Do You Eat Your Exercise Calories?

Bronx_Montgomery

Im surprised to hear that people do not eat their calories back especially when their intake is sooooo low. I make an attempt to eat my calories back but I eat 2600 calories a day. Food is Fuel. You need it to perform. I do my best to eat my calories back. There are days if i work out really hard and burn over 1800 calories that I do have a hard time but my intake is still really high.

Have you found yourself being dizzy?

deadstarsunburn

I try to avoid it.
If I'm extra hungry or have my lady time of the month I try to stay at eating half but let's be realistic I normally eat all of them during those times!

Just noticed you eat 1200 calories. Then you SHOULD be eating to where you net at least that much, meaning eating the exercise calories to get to that much.

I eat 1400 and try to make it to 1200 net after exercise.
Some days I'm just too full especially if I've burned over 650+ calories.

Erisad

I don't eat my exercise calories, as my intake of 1570 a day seems plenty to me. The exercise calories serve as a buffer in case I miscalculated something.

erickirb

I try to not eat the 'extra' calories, because its just that much more that I will be losing, but at the same time it's a good way to 'sneak' something bad for you in without over-doing it.

It all boils down to how much/how quick you want to lose.

or whether or not you want to plateau. not eating properly is one of the reasons people plateau.

Or how much muscle you would like to lose as you lose fat. The larger your deficit the large the % of your loss will come from muscle, instead of fat.

Shweedog

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

jaxxie

i eat most of them back, and gain weight doing it.

So do I. Because despite my best efforts (including measuring), I am probably underestimating my calories consumed and MFP and Fitbit overestimate my calories burned. I usually try to ignore the calorie bonus granted by MFP based on my Fitbit info, but occasionally I forget. If I did that every day I would surely gain weight.

I understand your point, but then why did you get a FB? My FB keeps me in check...especially since I think my HRM is a little too kind in the cals burned dept. Just a little confused on your point..not trying to be rude at all...so please don't take it that way.

brendansmom1

The basic advice that I was given that really helped...eat close to your BMR as that takes into account your exercise already if you are honest when imputting it.....

I personally do not eat all of my exercise calories back....I eat between 1300 and 1400 calories a day, and on days that I have over a 500 calorie burn I may eat more if I am hungry.

As I get closer to my goal weight, that may change, and I will reevaluate from there.

Good Luck!!

LemonBurns

Yup. If I don't eat, I am a ROYAL B*TCH - exercise requires calories to perform, So FUEL your body, or your hair will out!

Flamenquero

No, I bank the deficit. Brings the weight down faster if you don't eat the deficit.

NNsMomma

I don't! I exercise more than most, too! I just eat healthy and get the most "value" out of my 1200 calories. I have never been overweight and therefor I think my experience should be proof enough. I lift weights (with a trainer) and do extensive cardio and am at a very healthy weight while still able to body build and add muscle mass.

I really think the key is getting the most nutrition out of the 1200 calories. No "diet" foods. They are not designed to fuel you but are designed to entice you. Eat foods as close to nature as possible. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

Hope this is helpful!

katkins3

I've been at 1200 calories for almost a year now and I eat most of my calories back. I know I would have become bored and discouraged long ago if I couldn't bump my calories up with exercise. At first only exercised to get those extra calories, but over time, I came to enjoy exercise for itself, (especially Jazzercise).

skybird455

each person is different. If you track responsibly you will know if you SHOULD eat your calories back or not. If your losing consistently and have no side affects you dont have to eat them back. when you stop losing it is time for a reset or to eat a bit more. I didnt eat them back for weeks and lost consistently, when the scale stopped moving I started eating more (on 1200 cal too) and it is moving again. Watch the signs of YOUR body, and remember everyone is different! Also pay attention to the WEEKLY calorie intake more than daily. Some days you will be hungrier than others, if your not hungry dont eat them back. The zigzag approach is the best way to keep your body in line and to AVOID a plateau.

tryinghard71

I have lost 7 inches in my waist eating them back. I really think it comes down to your activity level. I am not on here to say my way is the only way. I am only saying for me if I did not eat them back I would pass out trying to do a whole hour of an intense workout. I work out 6 days a week and try to burn 400-600 a session. Trying to build muscle as well. So if I am not giving my body enough nutrients I will lose muscle. So that is why I think it is about how active you are. But this is just saying this works for me.

gxm17

I do.

They're my most delicious calories.

This!

Fit_Forever25

I do not eat all of them but I always try to be under my calorie goal which is 1300 even if I burn 800 or 500
If you eat all of what you have burn then how would you lose thats what I feel and its working for me pretty well
Eat only when u feel hungry .. if you eat more then burn more I always try to be under 2000 to 3000 calorie deficit for my weekly goal

mfpcopine

i eat most of them back, and gain weight doing it.

