New to MFP - eating back exercise calories?

Squirrel_52696

Hi all. I'm new to MFP. I just started this week. I downloaded it to my phone last month but just got around to actually starting it. I have problems making sure I get some exercise every day. Life just seems to take over sometimes! I love fresh fruit (bad, I know) and veggies. I am a big snacker. I'm pretty much okay with food during the day but from dinner time on it's a challenge.

I did have a serious question though: Does weight loss happen faster when eating back your exercise calories, or should I stick to my allotted calories and forget about the add ons exercise creates?

jamiek89

You just asked a very controversial question on this website haha. Go through the forums... You will find HEAPS!

xraychick77

it all depends.

i dont eat mine back...it doesnt bother fat loss or effect it in anyway..mostly is personal pref. if you still feel hungry or lack energy then by all means eat them back, or partially. if you dont..then no need to force food into yourself.

absolament

Eat back your calories to within 100. Make sure you are eating mostly nutritious calories. And get a heart rate monitor to determine a more accurate level of caloric burn during your exercises. Malnutrition will never get you healthy. You'll be surprised how many people are fixed on eating less than optimum and continue to complain about not losing weight or feeling deprived, tired, etc. You'll get some great articles in your news feed if you "like" Women's Health Magazine and SELF Magazine on Facebook. I can't determine if your a guy, but if you are I'm sure you'll find similar male magazines.

WifeMomDVM

The short answer is - you will lose faster at first, but then you may just be setting yourself up for un-fun starvation mode. Do things the healthy way - eat back your exercise calories. MFP already created a deficit for you. Aim to make your diary calories zero every day or between 100 under or over.

Eat clean, quality calories. Drink water. Exercise. Lift weights. You will be successful!

Kym1610

Check out this post

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

heaps of info in there

ladyhawk00

Welcome! Yes, MFP is designed for you to eat those additional cals as there is a built in deficit, regardless of exercise. Here are some threads that discuss the issue.

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

Celo24

The short answer is - you will lose faster at first, but then you may just be setting yourself up for un-fun starvation mode. Do things the healthy way - eat back your exercise calories. MFP already created a deficit for you. Aim to make your diary calories zero every day or between 100 under or over.

Eat clean, quality calories. Drink water. Exercise. Lift weights. You will be successful!

^^^This. A couple of other good threads about this in my signature. Good luck!

Alphastate

This question comes up too, too much. I am a personal trainer and most of my clients are set up on this site. I tell them not to even log their exercise because of this issue. There are main components to fitness: strength training, cardio, and diet. These should all be thought of as separate pieces to the puzzle but all essential when put together. If your goal is 1200 calories, then eat 1200 calories. Your cardio is simply "bonus" calories burned. Trust me, I have I clients that stick to their 1200-1500 calories and lose weight, before they were ever using this site. The idea that you can exercise off your extra calories does not create a lifestyle change, which takes all three components done separately.

Squirrel_52696

Yeah, I'm a woman and I've just had some issues with losing. There are days when I'm completely ravenous, and days like today where I've eaten like I normally have all my life - WELL below caloric intake. I do limit my junk. Despite all my weight gain it would appear that I have maintained a LOT of my muscle mass (surprise to me and the dr). At least I know that if I'm still hungry I don't have to fret about eating them back, just to do it smartly.

Thanks for the links, I'll be sure to check them out.

robbiesangel

I have eaten back some of my calories a couple of times but that is usually on the nights that its impossible for us to cook at home. We can't cook at home on Monday or Wednesday nights, we have to eat out. I try to pick the healthiest options but its not always possible so then I exercise extra on the days I know I'm going to be eating out but for the most part I stick to the 1500 calories I'm alloted for the day.

ladyhawk00

This question comes up too, too much. I am a personal trainer and most of my clients are set up on this site. I tell them not to even log their exercise because of this issue. There are main components to fitness: strength training, cardio, and diet. These should all be thought of as separate pieces to the puzzle but all essential when put together. If your goal is 1200 calories, then eat 1200 calories. Your cardio is simply "bonus" calories burned. Trust me, I have I clients that stick to their 1200-1500 calories and lose weight, before they were ever using this site. The idea that you can exercise off your extra calories does not create a lifestyle change, which takes all three components done separately.

I would agree, in the case of how many trainers/plans set up a program. However, MFP works differently - it is designed for weight loss regardless of exercise, using a moderate, sustainable deficit. That is why there is a built in deficit based on the chosen loss per week goal. Replacing the cals added for exercise maintains that deficit and keeps weight loss steady, preventing too large of a deficit. A larger deficit is one of the reasons people feel deprived, binge, and quit. Which of course is counterproductive.

