Eat Back Your Calories?

MrsKite

I see a lot of people posting that we should eat back the calories we burn working out. I can burn 600 to 1500 calories a workout. That's a lot of calories to eat.

TavistockToad

eat them!

dg09

Reading through a few similar threads on here in recent days, I'd say a lot of people do not eat back their calories. I don't.

meerkat70

I see a lot of people posting that we should eat back the calories we burn working out. I can burn 600 to 1500 calories a workout. That's a lot of calories to eat.

Measured how?

MFP overestimates on most cardio,so enure you're trimming that number by about a third, if that's what you're doing to calculate burns.

psuLemon

Reading through a few similar threads on here in recent days, I'd say a lot of people do not eat back their calories. I don't.

Yes, but there is a huge difference between what people SHOULD do versus what people actually do. To answer the question, yes you should eat back your exercise calories (50-75% of them if MFP is the one estimating it) or you should include that in your TDEE calculation. So a sedentary person who workouts 5-6 days a week (like myself) would be considered moderately to very active so you eat them throughout the day.



www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

Brandie1029

I eat about half to take in over estimation. It's working for me! I tried not eating back my exercise calories and sticking to a little over 1200 calories but I wasn't dropping the calories. Once I upped my calories again....voila....I started losing again! Your body needs fuel.....feed it!

MrsKite

I measure my calorie burn with fitness monitor... I could go to McDonalds with the amount of calories I burn!!!

HonkyTonks

I measure my calorie burn with fitness monitor... I could go to McDonalds with the amount of calories I burn!!!

Well, looking at your diary you are definitely not eating enough. You are an active person and thus require more energy to sustain you. Try ditching the lean cuisine/healthy choice meals and eat a bigger lunch or something. Add in some healthy fats (avocados) and some more protein like chicken or eggs.

You could go to McDonald's but you could also eat more from foods that might provide you with more nutrition.

MrsKite

Thanks for taking a look. ( I was only kidding about the Mc Donalds)

junyr

You better get to it then.

Captain_Tightpants

Which HRM are you using? Some are notoriously inaccurate. Polar seem to be the preferred reliable brand around here.

I try to eat at least 50-75% of my exercise cals back. I don't eat them all because chances are I'm underestimating food cals and overestimating workout cals anyway, that's usually the case with most people.

albinogorilla

If you only were to eat 1200 calories, and then burn 1200 calories, you would take in no calories, and will eventually die. Thats no different than not working out and starving yourself, it FEELS different, but its not.

TNoire

I don't cause it takes 3500 BURNED cals to lose 1lb
if your eating back what you burn whats the point?
calorie min for males 1800
females 1200

guess what

Ive lost 7lbs since Feb 3rd to today NOT eating my cals back
cause I want to LOSE the weight
not maintain it



I eat between 1200-1300 a day
I burn between 500 - 2500 sometimes more

ashleynicol3

I will say that I was stuck at the same weight for a couple weeks & I started eating my exercise calories back this week & lost 2 lbs. I was eating around 1200 calories per day & burning about 200 from exercise, so I was only netting 1000 calories per day, if that. I'm now eating around 1400 calories per day (1200 + 200 from exercise), so I am netting around 1200. If I exercise a lot in one day, I won't eat all of them back, but I am trying to eat enough back to net at least 1200 calories & it seems to have made all the difference for me. It seemed counter-intuitive to eat more to lose more, but it has worked so far, so I'm going to continue this way!

MrsKite

Which HRM are you using? Some are notoriously inaccurate. Polar seem to be the preferred reliable brand around here.

I try to eat at least 50-75% of my exercise cals back. I don't eat them all because chances are I'm underestimating food cals and overestimating workout cals anyway, that's usually the case with most people.

Using a Polar...

junyr

I don't cause it takes 3500 BURNED cals to lose 1lb
if your eating back what you burn whats the point?
calorie min for males 1800
females 1200

guess what

Ive lost 7lbs since Feb 3rd to today NOT eating my cals back
cause I want to LOSE the weight
not maintain it

Do what you feel is right for you.

Eating back calories has some give depending on your body composition.

I eat mine back because my deficit is built into my profile and I'd rather my weight loss be as little lean mass as possible.

cranberrycat

My main goal is to exercise enough so that I can get more calories to eat! LOL

Seriously, though, if you are exercising like a fiend, then you should eat some it back, as you could experience some loss of lean body mass if you are not giving your body what it needs. I don't know a proven hard and fast rule, but I think that if you eat 1/2 of those calories back then you should be on the right track.

