Started eating back exercise calories and gained

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spinaddict4life
spinaddict4life Posts: 93 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I started eating back my exercise calories Friday and I gained 4 pounds urgh! I have been flip flopping this same stupid 4 pounds since April. Granted tom is due Monday, but I never gained before it came ever, I usually use. This is frustrating I want this back and forth 4 pounds to go away. granted I feel better now and have more energy though. But I dont want the scale to keep going up.

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  • Kirsty_UK
    Kirsty_UK Posts: 964 Member
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    how are you measuring your exercise cals? do you have a heart rate monitor?
  • spinaddict4life
    spinaddict4life Posts: 93 Member
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    yes I have a hrm but do not eat all but most in case it is overestimating
  • mistyb47711
    mistyb47711 Posts: 861 Member
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    try only eating 1/2 back.....you have to play with it to see what works with you.....me I cant eat any back or I dont lose, but I know I will hit where I will have to eat some back........good luck and keep me posted if you dont mind.
  • Kirsty_UK
    Kirsty_UK Posts: 964 Member
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    Maybe try changing your exercise around a bit? I dont know what you're doing, but you've lost 93lbs (well done you that's massive!!!!) so you must have been doing something right, but doing it for a while now. You're body might just need a change.
  • sexforjaffacakes
    sexforjaffacakes Posts: 1,001 Member
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    Everyone's different, not everyone can eat exersize calories back. experiment with eating different amounts back and see how it goes!
  • AleksAas
    AleksAas Posts: 13
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    I've just gained when I eat back what I exercise, so starting today this ends. Good job on your loss btw!
  • marianne_s
    marianne_s Posts: 986 Member
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    So I started eating back my exercise calories Friday and I gained 4 pounds urgh! I have been flip flopping this same stupid 4 pounds since April. Granted tom is due Monday, but I never gained before it came ever, I usually use. This is frustrating I want this back and forth 4 pounds to go away. granted I feel better now and have more energy though. But I dont want the scale to keep going up.

    I had a peek at your diary & noticed you're not tracking sodium - maybe your sodium level was high over the last couple of days.
    If I were you, i would start tracking sodium.... I've noticed that when my sodium is too high (1800+) days in a row, I will hold on to weight..

    About eating back exercise calories.... it been working for me... but I have noticed a trend (on MFP), that it doesn't seem to work for those that have less than 20 lbs to lose
  • helloiloveukitty
    helloiloveukitty Posts: 448 Member
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    No advice here as I don't know a ton on the subject but this is exactly what I'm worried about happening to me, I increased myself to 1450 from 1200 and eating back some exercise cals...really nervous I'm going to start gaining.

    Trial and error is the only way to go I suppose...good luck!
  • spinaddict4life
    spinaddict4life Posts: 93 Member
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    yes I have gallstones and was tracking saturated fat, I will try tracking sodium. I have lost 93 pounds and need tolose 60 more. Just got to keep experimenting I guess. the only thing left is to exercise more intense, but I think I am. I teach spin three days, so I change my cardio the other days daily
  • barbTieyah
    barbTieyah Posts: 2
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    what is eat back :smooched:
  • marianne_s
    marianne_s Posts: 986 Member
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    what is eat back :smooched:


    For example, when you exercise and burn 400 calories - you're supposed to eat them back as these calories will be deducted from the amount of calories you've eaten for the day.

    It's all explained here - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics
  • MoonIite
    MoonIite Posts: 341 Member
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    The same thing happened to me when I ate back my exercise cals. Gained 1.5 pounds that took
    a week and a half to lose. I don't think it works for everyone. Maybe because I'm shorter? I don't know. Only when I have stopped eating it back that I started to see the scale moving again. I decided to stick to 1400-1500 cals a day regardless of exercise, and so far it has been working for me. I'm consistently losing 0.8 pounds a week.
  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
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    Not sure I can explain this very well, but to lose 1lb a week, you need a 500 calorie deficit each day. This is something I learned from another post somewhere.

    First, I set my goals to lose no weight, sedentary lifestyle, no workouts -- this gave me the calories I need to eat just to maintain my currently weight. (It was 1690) Then you change it to lose 1lb a week instead of maintain and you get your new number -- or you an just subtract a 500 calorie deficit. I then set my goal as 1200.

