do you eat exercise calories as well?

SmartAlec03211988

Yep, eat them all back.

dzvinka82

I aim not to eat my exercise calories, however, on occasion, if I am still hungry, I will eat them.

TexanThom

I try not to.

ash8184

No, but truth is that I don't want to. Any time I want to put something "extra" in my mouth, I remember how much work/effort/sweat it took to get those calories off

Bobby_Clerici

Yes, MFP already factory in your weight loss deficit in your daily goals.
Too high a deficit, and you will fail miserably like most people do.
Good Luck to you!

tsh0ck

one of the biggest motivators to work out? nightly ice cream treat.

aross1185

yes! If I dont eat enough I GAIN weight.. and since i'm still pretty heavy and workout everyday i usually have to eat at least 2,000 calories a day

recoiljpr

No, but truth is that I don't want to. Any time I want to put something "extra" in my mouth, I remember how much work/effort/sweat it took to get those calories off

Exactly my stance. I do not eat back calories. Especially for my calorie burn level, I would be eating an extra 700+ calories a day. To me personally, that just doesn't make any sense.

angelalf1979

wow, this is a new refreshing topic :indifferent:

I sense the sarcasm and some of us just started here. These things can be confusing. And unless you have a solid answer that backs up your knowledge, then why even respond? Have some respect for newbies. I think its a very valid and important question to have clarified if you want to be healthier and lose weight.

turquoise_elephant

NO. Why? Exercise is your daily deficit. If you are on a weight loss, why would you give it up?

This is what I thought too. Surely if you're trying to lose weight, you're trying to create a deficit so why eat some of that deficit back?! It doesn't make sense to me, and I've never understood it when other people on MFP talk about eating back their calories. If someone could explain, that would be much appreciated

ladyraven68

wow, this is a new refreshing topic :indifferent:

I sense the sarcasm and some of us just started here. These things can be confusing. And unless you have a solid answer that backs up your knowledge, then why even respond? Have some respect for newbies. I think its a very valid and important question to have clarified if you want to be healthier and lose weight.

To be fair, it gets asked almost daily so I can understand the sarcasm, especially when there is a search facility.

I understand having some tolerance for newbies, but I also epect newbies to do a bit for themselves to avoid the sarcastic answers by reading the stickied threads at the top, which explain how MFP works, and say NEWBIES Please read me.

like these

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

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

Happy bed time reading - good luck :flowerforyou:

aubreykkkk

I try to get negative net calories. So, yes

julieh391

wow, this is a new refreshing topic :indifferent:

Glad you're getting your jollies trying to make new people feel stupid. Ugh.

To answer the question, yes, most of them. And I'm losing 1.5-2lbs a week. I also don't use a heart rate monitor, so I plug in lower numbers than MFP says for calories burned. I don't want to overestimate how much I'm burning.

wolfi622

Typically, No, I often eat back some - generally no more that 1/4 of them and never more that 1/2. Have never been unhappy with that choice.

tizzie_14

NO. Why? Exercise is your daily deficit. If you are on a weight loss, why would you give it up?

Exactly! It seems that the people that say "eat them back" complain about not losing weight, and those that take them as a deficit have nice weight loss numbers.

MFP calculates a deficit in the amount of calories it gives you. By not eating your exercise calories back you are not consuming or (netting) the proper amount of calories. Example - you eat 1200 calories. you exercise and burn 400. You are only netting 800 calories for the day which is too low, not healthy, not sustainable. And eating too few calories can actually result in slow weight loss or a plateau. It is important to fuel your body and work outs!!!

What they said!

HausOfTina

I aim to eat 1/2 of them back. For many weeks I tried eating the full amount... something wasn't adding up... I was either staying the same or gaining. I think that MFP estimates a higher burn than what I'm actually burning (hope to invest in a HRM soon).

THX.

angelalf1979

wow, this is a new refreshing topic :indifferent:

I sense the sarcasm and some of us just started here. These things can be confusing. And unless you have a solid answer that backs up your knowledge, then why even respond? Have some respect for newbies. I think its a very valid and important question to have clarified if you want to be healthier and lose weight.

To be fair, it gets asked almost daily so I can understand the sarcasm, especially when there is a search facility.

