When I eat my "workout" calories....

nosey_rosey

I gain weight!!! I tried eating my calories but it isn't working out very well for me! I have returned to eating 1200 a day and working out 2x a day. I just ordered a HRM to see what my actual burn is since I hear that MFP over estimates alot. What the heck should I do? Should I keep eating them and wait it out or should I stick to the 1200???

cmriverside

Two weeks is not long enough to start making all these decisions. You are overwhelming yourself. Keep it simple and use the program as it is designed. Don't try to second guess everything.

nosey_rosey

Two weeks is not long enough to start making all these decisions. You are overwhelming yourself. Keep it simple and use the program as it is designed. Don't try to second guess everything.

I am a little further than 2 weeks.... I have been using MFP faithfully for almost a month! I am bad at second guessing myself.

jraps17

I never eat them all back and i always cut time from my work out when logging it so i don't fall into the situation you are in. MPF overestimates calories burned so if i work out from 90 min i'll enter 60 -65 min and then ill still leave 200 - 400 cals that i don't eat back. In reality try a few things and find whats best for you some people can eat their cals backs and some like me cant.

hazelnutflav

try to increase your workouts to more than 2xs a week, be sure to mix it up dont continue to do the same old things also i never eat all my calories back just because you can does not mean you should.

HisPathDaily

Two weeks is not long enough to start making all these decisions. You are overwhelming yourself. Keep it simple and use the program as it is designed. Don't try to second guess everything.

Absolutely ...

Make sure you are counting every calorie in to the best of your ability ... and then give it time.

On the flip side I have a couple personal opinions:

1) The only thing I don't often do is log routine exercises ... yes I know it burns calories but in general (with some exceptions), I don't count house cleaning or other routine tasks that I do every day ... if it's significant and more than usual, I do ... like if I'm out turning my garden over for 2 hours I know I burned calories ... but if I did an hour of cleaning the house before company arrives, I will not log that ...

2) Also, while I do sometimes eat all, I generally eat about 75% of my exercise calories back as I think in some cases MFP is a little too friendly giving out calories ...

So all I can say is make sure (super important) that you are logging "everything" ... that ketchup, or those little bites here and there add up ... and if your doing that, long your exercise ... and 'give it time' ... it's not a race ...

Good luck!

"If you see me collapse, pause my Garmin"

~Matt

erickirb

I gain weight!!! I tried eating my calories but it isn't working out very well for me! I have returned to eating 1200 a day and working out 2x a day. I just ordered a HRM to see what my actual burn is since I hear that MFP over estimates alot. What the heck should I do? Should I keep eating them and wait it out or should I stick to the 1200???

Try eating half of them now. Your metabolism may be slow due to under eating for so long so now that you started eating more your body stored it as fat, as you metabolism has slowed down. To get your metabolism running again may take weeks, but the only way to do it is by eating more and exercising.

stanvoodoo

I took a real quick look at Monday and if that is all you are eating then it is way too little if you are exercising that much. You have to give your body fuel to burn. Try eating more, staying over 1200 after your exercise calories. If your other days already look like (over 1200 NET) that than cut back eating your exercise calories to half.

You can alos try changing up your diet, I could see your protien but my guess is it too is way too low and changing up the excerise routine to shake up the body so it starts releasing the fat.

Best of luck!

cmriverside

I gain weight!!! I tried eating my calories but it isn't working out very well for me! I have returned to eating 1200 a day and working out 2x a day. I just ordered a HRM to see what my actual burn is since I hear that MFP over estimates alot. What the heck should I do? Should I keep eating them and wait it out or should I stick to the 1200???

Try eating half of them now. Your metabolism may be slow due to under eating for so long so now that you started eating more your body stored it as fat, as you metabolism has slowed down. To get your metabolism running again may take weeks, but the only way to do it is by eating more and exercising.

It is common to gain a few pounds at first when adding a healthy amount of calories. What you don't want is to underfeed for an extended time period, which is probably what you did in the past.

Just use the wizard here, use your heart rate monitor, be honest with yourself, and you WILL lose the weight.

erickirb

I just looked at your diary, how are you calculating calories burned. If you are not using a HRM they are probably not accurate, and if you are using one you should be backing out maintenance calories, as MFP already accounts for those and that portion of exercise calories would be double counted.

nosey_rosey

I just looked at your diary, how are you calculating calories burned. If you are not using a HRM they are probably not accurate, and if you are using one you should be backing out maintenance calories, as MFP already accounts for those and that portion of exercise calories would be double counted.

