Do I have to use calories earned from Excercise?

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  • Sheila_Ann
    Sheila_Ann Posts: 365 Member
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    Always remember that : Muscle weighs more than what fat does!

    I have to respectfully disagree with this quote. Muscle does not weigh more then fat. Muscle takes up less space then fat but weighs the same. If you can, you should have your body fat % calculated and your measurements done.

    I do eat back my workout calories. Since January only twice have I gain and that was about a lb each time. Last Monday I gained a pound and this monday I was down 1.8lbs. There are days where I just can't eat all of it back because I'm just not hungry.

    Best of luck on your journey. :flowerforyou:

    Frankly, neither of these statements make any sense. You need to put it into context. Think about it for a second.



    Which weighs more - muscle or fat
    Answer
    This is a common myth. The easiest way to understand this is to look at it this way...

    5 lbs. of fat is much bulkier than the 5 lbs. of muscle, but five pounds is still five pounds. Muscle does not weigh more than fat.

    Fat is bulky and lumpy so if you carry an extra five pounds of fat, you'll be lumpier than with five pounds more muscle. A five pound pile of fat will take up more space (volume) than a five pound pile of muscle; but five pounds is still five pounds.

    A woman weighing 150 pounds with 19% fat will look much smaller (and be much healthier) than a woman at 150 pounds with 35% fat. They weigh the same, yet the composition is different. Because muscle is more dense than fat the person with less fat and more muscle will look smaller.

    Taken from: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Which_weighs_more_-_muscle_or_fat
  • Twiztedbeing
    Twiztedbeing Posts: 389
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    Always remember that : Muscle weighs more than what fat does!

    I have to respectfully disagree with this quote. Muscle does not weigh more then fat. Muscle takes up less space then fat but weighs the same. If you can, you should have your body fat % calculated and your measurements done.

    I do eat back my workout calories. Since January only twice have I gain and that was about a lb each time. Last Monday I gained a pound and this monday I was down 1.8lbs. There are days where I just can't eat all of it back because I'm just not hungry.

    Best of luck on your journey. :flowerforyou:

    You are right about it weighing the same amount to a point, but as far as mass of both, if they are the same mass, then the muscle would weigh more, Thats more on the lines of what people mean by that.
  • 1960HikerDude
    1960HikerDude Posts: 215 Member
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    Don't let the scale mess with your head. It's way too easy to become obsessed with that number. I weigh myself every day (I know I shouldn't). My weight bounces around all over the place from day to day.

    Like Twizted said, you are exercising a lot and may be gaining muscle. Muscle is denser than fat. Also, variations in your hydration levels and stomach/intestine contents will influence the numbers.

    Look for other indicators. How your clothes are fitting? Are you seeing changes in your face?

    FWIW - I generally don't eat back my exercise calories either.
  • HeatherDee92
    HeatherDee92 Posts: 218 Member
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    Make sure you are at atleast 1200 calories in your net calories. More depending on your BMR :)
  • tsmith67
    tsmith67 Posts: 27
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    Muscle doesn't weigh more than fat. Common misconception. 1lb of muscle weighs the same as 1lb of fat. The difference is the "space" it takes up.

    http://www.saobart.com/1-pound/ (visual of 1lb muscle vs 1lb fat)
  • tgbyfield
    tgbyfield Posts: 62
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    Hi,

    I am not sure how much weight you need to lose, but I was about 225 and I was in your situation. I was taking classes at my gym and dieting for 4 months and it just didn't seem to be helping me lose anything. My doctor told me that the kinds of exercises I was doing were more likely to build and tone muscle and since muscle weighs more than fat, I was not going to see a drop on the scales. She suggested I try more cardio to burn fat calories. Most of the classes I went to were interval training classes, and I felt the way you feel; more toned, more energy, better sleep, etc., but when I started doing more cardio and less strength training, I definitely started seeing a difference. It has been about 8 wks now and I am 202lbs. Hope this helps.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    The major point of spin class is to burn calories. If it didn't, the classes would be empty. So if you really don't want to eat more, then you need less cardio. You should, in general, be eating enough for your chosen activity level.
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
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    I have a heart rate monitor to more closely estimate my caloric burn, and I eat back some of mine on all days. Some days, I eat back most or all. Some days I go over by a bit. It all averages out.

    mfp already has you set at a HEALTHY deficit for weight loss-regardless of whether you exercise or not. To go too far below that number (with exercise calories added back in) puts you at an unhealthy deficit.

