My take on exercise calories (please read if you are new!!)

JesaGrace

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the math of it....I eat the exercise calories...

Maxylicious

Wow for the first time I truly understand what the plan is here. Not only do I not make my MFP 1200 calorie goal (only eat about 800 calories), I also burn almost 900 calories each day working out. I guess I've been starving myself for weeks without even realizing it. I just assumed as long as I eat 3 healthy meals (mostly salad) and a snack I was fine, but i guess not.

If i eat 800c but burn 900c, then my body probably assumes i haven't eaten all day. Wow. Now i know what people mean by starvation mode. Lately its been getting harder to drop the lbs. Could this be why???

virginiagomes

reading tomorrow

whatupskinnyjeans

I do agree that MFP starts us out with a deficit and perhaps all exercise calories should be eaten. The real problem comes in trying to accurately come up with how many calories were actually burned. I know that I can go for a 45 minute FAST walk in a very hilly neighborhood and my HRM will say I burned something like 450 calories. If I put in a fast walk into MFP it will give me over 600 calories. Which of those do I trust. Personally, I really feel like both are probably overestimates. I don't want to eat 600 extra calories for a 45 minute walk. If I would have been sitting around the house for that 45 minutes I would have burned about 70-80 calories so I definitely need to subtract these from whatever I "eat back". I don't know if everyone does this, but regardless of how badly I want to credit myself with a tremendous amount of calories burned, it doesn't help my weight loss if the number isn't accurate. I usually give myself half of what my HRM says and try to eat that much. It keeps my net calories around 1200. I know that heart rate monitors are the best estimate we have, but even they just estimate. There is really no way to know.

Yes I agree 100%. u burn calories just by breathing. I try to eat 1200 calories... N the earlier in the dAy the better to get my metabolism moving

dkanli

Thanks for that I was getting a little confused and felt guilty about eating back my exercise calories. Now it all makes sense. This is only my first week but I love MFP already - the iphone app is awesome.

Davali

I still don't get it, but believe it and will follow it. Only just (as in yesterday/today) introducing exercise into the mix and I don't want to stall at the first hurdle.

Thanks everyone for being so informative - I do feel like the class dunce on here.....

biged335

Thanks for the post... But it's so hard for me to eat back my calories... I might be a big man but I've never been a huge eater. That's not what put the weight on. I have to eat 2020 cals just to hit my goal without taking out for exercise. Eating that many heathly calories is hard work. I get tired of eating. But I'm glad I was told about this website, so I've been able to kick my intake up.

Celo24

Wow for the first time I truly understand what the plan is here. Not only do I not make my MFP 1200 calorie goal (only eat about 800 calories), I also burn almost 900 calories each day working out. I guess I've been starving myself for weeks without even realizing it. I just assumed as long as I eat 3 healthy meals (mostly salad) and a snack I was fine, but i guess not.

If i eat 800c but burn 900c, then my body probably assumes i haven't eaten all day. Wow. Now i know what people mean by starvation mode. Lately its been getting harder to drop the lbs. Could this be why???

Absolutely. You haven't been giving your body enough fuel to do what it needs. Start eating some more and I'm betting you turn a corner pretty quickly.

Celo24

Thanks for the post... But it's so hard for me to eat back my calories... I might be a big man but I've never been a huge eater. That's not what put the weight on. I have to eat 2020 cals just to hit my goal without taking out for exercise. Eating that many heathly calories is hard work. I get tired of eating. But I'm glad I was told about this website, so I've been able to kick my intake up.

I definitely understand. Now that I am in maintenance, I have 2220 calories to eat daily (before exercise) and it is tough!! Nuts, peanut/almond butter, avocado, chocolate milk, cottage cheese, string cheese....some of the things I keep around to try and kick up my calories but still eat healthy. Once you figure out what works for you, it DOES get easier.

zoezoe11

Wow - that's great. I am quite new to the site, but have tried losing wieght in the past and had same problems: eating about 1200 calories a day, exercising daily and burning 400-600 calories daily and then feeling very deprived a few days later, and ending up eating a lot more than I planned. I am on a 1200 calorie plan and burn about 400-500 calories daily now and i eat most of my calories back. I aim for 4-5 lbs a month weight loss and don't feel deprived at all! Good luck!

NYCDutchess

Bump.

Thanks.

north35

Thanks!!

LacheleG

Thanks so much! I wasnt adding my excercise bc i didnt know! so I'm glad its not a question ne more!

princess4mimi

BUMP!!!!

