If I have 100lb to lose, should I still eat back burned calo

ryan160

I know this probably sounds like a question thats been asked 1000 times fold before. However I am wondering if I should eat them back if I have a lot of weight to lose(100lb..)

Thank you..

Hype

As far as im aware yes you should, i have 60 something to loose, and i ate them back this week and still lost 5lb

If you dont eat them back, you will send ya body into starvation mode....which make it wanna keep those unwanted lbs

staceyo1211

Yes, your body will go into starvation mode if your not giving it the number of calories it needs.

Nataliethin81

Yes, that rule applies to all trying to lose weight!

StabR80

I know this probably sounds like a question thats been asked 1000 times fold before. However I am wondering if I should eat them back if I have a lot of weight to lose(100lb..)

Thank you..

Great question, I have wondered the same thing

Bump

ShelleyBowman

Here is a great post explaining the whole "eat your calories" theory... it is from a knowledgeable MFP member we call "Banks"

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

Best wishes!

jrt9999

This website is designed for that yes... However, you will get many folks on here saying both yes and no.

I do. I view eating cals for gaining and or losing weight. Exercise is only to build strength, both muscle and cardiovascular. So I eat back the calories to keep my workouts fueled. Plus you obviously can get your body more nutrients the more you eat.

I lose weight the exact same pace when I work out or not.

Good luck

anubis609

You may refer to the site on my sig for clarification, but yes. Even if you have an excess amount of weight that could withstand not eating back your exercise calories, doing it right the first time around is more beneficial for your body. Especially if you're there's a question of excess or loose skin later on. Doing it slowly will minimize the skin issue, on top of the fact that incorporating strength training for muscle retention and building lean muscle mass in order to burn fat more effectively, will also help.

RyonsLions2

That was a great question... the only dumb question is the one that isn't asked?? Right? I just ate something and I feel stuffed, but it was only part of my exercise calories so I am supposedly ok to eat them. I am wondering about that... if you are not really hungry when you eat them, even though they are allowed, should you do it even if you are not hungry???

trixylewis

i never have, i just joined this site. ive been loosing weight snce christmas, 23 pounds and 25 inches off in 3 months

EricJonrosh

Everyone's going to say YES YES YES! Always eat back your exercise calories. The problem it, you do have a lot of stored fat to burn, and most professionals I've consulted said NO!!! The only ones who say YES are people on forums, and it seems to have worked for some of them.

That said: If you DO eat your exercise calories, make sure you really burned 2,500 calories "running errands" and doing "light house cleaning" before you break open that box of donuts. It's VERY subjective and difficult to know what your true cals were. DO NOT TRUST MFP's "peer built" exercise calorie database. It will tell you you burned 900 calories riding your bike leisurely for 30 minutes.

jrt9999

Everyone's going to say YES YES YES! Always eat back your exercise calories. The problem it, you do have a lot of stored fat to burn, and most professionals I've consulted said NO!!! The only ones who say YES are people on forums, and it seems to have worked for some of them.

That said: If you DO eat your exercise calories, make sure you really burned 2,500 calories "running errands" and doing "light house cleaning" before you break open that box of donuts. It's VERY subjective and difficult to know what your true cals were. DO NOT TRUST MFP's "peer built" exercise calorie database. It will tell you you burned 900 calories riding your bike leisurely for 30 minutes.

Actually Crazy Steve, not only do people on forums say this but this site is designed this way. Why do you think it adds calories back to eat when you input the burns?

With that said everyone should find their own way, while weeding out the advice they dot not want.

LovelySnugs

yeah, the link in Phil's sig will provide the most information, but the way it works out for me is this: if i have a deficit for the day of 1000 calories or more, i'm gonna eat them back.

in fact, i JUST changed my goal thingie to "lose 2 lbs a week", so the website builds in that deficit. so, i try to eat back all my exercise calories. i, also have 100lbs+ to lose.

the other rule of thumb: if your net calories are under 1200 or 1300 (ish), you probably wanna eat those calories back. the way that seems to work best is to plan your workout, and just add a few calories to each meal or 1 to 2 extra snacks. thataway, you don't end up having like 600 calories left at the end of the day when you're not hungry. i'm sure someone will show up and say get a heart rate monitor to track your exercise, and i agree. the calorie calculator onsite is sometimes WAAYYY off.

