Eating back burned calories

danielle63026

Do you guys eat back your calories burned from exercise? I always feel like I'm cheating by eating back the calories... but some days,1200 calories just isn't enough!

bellac1981

I know how you feel. I eat back mine most of the time because I am always starving. I went from eating whatever I want whenever I want to only being able to have 1280 calories. It has been hard on me.

Anayalata

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/206951-asked-my-trainer-re-eating-back-calories

If you don't eat your exercise calories and you're already eating the bare minimum for your body to function then you're effectively destroying your metabolism.

Please make sure you get plenty of food. No sense in getting quick results if you're going to damage your body in the long run.

tigersword

This exact same post gets posted about 30 times a day...

That said, http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com should give you the answer you need.

Sarauk2sf

This exact same post gets posted about 30 times a day...

That said, http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com should give you the answer you need.

This make me laugh - thanks (I may need to steal it)!

michellekicks

Yep. I just posted a note saying my average caloric intake is almost 2100 calories per day. I burn about 2500-3500 in workouts each week. My BMR is somewhere around 1550. I am still losing.

thecazstewart

The easiest way of checking how many calories your body actually gets on a day when you exercise, just take a look at your NET calories. Always make sure that your NET amount equals your basic allowance.

Think about it...let's say your basic daily allowance is 1200 and you have eaten this amount. You then burn 500 calories in exercise. Take a look at your NET. It will say that you now have 700. You must eat another 500 to bring your NET up to 1200 again.

patranus

There is a reason this site adds the calories you burn via exercise to your calorie allotment.

douglasmobbs

If your BMR * standard activity level = 2250 calories and you want to lose weight eating 1750 calories per day will give you approximately an average of 1lb weight loss per week assuming you do nothing above your standard activity.

If you now add 3500 calories of exercise in a week you should lose about 1lb more that week if you do not eat back your calories. If you eat back half your calories you should lose about 1/2lb more that week. If you eat 3500 calories more food that week you will still lose around the 1lb per week but you wont lose any more. With all of these you will have the health benefits from the exercise.

Eating back some or all of your calories is your choice. If you do a lot of exercise and do not want to eat back your calories you should listen to your body and if you are starting to feel lethargic you need to either calm down your exercise or eat back some of the calories.

For me my main goals are to get healthier and lighter so I do not eat back all my exercise calories as I want a reward on the scales rather than in my belly.

Umeboshi

You should always net at least 1200. Eating back the calories after that isn't 100% necessary but probably is a good idea.

Givemewings

Yes! Eat them back!

BeautyAndTheGeeks

I eat them back when I feel hungry, but If I have an extra 300 calories for the day and it's 9pm, I won't be eating just for the sake of it. I'm pretty relaxed with eating them back.

WeightHacker

well it depends.

for some people eating their calories back actually helps them
for others it doesnt.

for me, i dont go with what mfp says on how much i should eat.
i set myself a goal saying okay, i can eat 1600 calories but dont eat my calories back. if i burn about 200-300 calories.
but if i workout like 500-1000 calories burn, then yes i can see why i would wanna increase just a little calories back to make sure my body stores energy and muscle mass for me to continue the day.

now if you follow what mfp says. i think you can eat your calories back and still lose weight.
its depends how your body respond.
i mean are you still hungry even eating your 1200 calories? or is that just enough with everything you have in a day with your workout?

you gotta find what works best for you, dont worry about the oh i feel like im cheating my way back to eat some more food.
think of it as it is fuel to your body. that you will need.

try it for two weeks, if it works and you are losing weight. then great keep going.
if you gain weight, then you know you need to change something.


best wishes to you

gogojodee

I eat them back when I feel hungry, but If I have an extra 300 calories for the day and it's 9pm, I won't be eating just for the sake of it. I'm pretty relaxed with eating them back.

Agreed! Although, it was pretty hard for me tonight when my mom brought a 1 liter of Coke for me from the store at 9:30PM. It's gonna take all my might not to drink it tomorrow, haha.

wedjul05

The easiest way of checking how many calories your body actually gets on a day when you exercise, just take a look at your NET calories. Always make sure that your NET amount equals your basic allowance.

Think about it...let's say your basic daily allowance is 1200 and you have eaten this amount. You then burn 500 calories in exercise. Take a look at your NET. It will say that you now have 700. You must eat another 500 to bring your NET up to 1200 again.

I like this explanation. I always get confused with people's explanations as they get wayyyyyy too technical so this explanation, I get!

I don't always eat back ALL my exercise cals but if I know I'm going to be exercising later on in the evening and I'm hungry, I eat til I'm full enough. Simple.

htmlgirl

I don't always, especially if it's only 200-300 calories. If I burn more (800-1000), I will eat some of them back, only if I'm hungry. I've successfully lost 15lbs doing it this way and for me it works.

BaconMD

I eat back my exercise calories because I enjoy my muscle and would rather keep it. I've made a total lifestyle change, I'm in no rush to see the weight fall off and leave my skin dangling in the wind. Slow and steady is fine with me, and it all seems to be working pretty well.

iuali81

This was a hard concept for me to get my head around too. The way MFP is set up, you would lose weight eating 1200 calories a day if you did no exercise. The only calorie burning it takes into account is what you burn just by being alive every day. So, look at this way. If MFP gives you 1200 calories a day and you work out and burn 600 calories, you have only eaten 600 calories that day. Does that make sense? On a normal day, with no exercise, would you only eat 600 calories? No, you wouldn't, you'd be starving. You need to eat those calories back. Your body needs them to function.

