Seriously! I don't get it! Exercise Calories!!?!

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  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member
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    Ok I know this isnt a scientific proof but has anyone noticed that if you eat less than your required calories on a day that you did NO exercise it gives you a warning about putting your body in starvation mode?
    But, today for example I still have like 450 cals left from ym exercise and Im done eating so I still ahve it remaining when I closed my log and it didnt warn me that Im eating too little???
    Just a thing Ive noticed, perhaps the exercise calories can be eaten or not eaten and it will work

    It gives you that warning when you've eaten fewer than 1200 calories a day, regardless of your goal or exercise.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,709 Member
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    Listen to what I am saying!! If a person on here did not use an indirect calometer and MFP is telling them their BMR is 1680 and then the calorimeter told you it was 1380...... that is 300 more calories a day then you theoretically need. Even if your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) comes to 1680 you would only maintain your weight then you would not lose!
    Your concern would be legitimate if EVERYONE here had an indirect calometer to compare with. MFP goes with a "base" BMR based on age, weight,height, gender, and activity. It has NO WAY to be able to give a totally accurate BMR for FREE.
    I'll just say that mine is very close and I'm sure it is for the majority or they wouldn't be losing.
  • ShrinkinMel
    ShrinkinMel Posts: 982 Member
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    on logical terms if you set your settings to lose 2 lbs a week and it gives you 1660(just giving you what it gave me for my instances and weight, height) It is supposed to be a calorie deficit to take 2 lbs a week off WITHOUT factoring activity level from regular intended exercise(not talking about how you spend majority of your day at work or otherwise). I just re-ran mine without telling it how much I intend to exercise and it lowered it a whole 30 calories.

    If you DONT eat the calories or some of them then you run the risk of consuming far too few calories than your body NEEDS for your metabolism level which is your everyday burn from "lifestyle" PLUS your exercise and that can cause problems with your body.

    Some people don't run into the problem if some days they are over their 1200 calories(seems popular set limit so many use). If you eat 1200 calories and your body needs 2500 without exercise then you burn off 300-500+ more you could really starve your body in my opinion. Some things play in like getting that energy from stores. Its a complicated equation if you really think in dept about it. If not eating them works and you keep losing and have good health I say go for it.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,709 Member
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    I get everyone's response but with my activity I'm supposed to consume approx 2100 calories in a day....since cutting out processed foods/resturant food there is just no way that I can consume this much and not feel like I am stuffed out of my mind! I am also a vegetarian who doesn't consume dairy....I've been eating at 1200-1400 calories since January and have lost almost 40 lbs.
    That's 5lbs a month with is good. But do you know how much of it was lean muscle tissue? That's where the difference might be.
  • chiroGirl77
    chiroGirl77 Posts: 41
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    Listen to what I am saying!! If a person on here did not use an indirect calometer and MFP is telling them their BMR is 1680 and then the calorimeter told you it was 1380...... that is 300 more calories a day then you theoretically need. Even if your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) comes to 1680 you would only maintain your weight then you would not lose!
    Your concern would be legitimate if EVERYONE here had an indirect calometer to compare with. MFP goes with a "base" BMR based on age, weight,height, gender, and activity. It has NO WAY to be able to give a totally accurate BMR for FREE.
    I'll just say that mine is very close and I'm sure it is for the majority or they wouldn't be losing.

    I would imagine yours is close because YOUR metabolism is working! I just find it disheartening that people on here that are obese think they need to eat back their exercise calories. People in a normal range are fine.... do what makes you happy. But if you are at least 40lbs or more overweight..... you probably could stand to not eat back your exercise calories!
  • treehugginpam
    treehugginpam Posts: 1,131 Member
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    [/quote]

    You need to read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/173853-an-objective-look-at-eating-exercise-calories
    It clears everything up in really simple terms.

    It will make the world of sense for you, promise.
    [/quote]



    What she said. Read it and it might help you understand. If not, try this:

    Let's say MFP has already factored in a 1000 deficit for me, telling me to eat 1200 calories. Let's say I eat those 1200 calories, which means that I'm already operating at a 1000 calorie deficit for the day. And then let's say I exercise and burn 500 calories. If I do not eat those 500 calories back, that means that I will be operating at a 1500 calorie deficit. It would be as if I'd only eaten 700 calories all day. Not good. 700 calories is not enough for a strong, active body to run on.

    Make sense yet?
  • ctprofessional
    ctprofessional Posts: 63 Member
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    I don't have direct answers, but my nutritionist told me to eat 1500 calories a day, and exercise. I found that the days I didn't workout I ate 1200 calories and lost to fast in her opinion.
    MFP has me on 1200 calories and when I excercise I usually ad 200 to 400 calories. I do loose when I am eating all the added calories, just slower and what my nutritionist told me was better for me.
    I think that on any diet and excercise plan, it is important to check with a professional as well as adapt your program to your personal needs. You also have the choice to choose how many calories to intake averyday as well as choosing not to track your workout calories.
  • Missy0104
    Missy0104 Posts: 77
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    If your nutritionist knew you were only eating 1200 calories (theoretically - not sure what your daily goal actually is) and then burning 300 calories of that off - translating to you actually only eating 900 calories a day.....she'd change her tune and agree you should be eating more.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    Seriously, why did this subject get so popular in a sudden? I don't come here a lot but for a couple of day, I have replied more than 4 threads? and I am more confused than ever...hmmmm...
  • foremant86
    foremant86 Posts: 1,115 Member
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    it's pretty simple to understand


