To eat, or not to eat (exercise calories back)

jeffpettis

I have noticed this question asked alot on the forums, and I thought I would add my two cents, for what it's worth.

If you look at all the posts that have asked this question, there are people on both sides of the fence, and they won't budge from their belief whether to eat those calories back or not. My opinion is, and I know everyone hates this answer... Do what works best for you.
Having said that I figured I would share what I do. By the way, I am no expert on the subject by any stretch of the imagination. But this is what works for me. I have a HRM that always says I have burned about 300 or more calories than what MFP says. I do circuit strength training, and my HRM will say for instance 800 calories burned in a 50 minute workout. Then I enter my 50 minutes into MFP and it says I burned 500 calories, or something like that. Now I trust my HRM, because I am constantly checking my heart rate during my exercise. And I know I could simply add the correct number of calories into MFP, but I leave it just like it is and I have a 300 calorie built in cushion. I have tried adding the calories to make them match, and I have tried for a few weeks just not entering any exercise at all so I had a huge calorie cushion. But what I do now works for me. Like I said before... find what works best for you. Experiment a little. There is no "secret" way or "perfect" way to lose weight. It is going to take some time. You didn't become overweight in 30 days, so It's probably going to take a little longer to get rid of that weight as well. It all depends on what works for you.

Maybe I should have made this a blog? Oh well. Just thought I would share, for someone that was stuck on the fence. :drinker:

SuzMac1981

Amen!

ak_in_ak

I find this interesting becasue my HRM says i burn quite a bit less then the MFP or my machine. I guess it all comes down to how hard you push yourself and how you log.

coronalime

my HRM (for cardio) is always LOWER then MFP.

My only problem with people eating their workout calories are the people who eat the calories that "garden" or "clean the house"..I mean really. Can I add strentgh training to getting into my sports bra after a swim?

jeffpettis

my HRM (for cardio) is always LOWER then MFP.

My only problem with people eating their workout calories are the people who eat the calories that "garden" or "clean the house"..I mean really. Can I add strentgh training to getting into my sports bra after a swim?

If I just do cardio, say the stationary bike for about 30 minutes at 18 mph, my HRM will be pretty close although it has always showed more than MFP. But I do circuit training and it's not uncommon for my heart rate to stay around 140-150 for that 40 or 50 minutes that I'm working out. Then my burned calories will be 700-800.

leonardk09

I don't eat my exercise calories back for the most part. I usually eat 1200 a day, or zig zag. If I decide to zig-zag and indulge, then I'll take some of my extra calories. I feel like exercising is more than just burning calories, it's helping the body. And it's worked for thus far. I haven't gained anything based off not eating my earned calories, or even eating them back.

Pierced

Can someone recommend a easy to use HRM? And do you get one at a sporting good store?