Celo24

This question comes up too, too much. I am a personal trainer and most of my clients are set up on this site. I tell them not to even log their exercise because of this issue. There are main components to fitness: strength training, cardio, and diet. These should all be thought of as separate pieces to the puzzle but all essential when put together. If your goal is 1200 calories, then eat 1200 calories. Your cardio is simply "bonus" calories burned. Trust me, I have I clients that stick to their 1200-1500 calories and lose weight, before they were ever using this site. The idea that you can exercise off your extra calories does not create a lifestyle change, which takes all three components done separately.

All due respect man, but if you are telling your clients not to eat their exercise calories, I'm not sure you understand how MFP is set up. MFP already builds in a deficit that allows for weight loss regardless of whether they ever burn a single calorie through exercise. Eating 1200 calories, then burning calories through cardio and not replacing them is NOT fueling the body properly and if that pattern is followed long term, it can potentially create some serious issues.

Alphastate

This question comes up too, too much. I am a personal trainer and most of my clients are set up on this site. I tell them not to even log their exercise because of this issue. There are main components to fitness: strength training, cardio, and diet. These should all be thought of as separate pieces to the puzzle but all essential when put together. If your goal is 1200 calories, then eat 1200 calories. Your cardio is simply "bonus" calories burned. Trust me, I have I clients that stick to their 1200-1500 calories and lose weight, before they were ever using this site. The idea that you can exercise off your extra calories does not create a lifestyle change, which takes all three components done separately.

I forgot to mention that most of my clients are given a 1200-1500 calorie range, and I typically adjust their caloric intake on here to be 1350. This gives them a little allowance to fluctuate up or down. I don't recommend going to far above or below these ranges.

Alphastate

Yeah I tend to type faster than I think. Check my reply to my own post. Like I said, however, my clients show success on 1200-1500 calorie diets without this site. I just use this to keep track of their food diaries.

jfrog5982

I'm fairly new to this site and wondered how that would work. However, after a rough HIIT day, I feel like I need a little more to make it through the rest of the day. I have my calories set to lose 1lb per week. On a day when all I do is lifting or am not working out (so my calories allowed are lower), I tend to hit about 90% of the calories allowed. On a day when I do HIIT, I'm allowed a LOT more calories, according to this site. My body feels like I need a little more, so I give it a few more healthy calories. I think I tend to eat an extra 300 calories on HIIT days which puts me over my base calories allowed, but that only puts me ~70-80% of my daily goal as calculated by this site. I'm on a pace to lose 2-3lbs a week with my current diet and workout schedule, so I'm happy with that.

StevLL

I was worried about that same question at first and now I try to stick to my goals lined out by my doctor. I do agree if you are working out vigorously then you need to replace some of those calories, but not all. Many years ago in a distant life I was a power lifter and I found that I did not fatigue from my workouts and cardio if I ate appropriately prior to the workout and then gave my body the proper protein and nutrients afterwards for recovery. As I have increased my workouts I log them for my personal knowledge but if by the evening I haven't comsumed all my calories I don't stuff myself to try and hit that mark. (which is weird for me since until recently I did not know what stuffed felt like, because I did not know what hungry felt like ) I do try to eat to support my workouts and that seems to work for me, but as weird as this sounds coming from me (no portion control) I have a hard time eating all my calories these days. We have pretty much eliminated processed foods other than spaghetti sauce or cereal. Most of our foods are fresh/raw, homemade and healthy. Who knew healthy food would actually fill me up better than a Carl's Jr. guacamole burger with fries (pretty much a days calories now) I do think it's important to get to know your body and how it responds to food with excercise and without and then make the right choice based on how you feel. If you don't experience fatigue or other negative symptoms from not eating your extra calories don't, but if you do then it might make sense to try to eat them in increasing increments until you find that right balance between feeling good and maintaining solid progress. Remember a computer program or even a certified trainer can't take the place of understanding one's own body. I know I have ignored my body yelling at me for years and now I'm listening intently, so I can stick around a while longer and be a p.i.t.a. :ohwell:

evensfall

I see a lot of people say that eating back 80% of their exercise calories works best for them. I'm inclined to think that the reality is their only burning 80% of the calories they think they are. Most exercise and fitness equipment overestimate the amount of cals you're burning by almost 30% and I have a feeling mfp does that sometimes too. What I like to do is subtract 20%-30% off my exercise totals and eat through those calories not the ones the machine told me I burnt.

haulewould

Truly, I kind of do what my body tells me. I know my target range and I know when I've eaten too much, as well as too little. I usually drink 18 cups of water a day and that helps me keep my calories in check. 1800 is my absolute minimum (non exercise days), but a lot of times 2500 seems like too much. MFP tells me 1900 without exercise and I usually don't subtract my exercise from my calories. However I will say this, the times that I've plateaued on this amount, increasing my calories seems to "mysteriously" knock the next few pounds off (weighing in the morning, once a week). I just play it by ear. When I'm hungry, I eat. When I'm not hungry (not quite full yet) I stop. I naturally end up between 1800 and 2200 when I do that.