles. Strength training builds muscle which makes you stronger, look better, and burn more fat. However any workouts require calories to power it. there is a whole science to feeding your workouts that we won't get into here. This site focuses on caloric deficit which is a good measure of how much weight you will lose but there is more to fitness than a number on a scale.0
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i realize that i will be probably the only one saying this and maybe I'm nuts but I just don't believe in the science or fact that I have to eat back the calories I burned. I don't lose weight when I don't work out, bottom line. When I do workout especially at night I notice that in the morning I am lighter and depending on my eating I'm usually >6 to sometimes 2 pounds lighter. I went from 265 to 245 within a couple of months last year but stopped working out (and tracking my calories and pretty much dieting) and went back to 258 as of April of this year. I've been working out and dieting for the last 55 days and so far I've lost about 19 pounds. I feel as if my metabolism kicks up by me working out and the deficit in calories equate to my weigh loss. Mind you growing up I was always skinny and atheletic so I don't know how that contributes to it but I just can't believe that if I just ate 1850 calories every day that I would lose weight within the near future if at all.0
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I went from 265 to 245 within a couple of months last year but stopped working out (and tracking my calories and pretty much dieting) and went back to 258 as of April of this year.
The real story here is that you're not paying attention to your calorie demand vs. food consumed. Work out to be in better health/shape, watch your calories to control your weight.
As one wise person once said, diet to look good in your clothes. Exercise to look good naked. - True story.0 -
I don't lose weight when I don't work out, bottom line.
If exercise is the only cause of your weight loss, then you'd be eating at maintenance and your deficit is only being created by calories burned through exercise.0 -
i realize that i will be probably the only one saying this and maybe I'm nuts but I just don't believe in the science or fact that I have to eat back the calories I burned. I don't lose weight when I don't work out, bottom line. When I do workout especially at night I notice that in the morning I am lighter and depending on my eating I'm usually >6 to sometimes 2 pounds lighter. I went from 265 to 245 within a couple of months last year but stopped working out (and tracking my calories and pretty much dieting) and went back to 258 as of April of this year. I've been working out and dieting for the last 55 days and so far I've lost about 19 pounds. I feel as if my metabolism kicks up by me working out and the deficit in calories equate to my weigh loss. Mind you growing up I was always skinny and atheletic so I don't know how that contributes to it but I just can't believe that if I just ate 1850 calories every day that I would lose weight within the near future if at all.
How you feel is pretty irrelevant to the physiological facts of how your body works.
If you consumed less calories than you burned, even while not working out, you'd lose weight. Even if you "felt" like you wouldn't.
If I put you in a room, tied you up, gave you no food, only water, trust me, you'd lose.0 -
At the end of the day if you don't lose weight when you don't out then you are eating more than you think.
If the information you entered into MFP is correct then 1850 per day should result in weight loss without exercise0 -
i realize that i will be probably the only one saying this and maybe I'm nuts but I just don't believe in the science or fact that I have to eat back the calories I burned. I don't lose weight when I don't work out, bottom line. When I do workout especially at night I notice that in the morning I am lighter and depending on my eating I'm usually >6 to sometimes 2 pounds lighter. I went from 265 to 245 within a couple of months last year but stopped working out (and tracking my calories and pretty much dieting) and went back to 258 as of April of this year. I've been working out and dieting for the last 55 days and so far I've lost about 19 pounds. I feel as if my metabolism kicks up by me working out and the deficit in calories equate to my weigh loss. Mind you growing up I was always skinny and atheletic so I don't know how that contributes to it but I just can't believe that if I just ate 1850 calories every day that I would lose weight within the near future if at all.
You are thinking of it wrong.
Your maintenance on non-exercise day is 2800, your daily goal is 1800 - 1000 cal deficit.
Your maintenance on exercise day is 3400, your daily goal is now 2400 - 1000 cal deficit.
Exercise is just part of your daily burn, part of maintenance.
You are imagining a bigger deficit is better.
If you truly believe that way - why don't you just stop eating?
Of course you are lighter in the morning - guess what your primary fuel was - glycogen.
Guess what it stores with in the muscles - water.
You lost water weight, and some glycogen - that your diet just hasn't happened to top back off yet with one evening meal.
Big whoop, I can lose 15 lbs in water on a 4 hr bike ride in the summer.
Guess what's coming back, and was really useless weight loss in the first place.
So, if your deficit that MFP already put in to your eating goal (1000 calories?) and your exercise burn that you are not eating back, is equaling the amount you are losing, great. Should be just over 2 lbs weekly.
If you aren't, you are terrible at logging food and your exercise is making up for eating more than you log, that's all.
Then again - what exactly is the weight you are losing? Unless you get a DEXA scan, you have no idea. Merely studies that have shown larger deficit are all too prone to causing muscle mass loss.
Perhaps you are the unique one. You'll find at at the end, if you reach goal weight, and have to eat much less than you imagined because of loss of muscle.
If you are really confident in your food logging, and your exercise burns, and you aren't losing what both deficits should be causing - you've likely already started down that road.
People just trying to warn those that hadn't thought about it.0 -
Weight loss is not fat loss.
It's pretty normal to weigh less for a few hours after an intense cardio workout, because you're dehydrated. It's not actual fat loss (you would never lose 2-6 lbs of fat in one day). It's also normal to weigh more on rest days because hopefully you're rehydrating yourself, plus sore muscles hold water and try to replenish their glycogen stores as much as they can.