I just ordered my HRM but have not recieved it yet... I know that MFP is very off when it comes to the exercises in the database. I log every bite of food I put into my body so my calorie intake should be pretty accurate. So when I get the HRM should I eat ALL or PART or NONE of my calories? I know everyone says eat them all but it seems like a TON of food! Eating 600 to 800 more calories just seems a bit much!

nosey_rosey

I just looked at your diary, how are you calculating calories burned. If you are not using a HRM they are probably not accurate, and if you are using one you should be backing out maintenance calories, as MFP already accounts for those and that portion of exercise calories would be double counted.

I just ordered my HRM but have not recieved it yet... I know that MFP is very off when it comes to the exercises in the database. I log every bite of food I put into my body so my calorie intake should be pretty accurate. So when I get the HRM should I eat ALL or PART or NONE of my calories? I know everyone says eat them all but it seems like a TON of food! Eating 600 to 800 more calories just seems a bit much!

nosey_rosey

Two weeks is not long enough to start making all these decisions. You are overwhelming yourself. Keep it simple and use the program as it is designed. Don't try to second guess everything.

Absolutely ...

Make sure you are counting every calorie in to the best of your ability ... and then give it time.

On the flip side I have a couple personal opinions:

1) The only thing I don't often do is log routine exercises ... yes I know it burns calories but in general (with some exceptions), I don't count house cleaning or other routine tasks that I do every day ... if it's significant and more than usual, I do ... like if I'm out turning my garden over for 2 hours I know I burned calories ... but if I did an hour of cleaning the house before company arrives, I will not log that ...

2) Also, while I do sometimes eat all, I generally eat about 75% of my exercise calories back as I think in some cases MFP is a little too friendly giving out calories ...

So all I can say is make sure (super important) that you are logging "everything" ... that ketchup, or those little bites here and there add up ... and if your doing that, long your exercise ... and 'give it time' ... it's not a race ...

Good luck!

"If you see me collapse, pause my Garmin"

~Matt

I only log my actual workouts on MFP.... I am super busy and moving most of the day with my 5 boys but that is "normal" to me. I just cant wait to get my HRM to see what my actual burn is. I went through a phase where I was borderline anorexic for about a month or so last year. I know that messes with your metabolism bad. I have been rarely eating any of my calories burned since MFP can be inaccurate.... maybe 100 or so that I burn. Im just scared to eat and not lose.

Mike523

Once you get your HRM, you'll have a more accurate count of calories burned during exercise. It's still not 100% accurate, but as long as your HRM has a chest strap and allows you to enter personal info like age, weight, height, gender, etc. it should be more accurate than MFP estimates.

So at that point I say eat those calories. I've been eating back my exercise calories since I started this journey, and I've lost 56 pounds in a little over 5 months.

If it seems like too much food to eat, you could dial down your workouts a little too. You don't need to workout twice a day, once is probably plenty. If you over train, you'll just get fatigued and won't get as much out of the workouts, ESPECIALLY if you're not eating enough.

alliekat840

Thank you Matt! Your post helped me, I'm new and have been thinking they are too friendly with the calories because I lost 2 lbs the first week and have been at no change for the past 2. I will quit logging every single calorie burner and just stick to my big workouts.

nosey_rosey

try to increase your workouts to more than 2xs a week, be sure to mix it up dont continue to do the same old things also i never eat all my calories back just because you can does not mean you should.

I workout 2x per DAY not per week... I usually do zumba or EA active 2 and turbofire. I burn according to MFP around 600- 1000 calories per day ( I know they are not exact amounts with MFP). I usually take 1 rest day per week.

natersmama

MFP does over estimate calories. and sometimes under estimates. getting a HRM was a good choice. i love mine! there's no wondering about numbers. i hope yours has a chest strap. those are the most accurate. finding out whats best for you may take longer than a month. but you are taking all the right steps to find out. but i would advise to vary your workouts and aim for maybe 3-4 a wk. and drink water like its going out of style. good luck!

joyoungolivia

I just use my workout calories as extra calories if i need them, so if i am hungry i can eat more, but i dont see the point in eatitng them if u're body isnt telling you that it needs more food.

sarah307

Two weeks is not long enough to start making all these decisions. You are overwhelming yourself. Keep it simple and use the program as it is designed. Don't try to second guess everything.

agreed.

erickirb

I just use my workout calories as extra calories if i need them, so if i am hungry i can eat more, but i dont see the point in eatitng them if u're body isnt telling you that it needs more food.

Hunger is not the best cue for nutritional requirements. Pay attention more to mood, energy levels, how clear your head is. These really tell you if you need more nourishment vs. having an empty stomach (these are 2 very different things)