Pros/Cons of Eating Exercise Calories?

UpEarly · December 2011

I eat my exercise calories. In fact, I've averaged about 2000 calories a day since joining MFP in April. My ticker doesn't show 0 pounds lost. In fact, I've lost 41 pounds... same as you, it seems.

CyberEd312 · December 2011

My deficit is built in by MFP (1 lb. a week= 500 calorie deficit a day) so if I did nothing but sit on my butt I would still lose weight. but I workout 6 days (if not 7) a week and burn anywhere between 1200-1800 calories a day. If I didn't eat those exercise calories back (normally consume 70% of them) I would put myself in to a massive calorie deficit and would put myself into Starvation mode (which I have done when I don't eat enough). Eating calories back is a non-issue for those that only exercise and burn a few hundred calories or less a day or a few times a week but for those that are hitting the gym hard everyday you Must Fuel your workouts....

engineman312 · December 2011

don't listen to this guy. he's only lost 285 lbs. and look at that avatar picture. he's just SITTING there. what does he know?

amcanzo · December 2011

I 'bout spit my drink all over my screen when I read this ^^^ :laugh:

Honestly, I was just marveling over the 285 lbs lost - 285??? :noway: Holy cow - awesome, incredible job!!

To the OP: Great job with your exercise routine - sounds phenomenal!!

Stocks2 · December 2011

this is my first post ever. I have lost 14 since mid september with a published goal of 20 by May, so looking at the unpublished. When I add from exercise, I will sometimes add a little intake, but I never try to eat the whole thing. I just look at it as ok, closer to the goal

taso42 · December 2011

I find it interesting when people who don't get the whole exercise calorie thing post topics complaining of stalls, plateaus, and binges, when their ticker is about halfway to goal..

Actually I'm lying. I don't find it interesting at all. I find it frustrating and aggravating.

The information is out there, and it's not rocket science.

wolfchild59 · December 2011

There is no blanket answer of yes or no for anything having to do with weight loss. If there was, this would be a lot easier and everyone would be as fit as they want to be.

For me, eating back my exercise calories doesn't really work. I tried it for awhile and even with accurately logging every bite of food I ate during the day and only entering HRM-based calories, and still leaving some calories left at the end of each day to allow for margin of error, I stalled and gained.

So I actually sat down and did a lot of hand calculations of different numbers along with using online calculators as well. I got my BMI from about five different formulas, my TDEE from four or five calculations, looked at my average daily burn, my average exercise calories burned based on what work out I was doing and after lots of averging out and (literally) three and half pages of formulas and calculations, I found that I really shouldn't be eating back more than a few of my exercise calories, when needed.

I adjusted my settings and my mindset and went back into this with my new info. And finally, after nearly six months of struggling to get back on a losing track after having stalled, found these forums, paid attention to what people were saying here and starting to gain based on that advice, I went got back to losing.

It's now been a couple of months and I have lost enough that I almost back to the weight that I was before I found these forums doing Googe searches on how to break a plateau. Though, I'm about the same size as I was, because I've been doing more strength training and my body fat percentage has gone down and I've got a little more muscle definition showing now.

And I've lost that weight by only eating back a fraction of my exercise calories, and not even always diving into them. If I have a high burn day, then I eat maybe 25-30% of them. Mid-range burn days, maybe 10% of them and low burn days I don't even touch them.

Now that I'm getting back closer to my goal, I may adjust that a bit as I will likely be looking to reduce m y daily deficit soon, but I don't see myself eating back even close to all of them. But, again, this is all based on my personal experience and calculations done specifically for my needs and how my body works. Really, I would recommend doing the same and experimenting with what works best for you because no one on this board is truly going to be able to tell you what is going to work for you, only what has worked for them.

mdebbie1026 · December 2011

Are you going by the machine's calorie burn numbers or are you wearing an HRM? I got one for my birthday this year and was devastated to learn that the machines are (greatly exaggerated) not even close to accurate. I could burn 400 in a half hour or so acccording to the elliptical and another 50 to 150 depending on how long I stayed on the recumbent bike, well, according to my HRM I was doing good to get 300 calories TOTAL after a 40-45 minute work out.

