do you eat back your exercise cals??

Momieof2girls

I know that MFP calcs the cals you need depending on how much weight you said you wanted to loose weekly. So if you ate that you would technically loose weight even with out exercising. We all know that your best bet to be the most successful is to cut cals and exercise. So do you all eat back your exercise cals?? All? Some? I wasn't, but now am wondering if I am doing more harm then good?? Some times I net less then 1000 when not eating back exercise cals. I do make sure however to eat at least 1200 cals per day and usually do between 1300-1400 (my goal is1560) before minusing exercise cals . Does that make sense?? Thanks

xraychick77

personally..no

i dont because i calculated my activity level which already accounts for my excercise..so to eat back would be eating more..so i dont even count exercise. i am doing a cutting phase now..but i'm experimenting with the best calorie intake to lose slowly, as to preserve my muscle mass while losing fat.

Mrsdaffy2

The fact is, Your weight is a balancing act, but the equation is simple: If you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight.

Because 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound (0.45 kilogram) of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in to lose 1 pound. So if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you'd lose about 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories).

I hope that helps =D

Momieof2girls

Thank you, I get that, but I guess I was getting more at eating enough so your body doens't think your starving it ie the 1200 cal mark.

KareninCanada

Yes, to a daily net calories of around 1700. (My BMR is somewhere handy to 1600)

russeljames

I know that MFP calcs the cals you need depending on how much weight you said you wanted to loose weekly. So if you ate that you would technically loose weight even with out exercising. We all know that your best bet to be the most successful is to cut cals and exercise. So do you all eat back your exercise cals?? All? Some? I wasn't, but now am wondering if I am doing more harm then good?? Some times I net less then 1000 when not eating back exercise cals. I do make sure however to eat at least 1200 cals per day and usually do between 1300-1400 (my goal is1560) before minusing exercise cals . Does that make sense?? Thanks

def do a search on this, people talk about this sooo much im sure you will find what you need in the boards!!

TeaBea

I eat my exercise calories back. I'm older than many here and need to hang onto ALL my existing muscle mass. I may lose slower ..... but I'm going to keep my muscle. By going below 1200 net calories, you risk losing both muscle & fat. The 1200 (NET) calorie setting is what your body needs just for "everyday" stuff. Extra calories are the FUEL for your workouts

Now, I use a heart rate monitor .... so I know what I burn. If you are concerned that your calorie burn is overstated .... then just eat back a portion of them.

lilfurson

I use a HRM and eat back my exercise calories. I do not eat back my FitBit calorie adjustment though.

auddiejo

I hate eating back my exercise cals. I know it's probably better if you do but 6/7 days its a struggle to just eat the 1200 cals already allotted.

ctfahlman

I try not to, but sometimes if I find I am still hungry, I eat more and do not feel guilty when I do eat them back. Your body needs those calories to keep your energy up!

TheMiddlePath

I've been wondering about this too. It seems contrary to all that I've done before which is eat 1200 calories to lose weight and if you exercise, you'll lose faster. But this time around, at 38, even in the first few weeks of losing (which pounds should come off quicker) I'm not losing as quickly and have wondered if my body is holding on to calories.

I"m going to try the "Olivia" method I've read about which is: eat the number of calories that equal your BMR or RMR and then if and only if you burn over 600 calories, eat back the difference. Let's see what this does. If this goes slowly, then I may bump up my calories and try that.

For those that say they have a hard time just eating 1200 calories...I don't know what you are eating but 1200 is not much at all!

bstoetzer

Yes I do. I had a "calorie point" assessment done and found my RMR (resting metabolic rate) is 1399. With my given lifestyle I need 2099 for everything I do day to day. In order for me to lose 1 - 2 lbs per week I would need to reduce my calories by 500 - 1000, without going below 1200. I currently have MFP set to 1399 which is a 700 deficit to lose about 1.5 lbs per week. If I exercise, I eat back those calories.

Wendysworld13

PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY -

You must eat the minimum calories of 1200/day as your basal metabolic rate. This is the amount you need based on 500 LESS than what you would actually burn if you had a regular day - based on the info you plugged in when you set up your profile. This would give you a weight loss of 1 lb/week.

When you exercise you are now making your body work and it is burning additional calories above and beyond what you are eating and burning just breathing and moving around in your regular daily activity. The simple fact is that muscle burns more daily than your fat does and so you are building muscle and decreasing your fat - eventually your body will burn more just doing your regular daily activity.

What you need to do is at a minimum eat back 1/2 of your exercise calories. You are correct in assuming you may be doing more harm than good by ignoring your exercise calorie burn. Your body will feel like you are starving it and it will do two things. 1, it will store everything as Fat instead of lean muscle, and 2, it will slow down your metabolism and you may actually gain weight!

Anytime you are initially beginning an exercise routine you may find a week or two where you gain a few pounds - because you are gaining muscle and losing fat and muscle weighs more than fat but, that will quickly give way to significant weight loss as you continue as long as you DONT STARVE YOUR BODY.

If you have additional questions I would happily answer them for you. I am by no means an expert on this however I have been playing this weight loss game for YEARS now and have seen dieticians, personal trainers and nutritionists and they all agree on the information I have given you.

Good Luck!

CMmrsfloyd

I do, and it has worked out quite nicely. (see ticker below post ;-) ) I do have a HRM that I use to estimate my calories, though, and I feel it has worked pretty accurately for me since I have continued to lose weight at about the rate my profile is set to. (I have slowed the rate as I've gotten closer to my goal) Sometimes I eat all of them, sometimes I'll leave maybe 100-200 leftover at the end of the day if I know I have a big 'cheat' day coming up (for example if I'm planning to go out to a restaurant that doesn't give nutritional info or where I don't want to have to limit myself). If I work hard for a week or two and stay at or slightly below my net goal, I find that I can have one of those high-calorie days and not hurt my progress. Also I never did experience the 'plateau' that a lot of people seem to get stuck in. I did the 1200 calorie goal for awhile, but once I got a taste of exercising and being able to eat more and see even *better* results (more inches off my body with the same weightloss), there was no looking back.

bambam35

Great info

Momieof2girls

Thanks all. I do have a HRM so will start to eat back some of my exercise cals.