    Your body needs a certain amount of calories to function properly

    roughly 1200 for women and 1500 for men.

    say you eat 1200 calories but you burn 700 during exercise so you're leaving your body with 500 calories to function on, does that sound healthy to you?
  • ShrinkinMel
    ShrinkinMel Posts: 982 Member
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    I just think its really depends on how your body is functioning at burning stores from the fat. Some people won't go to starvation mode others will immediately shut down and perserve them thinking it won't get enough. Hormones factor in A LOT! You got to get good 7-8 hours sleep to get many of the hormones, like human growth hormone is one that we release in our sleep ONLY. This is why kids sleep a lot so they can grow.
  • ShrinkinMel
    ShrinkinMel Posts: 982 Member
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    Seriously, why did this subject get so popular in a sudden? I don't come here a lot but for a couple of day, I have replied more than 4 threads? and I am more confused than ever...hmmmm...

    because it was in the side bar probably. ;)
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,709 Member
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    I would imagine yours is close because YOUR metabolism is working! I just find it disheartening that people on here that are obese think they need to eat back their exercise calories. People in a normal range are fine.... do what makes you happy. But if you are at least 40lbs or more overweight..... you probably could stand to not eat back your exercise calories!
    Lol, I've used it for clients too. They may not be on the forums, but for tracking food and exercise purposes, it works for them. I tell them to try to make their daily calorie intake and zero it out. No problems.
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
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    idhb2h.gif

    Do whatever you want. Obviously if you have access to more precise measurements, then those would be used instead.
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
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    Listen to what I am saying!! If a person on here did not use an indirect calometer and MFP is telling them their BMR is 1680 and then the calorimeter told you it was 1380...... that is 300 more calories a day then you theoretically need. Even if your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) comes to 1680 you would only maintain your weight then you would not lose!
    Your concern would be legitimate if EVERYONE here had an indirect calometer to compare with. MFP goes with a "base" BMR based on age, weight,height, gender, and activity. It has NO WAY to be able to give a totally accurate BMR for FREE.
    I'll just say that mine is very close and I'm sure it is for the majority or they wouldn't be losing.

    I would imagine yours is close because YOUR metabolism is working! I just find it disheartening that people on here that are obese think they need to eat back their exercise calories. People in a normal range are fine.... do what makes you happy. But if you are at least 40lbs or more overweight..... you probably could stand to not eat back your exercise calories!

    If you're severely obese you can be okay on a VLCD. However, most people won't last on that. Thus allowing people to eat back exercise calories tends to increase the chances that they will continue with the calorie deficit since they won't feel so deprived right off the bat.
  • tladame
    tladame Posts: 465 Member
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    The biggest loser participants who are morbidly obese exercise 6 hours a day if they ate all their calories back they would still be morbidly obese and just wasted 6 hours a day!

    That would depend on how many calories they were burning / consuming.

    If they ate 2,500 calories and burned 1,000 calories exercising, it would be like they only consumed 1,500 calories. As long as they stayed within their daily allotment of calories, they would still lose weight.

    As long as your daily calorie goal is set to a number you will lose weight at (factoring in the deficit), you'll be fine eating back exercise calories.
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
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    FYI: I'm obese, I eat back a great deal of my exercise calories, and I'm losing.
  • MiekeJ
    MiekeJ Posts: 139
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    -C for the Maths honey.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,709 Member
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    I'd never heard of it either. I've always always always been told calories that you take in must be burned off............I come to MFP and am told something entirely different. I attempted to "eat back" my exercise calories and guess what? I gained back damn near 10 pounds that I had lost before starting MFP so now I am working to get back to where I was BEFORE starting MFP.
    10 pounds. That's 35,000 calories so if you averaged 500 calorie exercise burns a day, then ate them back AND gained weight, then you did this in approximately 70 days. That's more than 2 months. Are you saying for more than 2 months your weight kept going up and you didn't notice?
  • Dtho5159
    Dtho5159 Posts: 1,054 Member
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    Listen to what I am saying!! If a person on here did not use an indirect calometer and MFP is telling them their BMR is 1680 and then the calorimeter told you it was 1380...... that is 300 more calories a day then you theoretically need. Even if your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) comes to 1680 you would only maintain your weight then you would not lose!
    Your concern would be legitimate if EVERYONE here had an indirect calometer to compare with. MFP goes with a "base" BMR based on age, weight,height, gender, and activity. It has NO WAY to be able to give a totally accurate BMR for FREE.
    I'll just say that mine is very close and I'm sure it is for the majority or they wouldn't be losing.

    I would imagine yours is close because YOUR metabolism is working! I just find it disheartening that people on here that are obese think they need to eat back their exercise calories. People in a normal range are fine.... do what makes you happy. But if you are at least 40lbs or more overweight..... you probably could stand to not eat back your exercise calories!

    Hmmm I have lost 52 and still have about 90 to go and Ive ALWAYS eaten mine back. If I don't, I find myself starving.

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