hope that helps.

xlacijeanx

I DON'T eat back my exercise calories. I started with over 100 lbs as my goal. It's been a little over 2 months and I am 35 lbs down. There's no way I could stuff my face after a hard workout to BURN those cals. It's about a deficit. I have read stuff over and over on MFP about eating exercise cals back- but ask a dietician or nutritionist- to lose weight you simply need to burn more calories than you consume- of course this means eating healthy foods, and staying active! I myself eat 1200-1300 cals a day and exercise at least 40 mins a day. I am not in starvation mode- My hair, skin & nails are all healthier- I have more energy and I'm losing weight steadily. To each their own, but didn't stuffing our faces when we have no appetite get us here in the first place? I simply don't have the appetite for more food (I did the first 3 weeks or so). I'm not going to eat when my body clearly is telling me I'm not hungry. Unless you have a Heart Rate Monitor the calorie burns on MFP can be a little off- so if you do eat them back- I suggest checking on other sites to calculate an average

Jade_Butterfly

I DON'T eat back my exercise calories. I started with over 100 lbs as my goal. It's been a little over 2 months and I am 35 lbs down. There's no way I could stuff my face after a hard workout to BURN those cals. It's about a deficit. I have read stuff over and over on MFP about eating exercise cals back- but ask a dietician or nutritionist- to lose weight you simply need to burn more calories than you consume- of course this means eating healthy foods, and staying active! I myself eat 1200-1300 cals a day and exercise at least 40 mins a day. I am not in starvation mode- My hair, skin & nails are all healthier- I have more energy and I'm losing weight steadily. To each their own, but didn't stuffing our faces when we have no appetite get us here in the first place? I simply don't have the appetite for more food (I did the first 3 weeks or so). I'm not going to eat when my body clearly is telling me I'm not hungry. Unless you have a Heart Rate Monitor the calorie burns on MFP can be a little off- so if you do eat them back- I suggest checking on other sites to calculate an average

Very well stated m'dear, and you are so right! Way to go lace!~

TracieJ65

So how about hearing from someone who HAS lost 102 pounds! YES! I did! In the beginning I ONLY exercised to have more calories to eat! The longer you do this the more, and harder, you will find you work out, and the harder it WILL be to eat them back, but until you get there eat them! Now the only time I would say don't eat them is if it is later in the evening, you have calories leftover, and you are just not hungry! Don't eat calories to just eat calories as that defeats the purpose of what we are trying to teach ourselves!

In the beginning it was all I could do to put in a good 15-20 minute walk and burn 100-125 calories so you bet I wanted/needed those calories. Then I was doing 30-40 minute walks, or bike rides, and burning 200-225 calories so yes still pretty much eating the calories but my stomach was also shrinking so I didn't DEPEND on them as much. Now I am working out 75-90 minutes per day, everyday, and burning anywhere between 750-950 calories per day, my stomach is a lot smaller, and I am NOT eating all of my calories back! I just had a cup of coffee and a container of yoplait, it's 9:15p, and I have over 800 calories left, so it is a safe bet I am not going to be eating those calories!

TracieJ65

Oh, by the way, when MFP determines your calories allotted, per day, based on your goals, they already put you at a 500 calorie per day deficit! So you are already at a deficit!

katerinab

I've been working on losing weight for about 7 months now. For most of that, I refused to even touch my exercise calories and wouldn't even eat all my regular calories, and I was losing good amounts of weight. And I would find that when I even approached eating my exercise calories, my body would hold onto like 5 pounds, I swear. Then I hit a plateau....a month long plateau. So I've decided that I need to try something different, so I'm now eating all my calories plus most, if not all, my exercise calories every day, and my body is actually cooperating with me.

