Eating your exercise calories

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  • iverayna
    iverayna Posts: 48 Member
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    I have been so skiddish about eating burned calories but the simple fact is, That its not working. I am losing really really slow.. Tho i am down 26 pounds, I am eating 1460 every day and burning 1000+ everyday so thats only 460 calories for the WHOLE DAY! Simply not enough. Hello starvation mode.. So afraid to gain weight. But i get it now.. FINALLY.. Stubborn me. We have to add fuel to the fire or we wont run correctly. Making right choicees (hard as it is) on the foods you eat to make up those calories in replacement for the exercise, is up to us. We can eat sweet and salty things but it will sabbotage us in the end by making sugar go strait to fat and salt into water retention. We are already given an auntomatic 1000 calories defecit built into MFP so going beyond that will be too much of a risk. Cleaning however unless your really cleaning getting into it (which i do). I still dont burn 1000 cals. And i have a heart rate monitor.. Just my opinion.. Absolute best of luck to you.
  • stanvoodoo
    stanvoodoo Posts: 1,023 Member
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    Cleaning is not exercise, only exercise is exercise! The reasoning is you clean regularlly so your body is used to it, just like work, shopping and other household chores.

    If it was a special cleaning that is not part of the regular routine I would take a portion of it especially if it meant I was not gonna exercise that day.

    You don't want to overeat because you ate calories that are already taken into account when you set up your profile.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    I never eat my exercise calories. What would be the point? You're supposed to burn calories to lose weight so it wouldn't make sense to eat those calories. The point is is to lose the weight.

    The point is to keep your metabolism functioning safely. It is something you need to be aware of - its a difference between how MFP accounts for calories vs how other programs account for them. Most programs use exercise to create deficit, MFP works deficit in before you exercise. Check out the links below to better understand. MFP's goal for you is in NET calories:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    Other helpful links
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations
  • afleming22710
    afleming22710 Posts: 56 Member
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    Cleaning is not exercise, only exercise is exercise! The reasoning is you clean regularlly so your body is used to it, just like work, shopping and other household chores.

    If it was a special cleaning that is not part of the regular routine I would take a portion of it especially if it meant I was not gonna exercise that day.

    You don't want to overeat because you ate calories that are already taken into account when you set up your profile.

    I've been cleaning since 8am and it's now 2:30pm. I've stopped for maybe an hour to eat lunch and get online. So yes, I am going to count some of it.
  • LovelySnugs
    LovelySnugs Posts: 389
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    okay, so you're not using a heart rate monitor (that's what HRM stands for, by the way). one thing you should know is that the MFP estimates are often VERY high, especially for things that don't happen in controlled environments (like on an elliptical or whatever).

    i've found that you get the most accurate calorie count for exercise by accounting for only half your time (so i think you said 8 hours you've been cleaning, only count 4). eat back anywhere from 50% to 100%, depending on your preferences and needs.

    for more information, go to www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com.

    hope that helps!

    ETA: i just read where you said you'd started at 8, not that you'd been cleaning for 8 hours. but my statements still apply - count half your time, check out the website, eat back half or most.

    oh, and get a decent heart rate monitor when you get a chance. it will change your fitness plan in ways you never could've imagined.
  • V44V
    V44V Posts: 366 Member
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    I've done a 5km run and 400 metre swim today (only missing the bike part of a triathlon) and only burnt 714 calories. You burnt 1,000?

    Seems very high to me, from 8am to when and with what break for lunch etc?
  • afleming22710
    afleming22710 Posts: 56 Member
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    Oh, and just so everyone is aware, I never said I was going to eat an additional 1000 calories! I have a hard enough time eating my 1850 that I'm suppose to have daily. In my original post, I said I COULDN'T eat that much. I just wanted to know how the whole eating your exercise calories worked.
  • afleming22710
    afleming22710 Posts: 56 Member
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    I've done a 5km run and 400 metre swim today (only missing the bike part of a triathlon) and only burnt 714 calories. You burnt 1,000?

    Seems very high to me, from 8am to when and with what break for lunch etc?

    I've been cleaning since 8am and it's now 2:30pm. I've stopped for about an hour to eat lunch, put the kids down for a nap, and get online.

    I'm ONLY going by what MFP says.
  • V44V
    V44V Posts: 366 Member
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    I've done a 5km run and 400 metre swim today (only missing the bike part of a triathlon) and only burnt 714 calories. You burnt 1,000?

    Seems very high to me, from 8am to when and with what break for lunch etc?

    I've been cleaning since 8am and it's now 2:30pm. I've stopped for about an hour to eat lunch, put the kids down for a nap, and get online.

    I'm ONLY going by what MFP says.

    I just read back my post and it sounded a tad harsh... I just think MFP is way off there on that count :)
  • afleming22710
    afleming22710 Posts: 56 Member
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    I've done a 5km run and 400 metre swim today (only missing the bike part of a triathlon) and only burnt 714 calories. You burnt 1,000?

    Seems very high to me, from 8am to when and with what break for lunch etc?

    I've been cleaning since 8am and it's now 2:30pm. I've stopped for about an hour to eat lunch, put the kids down for a nap, and get online.

    I'm ONLY going by what MFP says.

