Do you include your work outs?

eric5577

Do you all include your work out's in you daily activities. I have heard that I should leave out the calories I burn, so I wont eat them back, just use the cal count without the exercise and cal burnt.

Thoughts??

Hornsby

Do you all include your work out's in you daily activities. I have heard that I should leave out the calories I burn, so I wont eat them back, just use the cal count without the exercise and cal burnt.

Thoughts??

I add mine in, but I follow the TDEE method so I don't eat them back. If you are using MFP the way it was designed and you set your profile/goals up accurately, you SHOULD be eating your exercise calories back because MFP already built your deficit into your numbers. In that case, getting accurate calorie counts (for food and exercise) becomes very important.

eric5577

TDEE? Not familiar with that, but I see what you are saying. It had me at almost 2300 Cal for the day, which I thought was high, but makes sense if they are adding the work out in already.

lishie_rebooted

TDEE? Not familiar with that, but I see what you are saying. It had me at almost 2300 Cal for the day, which I thought was high, but makes sense if they are adding the work out in already.

Why dont you provide us with the information you gave MFP so we can help show you how they got that number.

TDEE is your total daily energy expenditure. So essentially the calories needed to maintain your weight at that given activity level

meshashesha2012

im also doing the TDEE method and when i log my workouts i just make the calorie count 1.

it ends up working out about the same as if i followed the MFp way of 1200 calories + eating back workout calories. i just prefer doing ti this way so i have the same calorie and macro goals every day

eric5577

I will be honest, I did not read all the way throw. I went back and looked at my goals, and saw how they broke it down. My calories were based on 5 days of workouts, at 30min. I want to lose 2pds a week, or more.

I am 6'2 and weigh 325. I want to get down to 240 again.
I want to lose 2pds a week.
I exercise 5 days a week at 30min (walk).

lishie_rebooted

I will be honest, I did not read all the way throw. I went back and looked at my goals, and saw how they broke it down. My calories were based on 5 days of workouts, at 30min. I want to lose 2pds a week, or more.

I am 6'2 and weigh 325. I want to get down to 240 again.
I want to lose 2pds a week.
I exercise 5 days a week at 30min (walk).

So did you pick lightly active as your activity level?
Your activity level is not based on your workouts.
MFP gives you a calorie goal based off of the height, weight, gender, (age?), and activity level you input.
You can lose weight just by cutting calories.

If you then exercise, following the MFP method (above), you are supposed to log your exercise (so you add that you walked for 30 minutes) and MFP will give you extra calories to eat. HOWEVER, the MFP exercise database tends to overestimate for everyone. So for example, say you walked for 30 minutes and MFP says "you've burned 500 calories!", a safe bet would to only eat up to 250 calories of that extra allotment.

If you have a heart rate monitor (HRM), you can log in the exact time & calorie burn that it records for you. They aren't necessary to lose weight, they are helpful.

Getting a food scale (10-30$ at Target, Walmart, Amazon, etc) is also a great tool. And one I highly suggest. Because weighing your food instead of measuring it in measuring cups or spoons will be far more accurate. And you can lose weight by your diet (meaning eating plan) alone.

dustsettles

This will give you a good idea of your BMR and TDEE…

http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/


This will give you a solid idea of what to do with that info…

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

I try to eat back at least a good portion of my exercise calories!

DavPul

I will be honest, I did not read all the way throw. I went back and looked at my goals, and saw how they broke it down. My calories were based on 5 days of workouts, at 30min. I want to lose 2pds a week, or more.

I am 6'2 and weigh 325. I want to get down to 240 again.
I want to lose 2pds a week.
I exercise 5 days a week at 30min (walk).

Your calories were based on your sex, weight, and activity level, but the amount of working out you entered. That feature does nothing on the app. 2300 PLUS exercise calories sounds correct to me. When I started here I was almost 300 pounds and I lost on ~2200 calories plus eating back all of the exercise calories. I didn't use an HRM or anything. Just looked up an exercise in the database, logged it, and ate it.

eric5577

I will be honest, I did not read all the way throw. I went back and looked at my goals, and saw how they broke it down. My calories were based on 5 days of workouts, at 30min. I want to lose 2pds a week, or more.