Think of it this way, MFP already gives you a calorie goal for weight loss, so if your net calories (total cals minus exercise calories) meets your calorie goal, then you should lose regardless of whether you eat back the calories or not. If you don't eat back the calories, then you may lose more (or faster), but again, you won't be feeding what your body needs to function at that higher level.

kryptonitekelly

You can drink them..protein shakes after a workout.

lind3400

yeh according to your diary your gunna starve to death.....

beckylawrence70

I'll usually eat about 75-90% back.......

taso42

Burn a lot, eat a lot. It's the way of the champion.

TNoire

bigger you are more you burn easier to lose
smaller you are less you burn harder to lose

luvmybaby333

I don't cause it takes 3500 BURNED cals to lose 1lb
if your eating back what you burn whats the point?
calorie min for males 1800
females 1200

guess what

Ive lost 7lbs since Feb 3rd to today NOT eating my cals back
cause I want to LOSE the weight
not maintain it



I eat between 1200-1300 a day
I burn between 500 - 2500 sometimes more

I've seen you post this more than once... I'm thinking that you do not understand how the human body works, or how dieting works. You will BURN calories just existing every single day. You BURN calories sleeping. You BURN calories taking a piss. You BURN calories while stuffing your face. So when people say that it takes 3500 "burned" calories to lose a pound, they don't just mean the type of burn you get through exercising. (Heck, you could exercise and still gain weight, if you are eating more than you should. Exercise isn't some miraculous fat burner. It helps. It's good for you. You should do it whether you want to lose weight or not! But it isn't necessary for weight loss.) What they mean is that if you take in less calories than your body is using (through either normal daily activity, or accounting for additional exercise), then you will lose a pound per every 3500 calories you are in deficit. You can lose the weight without ever lifting a finger. All you have to do is eat less than your body BURNS. Which is pretty easy to do, since your body burns calories every second of every day.

ETA: I see you clearly you do know how dieting works, since you've lost quite a bit of weight. However, I also see that you gained weight back. This is common among people who create deficits that are too large to sustain. As soon as you start eating normally, or getting the slightest bit lax, then your body will pack on the pounds again. If you maintain a modest deficit, then your body maintains a higher metabolism. This is good news for people who do not want live for the rest of their as if they were on a "diet".

chattipatty2

I don't cause it takes 3500 BURNED cals to lose 1lb
if your eating back what you burn whats the point?
calorie min for males 1800
females 1200

guess what

Ive lost 7lbs since Feb 3rd to today NOT eating my cals back
cause I want to LOSE the weight
not maintain it

Do what you feel is right for you.

Eating back calories has some give depending on your body composition.

I eat mine back because my deficit is built into my profile and I'd rather my weight loss be as little lean mass as possible.

what do you mean your deficit is built into your profile? i may be missing something here

junyr

I don't cause it takes 3500 BURNED cals to lose 1lb
if your eating back what you burn whats the point?
calorie min for males 1800
females 1200

guess what

Ive lost 7lbs since Feb 3rd to today NOT eating my cals back
cause I want to LOSE the weight
not maintain it

Do what you feel is right for you.

Eating back calories has some give depending on your body composition.

I eat mine back because my deficit is built into my profile and I'd rather my weight loss be as little lean mass as possible.

what do you mean your deficit is built into your profile? i may be missing something here

When you create your profile on MPF it asks for your height, weight, gender and how much weight a week you want to lose. Based on that info it calculates your caloric need with the deficit built in to lose the weight WITHOUT EXERCISE CALCULATED IN.

This is why when you enter your exercise it has you eat the calories back. Even with 100% of your calories eaten back you still maintain the deficit to lose the weekly poundage that you stated you want to lose in the setup of your profile.

ShalisaClam

If you only were to eat 1200 calories, and then burn 1200 calories, you would take in no calories, and will eventually die. Thats no different than not working out and starving yourself, it FEELS different, but its not.

^^This

Nopedotjpeg

Thanks for bringing this question up so other people with the same question can see this and be informed. :flowerforyou:

MMarvelous

I don't eat back all of mine on the days I do strength training which is 4 days week. I usually have at least 300+ to over 500 calories remaining.

annavt09

Try less processed foods and more fresh fruits/veggies/meats. I think Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice meals are not good for you. It's not entirely about net calories; it's also about HEALTHY eating. Just my thoughts based on what's worked for me.

MrsKite

I've been looking through some of your food diaries...

Is no one concerned about the amount of sodium they are consuming?

MrsKite

Try less processed foods and more fresh fruits/veggies/meats. I think Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice meals are not good for you. It's not entirely about net calories; it's also about HEALTHY eating. Just my thoughts based on what's worked for me.

I try to eat more fresh food but at work it's hard