Eating back calories/calories burned- yes another one

blukitten

Ok, so yes I know there are lots of posts on this but I still have confusion. Before I get yelled at or told I am doing something wrong, I am aware there are other posts about this. This is my first post as an OP and have been through many other posts about this.

So... I have some confusion about my calories and how the eating back thing works.

1. Am I supposed to be eating back my calories to come to a net calories of my daily goal
ie- goal is 1800, excercise burns 200- I should be eating 2000 to net my calories+burn"


2. What about the days when MFP says I have a super high burn
ie- Swimming- general- moderate effort - 1700-2100 calories depending on time- 2-2 1/2 hours
Yes i really swim for this long, not really swimming but more racing/diving to the bottom of our 10ft pool to get a weighted ball, wrestling my son, daughter, husband for it to see who can keep it the longest- a game we started playing in the pool- great workout- get very tired and high heartrates- so yes I know that the calorie burn is probably high but not too far off- it is really a vigorous effort for me but only log it as moderate to keep the calorie burn more accurate. On days like this am I supposed to eat like 3800 calories? I did this all weekend, and plan on doing it everyday, maybe not for so long but for atleast an hour.

If you have some suggestions or advice-- please help.

Thanks!!

Booda101

If you are using MFP to track your calories, yes, eat your exercise calories back.

If you are using TDEE, no, don't eat your exercise calories back.


Which method are you using?

Booda101

Also bear in mind that MFP over calculates calories burned and you may not be burning anywhere near that figure.

diannethegeek

If you're using MFP the way it was designed and letting it choose your goals, yes, you eat back the additional earned exercise calories above and beyond your daily goal. That's why MFP adds them on to your goal.

With the caveat that this assumes you have an accurate estimate of your calories burned. MFP's database or gym machines may overestimate for certain activities, which is why a lot of people choose to eat 50-75% of those extra earned calories to account for any discrepancies.

Meerataila

Also bear in mind that MFP over calculates calories burned and you may not be burning anywhere near that figure.

This. And even some heart rate monitors can be off by quite a bit. You pretty much have to adjust your burn estimates as you go. If you eat back all your exercise calories over a few weeks and gain weight or don't lose weight, it's definitely fine to eat back less. And also weigh your food because as often as people overestimate calorie burn, we underestimate portion sizes.

cwolfman13

If you're using the MFP method then yes...you're supposed to net to your calories...it is the way this tool is designed. In RE to the 2nd part of your question and just in general, you need to make some allowance for estimation error in your calorie burn. Also, if you're going to train like an athlete (like swimming for 2.5 hours and such) you had best learn to eat like one...or you could just cut back on the training seeing as how it's not necessary. My guess is that you're burning far less than you think you are, but it's still substantial. When I'm actively training and racing I consume upwards of 3500 - 4000 calories per day....

hill8570

(1) Yes, that's the way MFP works. Personally, I don't eat back small (sub-600) burns. Since I don't weight my food, I figure the small burns are my buffer against overeating. It works for me, YMMV.

(2) Yeah, eat back a significant portion (50%-75%) of those big burns. Unless you enjoy being tired & grumpy for days afterwards.

blukitten

If you are using MFP to track your calories, yes, eat your exercise calories back.

If you are using TDEE, no, don't eat your exercise calories back.


Which method are you using?

Thank you for your response.

I am using both? I used a TDEE to calculate my macros/caloric need to lose weight, then programed these into MFP goals

blukitten

Thank you for everyone who has posted so far.... thank you for the input!!

lemurcat12

Also bear in mind that MFP over calculates calories burned and you may not be burning anywhere near that figure.

This. And even some heart rate monitors can be off by quite a bit. You pretty much have to adjust your burn estimates as you go. If you eat back all your exercise calories over a few weeks and gain weight or don't lose weight, it's definitely fine to eat back less. And also weigh your food because as often as people overestimate calorie burn, we underestimate portion sizes.

This. Also, I'd be extremely skeptical of that water-related burn, although I don't know how you'd measure it properly.

For bigger burns like that I tend to go by hunger, be more flexible about eating the calories throughout the week rather than forcing myself to eat more than I'm hungry for that day, and if I only eat back a portion and feel good and keep getting stronger at the activity, and my weight loss is about where it's supposed to be, I'm fine with that. For smaller burns I'm more confident in (like running a particular number of miles), I'm more likely to eat back most or all of the calories, because I know from experience that they seem to be basically accurate for me, based on results.

diannethegeek

If you are using MFP to track your calories, yes, eat your exercise calories back.

If you are using TDEE, no, don't eat your exercise calories back.


Which method are you using?

Thank you for your response.

I am using both? I used a TDEE to calculate my macros/caloric need to lose weight, then programed these into MFP goals

If you included your exercise when calculating your TDEE (and you should have) then you do not need to eat back your exercise calories. They're already included in your TDEE goal and you'd be effectively eating them back twice.

lemurcat12

I am using both? I used a TDEE to calculate my macros/caloric need to lose weight, then programed these into MFP goals

When doing the TDEE calculation, did you include exercise in determining what your TDEE was (which is what you are generally supposed to do)? For example, did you say "moderate" or "active" based on your assessment of your activity, including exercise, or did you answer a question about how many days you exercise? TDEE is intended to include ALL daily activity, including exercise, so normally you would not then eat back exercise calories.

blukitten

I am using both? I used a TDEE to calculate my macros/caloric need to lose weight, then programed these into MFP goals

When doing the TDEE calculation, did you include exercise in determining what your TDEE was (which is what you are generally supposed to do)? For example, did you say "moderate" or "active" based on your assessment of your activity, including exercise, or did you answer a question about how many days you exercise? TDEE is intended to include ALL daily activity, including exercise, so normally you would not then eat back exercise calories.

Thank you for your posts, its making more sense now
Yes I did, I answered questions about how many days I excercise but at the time I was only doing 3 days a week, not everyday. Maybe I should recalculate it with the everyday?

blukitten

If you are using MFP to track your calories, yes, eat your exercise calories back.

If you are using TDEE, no, don't eat your exercise calories back.


Which method are you using?

Thank you for your response.

I am using both? I used a TDEE to calculate my macros/caloric need to lose weight, then programed these into MFP goals

If you included your exercise when calculating your TDEE (and you should have) then you do not need to eat back your exercise calories. They're already included in your TDEE goal and you'd be effectively eating them back twice.

Ahhh, this makes more sense, thank you,, thats why i am not losing weight,, I did calculate my excercise with the TDEE calculator