Should you eat your burned calories?

TwitterAddict

Ever since I started MFP, I always thought adding your calories burned to the calories you have left to eat was weird. If you eat those back then what calories are you burning and how are you losing fat and weight? Please give me some advice that might help me answer this weird question I have, haha.
Thanks for reading!

Mysticdi

I never do...they are bonus calories toward my losing.

olong

If you don't eat your burned calories, you're then creating too much of a calorie deficit and your body will soon become stubborn and hang onto the fat you're trying to lose. If you're timid about eatting those calories, start by eatting half of them back. By all means, if you have a hungry day, eat them all back.

DanieEdwards

My trainer does not have me count my workouts, so it doesnt add back those calories. I just make note of what I have done in either the exercise note or the food notes part HTH

CMmrsfloyd

I eat mine, and as you can see below it has worked out quite well. :-). The thing is MFP builds in your deficit such that you will lose weight even without exercise. When you do exercise, it makes the deficit larger which at first glance might seem like a good thing (faster weightloss), however keeping a too-large deficit can contribute to losing a larger amount of muscle mass than you would if you keep the deficit more moderate I.e. eating your exercise calories. You don't want to lose more muscle than necessary b/c muscle helps drive your metabolism. It's common to lose some muscle while losing weight but doing it in a moderate way and incorporating strength training can help you lose as much fat and as little muscle as possible.

ETA: also, 1 lb of fat takes up more space than 1 lb of muscle. Even though losing 1 lb of muscle looks the same on the scale as losing 1 lb of fat, they have very different effects on your appearance and measurements.

mickeygirliegirl

I hope I can explain this in a way that makes sense. MFP bases your calorie needs off of your BMR, which is your Basal Metabolic Rate, or the rate you would burn calories doing nothing (literally, laying in bed and breathing) and not your actual calories burned.

You need to eat on top of what you burned because you need to get your calories, otherwise your body will go into what is commonly referred to as "starvation mode" and hold onto whatever calories are going in.

Example. Let's say your BMR is 2100 calories, and your caloric need to lose 2 lb/week (without exercise) is 1200, and you burn 900 calories through exercise. You eat 1200 calories that day. You've burned 900 through exercise so it's 300 that you've actually consumed. Where if you eat 2100 but burn 900 you are still at the 1200 consumed, still at your deficit from your BMR, still will lose weight because of it and it is much much healthier weight loss.

Hope this helps?

TwitterAddict

Thanks everyone!

BarbWhite09

Eat them back. & search the forums for possible answers before posting...This question is asked constantly.

hesn92

You don't have to eat back all your exercise calories just make sure not to net below your BMR. The thing about MFP is it already creates a deficit for you, so if you eat back all your exercise calories and meet your goal, you still have that deficit.

My BMR is 1500 so I make sure to eat at least that much, plus the amount of calories that I burn. I actually have my goal set to around 1700 because I have it set to lose 1/2 pound a week.

HittingHerStride

I know a lot of people get frustrated because this topic comes up daily but also keep in mind new people are joining the site everyday and most of them don't read the 'old' threads.

I eat mine back because I believe in the theory of eating more to lose more my BMR is 1656, my body will get very confused if I eat below that.

When I started on MFP it suggested my daily calories be 1400, that wouldn't even be enough to sustain my body if it was in a coma, I am thankful I took the time to research on my own as well.

torygirl79

I find it a nice motivator. If I really want a bacon and egg sandwich but feel I can't because I'm on a diet, I can look at my excercise tracker and realise I can, as I've earnt it.

Of course I'm not recommending eating lots of unhealthy food, but some treats earned makes the diet a lot more bearable.

TwitterAddict

Again, I thank all of you for your input. It's really helpful to me.

tdj819

I don't eat mine either, thought the other day I walked for so long and by the time dinner got around I was famished! I was scared to enter my food that day!

Amy_Lee_2012

I don't eat mine back. I didn't even know about eating back exercise calories until I joined MFP. Not eating them back is working for me, so I don't see any need to change things.
I still have a lot of weight to lose, over 100 pounds- when I get closer to maintaining my weight then I might consider upping my daily calorie intake, but that won't be for a very long time

TwitterAddict

Don't ever be scared to log in your food. It's what you ate and you have to live with it. Just keep telling yourself tomorrow is a new day because it is.
And Amy Lee, good luck on your weight loss journey! You can do anything that your put your mind to. I hope you don't mind if I add you so we can help each other in our journeys to reach our own goal.

rufus1973

thanks for asking this

YvetteCherryBlossom

Thanks for asking Again! I'm new and was confused. Thanks everyone for answering again! I appreciate it tremendously!

drtj9khh

OKAY I AM SO CONFUSED... Do I or don't I eat back my calories??? My Brother says I got to eat my burned calories back and MFP friends told me not to and some here are saying yes eat them back and some are saying the don't. I'm new to MFP and getting into shape, right now I work out 525mins a week and eating 1600 daily. I am starting on my 4th day of Slim in 6. please help:)

Richard269

There are 100 s of posts about this why not have a look what others say ! I don't eat my own exercise cals back

diannethegeek

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

wnbrice

I was losing fat just fine when I ate back my calories. I am trying to stop eating them back however on the days I work out hard I cant not eat them back until it gets warmer.

