Do I eat back the calories I burn from exercising??

likewhoa712

I am on 1200 calories a day to lose 2 lbs a week and I have been successful at staying at or close to that goal... I am going to start insanity next week for the 2nd time, should I eat back the calories I burn? Or some? Thanks!!

diannethegeek

Yes, you should eat back at least a portion of them. Especially with an exercise program like Insanity (doesn't it come with a nutrition guide, anyway?) And the only reason most of us say to eat back a portion instead of all of them is that people and machines have a tendency to overestimate the amount of calories burned. Eating back 50-75% is just to take care of any inaccuracies.

See also: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

AllOutof_Bubblegum

I don't think you are eating enough.

MFP is quite notorious for setting calorie goals FAR too low, regardless of height and weight. For example, it told me to eat 1200, and my BMR (the bare amount of calories I need to LIVE) is 1280. And I am extremely tiny, only 5 feet. So unless you are smaller than me, or bedridden, it is almost a CERTAINTY that you are eating too little. (This can result in lean muscle loss, chronic fatigue, metabolism damage, and bingeing due to over-restriction.)

Go to

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

and enter your height/weight/activity level.

Subtract 10-20% from the number it calculates for you, and that is the number of calories you should be eating a day in order to lose weight. With this method you do not eat back your exercise calories, as they are already figured into your daily goal.

likewhoa712

I don't think you are eating enough.

MFP is quite notorious for setting calorie goals FAR too low, regardless of height and weight. For example, it told me to eat 1200, and my BMR (the bare amount of calories I need to LIVE) is 1280. And I am extremely tiny, only 5 feet. So unless you are smaller than me, or bedridden, it is almost a CERTAINTY that you are eating too little. (This can result in lean muscle loss, chronic fatigue, metabolism damage, and bingeing due to over-restriction.)

Go to

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

and enter your height/weight/activity level.

Subtract 10-20% from the number it calculates for you, and that is the number of calories you should be eating a day in order to lose weight. With this method you do not eat back your exercise calories, as they are already figured into your daily goal.

I am only 5'2 but I am 246 lbs and this is my first week of dieting again.... That's what MFP recommended for me. To be honest, I've been hungry most days, I've been under in my fat grams and carbs, sugars been a little high from fruit. I did your calculator, it says 1786 BMR and 2144 TDEE. So what do you suggest calorie wise? Thanks!

likewhoa712

Yes, you should eat back at least a portion of them. Especially with an exercise program like Insanity (doesn't it come with a nutrition guide, anyway?) And the only reason most of us say to eat back a portion instead of all of them is that people and machines have a tendency to overestimate the amount of calories burned. Eating back 50-75% is just to take care of any inaccuracies.

See also: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

Yes it does, but I got the discs burned from a friend so I don't have the guide, but I'm sure I could google it. Gotcha... I've seen that topic a few times, over estimating burned calories. I will check out your link now. Thanks

diannethegeek

I don't think you are eating enough.

MFP is quite notorious for setting calorie goals FAR too low, regardless of height and weight. For example, it told me to eat 1200, and my BMR (the bare amount of calories I need to LIVE) is 1280. And I am extremely tiny, only 5 feet. So unless you are smaller than me, or bedridden, it is almost a CERTAINTY that you are eating too little. (This can result in lean muscle loss, chronic fatigue, metabolism damage, and bingeing due to over-restriction.)

Go to

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

and enter your height/weight/activity level.

Subtract 10-20% from the number it calculates for you, and that is the number of calories you should be eating a day in order to lose weight. With this method you do not eat back your exercise calories, as they are already figured into your daily goal.

I am only 5'2 but I am 246 lbs and this is my first week of dieting again.... That's what MFP recommended for me. To be honest, I've been hungry most days, I've been under in my fat grams and carbs, sugars been a little high from fruit. I did your calculator, it says 1786 BMR and 2144 TDEE. So what do you suggest calorie wise? Thanks!

Don't worry too much about your sugar right now, unless you have a medical reason to avoid it. Fat, protein, and fiber are great for helping you stay full and satisfied throughout the day, so don't go too low on the fat. It's important to get enough.

If you're using the TDEE method, you'd subtract about 20% from your TDEE. For you, that would give you a calorie goal of 1715. If you've included exercise in your TDEE calculation (and you should have) then you do not eat back additional calories after your work out with this method. They've been included up front and you don't want to eat them back twice, so to speak.

I'm guessing that you set your MFP goal to lose 2 pounds per week (most people do). If so, the TDEE method outlined above would give you about 1 pound per week loss. Alternately, you could reset your MFP to lose only one pound a week and log your exercise and eat back a portion of the calories. When MFP and your TDEE are calculated using equivalent information, they usually come to about the same number anyway.

likewhoa712

Thank you