I have decided to NOT eat back exercise calories..

nitarongish

I have been on here since April 15th and have never eaten back my net. I agree with several others, listen to your body. I do fine with what I do. I'm not out of energy, I'm losing weight regularly, and I'm not hungry. I do strive for very healthy food, fresh veggies and whole grains. Those fill me up and keep me satisfied. Until or unless I feel different, I probably won't change this. I am interested though in knowing how it works for you should you try it. Best of luck!

dragonfly74

Ok you are right my BMR is 1523... So still the theory is the same! Who else has had success not eating back the exercise calories?

This is the only way I lose weight. I never eat back my calories burned during exercise. I stick with eating 1200 and then I lose.

LordRahl

I agree, it makes no sense to me to eat all the calories that a person would burn in exercise. My logic (could be faulty) would figure that a person would neither lose nor gain weight if burning the same amount as intake. My goal was to lose 2lbs a week and at 2200+. I am counting on the burning of calories to help me that goal.

Randy

beccyleigh

I mostly eat back at least half, I just find myself too hungry after a work out to not have a snack & suffer from low blood sugar if I don't stock up before one & can be prove to feeling faint. just do what suits you. if you find yourself stalling in the weight loss then start to add a few more calories & go from there.

imo there is no exact science as we are each different, our metabolism & bodies process food differently so it is a bit of trial & error.

Teemo

Who else is doing this? I have calculate my BMR to be 1800 so eating 1200/day puts me at a defecit of 4200/week - I have a goal to lose 2lbs a week for the next 2 months so am supplementing this with 2800/week of exercise calories that MUST be burnt. I don't think the formula that MFP is using will allow anyone to eat less than 1200 so when I calculate it by hand it seems like the only way to really reach this goal is to not eat back those calories.

So... your net calorie intake per day is going to be 800 calories?

LorinaLynn

My starting weight and goal were the same as yours, and I ate mine back.

I was never able to lose more than one pound a week when I was eating 1200 calories, except that one time I had a 48 hour stomach flu.

But at 1350 plus exercise calories, I routinely lost 1.5 a week. As I got closer to my goal, I changed it to 1400, and lost about a pound a week. When I got under 140, I upped it to 1500 and lost a half pound a week. Now I'm still at 1500, but I take weekends "off" from any food tracking. And I'm still losing a half pound a week, except last week when I lost two pounds.

I love my food, and would be weak and miserable if I didn't eat back those exercise calories. I'm not saying that will work for everyone, just that it worked for me.

According to the measuring tape system of calculating body fat percentage, 23 of the 28 pounds I lost have been from fat. I've kept a good deal of my lean muscle mass. (I know that way of calculated body fat isn't the most accurate, but it's a decent estimate!) I couldn't have kept that if I wasn't refueling my body after workouts.

spinaddict4life

I have been gaining and losing th same 4 pounds since I started eating mine back, so I am starting to stop eating mine back unless I am hungry, I was eating them and I was not even hungry. Found myself eating just to be eating. So Next week I will see how it works!

Teemo

You aren't really "eating back exercise calories". That sounds confusing. It'as as simple as the following: There are three ways to go about hitting your calorie goals. For the sake of the hypothetical, we will assume that your total daily calorie expenditure (i.e., metabolic rate x activity level) = 1800 calories per day. If your goal is to lose 1 lb/week -- which is a safe and reasonable goal, notwithstanding that it doesn't sound like very much, you should be eating approximately 1300 calories per day.

(1) Diet only. This is pretty self-explanatory, to hit your target goal you simply reduce your food intake to 1300. The downside to this is that you'll likely be losing fat AND muscle.

(2) Exercise only. This one is pretty self-explanatory too. To hit your target goal, you still eat 1800 calories per day. But then you exercise away 500 calories, so you net 1300. There's no real downside to this except eating 1800 calories per day might be difficult for you, and burning away 500 calories EXTRA by exercising may be a problem as well.

(3) Exercise + diet. A combination of the two. To hit your goal you eat slightly less than you would normally... say, 1600. Then you exercise away 300 calories. Both are reasonable goals: you aren't reducing what you eat by that much so you are more likely to avoid hunger pangs and binges, and you aren't wasting a ton of time at the gym.

What you're attempting to do sounds far more extreme.

sleepytexan

this will only work for a while if you have a lot of weight to lose and/or have a relatively high % of body fat, and if you are fairly new to exercise. After a while you will plateau and/or even gain, while you try to eat less and less. The end result will be a damaged metabolism.