So what I've found is that you need to just kind of experiment, learn your body, figure out its patterns, and find what it wants. For a long time, my body didn't want to follow the norm. Now it does.

misslynnpenn

I am also having a hard time eating my calories back. I think it is partially do to the amount of water I've been drinking. Prior to joining I never drank this much water (BAD-had kidney stones), but I have been working very hard to get in at least my 8 glasses a day. Today I have the highest deficit I have ever had of over 1300 calories and I just ate because my deficit was more than the amount I was suppose to eat for the entire day. i am very full now and couldn't eat another bite if I wanted to. I will read all of your suggestions so that I can figure out the best way to stay balanced. Great question by the way.

monkeyboy881

there s nothing i can say that cant be said what thats the beatles ... that hasnt been said eat as much back as you can but just eat till your full dont worry soo much about every cal .... just make sure the cals you do eat back are not empty cals ... i work out super hard every sat playing bball and i get a total of 4500 or so cals to eat i have never ate all those back a slow steady loss is way more beneficial than rapid weight loss

kacarter1017

As far as im aware yes you should, i have 60 something to loose, and i ate them back this week and still lost 5lb

If you dont eat them back, you will send ya body into starvation mode....which make it wanna keep those unwanted lbs

Yep

ladyhawk00

A couple of people have mentioned "other plans" or "trainers/dietitians" saying you should not eat them - this is because most plans and trainers or dietitians use a different kind of calculation than MFP.

"MFP generates a BUILT IN CALORIE DEFICIT to allow for weight loss, regardless of exercise.

This is different than many calorie counters/weight loss programs, or the way that many trainers set up a plan. These other plans usually take your “intended exercise” and use that to create a deficit, keeping your daily cal goal static. Therefore, with other plans, you would not replace calories you burn through exercise. MFP is different and you CANNOT compare them, unless you’re prepared to do some calculations to get apples vs. apples and not apples vs. oranges.

MFP is designed to have you log purposeful exercise each day, as you complete it, and for you to EAT THOSE ADDITIONAL CALORIES. This helps keep you more accountable, motivated and prompts support (all those WTG’s on your status go a long way.) If you do not replace the calories added for exercise, you make your deficit larger than you (presumably) intended. A larger deficit will not necessarily provide for faster weight loss – it will likely lead to feelings of deprivation, binges, irregular blood sugar levels, poor nutrition and bad eating habits - and is one of the key reasons why people give up or regain weight."

For more....Please read these threads that explain how MFP works, metabolism, and why it's important to fuel the body.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat

As well as the other thread mentioned PP and the link. All MUST reads!

kimcat73

As always, well said Ladyhawke:) I love the MFP way and I couldn't do this without eating my exercise calories because I do not feel deprived.

DancingFox

Listen to ladyhawk00 there. She knows what's up.

PJilly

Beautifully said, ladyhawk, as always.

Sunsh1ne

Yes, but the caveat is that you need to make sure you're getting the most accurate numbers possible on the burn. I'd suggest investing in a heart rate monitor and a pedometer. Use the pedometer to calculate your general activity level, and use the heart rate monitor to count the calories you burn during exercise. MFP's database and the HRMs built into most gym machines are not accurate for all people, or even most people, because the best they can do is represent the average.

Christine1110

Make sure you have a HRM to count the calories you burn....or you may be eating back more then you should : )

TrainerRobin

Much of what has been posted here is good advice, IF you weed out any of the advice that promoted a "one size fits all" answer. The truth is that this subject is infinitely more complex than one might think, and isn't conducive to a simple yes or no answer. I know that I will sound like the lawyer that I admittedly am, but the best answer is "it depends." For a little insight into this subject, read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TrainerRobin/view/myth-or-fact-calories-in-versus-calories-out-3500-calories-one-pound-and-should-i-eat-my-exercise-calories-62012

When the best (and I mean intensively trained and constantly retrained with new information/data) personal trainers guide their clients into a situation where they are not (always) eating back their exercise calories, they are doing this based on information that most folks aren't considering. They know the ongoing changes to their client's body composition (did the client actually put on added muscle in the last week or did he/she lose lean muscle mass?), they've viewed the client's food diary (food choices are relevant as are calories), and they understand that the body only goes into the "starvation mode" under certain circumstances (it's more complicated than just a calorie deficit and involves factors like time of deficit, etc.).