MinMin97

I try to make each meal the right choice...veggies, protein, moderate carbs...and satisfying. I keep track. I eat small meals every 3-4 hours. Seems like about 2000 satisfying calories (with about 80 grams protein) is right for me. I don't think I should be hungry all the time. When I eyeball my meals for the day, they should look balanced and make sense.

I love the feeling of being satisfied, and happy with the choices I made! I feel productive and rewarded, and like I can sustain this!

I have found hoodia herb extract helpful for getting started, when I am trying to establish proper eating habits. It takes the edge off the appetite so you can use your noggin to make proper meal choices. Make sure the brand is reputable and tested for active ingredients as I hear the product can be bogus otherwise.

markhudson1968

I've not always eaten back my calories especially if its after a decent 700-900 calorie workout. However if I'm hungry then it gives you the allowance to eat and not go over the MFP daily target.

I can only say that it has worked for me however as everyone is different then you can only try one way then the other if it doesnt work.

I've been waiting to plateau on the weight loss but been really lucky so far as it keeps coming off - but I know its coming and when it does then i'm going to eat back all my calories and hopefully that will work as everyone keeps saying.

Good luck !

missjewl

I qeustioned that same thing to my 'coach' cause i was eating back most of my calories and I wasnt losing weight. He said the calculation of my calorie intake through the P90X program im doing is set up to not eat back my calories. I eat approx 1600 cals of food a day, and workout. When i get to my goal to properly maintain my weight I should be able to intake 1600cals daily and maintain. If i were to eat back my calories now I wouldnt be losing weight right now.


Try this link: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm ... it shows you what to intake to maintain, for slow weight loss and extreme weight loss.
This might help you.
Goodluck!

ladyace2078

I do not and here's why:

I've calculated my TDEE, which already includes my activity level. I eat about 15% less than TDEE, and always eat a minimum of BMR. If I eat my exercise calories back, I'm no longer at a deficit. I've set custom goals in MFP to take care of this.

My TDEE: 2600-2700 calories
My BMR: 1600 calories
What I eat every day: 2400 calories
What I burn every day in exercise: 600-800 calories

So if I ate 2400 calories and also ate another 600-800 calories I would be eating 3000-3200 calories which is above TDEE which will cause me to gain weight.

On a side note - I reached a plateau for a month when eating 1700 calories, so I started eating all of my activity/exercise calories back. I continued on my plateau for another month (because I was eating pretty much at maintenance). Since I've started using TDEE, I am consistently losing again.

FlaxMilk

I think MFP changed the language in their FAQ's (may be wrong about that.) The wording says you *can* eat more and that as long as you stick *within* your limits, you will lose weight. It is not directing that you *should* or must hit that target. So eat them when you need them or want them, and don't worry about them if you don't want them or need them. That seems to help me because then there are the days where I overeat on calories because I went out with friends or whatever.

Self or Shape has a plan where you get 1600 calories a day but 200 of them are "fun calories" that can be banked up to I think 800 calories to use on a fun day within a week. I try to eat within guidelines but I think sometimes people get a little hung up on eating exactly what the numbers say on a day to day basis.

adet983

i was stuck at 195 for months....lifting and running more then ever.....read posts on this tried it last week eating most of them back....went from 194 to 188 in a week and a half

DterMined2012

If your BMR * standard activity level = 2250 calories and you want to lose weight eating 1750 calories per day will give you approximately an average of 1lb weight loss per week assuming you do nothing above your standard activity.

If you now add 3500 calories of exercise in a week you should lose about 1lb more that week if you do not eat back your calories. If you eat back half your calories you should lose about 1/2lb more that week. If you eat 3500 calories more food that week you will still lose around the 1lb per week but you wont lose any more. With all of these you will have the health benefits from the exercise.

Eating back some or all of your calories is your choice. If you do a lot of exercise and do not want to eat back your calories you should listen to your body and if you are starting to feel lethargic you need to either calm down your exercise or eat back some of the calories.

For me my main goals are to get healthier and lighter so I do not eat back all my exercise calories as I want a reward on the scales rather than in my belly.

DITTO!!!

krissynicole787

For me, consistently eating my burned calories does not work for me. You have to try to see what works for your body. I was eating my exercise calories back for 2 months and I lost nothing. When I went back to not eating them, I lost about a half a pound a week.

I think the best thing to do is see how you are feeling. If you feel fatigued, and hungry, and you burned 700 calories that day, eat 300 back. Don't eat all. That is what I do about 2-3 times a week. Especially if I jogged for an hour, or did cardio kickboxing. For me those are intense workouts, and I can tell my body needs me to eat some of those burned calories. But on days that I do zumba, or an hour on an elliptical or stepper, I do not feel I need to eat my exercise calories back.

It probably also depends on how often you work out. I work out 5 times a week. If you work out less than 5 times a week, I wouldn't eat back those calories. But if you work out 5 or 6 times a week, eat less than half of those calories back on days you REALLY feel you need it.

That is what works for me. :flowerforyou:

dianeellen2

If you want to do this long term then definatly eat them back or you may find it too difficult and give in

Look at your replies from the people who have lost the mosrt weight - all of them say YES

All of them have got to have been at this a long time and been sucessful

I eat mine back

If you want to look at my diary send me a friend request

I am not an exercise mad person (to start with i only exercised becuase i needed the calories to survive LOL)

Diane

waldo56

This question is only relevant if you don't exercise much.

If you burn 1000 cal/day exercising, eating back exercise calories is not optional.