Not sure I'm doing this right...

cjpg

I never go over my calorie limit for the day, which is 1920. However I've always been confused about the 'extra calories gained from exercise'...
Is it wrong for me to run a 5k run, gain 600 calories that I can consume, but still feel full after eating 1600 calories on average a day? (I looked at my reports, and found my average is 1600).

Most days I have extra calories, but I've gotten into a habit of sticking to my calorie limit and ignoring the 'extra calories', because I don't necessarily want to waste the exercise it took to get there... but I don't want to hurt myself in the process.

My question is, does anyone have an experience of sticking to their calorie requirement and not being hungrier after rigorous exercise??

jcr85

I would just trust what your body is telling you. If you don't fell hungry don't worry about it. However if you are worried about being 300 calories under the MFP recommended daily caloric intake you could just add some extra calories at your other meals through out the day or add in a protein shake.

MrsCon40

www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

Seriously!

Click through - so much good information!!

cpotter4

Typically I do not eat back my exercise calories. You will lose weight fast that way but you can eat back the calories if you want, that is more of a weight maintenance ting. The less calorie you eat back, the more you lose. However if you are allowed over 1900 calories and you are comfortable eating 1600, it sounds as though you should alter the MFP settings to losing more weight per week just to lower your calories closer to what you actually need. You are different from me I'm sure, as everybody is different, its only that 1900 calories sounds very high to me for weight loss, esp if you are running marathons ( which implies that you are fitter than I am).

SHERRYBERRY11

IF UR TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT, DO NOT EAT UP THOSE XTRA CALORIES THAT U BURN DOING EXCERCISES. THE AMOUNT OF CALORIES U ARE ALLOWED A DAY ARE ONLY FOR U TO MAINTAIN UR PRESENT WEIGHT. U MUST BURN MORE CALORIES THAN U TAKE IN OVER TIME IN ORDER TO LOSE THOSE POUNDS!!!!! GOOD LUCK, U CAN DO IT!!!!

Contrarian

IF UR TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT, DO NOT EAT UP THOSE XTRA CALORIES THAT U BURN DOING EXCERCISES. THE AMOUNT OF CALORIES U ARE ALLOWED A DAY ARE ONLY FOR U TO MAINTAIN UR PRESENT WEIGHT. U MUST BURN MORE CALORIES THAN U TAKE IN OVER TIME IN ORDER TO LOSE THOSE POUNDS!!!!! GOOD LUCK, U CAN DO IT!!!!

This is inaccurate. MFP has already built in a calorie deficit. You need those exercise calories to fuel your body.

MrsCon40

IF UR TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT, DO NOT EAT UP THOSE XTRA CALORIES THAT U BURN DOING EXCERCISES. THE AMOUNT OF CALORIES U ARE ALLOWED A DAY ARE ONLY FOR U TO MAINTAIN UR PRESENT WEIGHT. U MUST BURN MORE CALORIES THAN U TAKE IN OVER TIME IN ORDER TO LOSE THOSE POUNDS!!!!! GOOD LUCK, U CAN DO IT!!!!

Yeah, this is totally incorrect. MFP sets your calories so you will lose weight with NO exercise. If you exercise you need to refuel your body and not create an unsafe caloric deficit.

Jorra

IF UR TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT, DO NOT EAT UP THOSE XTRA CALORIES THAT U BURN DOING EXCERCISES. THE AMOUNT OF CALORIES U ARE ALLOWED A DAY ARE ONLY FOR U TO MAINTAIN UR PRESENT WEIGHT. U MUST BURN MORE CALORIES THAN U TAKE IN OVER TIME IN ORDER TO LOSE THOSE POUNDS!!!!! GOOD LUCK, U CAN DO IT!!!!

This is inaccurate. MFP has already built in a calorie deficit. You need those exercise calories to fuel your body.

The Contrarian is right. I'm sorry Sherry, but you are misunderstanding how MFP works. The calorie goal is not to maintain unless you set it that way. There are a variety of setting, the most common being a deficit to lose 1lb a week. The caloric deficit is built in and if you exercise you increase that deficit to sometimes unhealthy levels. That's why you can eat your exercise calories back, you will still lose weight.

cjpg

Wow - lightning fast responses!

I had a look through www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com and found a post stating a deficit is already setting me back, so its important to know how to replenish your body after exercise... its apparently a very tricky balance for some, and completely new to me as I've never followed such a strict system before.

I think I'll be OK so long as I don't lie to myself. If I'm hungry, I'm going to eat. If I'm not, I will not eat. I just need to really hone my ability to be able to tell the difference... I come from a dietary habit of eating for fun/boredom so this is a really scary change that I'm taking on. I've just had enough of that old me!

Thank you all for the feedback, I welcome it all!

MrsCon40

Wow - lightning fast responses!

I had a look through www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com and found a post stating a deficit is already setting me back, so its important to know how to replenish your body after exercise... its apparently a very tricky balance for some, and completely new to me as I've never followed such a strict system before.

I think I'll be OK so long as I don't lie to myself. If I'm hungry, I'm going to eat. If I'm not, I will not eat. I just need to really hone my ability to be able to tell the difference... I come from a dietary habit of eating for fun/boredom so this is a really scary change that I'm taking on. I've just had enough of that old me!

Thank you all for the feedback, I welcome it all!