So if you are working with a knowledgeable personal trainer, it's likely you will have excellent results (weight loss and improved body composition) even with working with calorie deficits created by (at least occasionally) not eating back your exercise calories. I've NEVER had anyone fail to lose weight when a calorie deficit approach including not eating back exercise calories was an informed, strategic one. But one must be smart about it.

That said, the "safest" (although admittedly not necessarily the quickest) approach for MOST people, going it alone, is the simple 500 calorie a day deficit (which means consistently eating back your exercise calories) because it will net an average one pound a week weight loss and will minimize loss of lean muscle mass in people who aren't aggressively managing that aspect of their physical transformation (but are mostly just concerned with their weight on the scale -- don't get me started on THAT subject!).

Hope that is at least somewhat helpful. :flowerforyou:

NatalieWinning

A couple of people have mentioned "other plans" or "trainers/dietitians" saying you should not eat them - this is because most plans and trainers or dietitians use a different kind of calculation than MFP.

"MFP generates a BUILT IN CALORIE DEFICIT to allow for weight loss, regardless of exercise.

This is different than many calorie counters/weight loss programs, or the way that many trainers set up a plan. These other plans usually take your “intended exercise” and use that to create a deficit, keeping your daily cal goal static. Therefore, with other plans, you would not replace calories you burn through exercise. MFP is different and you CANNOT compare them, unless you’re prepared to do some calculations to get apples vs. apples and not apples vs. oranges.

MFP is designed to have you log purposeful exercise each day, as you complete it, and for you to EAT THOSE ADDITIONAL CALORIES. This helps keep you more accountable, motivated and prompts support (all those WTG’s on your status go a long way.) If you do not replace the calories added for exercise, you make your deficit larger than you (presumably) intended. A larger deficit will not necessarily provide for faster weight loss – it will likely lead to feelings of deprivation, binges, irregular blood sugar levels, poor nutrition and bad eating habits - and is one of the key reasons why people give up or regain weight."

For more....Please read these threads that explain how MFP works, metabolism, and why it's important to fuel the body.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat

As well as the other thread mentioned PP and the link. All MUST reads!

Well said. You got your deficite already in MFP. You want lean muscle you have to feed yourself. Slow and steady wins this race. It's not an extreme diet or a yo-yo effect. You are building a body and a lifestyle. Learning how to make good choices and feed yourself, while keeping active. Keep those calories healthy ones. That doesn't mean eat a poptart to make up the deficite, it means you need to feed your body with something to build on. Whole grains, less ingredients, real fruits and vegetables, dump the processed foods and refined sugars.

It's not temporary, it's a whole life change so you keep going in the right direction. Eating more when you do more, eating less when you do less. Follow the guidelines honestly and you can't help but be a "loser". A healthy, permanent change. It takes time. Good things take time. So it takes a year or 2, you will be 10 or more years ahead afterward anyway! Look at it in the long term and it's actually pretty fast to go slow!

FearAnLoathing

I very rarely eat mine,I never feel deprived I eat well.But its my choice and im happy and healthy.I have tons of energy.Ive lost 50 pounds since last april so im in no way losing weight to fast.

DoReMiFaSoLaTiDo

I DON'T eat back my exercise calories. I started with over 100 lbs as my goal. It's been a little over 2 months and I am 35 lbs down. There's no way I could stuff my face after a hard workout to BURN those cals. It's about a deficit. I have read stuff over and over on MFP about eating exercise cals back- but ask a dietician or nutritionist- to lose weight you simply need to burn more calories than you consume- of course this means eating healthy foods, and staying active! I myself eat 1200-1300 cals a day and exercise at least 40 mins a day. I am not in starvation mode- My hair, skin & nails are all healthier- I have more energy and I'm losing weight steadily. To each their own, but didn't stuffing our faces when we have no appetite get us here in the first place? I simply don't have the appetite for more food (I did the first 3 weeks or so). I'm not going to eat when my body clearly is telling me I'm not hungry. Unless you have a Heart Rate Monitor the calorie burns on MFP can be a little off- so if you do eat them back- I suggest checking on other sites to calculate an average

I dont "eat" them back but I will drink apple cider or OJ to before and after a workout to add calories and to give me a quick energy boost...