I understand having some tolerance for newbies, but I also epect newbies to do a bit for themselves to avoid the sarcastic answers by reading the stickied threads at the top, which explain how MFP works, and say NEWBIES Please read me.

like these

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again

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

Happy bed time reading - good luck :flowerforyou:

If someone has to be sarcastic then they need to just move on. Sometimes instead of doing endless google searches for things you don't quite understand, in my opinion it is better to get an answer from a consensus of people that have the same goals in mind. Also if you are new to this site, its just easier to post a topic like this then to search forums. Once you know your way around it does get easier. There is no room for sarcasm. You never know who it could discourage.

susannamarie

NO. Why? Exercise is your daily deficit. If you are on a weight loss, why would you give it up?

This is what I thought too. Surely if you're trying to lose weight, you're trying to create a deficit so why eat some of that deficit back?! It doesn't make sense to me, and I've never understood it when other people on MFP talk about eating back their calories. If someone could explain, that would be much appreciated

If you're setting yourself to maintain or lose slowly and creating/increasing a deficit through exercise, that's an absolutely valid way to work the system.

I could set myself to maintain (about 2000/day) and not eat exercise calories, or I could set myself quite a bit lower and then eat the exercise calories, and I'll end up with the same total calories. If I do both -- set my calories low AND continue current expenditure through exercise without eating the calories back -- I'll end up under 50% of TDEE, and I just don't feel good there.

Deedsie

I customized my goals with MFP (meaning I didn't let it decide I was going to eat 1200 calories and could add and eat exercise calories.) I set my goal using the scooby calculator in the eat more to lose weight group. It added in my exercise to my daily goal. I don't worry about going a little over and I still log my exercise and if I am way below my BMR after exercise than I eat more. I'm losing a little less than a lbs a week. I weighed 145 lbs when I started in May and now weigh 138 lbs.

turquoise_elephant

NO. Why? Exercise is your daily deficit. If you are on a weight loss, why would you give it up?

This is what I thought too. Surely if you're trying to lose weight, you're trying to create a deficit so why eat some of that deficit back?! It doesn't make sense to me, and I've never understood it when other people on MFP talk about eating back their calories. If someone could explain, that would be much appreciated

If you're setting yourself to maintain or lose slowly and creating/increasing a deficit through exercise, that's an absolutely valid way to work the system.

I could set myself to maintain (about 2000/day) and not eat exercise calories, or I could set myself quite a bit lower and then eat the exercise calories, and I'll end up with the same total calories. If I do both -- set my calories low AND continue current expenditure through exercise without eating the calories back -- I'll end up under 50% of TDEE, and I just don't feel good there.

Thank you for this. So if I feel fine doing so, I can continue with a deficit in the calories I eat, as well as exercise?
I'm rarely hungry, I can do my workouts (they push me, but in a good way!) and I don't feel tired. It seems to be working for me so far doing it this way, but I've seen so many people talking about eating their calories back I wondered if that was the way I should be doing it.

916lude

I eat most if not all back. I'm already at a calorie deficit to lose 1lb a week so eating my exercise calories back is fine with me. Still losing weight.. still staying on track!

MrsLong1980

Earn them, then eat them!

What he said

tryinghard71

Yes!!!!


Or drink them :drinker:

artslady96

I don't plan to eat them, but I don't freak out if I use 10 or 20 of them (I burn 330 calories per cardio workout at the present time). Then again, I'm on the 2-lb per week track because I have a total of 90+ lbs to loose. Guess it all depends on your weight loss needs and how you feel. Definitely don't feel guilty about using them as long as you are loosing weight doing so.

tryinghard71

I am set at sedentary already. So when I log exercise if I don't eat back my calories I would not being eating enough. This has been working great "for me"!

dhiannon

Yep, now I am totally confused. I thought the reason why worked out is so we had calories left over to go against our weight loss. If we are eating what we earn aren't we just staying the same?

I dont understand now

Brittany3914

I try to get negative net calories. So, yes

How is that healthy?!

sofiav76

I tend to not eat them back, sometimes I eat some of them back if I feel like I need to. Everyone is different so just listen to your body. I prefer to save some of my exercise calories for occasions where I know I will not avoid going over my daily calorie goals and the rest of my exercise calories are there to add to weight loss.

megleo818

Yes. That's how it's done. Amazed that people don't understand that MFP already factors in a deficit for you when it calculates your daily calorie amount.

samntha14

usually yes I do. I'm into heavy lifting so I need my cals to build muscle.