Question on Calories...Please :)

caseyann20032003

Okay just wondering as far as calories go...do you guys eat just your daily alotted or do you eat the alotted plus your exercise calories? Just wondering which one people have the most success with. Thanks!!

AmberLovesey

I eat my normal amount & the amount given after calories, otherwise i think im burning too much and not loosing healthy enough. But its only what i think, im not too sure. But my body's BMR is 1200 with me doing like nothing so anything i actually do needs to be added on with healthy meals. I often find it hard to eat as much healthily (for example, with excerise its usually 1600) so i just keep it between the two points.

Atxdrew

I eat just what I am allotted. Or try to. And then exercise. I do not try to make up for the calories I burned through exercise. That would kind of defeat the purpose. :P At least for trying to lose weight.

Sharonks

I think you need to just try different things until you figure out what works for you. Some people do great never eating exercise cals, some eat part, some eat all. If you are doing one thing and not losing weight then try a different method for a couple weeks and see if that works better.

curiousmissclay

I personally stick to what calories I'm given on the days that I dont work out and then the days I'm at the gym or squash I will eat my usual meal but maybe alittle bit more of it or add something to it but I try to not eat all of them back it just seems to give me abit more choice with food on my gym days.
You should do what works for you so try them all.
xx

maleva720

MFP is set up for you to eat them but if you search this subject on here there are a million peoples opinions on this. Good luck!

monkeypantz

I eat some of my exercise calories back not all.

I'm on 1200 as my norm, and I've somehow managed to get quiet a lot of food out of that...so sometimes I don't even eat my exercise calories back!

chevy88grl

I eat every last tasty calorie that MFP gives me.

karweb

The whole reason to exercise is 1) burn calories and 2) eat more because you are exercising. Some of the days without even trying I stay with the allotted amount other days I eat the allotted amount and the calories (not always all of them) I burn. It's working for me - sticking with it.

randomartisrgirl

Eating exercise cals really help, but don't force yourself if your already full.

smrtcar

I try and eat no more than 50% of my exercise calories.

randomartisrgirl

Especially try on only 1200 cals

gsager

I eat the all the calories, MFP plus my exercise calories, I lost 20 lbs...never plateaued and have enough calories to live on and enjoy. This is not a diet....its a change that I will do forever so that I don't get in that position again. If you work out and don't eat your calories you are just doing more damage to your metabolism.

still_crafty

MFP is designed to set your goal for NET calories consumed so that you are eating at a deficit in order to loose weight. For example, if your goal is a NET 1500 calories and you burn 250 through exercise, that gives you 1750 total to consume for the day but it NETs out to your goal of 1500 which for me is a sizeable deficit from what my normal intake would be just to maintain current weight.

You have to be careful with this. If you try to consume too few calories AND you are exercising, you'll most likely do more damage than good. You have to fuel your body properly when trying to lose weight. The idea is to get HEALTHIER, not just skinny. If you go about it the wrong way, in the end you'll probably lose weight and look better in your clothes but you won't be happy with what's under them.

Diet to look good in your clothes, exercise to look good naked

stormieweather

MFP already has given you a deficit in your calorie goals. This way you will lose weight without exercising at all.

BUT, if you do exercise, you should eat at least part of them back, because otherwise, you may be depriving yourself nutritionally. Doing so makes it very difficult to stick to it, and to maintain the loss when you reach your goal. Yes, you may lose it faster, but why do it the hard way? No one wants to fail or to gain it all back, do they?

So follow the plan (eat the exercise calories back) and you'll have the most, long-term, success. Note that some people, including me, leave a small portion of our exercise calories uneaten to cushion against errors in calculation (both in our exercises and our food logs).

marie_2454

I have my calories set at 1,500 and I almost always eat at least that much. Some days if I'm not really hungry it's closer to 1,300 total, but not very often. I try to eat at least some of my exercise calories back, but I don't usually eat them all because I feel like MFP way overestimates calories burned and I don't have a HRM.

akjmart2002

Your exercise calories.

Eat. Them.

Your body needs fuel.