I'm not sure why people want to do this, bc actually you will lose at approximately the same rate if you DO eat your exercise calories, plus you will not plateau.

The first post of this thread is a very straightforward explanation of why people who "work out like crazy" and diet (eat low calories) can't lose weight:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/196502-for-the-people-who-work-out-like-crazy-and-are-not-losing?hl=for+people+who+work+out+like+crazy

Don't you know a million people like that? How many overweight people say they work out hard and only eat 1200 (or whatever) calories a day, but still they can't lose?? Are they lying about how much they eat? Sometimes. But most of the time, they're not lying! They are actually starving their metabolisms and thinking that if they just eat less and less and work out more and more that they'll lose weight. But, sadly, it won't work. They will lose a bit, plateau, then they'll eat less, then they'll even gain. Then they'll get discouraged, give up, binge and get fatter. Know anyone like that? I sure do.

There is a lot of misinformation out there, and people may tell you not to "eat back" your exercise calories. However, I would caution you to consider whether the people offering that advice are really qualified to do so. Have they reached and maintained (for some years) a healthy weight and body fat percentage? Probably not.

If you were to ask an athlete, educated trainer, nutritionist or your average fit person who has maintained a healthy weight for some years (without yo yo-ing) whether they subsist on a net deficit calorie consumption -- I can guarantee you they would say no.

So, who ya gonna ask? Lance Armstrong or Jack Black? Just sayin'.

blessings.

rhirvo

You aren't really "eating back exercise calories". That sounds confusing. It'as as simple as the following: There are three ways to go about hitting your calorie goals. For the sake of the hypothetical, we will assume that your total daily calorie expenditure (i.e., metabolic rate x activity level) = 1800 calories per day. If your goal is to lose 1 lb/week -- which is a safe and reasonable goal, notwithstanding that it doesn't sound like very much, you should be eating approximately 1300 calories per day.

(1) Diet only. This is pretty self-explanatory, to hit your target goal you simply reduce your food intake to 1300. The downside to this is that you'll likely be losing fat AND muscle.

(2) Exercise only. This one is pretty self-explanatory too. To hit your target goal, you still eat 1800 calories per day. But then you exercise away 500 calories, so you net 1300. There's no real downside to this except eating 1800 calories per day might be difficult for you, and burning away 500 calories EXTRA by exercising may be a problem as well.

(3) Exercise + diet. A combination of the two. To hit your goal you eat slightly less than you would normally... say, 1600. Then you exercise away 300 calories. Both are reasonable goals: you aren't reducing what you eat by that much so you are more likely to avoid hunger pangs and binges, and you aren't wasting a ton of time at the gym.

What you're attempting to do sounds far more extreme.

Thanks for your advice! I am just looking at this as a numbers game until I get down the first 10 then I can re-evaluate - I just see that I need a 7000 calorie a week defecit to lose 2 lbs so I am going to try this first and see if I can succeed... I do not and will not eat less than 1200 - and I am by no means a HUGE fan of the gym so I know I will most likely not be having too many negative days

Atlantique

Who else is doing this? I have calculate my BMR to be 1800 so eating 1200/day puts me at a defecit of 4200/week - I have a goal to lose 2lbs a week for the next 2 months so am supplementing this with 2800/week of exercise calories that MUST be burnt. I don't think the formula that MFP is using will allow anyone to eat less than 1200 so when I calculate it by hand it seems like the only way to really reach this goal is to not eat back those calories.

Your goal is to lose 25 pounds (according to your profile) so you sould not aim to lose 2 pds per week. You'll lose a LOT of muscle that way. Reset it to 1 lb per week.

You are actually fairly close to your goal weight. I know it doesn't seem that way to you, but you're not obese. You need to eat back at least some of your exercise calories or you're likely to lose a lot of muscle and to hit plateaus as your metabolism slows down.

rhirvo

I have lost in the past with a strict 1200 calorie diet - I am currently working with a fitness trainer and she suggested 1500/day and not to eat back exercise calories unless I was really hungry - so I don't really agree that I'm getting the "jack black" opinion. I do have a high body fat percentage and I do train with weights a lot - I agree that it works for some and not for others but I want to lose more then what MFP has calculated for now... I am sure I will not have a problem eating more towards 1800 once I have reached my goal weight.

sleepytexan

I have lost in the past with a strict 1200 calorie diet - I am currently working with a fitness trainer and she suggested 1500/day and not to eat back exercise calories unless I was really hungry - so I don't really agree that I'm getting the "jack black" opinion. I do have a high body fat percentage and I do train with weights a lot - I agree that it works for some and not for others but I want to lose more then what MFP has calculated for now... I am sure I will not have a problem eating more towards 1800 once I have reached my goal weight.

