will eating back your exercises calories benefit you.

karenhs2

So I have my activity level set to 'sedentary' and then I log my exercise and can confidently eat my exercise calories since I know I'm only counting them once.

This is what I do and I am conservative on logging exercise so I am confident as well. And that is a good feeling!!!

Peppychristian

The calorie goal that MFP calculates for you actually does NOT include the exercise that you said you are going to do. It is based off of your BMR (calculated from height, weight, and age) and your activity level only. It does not include that extra exercise that you pledged to engage in. MFP only counts that exercise when you actually *do* it and log it on the site.

MFP gives you a calorie goal that will allow you to lose weight even if you don't exercise. Basically, you tell it 'hey I'm going to work out 7 days a week' and MFP says 'yeah, right, sure, I'll believe it when I see it - how about you just eat XXX and if you DO exercise, THEN we'll talk'. LOL So when you actually log in a workout, MFP is like 'dang, you know I totally didn't see that coming, I thought you were messing with me. Well, I gave you a goal that put you at a deficit already, so now that you've blown my mind and actually worked out, well now you need some extra energy so how about you go have a snack'. That's why it adds extra calories to your goal for the day when you log in a workout. You said you were going to exercise, it didn't believe you and told you what to eat in order to be able to lose weight even if you didn't do what you said you were going to do. Then when you did it, MFP adjusted your calorie goal up so that you would still have the same deficit that you originally requested.

Let me start by saying this made me laugh, so thanks for your fun way of describing this. I too struggle with the thought of eating back all the calories I burn. However, in all honesty, I am very glad MFP doesn't count your exercise until you actually do it because more often than not I do not do it.

Peppychristian

My biggest dilemma centers around the fact that I am also a nursing mommy. I do log the nursing on my food diary and it credits me for those calories however I changed my goal to reflect the 1800 calories that most say nursing moms should take in. However, when I exercise do I take in more than the 1800 or stay put.

loombeav

So I have my activity level set to 'sedentary' and then I log my exercise and can confidently eat my exercise calories since I know I'm only counting them once.

This is what I do and I am conservative on logging exercise so I am confident as well. And that is a good feeling!!!

This^^^
I do wear an HRM also just to be sure I'm logging is accurate.

karenhs2

My biggest dilemma centers around the fact that I am also a nursing mommy. I do log the nursing on my food diary and it credits me for those calories however I changed my goal to reflect the 1800 calories that most say nursing moms should take in. However, when I exercise do I take in more than the 1800 or stay put.

Definitely keep a close eye on your milk supply. I never actually tried to lose weight while nursing but I know that you must have enough nutrition to keep it going. Fluid intake was vital for me as well. I would probably err more on the side of eating back those exercise calories while nursing just depending on how high of a priority it is for you to keep nursing (it was very high for me but I am not saying it should be for everyone).

Pebble321

CM, best explanation of eating exercise cals, EVER!
To the OP - yes, I eat most or all of my exercise cals and it's worked really well for me.

amberpryor

One thing to be mindful of is do NOT count that extra exercise as part of your activity level if you plan to log your specific exercise calories.

I think this is where I got into trouble. I had been eating around 1200 calories a day, and suddenly I was expected to eat nearly 1700! I didn't feel like I should be eating so much! My problem, apparently, was that I had changed my activity level to "Lightly Active" - just like you said.

I'm really not sure if my lifestyle is "sedentary" or "lightly active". I work from home, but it is a daycare. So sometimes I feel like I'm walking back and forth a lot, on my feet cooking, and doing some laundry and such. But there is also a significant portion of my day spent sitting on the couch.

stormieweather

I've found that, since I sit at a desk for my primary profession, sedentary is most accurate for me. I do have a Fitbit and burn almost exactly what MFP calculates as my normal daily activity burn. If/when I work out, I do eat part of those calories.