Do I need to eat the calories back that i've burned?

k43la

I'm new here. I was just wondering if we are supposed to have a large calorie deficit after we add our exercise, or are we supposed to try and eat back what we've burned exercising. I've been lurking on these threads, and I've seen people say we're supposed to do both. SO..any advice please and thank you?

erickirb

Yes, You have to eat them back to hit your target caloric deficit to lose your goal amount of weight per week. A larger deficit is not always, and usually isn't, better.

MaximalLife

I'm new here. I was just wondering if we are supposed to have a large calorie deficit after we add our exercise, or are we supposed to try and eat back what we've burned exercising. I've been lurking on these threads, and I've seen people say we're supposed to do both. SO..any advice please and thank you?

MFP calculates our total daily calorie intake WITHOUT exercise to lose 1 pound or so per week.
And after we log exercises, our daily calorie limit increases.
Why?
Because MFP telling us to eat our exercise calories.
Large deficits are unhealthy, because while you will lose weight, what's the quality of the weight loss?
In many cases you'll lose lean body mass - MUSCLE - which LOWERS your metabolic rate, making weight loss harder.
These crash diets work well for a season -- and sure enough, the pounds melt away. But when you eat so
few calories, you train your metabolism to slow down. Once the diet is over, you have a body that burns calories
more slowly -- and you gain weight.
Be smart.
Exercise well both cardio and resistance, and eat back the calories.
The exercise will RAISE your metabolism and burn more fat at rest.

flimflamfloz

Flip a coin...

Or listen to these guys before me.

pgdakitty

I worked with a nutritionist who told me that no matter how much I exercise (short of doing a triathlon) I should NOT eat back my exercsie calories. I fired her for several reasons, but I do still wonder about that advice.

keeponkickin

I think you're going to get responses from both sides of the fence. Some say yes, eat them back and others say no and others will say to eat some of them back.

I think you will learn what the "secret sauce" is for you. I've played it both ways and find I need to change my game at various times. Sometimes eating the calories back work and then it backfires and then I switch back to not eating them.

engineman312

you could drink them...

NettyIOM

Good topic. I'm new too and had been wondering about this.

lizard053

Learn what works best for you!

If I eat back calories, I don't lose weight at all. Others have the opposite. That's why there are so many opinions out there.

I say, in general, eat them if you're hungry, don't if your not. Just eat slowly so that you don't eat too many calories!

erickirb

I worked with a nutritionist who told me that no matter how much I exercise (short of doing a triathlon) I should NOT eat back my exercsie calories. I fired her for several reasons, but I do still wonder about that advice.

This is good advice if and only if the caloric intake she suggested was enough to fuel your body (TDEE included exercise)

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.

merryscottuk

I generally don't but then eat a few I've "saved" at the weekend. I think if I ate them all I'd not lose...

Mel1509

I eat them back if I am hungry, if not hungry than I don't eat... I feel worse if I force myself to eat when I am not hungry at all...

erickirb

I think you're going to get responses from both sides of the fence. Some say yes, eat them back and others say no and others will say to eat some of them back.

I think you will learn what the "secret sauce" is for you. I've played it both ways and find I need to change my game at various times. Sometimes eating the calories back work and then it backfires and then I switch back to not eating them.

For ideal weight loss that is right, you may need to experiment, but to hit your goal deficit you need to eat them back, as it is must math. The only thing I would caution though is that calories burned on MFP or machines are not very accurate (you may want to only eat 75ish% of them for this reason).

Guitarjon

I tend to eat back about half of them but I have got quite a lot to loose. I try to eat plenty of protien type foods with some healthy carbs to eat the calories back, Mainly because the protien helps keep the lean muscle in tact and helps to repair the muscles used in exercise.

k43la

Thank you guys. It just seemed to me like 3500 calories burned = 1 lb of fat lost, so why re-eat those calories? I'm starting to see that weight loss if far from an exact science, and every one is different.

jacksonpt

I'm new here. I was just wondering if we are supposed to have a large calorie deficit after we add our exercise, or are we supposed to try and eat back what we've burned exercising. I've been lurking on these threads, and I've seen people say we're supposed to do both. SO..any advice please and thank you?

It depends on how you calculated your daily calorie goal. If you accounted for daily exercise, then you don't need to log exercise nor do you need to eat it back. If you didn't account for exercise, then you should be logging it separately and you should be eating back those cals.

erickirb

I'm new here. I was just wondering if we are supposed to have a large calorie deficit after we add our exercise, or are we supposed to try and eat back what we've burned exercising. I've been lurking on these threads, and I've seen people say we're supposed to do both. SO..any advice please and thank you?

It depends on how you calculated your daily calorie goal. If you accounted for daily exercise, then you don't need to log exercise nor do you need to eat it back. If you didn't account for exercise, then you should be logging it separately and you should be eating back those cals.

Good point and an FYI to the OP, If you follow MFP's suggested intake and activity level your planned exercise is not taken into account, MFP assumes no exercise until you log it.

slim422

This question seems to be in every exercise/calorie thread on the net. Many other posters have already alluded to the fact that you're going to get all kinds of answers from both sides and I think the best responses have been to find out what works for you.

Personally, I do eat my back, in most cases and every week since Jan 9th I have lost more than the calculated 1.6lbs per week. Importantly, I am always at or above my target fitness goals (30 min/day 6x per week). I eat very very little processed or packaged food and limit eating out to 1x per week. It is difficult but that my plan until I hit my target weight.

My philosophy over the past month is I am not going to change anything until I stop losing......

My husband and I purposely made our weigh in day Monday morning to synch with our MFP numbers of 'above or net for the week estimates' - so far so good.

Watch your numbers, look at what kinds of foods you're eating and if you're on target just keep doing what works for you.

Good luck

astrampe

I eat them back if I am hungry, if not hungry than I don't eat... I feel worse if I force myself to eat when I am not hungry at all...

This.....