FK1983

No.... don't do it . Exercising doesn't mean you should go and eat more food. You exercised to get rid of those calories

Someone finally sees sense!
The whole exercise calories thing is the only part I really don't like on this site, you go to your doctor and tell them your going to work off 500 calories just to eat them all back a few hours later, he would think you are mad....

I never have and NEVER will, 107lbs down in 6 months shows you don't have to eat them back to get results, and no, I haven't lost any muscle mass, I've gained loads of muscle over the last few months! :drinker:

Celo24

No.... don't do it . Exercising doesn't mean you should go and eat more food. You exercised to get rid of those calories

Someone finally sees sense!
The whole exercise calories thing is the only part I really don't like on this site, you go to your doctor and tell them your going to work off 500 calories just to eat them all back a few hours later, he would think you are mad....

I never have and NEVER will, 107lbs down in 6 months shows you don't have to eat them back to get results, and no, I haven't lost any muscle mass, I've gained loads of muscle over the last few months! :drinker:

I would agree that your doctor would say you're nuts in that situation. However, what you aren't factoring in there is the deficit that MFP already gives you. THAT is why you eat the exercise calories. Having too much of a deficit can be dangerous. Too many people either forget about the MFP deficit already being in there or don't realize it in the first place. Good for you that you have done such a great job. You definitely deserve to be proud. But the majority of the people using this site need to eat those calories in order to achieve their goals.

SHBoss1673

No.... don't do it . Exercising doesn't mean you should go and eat more food. You exercised to get rid of those calories

Someone finally sees sense!
The whole exercise calories thing is the only part I really don't like on this site, you go to your doctor and tell them your going to work off 500 calories just to eat them all back a few hours later, he would think you are mad....

I never have and NEVER will, 107lbs down in 6 months shows you don't have to eat them back to get results, and no, I haven't lost any muscle mass, I've gained loads of muscle over the last few months! :drinker:

couple of things here. Firstly, yes, if you just walk into your doctors office and tell him "I'm trying to lose weight, so I'm exercising to burn X calories and then eating those calories back." of course he/she is going to question your methods. That's why you first must explain that MFP assigns you a calorie deficit regardless of whether you exercise or not. If you do so, and tell your doctor that you're planning to lose X number of lbs a week and will be eating at a Y deficit to do so, and exercising will be extra calories, then I'll bet he/she changes their tune.
@FK, if you think it's wrong to do this, then I suggest that you maybe don't fully understand the model that MFP uses. MFP works, trust me, I've analyzed this method up and down, and as a personal trainer, I understand the in's and outs of exercise and calorie burn. Whether or not you lost weight using a different method is irrelevant (and I'm not belittling your success, I congratulate you for it wholeheartedly), the method espoused by MFP is perfectly valid and healthy. I submit that it's actually more healthy than most plans if you set your plan up correctly as it forces you to think not only about gross calories (a mistake many make) but NET calories, which is far more relevant to weight loss.

Aside from that, I would also like to give you an open offer to confer with me in private email as to your other concepts, there are some things you should probably know that it sounds like you may not be aware of.

best wishes,

-Banks

FK1983

couple of things here. Firstly, yes, if you just walk into your doctors office and tell him "I'm trying to lose weight, so I'm exercising to burn X calories and then eating those calories back." of course he/she is going to question your methods. That's why you first must explain that MFP assigns you a calorie deficit regardless of whether you exercise or not. If you do so, and tell your doctor that you're planning to lose X number of lbs a week and will be eating at a Y deficit to do so, and exercising will be extra calories, then I'll bet he/she changes their tune.
@FK, if you think it's wrong to do this, then I suggest that you maybe don't fully understand the model that MFP uses. MFP works, trust me, I've analyzed this method up and down, and as a personal trainer, I understand the in's and outs of exercise and calorie burn. Whether or not you lost weight using a different method is irrelevant (and I'm not belittling your success, I congratulate you for it wholeheartedly), the method espoused by MFP is perfectly valid and healthy. I submit that it's actually more healthy than most plans if you set your plan up correctly as it forces you to think not only about gross calories (a mistake many make) but NET calories, which is far more relevant to weight loss.

Aside from that, I would also like to give you an open offer to confer with me in private email as to your other concepts, there are some things you should probably know that it sounds like you may not be aware of.

best wishes,

-Banks

I fully understand the model and everything about the way in which it works but going by past personal experience, I have fully tried and tested BOTH ways, first was eating the exercise calories a few years ago, and then there is my current plan which does NOT allow ANY exercise calories to be eaten.

