Do i need to eat all my extra exercise calories?

tina2222

Just wondering if i need to eat all the calories earned through exercise? Is it better to eat these or stick to the 1200 cals theat MFP allows me?
I am new to this site so any tips or tricks would help me alot! and feel free to add me as a friend - i like to see how everone else is going too, its great motivation feeling like im not doing this by myself :flowerforyou:

redraidergirl2009

You should, the way mfp works. Personally, I don't force myself to eat them all, but say I earned back 200, I will probably eat something extra like a snack or something. I think my problem before was that I was working out too much and not eating enough. I've lost 22lbs since feb. I've been off and on my plan. Didn't lose any over the summer. But just recently lost between 6-8 sticking to mfp

dumb_blondes_rock

http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/

check this site out, it will answer all your questions

velvetkat

I personally dont eat my exercise calories back. Ive also been here since Feb but I have lost 86 lbs and eat lots of fruits and veggies and limit my carbs, It works that way for some people and others eat theirs back and lose.
The people in the know say that we all tend to underestimate calories by 40% and overestimate the calories we burn by 20% so i figure if that is true then I am already eating my exercise calories back basically.
Try it one of the ways for a few weeks and if that doesnt work try another way.
Its all what works for you! Dont let others tell you what to do.

Good luck!

Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

morganadk2_deleted

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

TDGee

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/331769--do-i-eat-my-exercise-calories

Spitfirex007

Everyone will have an opinion on if you should eat them or not. Some people will post links and tell you it's a fact you have to. Others will swear they are wrong! My best advice would to read what every links are posted. And experiment with eating them vs not eating them. And figure out what works best for you!

I personally never eat mine unless I am hungry and want a late night snack. That works for me! Others, not so much.

tina2222

Thanks for all your help! those links above are qjuite useful and i cant believe how fast the replies are on here i think i will try both ways (eating my exercise calories and then not eating them) and see how it goes. People have had great results both ways!

SW:69kg
CW:68kg
GW:58kg

russelljclarke

Yes, I think you should. That also seems to be the consensus on MFP, bar a few dissenters.

If you're worried about putting weight on a result, you won't, as you can see in my blog (see link below)

Cheers

MakingChange

Hey tina2222,

Thanks for posting this question, I've been really unsure about it as well.

Is this goal to eat 1200 cal a day - and maintain this level by eating exercise cals, or a are you supposed to create as big a deficit as possible?

Currently, I think I try to eat between 1200 - 1300 cals, but do enough exercise to burn at least 400 cals, leaving me with a total of around 900, is this effective to lose weight?? Is there a way to be even more effective??

MakingChange

Wow, that's a lot of responses in the time it took me to write my question!

russelljclarke

You'll stop losing weight if you dip below 1000/1200 NET calories on a regular basis. A well documented (on MFP) phenomenon called 'starvation mode. Again, see my blog (link below) if you're unconvinced or swayed by non-scientific opinion.

summerkissed

Everyone will have an opinion on if you should eat them or not. Some people will post links and tell you it's a fact you have to. Others will swear they are wrong! My best advice would to read what every links are posted. And experiment with eating them vs not eating them. And figure out what works best for you!

I personally never eat mine unless I am hungry and want a late night snack. That works for me! Others, not so much.

Very good advice!!

Eve1972

Play around and find out what works the best for YOU!

evesacks

Eat them if you are hungry!

Don't eat them all if you feel eating them would be greed!

I have always eaten some of them, I eat more of them now that I am at my target weight as I am hungrier, I guess because I don't have 50lbs of of fat stores anymore!

And eat then on good food, IMO eating them back in chocolate or processed rubbish will lead to weight gain.

jovbaker

this is all very well but how can you eat them back if you don't know how many you are burning?

i cycle to and from work everyday (an hour each way with LOTS of hills) and some sites say this is 400 cals each way, others say over 1000!

I tend to average about 14mph but go approx 8mph uphill and 18mph on the flat. There is no way of measuring this so do i eat back an extra 800 a day or 2000!!

it a considerable difference.

all advice sought...

tina2222

hi jovbaker,
Sorry i cant answer that question, i am just going by what the website says when i add it to my exercises. But i think there are HRMs that have calories burned included? and i think there are similar devices that ipods have that can connect to your nike shoes. however i think that is just for running.

Hope this helps at least a little . .

8rules

Post in any internet forum and ask if you should drink mercury in your water and someone is going to come out and say yes.

This is one of those topics.

The plan presented is to eat your exercise calories. I would start with that and then adjust accordingly if you are not getting results.

liza001

Starvation mode ?

I agree with all the above posts against having your exercise cals! 
*I like the idea of consuming some of your cals if you're hungry 
*I really liked the one about overestimating your workout cals and underestimating your consumed cals 

I lost an average of 1lb a week from February -April I was not happy not losing 2lbs a week as I had in the past (younger) so from April to August I had my exercise cals and lost a grand total of 2lbs in 16weeks! I persevered because I wanted my metabolism to return to what it should...  2weeks ago I went back to my tried and true 1000 per day and maybe 100-200cals occasionally if I'm extra hungry and lost 4lbs the first week... Last week I haven't lost anything but I understand that and I tried to avoid using the scales as my master, hence why I could preserver for 6 weeks, believing that it must also be muscle.. Haha didn't put on THAT much muscle! Hahaha 

I feel MFP promotes 1200 cals and starvation mode etc due to us humans eating so unhealthy ... If 1200 cals has cakes and junk food in it well yes, it's not good for you.. However if you're having balanced food eg: 5 veggies, 2 fruits, 1 protein and 5 carbs then I do not feel there's an issue with so called "starvation mode" if you were to eat balanced above foods there are no cals left for junk food... I feel this should be promoted more... Also rewarding the public with food for exercising is getting the public moving, which they may not be losing weight but moving especially if they have got to sweating is a great thing.