mhig011975 · December 2011

AMEN!!!!!!! This so true, you have to burn more calories then what you consume. What is the point if you eat your calories back?!?

taso42 · December 2011

"Joined May 2011"... You've been here 6 months and missing the premise of how the site works and calorie deficits. smh

jlr_12 · December 2011

Think of it this way...let's say every day you drive your car (your body) 100 kms (BMR). In order to drive those 100 kms you need exactly 20 litres of gas (calories). Now let's say one day you decide to drive 150 kms instead (exercise)...that 20 litres of fuel will not be enough and you will run out of gas before you reach your destination. There's no argument here that you'd need to add a bit more fuel than usual in order for your car drive 50 kms further. It's that simple.

And to add to that...let's say you refuse to give in, and decide you'll only put 20 litres in your car, no matter how far you drive it. You will run out of gas every day. Think of what that would do to your car mechanically! It would be junked in no time. Your body is no different. If you don't give it enough fuel, it WILL catch up with you.

CoryIda · December 2011

Exercise is for burning fat, improving overall health, building muscle, and releasing those FABULOUS endorphins we all love.

A calorie deficit is already built in by MFP so the calories you burn through exercise are "extra."

Do I worry about eating the exact number of calories I burn? No.

Do I try to give my body additional fuel when I tax it through exercise? Yes.

Then again, I have only shed 125 pounds and reduced my body fat by over 30%, so what do I know? :flowerforyou:

Lyadeia · December 2011

+1

I follow plan A...I eat between BMR and TDEE and never worry about exercise calories, which is why I don't even log them. It's easier to work with than MFP's way, since they want me to starve (1200 calories) on the days I don't workout. I consistently lose body fat eating around 1500 or so which is between my BMR and TDEE. It's the way that people did things for years before MFP existed.

But, if you follow plan B (MFP) you better eat them back...or as mentioned above, you just don't eat enough.

heykatieben · December 2011

Hmm... my advice..

Most people here weigh weekly. I weigh daily, and I think it's helped me learn more about how my body works than a weekly weigh-in would. I notice that I weigh less on mornings where I've worked out the day before. I'd suggest trying eating back your calories for a while, see what happens, and try not eating back your calories for a while, and see what happens. Try different things too, like eating protein before/after workouts to see what affect that has. Just try stuff with your own body, and see what works best for you, since there are so many different opinions, probably because our bodies are all just a hair different.

jchester71 · December 2011

I have consulted with Drs and a sports nutritionist too and this is exactly right. The eat back your calories philosophy came from personal trainers, not doctors or dieticians, who as a general rule scoff at the suggestion. While you may need to eat some additional calories to make sure you have the energy you need, the notion that you have to "eat back" all calories burned in order to lose weight is simply indefensible scientifically.

MaraDiaz · December 2011

Pro: I don't pass out while trying to work out.

Pro: I don't get cranky from hunger and start killing people.

Pro: My body will hopefully learn that it's not living in famine times and will eventually stop holding onto those calories so tight.

Pro: I don't need diet pills to lose weight anymore (at least so far I haven't, only been at this a couple weeks though).

Con: Can't think of any. However, YMMV.

LorinaLynn · December 2011

I hate referring to it as "eating back" the calories.

MFP doesn't include the exercise you SAY you'll do in your calorie goal. It's not included UNTIL and UNLESS you do the exercise.

And I don't think the OP was even discussing whether or not to eat more calories, but whether to include the calories earned from exercise on a daily basis following the MFP formula, or instead to calculate the average number of calories burned, add that to her daily goal, and eat the same amount each day regardless of what amount she burned. And that's what Guru talked about on the first page, and either way would work out the same. It's just a matter of personal preferences.

Ashisrunning · December 2011

Eat half of your 1000 exercise calories? its only a little more then 350.

tigersword · December 2011

False. Different methods use different techniques. Doctors and sports nutritionists factor all of your activity into your calorie goal, INCLUDING exercise. If a doctor tells you to eat 1600 calories a day and not eat back the 400 calories you burn exercising, or MFP tells you to eat 1200 calories and the eat back the 400 calories you burned exercising, IT'S THE SAME THING.

westcoastSW · December 2011

This. Requoting for emphasis.

Pros/Cons of Eating Exercise Calories?

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