Actual fat loss comes from a sustained and reasonable deficit, and can be measured weekly if not monthly. You won't see the scale budging overnight, but it doesn't mean it's not working. You said you gained weight when you stopped working out, but you also stopped logging food and dieting... Did you actually try to eat 1850 before exercise?0 -
i realize that i will be probably the only one saying this and maybe I'm nuts but I just don't believe in the science or fact that I have to eat back the calories I burned. I don't lose weight when I don't work out, bottom line. When I do workout especially at night I notice that in the morning I am lighter and depending on my eating I'm usually >6 to sometimes 2 pounds lighter. I went from 265 to 245 within a couple of months last year but stopped working out (and tracking my calories and pretty much dieting) and went back to 258 as of April of this year. I've been working out and dieting for the last 55 days and so far I've lost about 19 pounds. I feel as if my metabolism kicks up by me working out and the deficit in calories equate to my weigh loss. Mind you growing up I was always skinny and atheletic so I don't know how that contributes to it but I just can't believe that if I just ate 1850 calories every day that I would lose weight within the near future if at all.
Ahhhhh I thought like you once.... those were the days. I eat 50% of my exercise calories and I have lost 33 pounds in 14 weeks. That is not to be sneezed at. Never felt hungry, never the need to cheat or the like
When you start to plateau, you will know this is a big reason
Good luck!0 -
Well I don't really understand TDEE or BMR but what I do know is that when I work out at night then I'm typically lower in weight the next morning and I typically have a decent workout deficit (400-600 calories for that day) When I consume my 1850 calories for the day without working out or sometimes create a deficit on that number from consuming less calories then the 1850 I'm typically heavier each morning. Its weird but I feel as if I can't lose weight without excercising even if I consume less then my needed daily calories of 1850. I feel like from working out at night my body burns more calories throughout that night and that is what leads to the scale continuing to drop. I also noticed that when I workout in the morning I typically either way the same or have substantially less weight loss then if I would have worked out in the evening. I guess that is what let me to the decision of working out 2 times a day for a few weeks (morning and evening) and seeing what type of results occur.
Seriously put in the effort to understand it. It took me awhile to get it but it helped me understand a lot more about my body at my age given injury issues and it's impact on my working out.
But let's see if we can distill it down for you.
Despite what you think, your body needs fuel to get you through exercise. Like a car. No fuel, you stall.
Eventually if you don't eat enough you will plateau.
When I was a kid and a track and field athlete I trained 5 days a week and ate like a starving horse. And was thin.
When I had to quit with injury, I still ate like a starving horse and put on weight .... Gosh why? Because I was eating as if I was training 5 days a week.
Same thing happened when I started here. Found my TDEE/BMR for the time I was exercising and lost a stone. Then I got a different job, worked shifts and my exercise went to hell and despite logging religiously I put on weight again. Gosh why? Because I totally forgot that I had calculated my BMR to exercising 3-5 days a week.
So yes, back to the drawing board for me and back to MFP's method for now during a very busy time for the job where I am travelling away and working long hours and can't guarantee exercise and food available. But if I can fit in exercise, I can at least eat some or all of those calories back. It is my choice and I eat back some depending on how I am feeling.
All achieved by understanding what MFP does versus TDEE/BMR method.
Your own research, nay, accountability for your own actions is key to your journey.0 -
i realize that i will be probably the only one saying this and maybe I'm nuts but I just don't believe in the science or fact that I have to eat back the calories I burned. I don't lose weight when I don't work out, bottom line. When I do workout especially at night I notice that in the morning I am lighter and depending on my eating I'm usually >6 to sometimes 2 pounds lighter. I went from 265 to 245 within a couple of months last year but stopped working out (and tracking my calories and pretty much dieting) and went back to 258 as of April of this year. I've been working out and dieting for the last 55 days and so far I've lost about 19 pounds. I feel as if my metabolism kicks up by me working out and the deficit in calories equate to my weigh loss. Mind you growing up I was always skinny and atheletic so I don't know how that contributes to it but I just can't believe that if I just ate 1850 calories every day that I would lose weight within the near future if at all.
I TOTALLY get what you're saying, I am very similar in what you've described. If I want to lose weight, I HAVE to exercise. It never works if I just try to restrict my eating and count calories, but here's the thing; I CAN'T successfully restrict my eating if I am not also exercising. If I'm simply calorie counting, I'm feeling low and deprived and I quickly lose my motivation to continue so I give up and continue on as I always have. So in order for me to be successful at losing weight, I simply MUST exercise. When I excercise, it makes me feel good. It makes me feel proud and it makes me WANT to eat better, and eat less. Working out gives me the motivation that I need to keep going. Without it, no I would not lose weight. I would simply give up. Maybe your working out vs. not working out has similar effects for you.
That all being said, the past few weeks I saw that many of my friends were doing 1000 plus workouts in a day. I thought, WOW. I should be doing that. So I did it, and felt pretty cool for a couple of days, until one day I did not eat back enough workout calories and I felt like a limp noodle the next day. All I saying, is, yes, work out, it's great. But you DO need to eat back some of your workout calories or it can one day come back to bite you in the butt. Just listen to your body. If you are ever feeling weakened, eat more. It's important. If you have TONS of energy every day then I would guess that your body is somehow utilizing what you are doing pretty efficiently. I personally don't believe in a one size fits all diet plan. Because losing weight is both physical and mental, only you know what works best for you.
Best of luck and great job on all your hard work! :happy:0
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