EXCELLENT!

:flowerforyou:

Contrarian

Wow - lightning fast responses!

I had a look through www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com and found a post stating a deficit is already setting me back, so its important to know how to replenish your body after exercise... its apparently a very tricky balance for some, and completely new to me as I've never followed such a strict system before.

I think I'll be OK so long as I don't lie to myself. If I'm hungry, I'm going to eat. If I'm not, I will not eat. I just need to really hone my ability to be able to tell the difference... I come from a dietary habit of eating for fun/boredom so this is a really scary change that I'm taking on. I've just had enough of that old me!

Thank you all for the feedback, I welcome it all!

It is something that we all struggle with, at first. Just remember that your body needs food to function. Food is not the enemy. You'll be fine.

Rainbow_Brite86

:-)))

kennethmgreen

You are already ahead of the game by being open-minded and willing to read and listen. It's easy to get caught up the minute details, but none of this is exact. As far as I know, there are no current MFP members in a lab hooked up to monitors 24/7. (Gordo was hooked up for other reasons). We're all here trying to make educated guesses, using tools and information to best of our knowledge. Sometimes things can get a little passionate because people will post misinformation.

The exercise calorie question comes up a lot, and unfortunately, is almost always without proper context. It is akin to asking "should I wear a jacket today?" Basically, more information is needed. The references listed in this thread are good. I really like this one as a place to start:
Some MFP Basics | MyFitnessPal.com
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

I think the key misunderstanding with the exercise calories question is this line quoted from the MFP Basics post: "MFP generates a BUILT IN CALORIE DEFICIT to allow for weight loss, regardless of exercise."

People go to their trainer or their doctor or their friend or their broscientist and ask about exercise calories. Because these other folks often have never heard of MFP, or don't understand how MFP works, they reply "Of course not! Why would you eat back your exercise calories!" They are not wrong. They simply do not understand how MFP works, and are operating under the assumption that exercise calories are built into your plan. Many diet/fitness plans do this (sometimes labeled "intended exercise" or "planned exercise"). MFP does not.

I'm not going to argue if one method is better or not. The point is that MFP is designed to be more granular, more specific. So instead of me saying "I'll exercise about this much each week, factor in my calorie goals", MFP has me enter my activity level and adjusts each day's exercise accordingly. Over the course of months, both approaches could yield the same results. (another point that gets lost sometimes). MFP just allows a more detailed calorie goal day-to-day. Other programs essentially average it out over time.

In addition to http://www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com, this is a good answer from the unofficial MFP FAQ:
Should I eat my exercise calories? | MyFitnessPal.com
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/390145-should-i-eat-my-exercise-calories

erickirb

As an example your day to day requirements are like a tank of gas and you use a tank of gas/week going to and from work. If you go on any extra trips or errands you will need to add more gas in order to have enough gas to get to work. So if you need 1600 for day to day stuff (you will lose weight with 1600 cals and no exercise), then when you do extra (workout) you need to put more calories in your body.

It is only a good idea not to eat the extra calories earned from exercise if you have well over 100 lbs to lose or you increase your activity level to account for your exercise. changing your activity level will give you more calories so you will be eating enough, without the thought of "eating your exercise calories".

Essentially you would be setting your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) then creating a deficit from that to lose weight. This is what most trainer/doctors/nutritionists do. Most professionals will tell you not to eat your exercise calories back because they added it into your TDEE, whereas MFP ignores exercise and only accounts for it when you perform it. Either way should get you to the same place.

As an example say MFP gives you 1450 calories to lose 1 lb/week, and you plan on exercising 5x/week for an average of 400 cals per workout. well MFP will tell you to eat 1450 on the days you don't workout and 1850 on the days you do whereas a "professional" may tell you to eat 1750 everyday regardless if you workout.

So for the week MFP will have you eat 12,150 (1450*2+1850*5) whereas doing it the other way will have you eat 12,250 (1750*7) almost the same number of cals for the week. The issue in not following MFP is if you don't workout the full 5 days or burn more or less than planned. If that is the case you may lose more or less than your goal, whereas MFP will have you lose your goal amount regardless how much you actually workout.

What many MFPers do is take the low 1450 and not eat back exercise calories which is wrong, if you are not eating them back then your daily activity level should reflect the higher burn with would be covered in the 1750/day above.

cjpg

Well I have noticed that I never eat back my calories, and that was why I posted this up - I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to put myself in too much of a negative calorie amount that could harm me.

What I really, REALLY am trying to ask myself is this:

"When I do not eat my exercise calories back, is it because I'm NOT hungry or that I don't THINK i'm hungry"

I could be in a bit of denial because I want to trick myself into faster results - I do that all the time with other random aspects...

I know I sound like a broken record, going around in a circle here, but it's just taking me some time to figure out. I've heard that when people diet they are supposed to be a 'little bit hungry' most of the time, and to be relying on their fat excesses for any extra energy. I don't want to think about this too much... I feel like this should be a natural instinct for any human being to KNOW WHEN THEY'RE HUNGRY! This confusion is turning into frustration...

I'm going to be very conscious on any signs of malnutrition - I'll look them up and keep them on hand. If I feel, honestly, that I'm slipping into any category, I'm going to double a meal : extra plate of pasta, an extra sandwich... and test the results.