So do I. Because despite my best efforts (including measuring), I am probably underestimating my calories consumed and MFP and Fitbit overestimate my calories burned. I usually try to ignore the calorie bonus granted by MFP based on my Fitbit info, but occasionally I forget. If I did that every day I would surely gain weight.

I understand your point, but then why did you get a FB? My FB keeps me in check...especially since I think my HRM is a little too kind in the cals burned dept. Just a little confused on your point..not trying to be rude at all...so please don't take it that way.

Someone gave me my FB. I view it as a really fun toy that provides some feedback. I rely on NO gadget for a calories burned estimate. Not my heart rate monitor, not the panel on cardio machines. They're always inaccurate, and it's not surprising, because there are too many factors to consider and the assumptions are probably based on subjects who differ from me. (Like men.)

As 85% of weight loss is calorie reduction, all I focus on is calories. I would drive myself crazy trying to reconcile the differences between my various gadgets and figuring out if they really apply to me. (Plus, I'm injured at the moment.) It's difficult enough trying to be semi-accurate logging the food I eat, and 25% of the time it's even not in the database.

I do whatever exercise I can and consider any calories burned to be icing on the cake. Exercise is very important for health, but it's not the critical factor for weight loss. I personally have always seen a pretty direct relationship between calories eaten and weight loss. This business of eating one's calories back could really set a person back if their assumptions are wrong.

When I'm better and can move around more if I see that my weight is dropping like crazy (not gonna happen :grumble: ), guess what I'll do? I'll eat more.

I understand that people want to go about weight loss in a healthy way, but I often think that they are overcomplicating the problem.

charityheckler

I am just starting back out, which means it's time to shrink my stomach back. That being said sticking to 1200 calories can be hard, sometimes I eat them and sometimes I don't. If I am hungry, I will try to eat as little of them as possible but enough to curb the cravings. I like to think that on occasion those calories are for that well deserved sweet tooth fix.

Now as unhealthy as it may sound I have already lost 5lbs in a week of getting back on track. This naturally won't be everyone, but it is definitely working for me.

LondonEliza

Yes... nothing tastes as good as exercise cals feel

jacksonpt

*sigh*

These threads are getting really tiresome.

There is a reason, actual logic and science behind whether or not you should be eating them back. Do people realize that??? It's not just because someone else does or doesn't and they had success.


here's the deal...

To lose weight you need to be in a healthy caloric deficit. There are 2 ways to accomplish that:

1) Set your daily caloric intake at a deficit
This is what most people do, and is how MFP is designed to work. You figure out your daily caloric need then set your calorie goal lower than that. For example.. if your daily caloric need is 1800, you might set your daily calorie goal to 1400. That puts you in a caloric deficit and you will start to lose weight*. When you exercise you burn additional calories. These burned calories are not accounted for in your daily need or the calorie goal you set based on that need. So exercising increases that caloric deficit. The thing to watch here is how big that deficit gets. Every body responds differently, but the larger the deficit the worse it is for your body (the assumption is that the larger the deficit gets the harder it is to properly fuel your body). And this is why people recommend eating back exercise calories.

2) Use exercise to create the deficit
With this method you set your daily caloric intake to equal your daily caloric need. Then you exercise and burn calories. Those burned calories are not accounted for when you set your daily goal equal to your daily need, and thus you end up in a deficit. The size of that deficit is dependent on your workouts. You burn 75cals walking the dog and your deficit is 75 cals. You burn 500 cals running and the deficit is 500.



*This is VERY simiplified and makes A LOT of assumptions, but is good enough for this conversation.



As with everything, there is some variance here. Every body resonds differently to diet, exercise, nutrition, etc. so there is some trial and error required to find your body's "sweet spot". Pick one of the above methods, do it for a couple of months and see what happens. Then you can make a couple of subtle changes here and there, do that for a month or two and see if you body responds better or worse. But always start with one of the above methods, then go from there.

One of the biggest problems I see is people mixing elements/strategies from different programs. They want to use MFP's calorie calculations with weight watcher's zero point foods combined with what they heard from their coworker's brother's personal trainer. It doesn't work that way. Unless you really understand the ins and outs of nutrition and exercise (and if you did we wouldn't be having this conversation), you need to pick ONE method and do it. Don't mix them up, don't do a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Pick one, commit to one.

sjiphone

I try not to, but if I do I don't beat myself up over it. Either way, on 1200 a day weight loss is going to happen. Exercising helps it along. Eating back those exercise calories is up to you. Just do what works for you.