I am 6'2 and weigh 325. I want to get down to 240 again.
I want to lose 2pds a week.
I exercise 5 days a week at 30min (walk).

So did you pick lightly active as your activity level?
Your activity level is not based on your workouts.
MFP gives you a calorie goal based off of the height, weight, gender, (age?), and activity level you input.
You can lose weight just by cutting calories.

If you then exercise, following the MFP method (above), you are supposed to log your exercise (so you add that you walked for 30 minutes) and MFP will give you extra calories to eat. HOWEVER, the MFP exercise database tends to overestimate for everyone. So for example, say you walked for 30 minutes and MFP says "you've burned 500 calories!", a safe bet would to only eat up to 250 calories of that extra allotment.

If you have a heart rate monitor (HRM), you can log in the exact time & calorie burn that it records for you. They aren't necessary to lose weight, they are helpful.

Getting a food scale (10-30$ at Target, Walmart, Amazon, etc) is also a great tool. And one I highly suggest. Because weighing your food instead of measuring it in measuring cups or spoons will be far more accurate. And you can lose weight by your diet (meaning eating plan) alone.

Yes, I did pick light activity. I also just downloaded the Mapmyfitness app, which links what I do there, to what I eat here. Thanks for the info!!

eric5577

I will be honest, I did not read all the way throw. I went back and looked at my goals, and saw how they broke it down. My calories were based on 5 days of workouts, at 30min. I want to lose 2pds a week, or more.

I am 6'2 and weigh 325. I want to get down to 240 again.
I want to lose 2pds a week.
I exercise 5 days a week at 30min (walk).

Your calories were based on your sex, weight, and activity level, but the amount of working out you entered. That feature does nothing on the app. 2300 PLUS exercise calories sounds correct to me. When I started here I was almost 300 pounds and I lost on ~2200 calories plus eating back all of the exercise calories. I didn't use an HRM or anything. Just looked up an exercise in the database, logged it, and ate it.

WOW!! 300 when you started. Amazing your transformation!!! Very inspiring! Thanks!!

DavPul

286 was my weight when i first logged into the MFP app, atho i'm certain i broke 290 and was already starting to lose when i found MFP. i started by lifting and then added walking for cardio and kept doing more as i lost more. i lost 2 pounds a week for a long time while simply eating to the calories that MFP gave me.

it really does work. good luck

trojan_bb

No.

MFP uses a crazy "eat back the calories" method and complicates the issue. MUCH easier to just know what your TDEE is with an average workout and ignore the MFP calorie burns and just focus on the total daily food consumption. I'd rather let fitbit or something similar do the actual net calorie calculations.

The eat back calorie method of MFP only makes sense if you only occasionally workout or your workouts are all very different. I guess it lends itself to the casual dieter, not someone who has a set routine which rarely changes.

DavPul

No.

MFP uses a crazy "eat back the calories" method and complicates the issue. MUCH easier to just know what your TDEE is with an average workout and ignore the MFP calorie burns and just focus on the total daily food consumption. I'd rather let fitbit or something similar do the actual net calorie calculations.

The eat back calorie method of MFP only makes sense if you only occasionally workout or your workouts are all very different. I guess it lends itself to the casual dieter, not someone who has a set routine which rarely changes.

I agree with everything you said, but that last part is key, imo. A lot of people just starting out are so inconsistent, or still trying different things that I think starting out at TDEE would shoot half of them in the foot while they waited for someone to answer their "tips for getting motivated for early workouts thread".

I started out that way, then moved to TDEE when I got into a consistent groove, and now have a BMF.

Unknown

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eric5577

I atually did not eat back my calories last night, and I was full and feeling good when I went to bed!!! I had over 900 cal left to eat and 707 were extra from working out. So I actually came in under what my cal intake was suppose to be for the day. I actually ate things yesterday, that I normaly don't eat. Very encouraging to me!

Thanks for all the suggestions!! It is day 2 for me, and I have already made changes!!!

sunglasses_and_ocean_waves

286 was my weight when i first logged into the MFP app, atho i'm certain i broke 290 and was already starting to lose when i found MFP. i started by lifting and then added walking for cardio and kept doing more as i lost more. i lost 2 pounds a week for a long time while simply eating to the calories that MFP gave me.

it really does work. good luck

I cannot imagine you out of shape. You just always seem so built.

liekewheeless

I'm a little more relaxed on my calories. I set my own at what I know if a deficit but then give myself a range with a 200 calorie difference. Both numbers keep me at a deficit, one is just bigger. When I get to the higher end, I try to make sure I work out, but I work out most days anyway.

