Exercise Calories

thedestar

Ok I know there's a ton of post on wether or not to eat your exercise calories. Thats not my question. My question is... how many of your exercise calories do you (those of you who agree with this) eat? All of them? Half? 75%? Any thoughts would be appreciated!

katerams

I try not to use them; I stick to my 1200-1700 calorie limit.

jenilla1

Sometimes it's hard to eat all of those calories back - especially when I go backpacking or on long day hikes - that can be thousands of calories!!! I do try to make sure that I eat at least 75% back. I don't want to go into starvation mode and mess up my metabolism. I've been very successful eating most of my calories back! Hope this helps!

suzooz

I try to listen to what my body is telling me.

I try not to eat 100% of the exercise calories back, as I don't have a Body Bugg or HRM yet. I have heard that the exercise calories burned may be a bit overstated on MFP and the Wii Fit, so I try to be conservative.

If I exercise and am not hungry that day, I don't force myself to eat them back, since I ususally exercise late at night. I may go over the next day and I'm never under 1200 net calories.

And then there are other days when I eat them all!

tiffanymariebrock

I agree. I only eat them if I'm hungry but I try to stay within my cal limit.

juliapurpletoes

I try to eat ALL of them....the system is set up for you to do that!

I don't always depending on how accurate i feel I was able to log other foods or more importantly the exercise calories burned.

But I think, I wouldn't sign up for weight watchers and not do their point system......so if you sign up here, then eating your calories back is part of the process. AND, it works.

Best of Luck!

cbirdso

I eat them all. I use MFP to calculate my exercise calories. Since I am losing at the rate I set for myself in my goals I can assume the MFP calculations are correct for me.

P.S. I don't record "activity" because I have my activity level set for "lightly active" and am already eating those calories as my base.

natskedat

All of them. Eat all of them. MFP puts you on a 1200 calorie diet. That's the bare minimum to sustain life for an average female. Exercising cuts into those calories, so when you exercise, you need to supplement those calories back into your diet so that you're not depriving your body of what it needs to breathe, move, and think.

1200 base calories - 600 calories from exercise = ONLY 600 calories for your body to perform all of it's daily functions! That's only half of what it's basic needs are! This is why people hit a plateau!

So, let's do that equation again:

1200 base calories - 600 calories from exercise + 600 calories consumed = 1200 calories for your body to use to function! Yay!

Sometimes if I work out late at night, I can't eat all of them back each day, so I'll go over the next day. By the end of the week, it all balances out.

Newfiedan

read the first post in this link to clarify how and why mfp is setup the way it is and how to do this right; http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/225765-how-mfp-works

significance

I aim to keep my calorie deficit of around 500-700 cal/day (to allow a 1lb/week weight loss). Since my maintenance calorie intake is 1500 net cal/day and MFP set a minimum of 1200/day, that means I aim to eat back some but not all of my exercise calories.

LovelySnugs

All of them. Eat all of them. MFP puts you on a 1200 calorie diet. That's the bare minimum to sustain life for an average female. Exercising cuts into those calories, so when you exercise, you need to supplement those calories back into your diet so that you're not depriving your body of what it needs to breathe, move, and think.

1200 base calories - 600 calories from exercise = ONLY 600 calories for your body to perform all of it's daily functions! That's only half of what it's basic needs are! This is why people hit a plateau!

So, let's do that equation again:

1200 base calories - 600 calories from exercise + 600 calories consumed = 1200 calories for your body to use to function! Yay!

Sometimes if I work out late at night, I can't eat all of them back each day, so I'll go over the next day. By the end of the week, it all balances out.

MFP doesn't put EVERYONE on a 1200 calorie diet. otherwise, the math and assumptions listed here are correct. i, personally, try to get my calories up to at least 1300 net each day - sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. sometimes i eat all of them, sometimes i don't. it's a personal decision. but do some research and decide for yourself. it's really kind of a personal choice.

just understand that, depending on your goals and methods, that decision may need to be altered or corrected as time passes.

taso42_DELETED

To put it in simple terms, if you feel that your food and exercise calorie data is super accurate, then eat every last calorie. If you think you might be overestimating exercise calories and underestimating food calories, eat a bit less.

Nuts4play

bump.

BombolinaM

I feel if I eat them all back that I am going over my calorie intake and won't lose. So tonight I am just having a light dinner. I am going to try this for a few weeks.

StevLL

I've been trying to eat between 50 and 75% of them back, but as I am 135+ lbs overweight I can get away with not eating them all. As my muscle to fat ratio changes to more lean and less fat I will try to eat between 75-90%. I have been losing weight pretty steadily and it works. The key is your body needs the energy to recovery form workouts and to fuel it's changes. Just like a car if you don't refuel after a trip the car is eventually not going to move. If you don't eat enough calories your body won't do it's thing.

PNWriter

I agree a little with Bombolina and little with a few others. I don't eat back my exercise calories but I now they're there if I'm hungry. Then I make sure I make good, healthy choices. Eating for the sake of eating is what got me into trouble in the first place. I look at my BMR, which, for me, is roughly 1800 calories/day just to work my body. Since one pound of fat=3500 calories, if I eat 1200 calories per day (at a deficit of 600 calories/day), that means at the end of the week I should have a deficit of 4200 calories, a loss of a little over a pound. I have been really trying to bounce between 1,000 and 1,300 per day. Keeps my body guessing but I always drink lots of water, and have been making healthier choices in eating good carbs and fats as opposed to bad. Boost that protein and use common sense. There is no magic number, but it is simple math. ALSO....the less you weigh, the less it takes for your body to maintain. For example, I looked at my BMR when I hit my goal and it's around 1,400 calories. Then, of course, I need to eat just 1,400 to maintain, which isn't much at all compared to now.

mrphil86

I eat as much of them as I can.

I need fuel to push myself further everyday. I don't fuel myself to where i just barely get by.