    I just read back my post and it sounded a tad harsh... I just think MFP is way off there on that count :)

    I just recently joined MFP so I'm not exactly sure how the whole thing works yet. I'm definitely not going to eat an extra 1000 calories, lol.
  • V44V
    V44V Posts: 366 Member
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    It's 7.30pm here, I've had dinner, snacked all day, had a glass of red wine and I'm struggling to net 700 calories. Another 300 and I'll be on the way to happy!
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    Because it isn't cleaning you would normally do, I would log it at about 1/3 or 1/2 the time you actually did.

    When I go shopping or do something similarly nebulous in terms of logging I do a portion of the time so I can fuel myself, and not feel tired. If you clean like this regularly, change your settings up an activity level. If it's just for today, log/eat some of the cals, but don't stress about it because one day isn't going to make a difference in the long run.
  • wannabefree
    wannabefree Posts: 32 Member
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    I'm new to this and had never heard of eating back your calories, but it does work! I was limiting my calories and working out hard each day and I actually gained a couple of pounds! I read about your body going into starvation mode and figured that was what was happening to me. So the next day I ate more and rested and I actually lost a pound!
  • cat3nv
    cat3nv Posts: 389 Member
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    Counting cleaning is a little tricky. What do you have your settings set at? I am a SAHM and a full time student. I have my daily activity set to the lowest setting. Basically I have it set at couch potato. My classes on campus are as far from each other as they can be. I do not count that as exercise. I do count when I clean the kitchen or do the laundry because I get tired and sweaty.

    I do not count the whole time. MFP is a little off I think when it comes to the calories burned. If I clean for an hour I count it as 30-45 min. I also count it as light to moderate cleaning. I call it heavy cleaning when I am moving furniture around or cleaning out the garage.

    Good luck on your journey!
  • gtm124
    gtm124 Posts: 179
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    I never eat my exercise calories. What would be the point? You're supposed to burn calories to lose weight so it wouldn't make sense to eat those calories. The point is is to lose the weight.

    The point is to keep your metabolism functioning safely. It is something you need to be aware of - its a difference between how MFP accounts for calories vs how other programs account for them. Most programs use exercise to create deficit, MFP works deficit in before you exercise. Check out the links below to better understand. MFP's goal for you is in NET calories:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    Other helpful links
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

    Great links. Thanks for posting those. Being new to the site I have not had time to cruise the sticky posts yet. Your posts answer a concern I have had lately. I ride a road bike and on some days cycle 20-40 miles. At 16-18mph average including hill climbing I am burning a ton of calories, but yet I did not replenish. I would feel faint and weak. This site has giving me some idea know of how much I should eat not to mention the fact that by recording my food I am eating healthier.
  • iverayna
    iverayna Posts: 48 Member
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    I beg to differ.. There is a difference between cleaning and CLEANING.. I do cleaning all the time (like letting the dishwasher do the washing for me) but when you sweat washing walls down moving buckets around, scrub tubs/tiles floors, cleaning the blinds stuff like that.. Yes its work..
  • MelissaL582
    MelissaL582 Posts: 1,422 Member
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    I would have to agree with some of the comments. I'm a SAHM of 3 kids, so I'm always doing something. I don't log in my cleaning, only actual exercise. To me, it just seems like "you" want the extra calories to eat. MFP does estimate high with the calories burnt..so you have to be careful with that. If your daily calorie intake is 1850 (or whatever the amount is), that's a lot already. I wouldn't log in the cleaning. I think I've told you this before, as long as you don't eat less than 1200..you're fine. Now when I work out, I eat maybe half of what I burn and my daily intake is at 1540 a day.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    I only log cleaning when it is intense cleaning - like scrubbing bathtubs, cleaning floors on my hands and knees, washing walls, etc. The way I see it is -- the day to day cleaning that I do is logged in under my activity level. I won't count it as extra since I feel like it's already been logged in.

    There seems to be a lot of discussion on here about eating your exercise calories vs not eating them. I see a lot of people say "Don't do it! You won't lose weight!" and I see others say "Do it or you won't lose weight". I truly think that it is probably an individual thing. *I* personally eat MOST of my exercise calories back because if I don't, my caloric intake is too low and my weight loss comes to a screeching halt. My BMR is 1453. If I eat 1750 calories AND I workout and burn 500 calories -- I'm not getting enough food. It is such a weird thing - eat to lose weight. But, if you're eating healthy foods and not eating junk you will likely lose even if you eat the exercise calories. But, I do admit it goes against everything most of us have learned about weight loss.
  • megz4987
    megz4987 Posts: 1,008 Member
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    I don't eat the calories I've burned, i feel like it's defeating the purpose of burning them...
  • afleming22710
    afleming22710 Posts: 56 Member
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    I would have to agree with some of the comments. I'm a SAHM of 3 kids, so I'm always doing something. I don't log in my cleaning, only actual exercise. To me, it just seems like "you" want the extra calories to eat. MFP does estimate high with the calories burnt..so you have to be careful with that. If your daily calorie intake is 1850 (or whatever the amount is), that's a lot already. I wouldn't log in the cleaning. I think I've told you this before, as long as you don't eat less than 1200..you're fine. Now when I work out, I eat maybe half of what I burn and my daily intake is at 1540 a day.

    No, I do NOT want the extra calories, and 1850 isn't a lot compared to what I WAS eating. I'm a stay-at-home mom of 2 kids, a 2 year old and a 6 month old. I clean everyday, and I'm ALWAYS doing something as well, BUT today was a different kind of cleaning. It was spring cleaning, and it kicked my butt, so YES, I am tracking it, but I'm NOT going to eat the extra 1000 calories it tells me to.

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