I just don't like having to worry about 5 calories over or under my goal. As long as I'm in the range I set for my self I'm good.

sculli123

I leave them out. I used a TDEE calculator to find my base. Then I started out by eating about 500 calories less than the TDEE number. As I progressed I eventually ate about 700 calories less than my TDEE. I never 'ate back' my calories because TDEE figures it in already. Also, once I got down to 2000 calories I knew I wasn't willing to eat less than that (done it before but was less effective). Instead of eating less at that point, I just increased my cardio until I was losing again.

I did this very slowly but I hit my goal a little over a week ago.

Now I'm reverse dieting up to my TDEE over the next several week. So in week one I ate 2100 caloires. Next week I'll eat 2200 calories.....until I get to about 2700 calories which is my base.

stupidloser

I eat back the carbs I burn thru exercise because I set my maintainence calories to sedentary otherwise if I set my maintainece cals to very active then those exercise calories are accounted for.

SezxyStef

I atually did not eat back my calories last night, and I was full and feeling good when I went to bed!!! I had over 900 cal left to eat and 707 were extra from working out. So I actually came in under what my cal intake was suppose to be for the day. I actually ate things yesterday, that I normaly don't eat. Very encouraging to me!

Thanks for all the suggestions!! It is day 2 for me, and I have already made changes!!!

The problem with not meeting goal and not eating back exercise calories is when you go to exercise the next time you may not have the energy for it...

Think of your daily goal as the number to come close to but not go over...if you do that you will lose weight...

The exercise you do for health are extras that you used to fuel that exercise and you need to fill up the gas tank for the next time...sort of like a car.

Just because you aren't on empty with the car if you don't keep putting gas in it...you will eventually run out of gas and be stuck...

Goal should be to eat as much as you can and still lose the weight you want...not eat as little as you can and feel like crap cause you have no energy.

I use TDEE as well but only switched to that after being here for 3 months and knowing that I was on a consistent track for exercise and activity.

However I find most calculators, esp scooby, over estimate...so take that with a grain of salt...

DavPul

At the risk of confusing the OP, I'd like to point out that people who use the TDEE method (like myself) ARE eating back their exercise calories. They just put them in before they worked out instead of after. At the heart of it TDEE and the mfp method are the same thing in that over the course of a week you'll eat about the same amount.

It's not that we aren't eating our calories back; it's that we make an assumption on what they will be and then include in our daily eating plan as opposed to manually entering them each day and eating different amounts each day.

sculli123

At the risk of confusing the OP, I'd like to point out that people who use the TDEE method (like myself) ARE eating back their exercise calories. They just put them in before they worked out instead of after. At the heart of it TDEE and the mfp method are the same thing in that over the course of a week you'll eat about the same amount.

It's not that we aren't eating our calories back; it's that we make an assumption on what they will be and then include in our daily eating plan as opposed to manually entering them each day and eating different amounts each day.

At the heart of it you're right. But I see way too many people failing by using the MFP automatic method and eating their calories back.

mchlsmit

If you use an online calculator to work out your base metabolic rate (BMR) and the number of calories you need to burn to lose fat it will include your exercise amounts (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). You can then use MFP to track your nutrition manually and set your calorie and nutrition levels (I use 50% Carbs, 30% Protein and 20% Fat). I would suggest that you need to up your intensity to an hour of walking three times a week or even better 30-40 mins of cardio at an elevated heart rate. You should also add in some resistance training a couple of times a week.

I don't record my resistance training or cardio as MFP deducts them which I don't want.

eric5577

I tend to walk at least 2miles, if not more when I do walk. 30min is the min I would do, also depends on time. When I hit the gym, been some time, I use the bike for 10min to warm up. Then hit the elliptical for 20min, then end with 30-40min on the treadmill where the incline changes.

I use to walk and add short burts of running, but I have arthritis is my knee, and it flares up at times, the pavement is not my friend....As you can tell, I enjoy the outdoor activites more than the gym.