Results for me?
First diet/plan (eating exercise calories) - Total lost was 25lbs over 6 months
Current diet/plan (not eating exercise calories) - Total lost so far 109lbs in 6 months

It's also worth noting that last time I gained back all the weight within a year, we will see how well I do this time but I am more than confident that I will be staying at my ideal weight for a long time yet.


I am currently by far in the best shape I have EVER been in, something I thought was not possible for me, I exercise everyday, eat well but healthy, always have lots of energy ready to use, I also have more muscle then I thought possible, so yeah, I'm more than impressed in the way my plan has gone, a plan which doesn't allow you to eat back your exercise calories.

I'm not saying the mfp way doesn't work but I'm also making it clear that other ways can work just as well if not better, sorry if that is hard to accept.

SHBoss1673

I fully understand the model and everything about the way in which it works but going by past personal experience, I have fully tried and tested BOTH ways, first was eating the exercise calories a few years ago, and then there is my current plan which does NOT allow ANY exercise calories to be eaten.

Results for me?
First diet/plan (eating exercise calories) - Total lost was 25lbs over 6 months
Current diet/plan (not eating exercise calories) - Total lost so far 109lbs in 6 months

It's also worth noting that last time I gained back all the weight within a year, we will see how well I do this time but I am more than confident that I will be staying at my ideal weight for a long time yet.


I am currently by far in the best shape I have EVER been in, something I thought was not possible for me, I exercise everyday, eat well but healthy, always have lots of energy ready to use, I also have more muscle then I thought possible, so yeah, I'm more than impressed in the way my plan has gone, a plan which doesn't allow you to eat back your exercise calories.

I'm not saying the mfp way doesn't work but I'm also making it clear that other ways can work just as well if not better, sorry if that is hard to accept.

the reason why I posted is because you implied, rather strenuously, that the mfp way didn't work. I.E. you said

QUOTE:

"Someone finally sees sense!
The whole exercise calories thing is the only part I really don't like on this site, you go to your doctor and tell them your going to work off 500 calories just to eat them all back a few hours later, he would think you are mad....

I never have and NEVER will, 107lbs down in 6 months shows you don't have to eat them back to get results, and no, I haven't lost any muscle mass, I've gained loads of muscle over the last few months! "

Now, regardless of what you meant, read this back and really look at it. To the impartial observer, you are basically saying that eating exercise calories is "mad" (first paragraph)
and
the remainder makes it sound like you don't think the method works at all.

All I'm requesting is to please be aware that this site is built around a method, a method that works, you can choose to use it or not, but cheering someone on (I.E. you said "Someone finally sees sense!") for denouncing our method is just not very forum friendly IMHO.
If you want to use other methods for weight loss, fine, I'm glad you can find a way that works for you. But please try to refrain from denigrating the method that this site is built around.

regards,
Banks

FK1983

the reason why I posted is because you implied, rather strenuously, that the mfp way didn't work. I.E. you said

QUOTE:

"Someone finally sees sense!
The whole exercise calories thing is the only part I really don't like on this site, you go to your doctor and tell them your going to work off 500 calories just to eat them all back a few hours later, he would think you are mad....

I never have and NEVER will, 107lbs down in 6 months shows you don't have to eat them back to get results, and no, I haven't lost any muscle mass, I've gained loads of muscle over the last few months! "

Now, regardless of what you meant, read this back and really look at it. To the impartial observer, you are basically saying that eating exercise calories is "mad" (first paragraph)
and
the remainder makes it sound like you don't think the method works at all.

All I'm requesting is to please be aware that this site is built around a method, a method that works, you can choose to use it or not, but cheering someone on (I.E. you said "Someone finally sees sense!") for denouncing our method is just not very forum friendly IMHO.
If you want to use other methods for weight loss, fine, I'm glad you can find a way that works for you. But please try to refrain from denigrating the method that this site is built around.

regards,
Banks

As your well aware, each and every member on this site is entitled to their own views and opinions whether you agree to them or not as long as it doesn't break any of the sites rules, I will not change this stance because you don't like it.

And to be clear, I have NEVER said the MFP plan doesn't work, I said other ways can work just as well and sometimes better (in my experience), I have never stopped anyone from going ahead with the MFP plan but at the same time I will not hide the fact that I have done very well with losing weight using another method but whilst still using MFP to track food/exercise etc.

I have never slagged the MFP plan off or any other plan for that matter so please don't put words in my mouth, I will however double check how I word things in future for the more sensitive members here.