    On days I don't exercise, I eat 1200.
    On days I do exercise, I eat enough back to still leave the 500 calorie deficit.

    So far it seems to be working.... *crossing my fingers as I've been in the same plateau for 3 months*

    I know people suggest figuring out your whole weekly estimate and not add your workouts at all but that drove me nuts... I like to put my workouts in there :)
  • MoonIite
    MoonIite Posts: 341 Member
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    That's exactly what I do.

    I use this calculator to figure out my calorie intake:
    http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

    If I put my stats in and activity level (chose 5x a week), it tells me I should eat 1455 Calories/day to lose weight. On days I don't exercise I try to stay between 1200-1300 calories since my sedentary burn is 1492. That way I'm still in a deficit even if I don't get any exercise in. I aim for a 500 cal deficit (exercise & dieting) on workout days. When I take my rest days, which are two days a week, I eat a little less to get a 200-300 deficit. Sometimes I eat my maintenance calories if I know I won't be able to stick to 1300 cals on non-workout days. This usually happen a week before my cycle and a few days after it has started. I get extremely ravenous during my TOTM, especially when I don't exercise.

    I guess I am eating back my exercise cals, but not all of it. :laugh: I don't know, could someone enlightened me? I don't understand all the hoopla about netting 1200 cals.
  • spinaddict4life
    spinaddict4life Posts: 93 Member
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    yes I tried that too. That is the excat calories mfp has me set at. my doctor told me to eat 1500 no matter what. So I have no idea what to try next. I do workout 5 to 6 days a week. Spin three day,w eights three days and various cardio. Each seesion is about 70 minutes.
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
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    So I started eating back my exercise calories Friday and I gained 4 pounds urgh! I have been flip flopping this same stupid 4 pounds since April. Granted tom is due Monday, but I never gained before it came ever, I usually use. This is frustrating I want this back and forth 4 pounds to go away. granted I feel better now and have more energy though. But I dont want the scale to keep going up.

    Couple of potential issues:

    -Inaccurate accounting of exercise calories. I don't trust the MFP generated numbers but do not have a HRM, so I eat half my exercise calories back. If you are using a HRM, then be sure that you are subtracting the calories that you would have burned during exercise time just sitting around.

    -Incompatiblility between your Activity Level and logged exercise. If you've considered any exercise in your Activity Level, then don't log your exercise calories as you've already accounted for them.

    -Choice of calories eaten as exercise calories. If you've decided to 'treat' yoruself with those exercise calories, the composition of those calories, not their number, may be the issue. A big influx of carbs, fat, sugar or alcohol will raise havoc with the scale.
  • spinaddict4life
    spinaddict4life Posts: 93 Member
    Options
    So I started eating back my exercise calories Friday and I gained 4 pounds urgh! I have been flip flopping this same stupid 4 pounds since April. Granted tom is due Monday, but I never gained before it came ever, I usually use. This is frustrating I want this back and forth 4 pounds to go away. granted I feel better now and have more energy though. But I dont want the scale to keep going up.

    Couple of potential issues:

    -Inaccurate accounting of exercise calories. I don't trust the MFP generated numbers but do not have a HRM, so I eat half my exercise calories back. If you are using a HRM, then be sure that you are subtracting the calories that you would have burned during exercise time just sitting around.

    -Incompatiblility between your Activity Level and logged exercise. If you've considered any exercise in your Activity Level, then don't log your exercise calories as you've already accounted for them.

    -Choice of calories eaten as exercise calories. If you've decided to 'treat' yoruself with those exercise calories, the composition of those calories, not their number, may be the issue. A big influx of carbs, fat, sugar or alcohol will raise havoc with the scale.


    I do have a hrm but I never eat all of the exercise calories just in case it is overestimating, I have my activity level as sedentary. I cut back carbs a long time ago as I ma diabetic. I do not drink, I have gallstones, so I watch my fat levels, and i have a dessert light ice cream twice a week. That is it. I have been bouncing the same stupid 4 pounds back and forth since April
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    Give it a week or two to adjust to the "right" amount of food. If you still aren't down again, then try eating half.

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