Talking burning about 1200+ a day in exercise when I am only eating 2k. On those I eat a little back, otherwise I have trouble staying warm(even with layers inside my apartment). However I am not getting hungry at all in either situation so once it starts to get warmer I will stop eating them back at all.

Lt_Starbuck

lol cooked 'em too long

Schmidty102

MFP has my set calorie goal about 90 calories below my BMR, so I always eat back at least half of my exercise calories (which I normally burn 200-600 a day)

now_or_never13

Eat them. Creating too large of a deficit will cause you to lose more muscle than you normally will while trying to lose weight.

Commander_Keen

Eat if you are hungry

Dianemustang

I use the extra for the mistake that day - or my wine....usually do not eat all back...I use as my buffer....22 down and 16 to go!

odddrums

http://www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/

:flowerforyou:

This made my day. You are my hero!

GodzillaR35

i eat my calories back,always

Shock_Wave

On a calorie restricted diet yes eat them back.

Simply put.. If on average a woman needs a minimum of 1200 calories just to function normally/healthy and you burn 600 calories and do not eat them back then you are giving your body 600 calories a day total which is not even enough calories to keep your organs and brain functioning correctly. aka anorexia. You will have health problems down the road feel like azz and hit plateaus. When you do eat more calories you will gain back weight rather quickly. Its not a sustainable, stable, or healthy way to lose weight or diet.

DebbieLyn63

I realize that the OP has long since deactivated her account, but to the new person asking this question, it depends. There isn't a set answer for everyone.

Do you know your actual TDEE?
Online calculators can be quite off for some people. Your own history is the best way to get the most accurate number, outside medical testing

How large is your deficit set?
Do you enter 1 or 2 pounds a week as your weight loss goal? If you chose 2 pounds, and that put your calorie goal below 1200, then MFP will raise it up to the minimum of 1200 cals per day. So you may think you are losing 2 lbs a week, but instead it may only be 1 pound or even less. In that case, exercise cals can be use to supplement your deficit.
If you are indeed eating at a 1000 calorie deficit, then you probably need to eat back at least some of your calories to not create an unhealthy deficit.

How much extra fat do you have to lose?
If you are considerably overweight, you can safely exercise moderately without eating back your calories. If you are close to goal weight, you need to be careful to not create too large of a deficit.

What type of exercise or you doing? Intensity? length of time?
If you are an extreme exerciser, and are burning tons of calories every day, then yes, you will need to refuel your body and eat at least part of them back or else you will burn your body out. A moderate exercise, 3-4 days a week, will not make a huge difference in your calorie level, unless you are close to goal weight.

How are you figuring your exercise calories burned?
If you are using the MFP database, your calories reported may be up to twice as many as you are actually burning. For athletic, fit people, the charts are more accurate, especially for men, but for a lot of overweight women, the numbers are way off. The same thing can be said for machines at the gym. So if you were to eat back all those calories, you could easily negate your calorie deficit and not lose weight, or even possibly gain.
Using a heart rate monitor with a chest strap, will give you a more accurate number, but even then, you may not be actually burning the total number stated. You will also need to subtract your TDEE from that number to get the 'net' calories burned.

I personally use my exercise to help supplement my deficit, and have found that over the past 6 months, the moderate exercise I do, doesn't make a big difference in the scale. So I eat healthy and at a deficit for weight loss, and do moderate exercise for fitness. I also eat the same number of calories every day, whether I exercise or not, altho if I happen to go over a few cals on workout days, I don't feel bad about it.

For others, they eat every calorie they burn and it works fine for them. You just have to figure out what works best for you.

ETA I started with 80 pounds to lose 6 months ago, and am over halfway to goal weight now. (38 pounds lost since Aug). I have yet to hit a plateau. I have kept my calories around the same level the whole time, (except for holidays). But again, I don't do crazy amounts of exercise. I am also very sedentary outside of my bike rides.

whierd

I hate the tasted of burned calories. Cajun style my *kitten*.