I'm sorry to tell you, but your trainer is poorly educated, and offering you dangerous advice. When you hit your plateau, and or gain weight, I hope you will re-evaluate and up your calorie consumption rather than give up.

The fact that you lost in the past implies that you have gained again. I do not mean to offend you, but I just want to point out that if you ate enough calories and lost in a healthy way, you would probably be able to maintain.

What people miss is that if you consistently eat such a low calorie base, your metabolism slows. then when you start eating normally again (as if to maintain) the weight shoots back up. You can't eat such low calories forever! Better to eat right while working out -- honestly most people lose the same amount per week, sometimes even more -- then the metabolism is fired up, builds lean muscle mass, and that in turn BURNS CALORIES FOR YOU while you sleep! You are never at a crazy low calorie number, so you can maintain forever.

blessings.

rhirvo

I have lost in the past with a strict 1200 calorie diet - I am currently working with a fitness trainer and she suggested 1500/day and not to eat back exercise calories unless I was really hungry - so I don't really agree that I'm getting the "jack black" opinion. I do have a high body fat percentage and I do train with weights a lot - I agree that it works for some and not for others but I want to lose more then what MFP has calculated for now... I am sure I will not have a problem eating more towards 1800 once I have reached my goal weight.

I'm sorry to tell you, but your trainer is poorly educated, and offering you dangerous advice. When you hit your plateau, and or gain weight, I hope you will re-evaluate and up your calorie consumption rather than give up.

The fact that you lost in the past implies that you have gained again. I do not mean to offend you, but I just want to point out that if you ate enough calories and lost in a healthy way, you would probably be able to maintain.

What people miss is that if you consistently eat such a low calorie base, your metabolism slows. then when you start eating normally again (as if to maintain) the weight shoots back up. You can't eat such low calories forever! Better to eat right while working out -- honestly most people lose the same amount per week, sometimes even more -- then the metabolism is fired up, builds lean muscle mass, and that in turn BURNS CALORIES FOR YOU while you sleep! You are never at a crazy low calorie number, so you can maintain forever.

blessings.

I completely agree with parts of what you are telling me and thank you for taking the time to respond. I would like to do this for the first 10lbs and then change it up when I get to 150lbs. I gained all my weight back because of a car accident and having to quit playing competative soccer - mixed with a new relationship with someone who shares my love of potato chips- anyways I just want to go hard on the diet and then when I start getting into a better fitness routine, find a better balance!

megz4987

I only eat them back if I'm hungry after a workout.

Schwiggity

anubis609

Schwiggity

I've lost a ton of weight one week when I had a giant Arby's binge one night, and I've lost almost nothing when I was spot on with my exercise and food intake. The body isn't able to be boiled down to very simple math, and I really don't like the whole "starvation mode" explanation 100%, but honestly if you think you're going to be able to work out hard while netting next to nothing for calories or your body composition will be what you desire, you're kidding yourself.

ChantalGG

I was just playing around with the goal settings on here and if i add that i will do 1hr of exercise six times a week it doesnt change my calorie allowance, you would think it should. If i do nothing i should eat 1500 to lose 1/2 a lb or if i work out and burn 2000 calories i should eat them back to lose 1/2 a lb a week. I think i might just use this site a calorie counter and do my own thing which is eat about 1400 and workout everyday. If i need to eat more i will if i dont oh well not going ot bother me.

sarah_ep

I was just playing around with the goal settings on here and if i add that i will do 1hr of exercise six times a week it doesnt change my calorie allowance, you would think it should. If i do nothing i should eat 1500 to lose 1/2 a lb or if i work out and burn 2000 calories i should eat them back to lose 1/2 a lb a week. I think i might just use this site a calorie counter and do my own thing which is eat about 1400 and workout everyday. If i need to eat more i will if i dont oh well not going ot bother me.

The reason why it doesn't change is because you have to log your exercise for it to accurately raise your caloric intake. You burn different amounts doing different activities.