Not WHY (has been answered), but WHO (exercise calories)

Seajolly

I like to mix it up. Sometimes I don't eat any back, sometimes I eat some, and sometimes nearly all. But I try to either not eat them back or eat 1/2 back. Eating all of them back seems counter-productive.

queen_bea

bump!

Brandicaloriecountess

Nope I do not.

I have a lot of weight to lose, I started using MFP on my phone for about 3 months before I read the forums. I did not realize that I "should" eat exercise calories.

The reasons I do not eat exercise calories are I do not have a HRM so therefore my exercise calories burned are kind of an estimate and I don't want to unwittingly sabotage my progress. Also I eat 1200 calories, 3 meals and snacks between and I am not hungry. If I workedout on a given day and found that I was hungry I wouldn't hesitate to eat more but I am not going to eat when I am not hungry. And finally I have lost weight at a steady pace and not crazy fast since I started in January. I have also not hit a plateaued, though I feel like I am getting to one now. When I do I will try eating back some of them go from there.

alexbowser

I eat them back, but I eat them back with healthy nutritious food. When I tried to eat them back with ice cream that didn't work out very well.

haulinbuns

I eat some but try to leave at least 1/2 uneaten. My reason is I do not weigh my food. I measure but do not weigh it. I could be off on calories. I also do not have a Heart Rate Monitor so my exercise calories is also an estimate.

I am in it for a life style change but do not want to be bound to weighing my food and spending the money on a HRM. I feel the estimates here on MFP are working for me.

I really listen to my body and try to eat when I need to instead of when I want to. I generally eat my exercise calories before and after a workout. Carbs before and protein after.

It has been working fine. I have lost 90 lbs on this method. 60 on my own before MFP and 30 since.

Good luck

Losingitin2011

While I don't usually eat *all* of them back, I try to net 1200. Generally, I don't eat them all when I exercise at night because I'm too tired to do anything other than sleep!

britachu

I eat mine, unless I work out too late and don't really feel like eating before I go to bed. I don't eat "all" of them back though, because I don't have and HRM and don't entirely trust MFPs calculations.

Purplebunnysarah

I set my goal at 1300 calories and I net between 1200-1300 most days (unless I go over) even on exercise days, which means I eat back 75-100%. So far it hasn't hindered my weight loss at all. I've lost continually since I started in mid-January except for a blip upwards either my second or third week (can't remember) that was all water weight from starting a new workout program. I've averaged a loss of 1.8 lbs/week since then, with some weeks showing a bigger loss than others (mostly due to water retention coming off).

littlemili

I eat usually 1250-1350 and exercise 300-500. I rarely eat back unless I feel lacking in energy or hungry. I just eat as much as my body tells me it needs. Why would you do anything else? The idea of eating beyond fullness while on a weight-loss diet seems ridiculous. Also not eating them back compensates for the days when I get very hungry for no obvious reason, when I can allow myself to eat lots (like yesterday) without jeopardising my weekly net calorie goal.

unsuspectingfish

I started out eating most of them back simply because I was hungry. Now, depending on how close to bedtime I exercise, I usually eat none to half of them. I started MFP on May 1st, and I've lost 8 pounds.

Eve1972

Sometimes I will eat some of them, sometimes I won't. I eat when I am hungry.

mmiiaa

It depends on how much I work out, if I'll eat them or not. I prefer not to have eaten over 1600 - 1800 calories a day regardless (my goal is 1400), but that isn't to say that I never do.

chels1605

I don't exercise much and i dont eat much.... from 1000 - 1200kcals (sometimes up to 1600kcals a day) a day and on the days I exercise I don't eat anything back unless I really want to.

I've lost 10lbs in 2 months & hit stand stills all the time because I'm not exercising enough!

Tankplanker

I track my burn with a HRM and eat them all back as I've set my calorie deficit quite low (2 lbs a week) so I don't want to go under that already low level. If I was at or close to maintenance level then I might not bother some days. It can be quite challenging to eat another 1200/1500 healthy calories in a day so sometimes I struggle.

psuLemon

For those who don't eat them back and only eat 1200-1500 (woman/men minimal body calorie requires respective) calories you essentially put your body into starvation mode. This is another reason you sometimes don't feel hungry. Keep this in mind, just like you have to train your muscles to get stronger, your mind to get smarter, and your heart to pump more blood, you need to train yourself to eat the right amount of calories. Yes, you can lose weight by not eating (how else do you think aneorexics do it?) But it doesnt' mean it's good for your body. Malnutrition is lead to many problems that don't rear their heads right away. I eat 2800 - 3000 calories a day, do you think that is natural? No, even if I am not hungry, i continue to snack a bit. Overtime, your body will adjust and start to become hungry more often. I eat every 2 hours. This starts at 6am and continues until I have my post workout protein shake at 9pm. My body composition has changed a lot. I have lost a lot of body fat, inches and weight. On top of my food, I supplement (fish oil, one a day, vitamin C and glucosamine chondroitin). I suggest you do what you think is best for yourself and encourage people to work to lose weight, just make sure you understand what you are doing to your body. Last think you want to do is destroy all your progress because you aren't eating enough.

When calorie intake falls below 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day, it is also extremely difficult to follow a balanced diet and obtain all the nutrients that are needed by the body to stay strong and energetic and prevent disease. These very low calorie intakes can also lead to other health problems such as eating disorders, gout, gallstones, and heart complications. For these reasons, the SparkDiet strongly suggests not going below 1,200 calories daily for women and 1,500 calories daily for men.

source: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/reference_calorie.asp



Remember: FOOD IS FUEL!!!!