I do like HSV's my HSV today is that I can hold my arms taught and giggle them without them flapping anymore! As of today! Yay...Hahaha funny but true! 
My profile pic is my goal, I'm getting close... 

Below is a couple of websites I found interesting... 

http://www.healthscience.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=512:are-you-in-the-starvation-mode-or-starving-for-truth&catid=102:jeff-novicks-blog&Itemid=267  

http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2009/03/mtyhbusters-starvation-mode.html 

whisperingdragon

Post in any internet forum and ask if you should drink mercury in your water and someone is going to come out and say yes.

This is one of those topics.

The plan presented is to eat your exercise calories. I would start with that and then adjust accordingly if you are not getting results.

This!

liza001

I'm a biggest loser fan... They are on 1000-1200 cals a day and workout all day long ... Look at their losses each week, they do not eat back their exercise cals and they are so fabulously heathy at grand final...

tina2222

Starvation mode ?

I agree with all the above posts against having your exercise cals! 
*I like the idea of consuming some of your cals if you're hungry 
*I really liked the one about overestimating your workout cals and underestimating your consumed cals 

I lost an average of 1lb a week from February -April I was not happy not losing 2lbs a week as I had in the past (younger) so from April to August I had my exercise cals and lost a grand total of 2lbs in 16weeks! I persevered because I wanted my metabolism to return to what it should...  2weeks ago I went back to my tried and true 1000 per day and maybe 100-200cals occasionally if I'm extra hungry and lost 4lbs the first week... Last week I haven't lost anything but I understand that and I tried to avoid using the scales as my master, hence why I could preserver for 6 weeks, believing that it must also be muscle.. Haha didn't put on THAT much muscle! Hahaha 

I feel MFP promotes 1200 cals and starvation mode etc due to us humans eating so unhealthy ... If 1200 cals has cakes and junk food in it well yes, it's not good for you.. However if you're having balanced food eg: 5 veggies, 2 fruits, 1 protein and 5 carbs then I do not feel there's an issue with so called "starvation mode" if you were to eat balanced above foods there are no cals left for junk food... I feel this should be promoted more... Also rewarding the public with food for exercising is getting the public moving, which they may not be losing weight but moving especially if they have got to sweating is a great thing.

I do like HSV's my HSV today is that I can hold my arms taught and giggle them without them flapping anymore! As of today! Yay...Hahaha funny but true! 
My profile pic is my goal, I'm getting close... 

Below is a couple of websites I found interesting... 

http://www.healthscience.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=512:are-you-in-the-starvation-mode-or-starving-for-truth&catid=102:jeff-novicks-blog&Itemid=267  

http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2009/03/mtyhbusters-starvation-mode.html 

thanks for the awesome advice! i am also a fan of the biggest loser and they are working out like 6hours a day. So i think i agree with you. if you eat back the calories you burned off arent you pretty much just back where you started at the beginning of the day?

HMonsterX

I also love the biggest loser...watched all 4 UK, all 4 AU and all 10 US, but the thing to remember is that losing weight that fast does lead to a lot of loose skin. Why do you think they change from weighing in topless for the guys, then just past halfway in they weigh in in their tshirts?

evelyngrice

I don't always eat them, but it is nice to know that if you get hungry then you have the option to eat a nice snack, and the snack feels even more deserved

If you burn a lot of calories, so lets say over 500, then I would advise eating something and using some of the extra calories up, because that is quite a large burn

x

HMonsterX

But seriously, isnt this the 6th topic in the last week on the exact same subject? Are there no mods to delete repeat threads?

sayambular

I sometimes eat them back but the majority of the time I do NOT. Only because I'm not that hungry throughout the day.

liza001

I also love the biggest loser...watched all 4 UK, all 4 AU and all 10 US, but the thing to remember is that losing weight that fast does lead to a lot of loose skin. Why do you think they change from weighing in topless for the guys, then just past halfway in they weigh in in their tshirts?

Yes I Agee totally, hahaha I wish I had that problem to deal with... Rapid loss! OMG do I wish... However, I'm not going to eat and use that for an excuse... (not suggesting that you do, just a point)

liza001

I don't always eat them, but it is nice to know that if you get hungry then you have the option to eat a nice snack, and the snack feels even more deserved

If you burn a lot of calories, so lets say over 500, then I would advise eating something and using some of the extra calories up, because that is quite a large burn

x

Yes BUT BE VERY VERY CAREFUL OF HOW MANY CALORIES YOU ARE EXACTLY BURNING! Some workouts have been put on by members and the cals are way over what they should... I like to call a workout 100cals then I know I'm not kidding myself! I'm sure there are some doing some big burns but I'm also sure there are MANY who are confused and then get depressed at the end of the week that they haven't lost... Then lol, they have the well meaning "nice" friends who tell them it's muscle etc...

If you want to lose, stay true to yourself, log accurately ... I like my diary to be public, it shames me to be good...

redraidergirl2009

did you know many of the contestants actually gain weight after simply because they are dehydrated when they do weigh ins?

MrsX07

if im hungry ill eat them, but i dont go out of my way to make sure i eat my calorie allocation everyday.

8rules

I'm a biggest loser fan... They are on 1000-1200 cals a day and workout all day long ... Look at their losses each week, they do not eat back their exercise cals and they are so fabulously heathy at grand final...

Surely you are not suggesting reality TV as science, or suitable to average person. Are you?

Or was that sarcasm.