Read these:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

bzmommy34

I think you need to just try different things until you figure out what works for you. Some people do great never eating exercise cals, some eat part, some eat all. If you are doing one thing and not losing weight then try a different method for a couple weeks and see if that works better.

^^^ This. I started with eating all back and stayed with that for two weeks. I moved to eating 80% back and still lost so I stayed with that for two weeks. Now I am around 50% eating back and we'll see how I do after another two weeks. The only reason I am adjusting down (as long as I keep losing) is because I find it extremely hard to eat that much food. When you make healthy food choices you can eat a TON of food for your allotted calories!

To each is their own - do what works for you but give it time. You won't know if it works if you are only giving it a day or two.

jaimebarth

I eat all of my daily calories and most of my exercise calories. You should stick as close to those calories as possible so that you don't go into starvation mode. Even a tiny bit over is okay too. I am losing slowly but still losing. Good luck!

jsapninz

Your exercise calories.

Eat. Them.

Your body needs fuel.

Read these:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

^^^ This.

grendel322

Another great (if long!) read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/501511-great-read-on-plateau-ing

Kylieikerd

bump

Smuterella

What you "should" do really depends on what stage of your weight loss you are at and how you have set yourself up.

If you still have a lot to lose then you can probably get away with not eating your exercise calories as you have large fat stores. however if you have 20 or less lbs left you should eat those calories back as you want to keep the deficit per day small to ensure that you are losing fat rather than muscle.

how you set up your profile also comes into this. If you included your workouts in your daily activity levels then you don't need to eat those calories back - they are already accounted for. Personally, i set myself up as sedentary as I prefer to then add in the actual exercise done as that calorie bonus is a great motivator to exercise in the first place.

Purple_Orchid_87

I make sure my NET is a minimum of 1200
My GOAL is 1600 daily, so where I exercise, I eat back enough to get my NET to 1200

If I end up eating 1600 and exercising 800 then i eat back 400 to being me back up to a NET of 1200

some argue your NET and GOAL should be the same (eating back all your exercise calories) but if you have a lot to lose, and burn a lot of calories by exercising, it can be hard to eat all of them back - for instance, my HRM says that 30 minutes on treadmill @ 3mph with 8% incline burns just over 600calories - i also do other things, and I couldnt eat ALL those back

neanderthin

My deficit is based on my maintenance calories which includes all daily physical activity. Most people start from the bottom BMR and work up and wonder if they should count housework.........it that sense, confusion will be the common denominator and you'll get a myriad of conflicting solutions.

melanieparker13

BUMP FOR LATER

erickirb

I eat just what I am allotted. Or try to. And then exercise. I do not try to make up for the calories I burned through exercise. That would kind of defeat the purpose. :P At least for trying to lose weight.

actually it wouldn't defeat the purpose. exercise is good for your heart, endurance, strength, retaining lean muscle as you lose weight, but is not needed, and the way MFP is set up doesn't do a thing, for weight loss.

MFP puts you in a deficit with your allotted amount assuming no exercise, when you exercise you body needs more fuel.
As an example your day to day requirements are like a tank of gas. if you use a tank of gas/week going to and from work, if you go on any extra trips or errands you will need to add more gas in order to have enough gas to get to work. So if you need 1200 for day to day stuff (you will lose weight with 1200 cals and no exercise), then when you do extra (workout) you need to put more calories in your body

Bunnybeesweet

How about eating those exercise calories with fresh veggies?! That can't hurt!

boggsmeister

If you eat back your exercise calories you will lose fat and maintain, or possibly gain, some muscle. If you don't eat back your exercise calories you will lose fat and muscle. You will lose weight faster, but for me it's about losing fat. I couldn't care less what I weigh as long as my bodyfat percentage is going down.

rextcat

nickyrobinson

I try to eat my exercise calories back, BUT... it appears that MFP overestimates exercise calories (at least for my height and weight). So I log 2/3 of the time on all my exercise (recording 30 minutes for every 45 spent). Then I try pretty hard to eat all of those calories back.

However, I don't worry about it if I am a couple hundred calories under (which happens a couple times a week) as I am set for only 1 lb/week wight loss AND I am nowhere near the 1200 calorie minimum.