Eating your exercise calories...

sassiebritches

I personally found that the BMR/Normal Activity for me here is incorrect. If I followed what MFP set for me my goals for deficit would be way off. I eat when I am hungry.....if that means I go a bit over the 1200 alotted to me here then I do, because I did exercise. But I do not intentionally eat these cals. I lost 15 pounds by eating what was givin to me (going over by no more then 100 cals) and working out and not eating all of my exercise cals. I lost 0 by following the guidelines and eating the cals...so that is my 2 cents.

:flowerforyou:

x98peterson

I haven't been doing this long, but I have been eating my extra cals from exercising and I didn't loose, so I am going to change it up a bit...

singfree

sassiebritches has a good, common sense approach. If we follow the MFP guidelines to a "T", chances are high that we might not be in a caloric deficit. It is safer to allow for a bit of error in our computations. This is why I shoot for 1500 cals eaten per day and not eat my exercise cals. In 5 weeks, I've lost fat and gained strength. I refuse to weigh myself...if my clothes fit and I see progress in the mirror, that's all that matters (to me).

SHBoss1673

sassiebritches has a good, common sense approach. If we follow the MFP guidelines to a "T", chances are high that we might not be in a caloric deficit. It is safer to allow for a bit of error in our computations. This is why I shoot for 1500 cals eaten per day and not eat my exercise cals. In 5 weeks, I've lost fat and gained strength. I refuse to weigh myself...if my clothes fit and I see progress in the mirror, that's all that matters (to me).

I respectfully disagree (very respectfully, I'm serious!), with the first part of this.

Look guys, I completely understand where you are coming from, and I'm not one to stick to the plan down to the last detail either. But the overall concept of the goals here, mixed with a little research into why they are giving you these goals is what I recommend for everyone. I know that not eating your exercise calories works for some, and I think that's great. I'm all for what ever works (healthy) for you.

But that doesn't mean it should be recommended for everyone. The fact is that more often then not, the reason why this plan doesn't work for some is because people just log in, set a goal, and they are off, without ever checking to see if this is right for them, or doing any research into WHY it's set this way. Besides people with a medically diagnosed low metabolic rate, or some other medical condition that would cause excess fat storage, keeping a consistently MODERATE caloric deficit is a good, healthy, slow way to lose weight. Yes I said slow! The body needs time to change and adapt. Looking for a change in a few weeks or a month is unrealistic. Some might see results right away, some might not, that's not the point though, the point is to create a way of life that will gradually shape you into a healthy, energetic, and physically fit individual for 10, 20, 30, or 50 years down the road.

Again, I'm not trying to shoot down anyone's way of doing things, and none of us are experts in the nutrition field, I'm just trying to make sure everyone is aware that knowledge is power, and knowing how and why our metabolism does what it does is vastly more important than dropping 1 or 2 lbs this week.

I hope none of you guys hates me for this stuff, it's not an attack of any kind. I just want to make sure the facts are out there.

love to all you guys!!!!!!!

-Banks

ohthatbambi

I actually asked my personal trainer this question and he told me that for me, I should not consume the extra calories as I want to lose a fair amount of weight. He told me that you should consume your exercise calories if you want to tone your body not necessarily lose alot of weight or if you are an athlete. So I have taken his advice and I have lost weight each week.

I was told this exact same thing by two doctors, not one, but TWO! B/c I do alot of exercising, I eat some of my exercise calories but NOT all.

ohthatbambi

I personally found that the BMR/Normal Activity for me here is incorrect. If I followed what MFP set for me my goals for deficit would be way off. I eat when I am hungry.....if that means I go a bit over the 1200 alotted to me here then I do, because I did exercise. But I do not intentionally eat these cals. I lost 15 pounds by eating what was givin to me (going over by no more then 100 cals) and working out and not eating all of my exercise cals. I lost 0 by following the guidelines and eating the cals...so that is my 2 cents.

:flowerforyou:

I actually gained 10 pounds while consuming exercise calories. I tried it for a month and was very exact about what I ate and logging it in. I wear a hrm so I felt my calories burned was right on. After gaining I was so frustrated that I went and talked to TWO doctors, both of which said this was clearly not working for me so now I aim for 1500 calories a day. I exercise everyday. There may be a couple days it is just walking the dog for a couple miles but I do some form of exercise unless I am sick. This works for me. I listen to my body and eat when I am hungry and make sure that I have enough fuel in me that I feel good and energized...no starving

jtintx

Things to consider:
1. Your BMR may be slightly lower or higher than MFP predicts.
2. Your food entries are likely not "spot on" - assigning more or less calories than what was truely in the food.
3. Your exercise calories burned are likely not "spot on" - same thing.

When you are only trying to lose 1 lb a week you don't have a lot of room for error.

If any of the above are off just slightly you will either lose weight more than you thought, gain a little weight, or stay the same.