Eating the calories you lost exercising

mrszee1

I don't understand why if I burn calories exercising, why is it ok to eat those calories again during that day?

CMmrsfloyd

B/c when you tell MFP you want to lose weight, MFP calculates a calorie goal that will make you lose weight *without* exercise. Basically MFP's software assumes you're not going to exercise, regardless of whether you said you would in your goals. Since you calorie goal is designed to help you lose weight without exercising, when you *do* exercise, you have truly 'earned' those calories back. If you are using MFP's estimates on how much you burn during your workouts, you might want to be conservative about how much of the 'extra' you allow yourself to eat. Many people find that MFP's exercise calories estimates are too high (many people have devices that they wear which give a better representation of actual calorie burn). So you might want to try something like 50% of the calories earned through exercise, and monitor your progress to determine if you can afford to eat a higher percentage or if perhaps you need to eat less. OR you could purchase one of those devices that people like to use for a better calorie estimation (heartrate monitor, Bodybugg, BodyMedia Fit, FitBit).

lizard053

It's the way MFP works! It sets your calorie limits for weight loss without exercise.

susannamarie

B/c when you tell MFP you want to lose weight, MFP calculates a calorie goal that will make you lose weight *without* exercise. Basically MFP's software assumes you're not going to exercise, regardless of whether you said you would in your goals. Since you calorie goal is designed to help you lose weight without exercising, when you *do* exercise, you have truly 'earned' those calories back.

This.

If you don't like that concept, compute your calorie goal including your exercise -- lightly active, active, etc. -- and then don't eat them back. MFP's calorie goal is low *because* it assumes you're not going to exercise until you tell it you did.

I prefer to keep it at sedentary and track my exercise separately because a) it's a great reward to see those calories go up, b) burn is extremely variable with my activity, some classes are much more vigorous than others, c) then if I don't exercise I'm still under.

Lyra89

When you exercise, your body requires more calories to function and to help you to burn fat. It may seem counter-productive, but it really isn't, and don't think its a waste of time because it tones and sculpts your body and raises your metabolism helping you to burn more calories even while resting!

x__abbi__x

I was a tad confused too, ive burned 800odd cals today and only eaten 600odd, so my cal allowance is now 1800!! As if im going to eat that in the one meal I have left for today, yet MFP says i'm not eating enough if I dont eat at least 1200 a day! Madness lol x

jodi1215

Thank you for asking this question! I have been wondering the same thing! Great explainations...and I can honestly say I understand it now! Thanks again

CMmrsfloyd

I was a tad confused too, ive burned 800odd cals today and only eaten 600odd, so my cal allowance is now 1800!! As if im going to eat that in the one meal I have left for today, yet MFP says i'm not eating enough if I dont eat at least 1200 a day! Madness lol x

It's tricky to manage at first, but one thing that helps is planning in advance whether you are going to exercise and planning your calories for the day accordingly. If you already know you're going to exercise and you know you would normally burn 800 calories for your workout, go ahead and plan those extra calories into your day so that it's spread out. That way you don't have to feel like you need to stuff your face at night when you get home from the gym. :-)

katysmelly

B/c when you tell MFP you want to lose weight, MFP calculates a calorie goal that will make you lose weight *without* exercise. Basically MFP's software assumes you're not going to exercise, regardless of whether you said you would in your goals. Since you calorie goal is designed to help you lose weight without exercising, when you *do* exercise, you have truly 'earned' those calories back.

This.

If you don't like that concept, compute your calorie goal including your exercise -- lightly active, active, etc. -- and then don't eat them back. MFP's calorie goal is low *because* it assumes you're not going to exercise until you tell it you did.

I prefer to keep it at sedentary and track my exercise separately because a) it's a great reward to see those calories go up, b) burn is extremely variable with my activity, some classes are much more vigorous than others, c) then if I don't exercise I'm still under.

I've been contemplating upgrading from "sedentary" myself, but have decided that it's easier to just add on exercise. If I actually were a waitress, working 40 hours a week, I'd consider upgrading, but I'm not. I have to make a conscious effort to get out of my chair.

I find it's a wonderful thing to know that if I really want some cake, I can have it. I just have to go for a run or something. (I tend to eat healthy things instead of cake, but I like knowing that I can have it.)

chefswife07

Great explanations! Thank you.

CyberEd312

I was a tad confused too, ive burned 800odd cals today and only eaten 600odd, so my cal allowance is now 1800!! As if im going to eat that in the one meal I have left for today, yet MFP says i'm not eating enough if I dont eat at least 1200 a day! Madness lol x

It's tricky to manage at first, but one thing that helps is planning in advance whether you are going to exercise and planning your calories for the day accordingly. If you already know you're going to exercise and you know you would normally burn 800 calories for your workout, go ahead and plan those extra calories into your day so that it's spread out. That way you don't have to feel like you need to stuff your face at night when you get home from the gym. :-)

This exactly..... My BMR is 2160 with a 500 calorie deficit built in to lose 1 lb. a week, I know most days (except my rest days and weight training) I won't be leaving the gym til I have burn atleast 1000 calories (normally 1200) per my Polar FT60 heart rate monitor... So I begin my day according to my calories I know I will have to consume (including exercise calories) and that is why my breakfast is normally 800-900 calories.. When you know you will need to eat around 3200 calories for the day it is easy to space them out so when I head to bed at 10 with my big glass of 1% Chocolate milk and 30 Almonds (460 calories) that I will have ate back all my calories for the day....

