Should I eat back my workout cals

MzKym1981 · July 2014

Should I be burning the same amount of cals as I consume? For ex if I eat 1500 cals a day should I also try to burn 1500 or more cals a day? Help please?

QueenShadowrama · July 2014

Um...no. Burning 1500 cals a day when you only eat 1500 cals a day would negate everything you ate, so you'd just starve to death. You do need to eat to live, lol.

MFP already sets your calories at a deficit, meaning if MFP told you to eat 1500 calories, then you eat that and you will lose weight, even without exercise. Add exercise in, and you can eat the calories you burned back if you want, because they're just a bonus.

3dogsrunning · July 2014

That isn't how this works.

Your body requires calories everyday just to run your basic body functions. Your BMR is what your body requires just to survive if you were in a coma and did not activity whatsoever. For most people, this is over 1000 calories a day to start (there are tons of calculators online that can help you figure what your will be around).
On top of that we burn additional calories just by everyday activity, sitting, walking to the car, brushing our teeth, fidgeting, our job, etc. The typical formula for a sedentary person - so no exercise on top of his everyday activity is usually around 1.2 x BMR.

MFP estimates the calories you need everyday, not including exercise. So If you require 2000 calories a day and set it for a lose of 1 lb per week, MFP will give you 1500 calories. Your body requires 2000 but you are only eating 1500 so you are at a deficit. There is no need to burn off that 1500 because your body already does.
MFP's setup also expects you to log exercise and eat those calories back. So if you do a 300 calorie workout, you would eat your 1500 plus the 300, which gives you 1800 calories eaten. But, your body requires 2000, plus you burned off 300, so in total that day you needed 2300. That still leaves you a 500 calorie deficit.

A really great thread you might want to check out
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?

grannykaren57 · July 2014

You can eat back your calories you burned. But just only those, otherwise you will slow down or even gain .
Hope this helps.

cincysweetheart · July 2014

No, no, no, no. Your calorie deficit is built in based on your activity level outside of workouts, and based on the rate at which you'd like to lose weight. Therefore, if you simply ate at that level and never worked out… you'd still lose weight at the desired rate. When you add a workout… MFP adds those calories you burned back on to your goal. Because your body needs the fuel. This means if you exercise, you can eat more. If you were burning the exact same amount as you were eating… you'd essentially be eating nothing… basically starving yourself. I think you should be aiming to eat back at least part of your exercise calories. Some people say that the MFP estimate for calorie burns is really high, so they only eat back 50%. That seems safe to me. Honestly… that's hard for me to do (eat back my exercise calories) because I get way too full (Don't judge… my calorie goal is over 1900 calories because I'm still so significantly overweight)… but I think that is the safe/healthy way to go about it.

meshashesha2012 · July 2014

calories are units of measure for energy/work so your body burns calories 24/7 by virtue of you being alive.

if you're following the MFP way then yes record your workouts and eat those calories back, the MFP calorie goals assume whatever activity level you give it so if you say you are sedentary then your calories goals won't assume any further activity

if you're doing another way like TDEE then your exercise should already be accounted for so there's no need to eat them back

3dogsrunning · July 2014

For clarity, the title of the post is a little misleading. OP asked

That isn't the same as eating exercise calories.

MrGonzo05 · July 2014

You won't do that long.

meshashesha2012 · July 2014

i took it to mean she's wondering if she should be working out to burn the same amount of calories she eats

SEAFOODMAN · July 2014

set your goals to lightly active and don't log exercise...........don't eat your calories back.................or use the calorie goal you want and don't log exercise calories or log it as 1 calorie............do not eat your calories back...........you really don't know how much you burn anyways...........and don't kill yourself at the gym........

brianpperkins · July 2014

MFP builds a deficit into your caloric goal based on how much you tell the system you want to lose per week. That caloric goal does not include exercise. The way MFP is designed is for you to eat back your exercise calories to maintain the net deficit to stay on that weekly loss plan. The big issue many people run into is inaccuracies in calculating both calories consumed and those burned through exercise.

For example ....
MFP says eat 1500 calories per day to lose 1 pound per week .... no exercise done .... eat 1500 calories per day to maintain the deficit for a 1 pound per week loss. That same 1500 calorie per day to lose 1 pound per week ... this time burning 500 calories per day exercising .... actually eat 2000 calories per day to net 1500 calories (2000 consumed - 500 burned through exercise) and maintain that deficit for a 1 pound per week loss.

brianpperkins · July 2014

That is using TDEE rather than NEAT. Using TDEE requires an honest assessment of exercise levels to ascertain an average daily caloric requirement then subtract a deficit from that number ... not a blanket "lightly active" setting and it is possible to know within a relatively small margin of error just what one burns via exercise. Also, how do you define "don't kill yourself at the gym?" What I do may be too much for you or vice versa .... or not enough.

MzKym1981 · July 2014

For clarity your not helping!

I posted it the way I wanted to. So if you can't respond to it as is then you shouldn't respond at all. I'm asking for help not for negativity! Thanks to those who helped & understood the question. I get it now!!! Thanks again!!

_Terrapin_ · July 2014

Yes eat them back since you can develop the "HANGRIES!!" grrrrr

3dogsrunning · July 2014

Wow. Ok. I don't see how that was negative at all and I posted quite a detailed explanation to you first.
Your title and post seem to be contradictory. I was concerned you may get some info that wasn't exactly addressing what you were asking. But whatever.

Best of luck in your journey.

MzKym1981 · July 2014

Thanks...you too!

brianpperkins · July 2014

The way you posted it made it appear that you ate 1500 total calories then either did, or planned to, burn 1500 calories via exercise which is extremely unhealthy. The alternative interpretation was you plan to consume 1500 calories then burn 1500 calories through a combination of exercise and BMR. The ability to express one's thoughts via the written word is crucial here as the two interpretations vary so widely and have vastly different potential outcomes. By the way, what you were given was help and not negativity.

jofjltncb6 · July 2014

Hater.

Why so much negativity?

brianpperkins · July 2014

To equalize the positive terminal of a 9 volt battery ... duh.

MzKym1981 · July 2014

Thanks for your advice too but I don't need clarity! To make a point...I would have understood what was said without the "for clarity" part! And btw I said thanks for all the advice...meaning everyone who posted! What I think is negative is being corrected w/o asking anyone to do so...no one here can read my mine. I asked it how I want too! I put in a ex. so ppl would see what I mean...anyway good day ppl! Thanks anyway!!

3dogsrunning · July 2014

I wasn't correcting you, I was highlighting a point you made in case others had missed it. People often go by only the subject title.

Should I eat back my workout cals

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