Earned calories for exercising

fitnesstanyam

When you earn calories for exercising, should you try to eat them all or is it okay to stay under? I understand that I need to fuel my body for the exercise but consuming upwards of 2000 calories seems high. Can someone enlighten me?!

Dippydog

I try not to because I want to lose weight and it doesn't seem right to exercise and then eat back what you excercised. But I am no professiona, but this is what I am doing.

astovey

I usually don't just because I'm not positive baout how much I'm burning. I'm going to get a HRM soon so I will feel more comfortable eating some of those cals back. Sometimes I think people overestimate how much they are burning so they can eat a whole bunch of food that isn't any good for them.

meggonkgonk

I try not to because I want to lose weight and it doesn't seem right to exercise and then eat back what you excercised. But I am no professiona, but this is what I am doing.

You should try to eat these calories, (as healthily as possible). It's all based on how MFP is set up (it incorporates a deficit for you BEFORE working out):

MFP works a bit differently than most calorie/point counters. Most nutrition plans incorporate workouts into your overall activity level- ie I have a desk job, but if I workout 5 days a week most plans would put me at "lightly active". This would figure into my daily calorie goal - so most nutritionists would probably recommend that I eat 1500-1800 calories everyday, regardless of my workout. MFP has you manually account for specific workouts or anything outside your normal level of activity, so you get a lower "starting goal" everyday (so you continue to lose regardless of whether or not you workout), but when you workout more, you should be eating more.

This is where NET calories come into play. There is an equation on your homepage:

GOAL FOOD -(minus) EXERCISE =(equals) NET

Your goal, as far as MFP is set up, should be to get your NET calories to match your GOAL calories. The NET calories are a way of taking exercise into account, so that you eat enough to fuel your workout.

This has in turn become known as "eating your exercise calories" and is highly controversial because people believe that less calories = higher weight loss. But for many, if you do not eat enough on a daily basis, your body begins to shut down your metabolism so as to stave off possible hunger/starvation not only effectively stopping loss but also causing gains anytime one goes even minimally over on calories.

Sorry this was far more than you asked for but the context seemed relevant. Check out the boards (specifically the "NEWBIES PLEASE READ ME" if you need more info or any clarification.

reese66

If you search in the forums there are several threads about this. Good luck in your journey to a healthier you

ladyhawk00

Yes, MFP calculations intend for you to eat them to keep your built in deficit stable. Here are some threads that discuss it in more detail.

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

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

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

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/173853-an-objective-look-at-eating-exercise-calories

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

hpsnickers1

It does depend on how much you have to lose and what your calorie goal is. If MFP put your Daily Goal at 1200 then yes you want to eat back your exercise calories. For women the NET calories should stay above 1200 (I think it's 1600 for men) This is a general number for starvation mode and a good number to go by. At least don't stay under for more than a couple of days. Calorie restriction can have the opposite effect of what you want.

http://www.hussmanfitness.org/html/TPAdaptation.html (ignore that he seems to be talking to the low- and no-carb dieters).

The law of unintended consequences

Your body is an amazing feedback system aimed at balance and survival. Humans are at the top of the food chain because they are able to adapt to their environment. Every action produces a reaction. Every change in its environment triggers a survival response. It's important to keep that in mind when you plan your fitness program. If you treat your body as an enemy to be conquered, you'll produce unintended results.

For example, if you severely cut off the supply of food to your body, it will defend itself by slowing down its metabolism to survive starvation. The body will shed muscle mass the same way that you would throw cargo from a plane that was low on fuel, and it will reduce its thyroid activity to conserve energy. The body will also actually defend its fat stores. In anorexia, muscle loss can be so profound that fat as a percentage of body weight actually rises. Extreme carbohydrate restriction also causes muscle loss, dehydration, and slower metabolism, which is why even successful Atkins dieters can have a significant rebound in weight after they stop the diet (don't worry – the advice on this site will prevent that from happening).

As another example, if you put your body under stress through overexertion (my note: "this includes exercise - especially cardio!!") and lack of sleep, it will respond by slowing down, reducing muscle growth, and increasing your appetite for junk food, carbohydrates and fat. If you feed your body excessive amounts of sugar and quickly digested carbohydrates, and it will shut off its ability to burn fat until those sugars are taken out of the bloodstream.

This website will show you how to work with your body to quickly produce the changes you want. In order to do that, you need to take actions that push your body to adapt – to build strength, burn fat, and increase fitness. You need a training program, not an exercise routine. You need a nutrition plan, not a diet. You need a challenge, not a few good habits you usually try to follow except when you don't.


Setting the right goal

John Dewey once said that a problem well-stated is half-solved. If you want to reach your goal, you have to define it correctly. See, a lot of people say “I want to lose weight.” Well, if losing weight is your goal, go on a no-carb diet. You'll lose a lot of weight – some of it will be fat, a lot of it will be water, and a dangerous amount will be muscle tissue. You'll lose weight quickly, but you'll slow your metabolism and gain fat more quickly once you go off the diet. Trust me on this. I've been there, done that.

This is actually a pretty interesting site to read.

wewon

When you earn calories for exercising, should you try to eat them all or is it okay to stay under? I understand that I need to fuel my body for the exercise but consuming upwards of 2000 calories seems high. Can someone enlighten me?!

Okay, here is MY understanding, so take it with a grain of salt (make sure that you log that in your diary).

Your net calorie goal is already figured in, so mfp is expecting you to budget you calories with a deficit already calculated in.

When you exercise you are burning even more calories so you eat them back to maintain your pre-calculated deficit. If you go too far below that, then you are flirting with the dreaded "starvation mode".

Example -- if your calculated deficit is 500 cals, then the expected intake has that already baked in. If you burn off 500 cals due to exercise then you are 1000 calories below what you need and should add 500 cals to your diet.

SongbirdLandy

I don't usually eat all of my exercise calories, but I will eat some of them. I already feel like I am eating all day long, so it's hard for me to eat all of them.

kyddsox

It depends on what your goals are. When you look at your goals on here it should tell you if you do a certain amount of work and eat only a certain amount of calories you will lose a certain amount of weight in the week. Everyones body is different so its not a 100% exact science. If you exercise more and eat less in theory you should lose more weight. So if you are trying to lose more weight I recommend not eating the calories you burned for the day but stick to a certain diet and a certain amount of calories per day. Then you exercise will help more.

bpayne78

Play with your numbers. I know from previous experience that I have to eat my workout cals back (due to health issues I'm not working out right now). Try eating them all back for a while and see what happens. If you stall, then try eating back only 3/4, then to 1/2 if that doesn't work. You're in this for the long haul and in the long run it won't hurt you to play around with exercise cals for a while to find your body's optimum.

Hope this helps!

fitnesstanyam

Thank you all for the input! I think I'll just try it out and see what happens! If I'm not losing then I must be consuming too much!