Andrea681

Thank you! This help clear things up for me too. I always plan out my day food wise and enter everything in my diary in the morning. Then I put my exercise in and I see the calories added on but I don't eat any more than I've put in. I know that I could but I usually dont. I think I'm going to change my activity level.

penrbrown

Exercise is an investment in your 'calorie' bank.

It serves two purposes.

1. It allows you to eat a little bit more (for those of us who have a hard time with the restricted calorie thing. I CANNOT eat 1200 calories at day! I just can't. So I workout, earn an extra 200 calories and I'm netting 1200 while eating 1400! It's sweet).

2. It strengthens your body and helps your health.

NOT eating your exercise calories can be detrimental, depending on your daily calories.

If you eat 1400 a day and burn 300 calories your total calorie intake is 1100. After awhile you're going to start feeling pretty crappy with this kind of diet.

The bottom line is, you want to be healthy don't you? Or is this just about looking skinny to you?

jcstanton

I was a tad confused too, ive burned 800odd cals today and only eaten 600odd, so my cal allowance is now 1800!! As if im going to eat that in the one meal I have left for today, yet MFP says i'm not eating enough if I dont eat at least 1200 a day! Madness lol x

You don't have to limit yourself to three square meals/day. You can add in a couple of healthy snacks, as well, to bump up your calorie intake.

Here is an example (rough estimate, sometimes more or less depending on how much you burn in your workout):

7am--Breakfast (500 cals)
10am--Snack (250 cals)
12pm--Lunch (500 cals)
3:30 or 4pm--Dinner (500 cals)
5:30pm-7pm--Workout (burn between 600-1000 cals)
7pm--Snack (250 cals)

Net calories are what you've consumed AFTER accounting for calories burned during exercise. 2000 cals consumed - 1000 cals burned = 1000 net cals (or 1400 net cals if you have a less intense workout that day.) This estimate does not include any calories you burn just going about your normal daily routine. So your net cals would actually be even lower. You need to consume a minimum of 2000-2500 NET cals/day to maintain. So you can see how important it is to eat back your exercise calories so that your body gets the fuel it needs to function efficiently.

standwhereistood

I was so confused by this too, I never understood why I would work so hard to burn off calories, then have to take them back in. Great answers, great question. x

KBmoments

I understand eating back your calories concept , but I am confused on one thing. My net calories is 1200 to lose 1lb a week. I have been doing that with exercise, making sure to stay at net 1200 . What would my net caloric intake be if I wanted to lose 2 lbs a week? 950 cal (250 less calories, 250 exercise)? That seems too low. Would I eat 1200 cal and work off 500 ? I know I would need a 1000 cal a day deficit, but how do I do that healthfully? I know you might say it's not, but all the experts say 1-2 lbs a week is healthy. Thanks for any advice!

CMmrsfloyd

I understand eating back your calories concept , but I am confused on one thing. My net calories is 1200 to lose 1lb a week. I have been doing that with exercise, making sure to stay at net 1200 . What would my net caloric intake be if I wanted to lose 2 lbs a week? 950 cal (250 less calories, 250 exercise)? That seems too low. Would I eat 1200 cal and work off 500 ? I know I would need a 1000 cal a day deficit, but how do I do that healthfully? I know you might say it's not, but all the experts say 1-2 lbs a week is healthy. Thanks for any advice!

MFP will not give you a calorie goal of less than 1200. The people that created the site feel that it's too difficult to get in adequate nutrition on less than 1200 calories. So if you set your requested weightloss goal higher, it will still give you 1200 calories. That's the default minimum. The experts say that 1-2 lbs per week is healthy, but for people that are closer to their goal it is healthier to lose weight more slowly than people who still have, say, 40 lbs to lose.

emmiee921

you don't have to eat those calories. for me no way would that help me lose weight, i think its a silly idea.

if your hungry and you haven't eaten much throughout the day then eat some more. don't even worry if its 200 calories or 400.
just eat until you feel satisfied, you should know your body!

Louise1583

I find it's a wonderful thing to know that if I really want some cake, I can have it. I just have to go for a run or something. (I tend to eat healthy things instead of cake, but I like knowing that I can have it.)

This exactly! It's a great learning curve to find out that you can eat anything really, you just have to earn it or compensate for it.

megsmom2

you don't have to eat those calories. for me no way would that help me lose weight, i think its a silly idea.

if your hungry and you haven't eaten much throughout the day then eat some more. don't even worry if its 200 calories or 400.
just eat until you feel satisfied, you should know your body!

You really should eat those calories. It'd healthier in the long run...and I plan to have a long run. As for knowing your body...mine lies to me all the time. That's why I'm here.

Meaganandcheese

Calories are fuel. If it takes a gallon of gas to get you to and from work each day, it would take more gas if you did an extra errand, right? Same idea. Your BMR (call it 1200) is your basic gallon of gas to get your body through the basic functioning of day to day. if you add activity onto that, you need to fuel it so that you don't experience long-term issues like muscle loss, fatigue, or slow metabolism. Eating below your BMR might work in the short term, but over time, your weightloss will stall out.