Qustion for those of you who have been successful

rbn_held

Yes, most of the time I eat back my exercise calories.

kdruga

I think the most important thing is to keep your net for the day at or above 1200. If you are set at 1400 and burn 400, you're only at 1000 net for the day and should try to eat back 200. The main thing is not to let your net go too far below 1200 on any day.

2youngatheart

Bump...interesting question!

TheNewDodge

I just eat when I'm hungry for the most part and avoid crappy foods. I don't overthink it too much. I generally end up right around my weekly calorie goal. Some days I'm way under. Some days I'm way over.

NicLiving

Yes, you should eat them and stay at a NET calorie at the end of the day.
Trainer explained it to me like this: You can't drive a car without gas right.
So you have to have enough fuel to complete a workout. You gotta eat

freder1ck

For those of you who have been successful long term, I am wondering did you eat your exercise calories back or not?

yes. 330+ days of logging, and that's what I've done. I was eating a LOT of calories at the beginning, and lost weight, because I was eating less net calories. Some folks report that MFP estimates of calories burned are high, but I've mostly been using those estimates. Lately I've been using Runtastic calories about half of the time, which are usually a bit lower than MFP. I started out losing about 2 lbs a week, but as I made progress I dropped it to 1.5 lbs/wk. Exercise is good for my heart and cholesterol, and it softens the blow of reducing net calories (on Thanksgiving and Christmas, I burned over 1,000 calories before going to dinner).

BerryH

One good tip to avoid overestimating is to divide your BMR by 24 then multiply that by the number of hours you work out. Subtract that from your exercise calories as that's what you'd be burning during that time even if you were sitting on the sofa.

Obviously there's all sorts of other factors involved in overestimating, but if you're just going to take off "some" of what you eat back, it's at least a vaguely scientific way of going about it

ShannonMpls

My thoughts on "exercise calories" and setting a deficit are here:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ShannonMpls/view/tdee-exercise-calories-an-alternate-way-to-customize-mfp-goals-238045

(I eat more than that now though, minimum of 2040 on a typical day).

tobnrn

It all depends on the method you are using. Some will say yes, some will say no. It takes 3500 kcal deficit to lose 1lb.

stephanj

I am going to be honest and unpopular. That eat more to lose weight thing never worked for me.
I have to cut calories consistently, and the exercise is just bonus. THE KEY for me was to realize how much better my own body functions on higher protein/lower carb, and to build muscle!

PHATmommy68

Yes. The baseline calories are set so that you will make your weight loss goal with NO exercise beyond your normal daily activity level.

I would disagree with this concept though. If you reach your goal and the baseline is set for calories with NO exercise, this is not beneficial to you! You should CONTINUE to exercise to keep yourself toned, etc. If you don't use it, you lose it!

ShannonMpls

Trainer explained it to me like this: You can't drive a car without gas right.
So you have to have enough fuel to complete a workout. You gotta eat

Well kind of, but the car that is my body has extra fuel stores all over the place; it's called fat. Though I certainly agree that under-eating decreases performance at the gym and can have all kinds of metabolic consequences, this analogy isn't really apt.

PHATmommy68

I think maybe I'm over thinking this whole calorie counting thing....I lost weight in the past on low carb so forgive me if this is new to me.
Let me get this straight.......Lets say MFP has my calories set at 1400 and I burn 400 with exercise.....my actual calorie allowance for the day is 1800? Seems like a lot to me.

What I do is try to have left over calories per day! Just because you have extra calories, doesn't mean you need to spend it! Kinda like a savings account!

heidiberr

Every single calorie. Food=fuel.

48longs

Great question. Every person is different. Loss of over 40 pounds in 5 months still off not struggling. I do very little exercise but still maintain under 100 calories yet concentrate on low carb low fat diet. Weekends I let loose and eat what I want without over doing it. Age and body makes a big difference. Eating every 2 hours and staying active helped for me and oh yeh. Lots. And. Lots of fluids.

48longs

Oops meant to say 1000 calories sorry should read prior to post

Fat_2_Fit_Mommy

Bump very interesting to know.

bclj

My strategy has been to stay under the calorie goal on light/no workout days, and to try to hit the goal on workout days. In other words, I do not want to eat back my calories burned. Keep in mind, however, that in general, my calorie burn is 300-500. If you burn more than that, you need the fuei.

I eat five times - three meals from 200-500 calories, an apple at mid-morning, and nuts or a homemade snack bag (120 cals) in mid afternoon.

I also drink over a gallon of water every day. I am 54, and it helps with my arthritis as well as weight loss.

Hope this helps.

Sheila_Ann

:flowerforyou: I eat mine back as well. On certain days I add 950 workout calories to my 1200 daily calories. On those days, I sometimes don't eat them all back because I'm just not hungry. I avg about a pound a week for weight loss. Best of luck to you and everyone else!

Sheila

Norm949

I try to eat within the MFP recommendation before excerise, but I can use up the extra calories on those days you want a little extra or a to treat yourself.