    This is not a race... it's a lifestyle. If it isn't sustainable, you can't call it a lifestyle...

    **I wanted to add--about eating back some of mine--I do sometimes eat only SOME, but I upped my daily intake to match my BMR and do not eat below that. mfp had me at 1200, and that was too low, IMO...
  • mamakjknows
    mamakjknows Posts: 51
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    Been struggling as well. I go to the gym at least 3 days a week and generally work out more than the 150 minutes/week that's recommended. I wish I had thought to measure myself before I started going to the gym. While I have only been a member of this site for a week, I can honestly say that although my scale has had minimal change, the shape and definition in my body has definitely improve. I am looking forward to seeing what the results will be when I add in the more rigid tracking of calories in and calories out. Good luck!
  • gypsybree
    gypsybree Posts: 218
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    I would start measuring. Sometimes the scale can really discourage you and those times are when measuring is your best friend.

    As far as calories go--eat what you want, if you don't want to eat all your calories, then don't!
    On days that I exercise I don't want to eat but other days when I don't exercise I'm hungrier so sometimes I'll go over a tiny bit on those days. I do like to leave excess calories, sometimes I leave some, sometimes I don't.

    People are often saying that the calorie burned amounts are incorrect so I wouldn't suggest eating all the calories at all. I've seen some people eat only 80% back and leave 20% uneaten.

    Thing is you didn't say whether you eat them all back or not.. If you DO eat them all back and aren't losing pounds then maybe you want to cut back on caloric intake.
    ???
    If you're eating a certain amount without taking exercise into consideration and aren't losing... then your question would be I'm not eating them, should I? Cause some people DO lose more weight by eating more.

    I was looking for a recent post I Saw about how this chick upped her calories from 1400-1500 to 2000-2100 (with exercise in both amounts) and lost a ton of more weight.
    However her is one where a girl was eating way less calories than a person needs:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/577479-seriously-eat-more-i-did-and-look-what-happened-pics?hl=eat+more

    IDK what your situation is, good luck figuring it out!!!

    And also, it might be water weight, etc etc, there's a TON of reasons why you could not be losing.
    I for one have camel-itis--severe water retention that makes it impossible to lose sometimes. So I just keep working out.
  • christiangandy
    christiangandy Posts: 48 Member
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    right and wrong.....muscle is not "heavier" as it does indeed take up less space.....what she should have said was... "muscle is denser than fat" Grams per cm squared, muscle is denser, than fat
  • Koshkaxo
    Koshkaxo Posts: 332 Member
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    Sorry to stray from your topic OP

    To all those getting up in arms about muscle weighs more than fat, it is implied by volume that muscle weighs more. No one truely believes the properties of physics can be altered. Do you all feel intellectually superior for pointing out the obvious? The horse has been dead a long time, stop beating it lol.
  • brandivestal
    brandivestal Posts: 2,637 Member
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    I personally do not eat mine back. I stick to my routine!
  • laungier
    laungier Posts: 10
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    I've not been eating them back as it seemed excessive but I think there may be something in what people are saying in that I'm not eating enough. I've been sticking to the 1200 so I think I'll up that to maybe 1500 provided I am excercising as I am i.e. 3 days a week in gym and one day 10K brisk walking.
  • KittyMarie13
    KittyMarie13 Posts: 75
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    I, too, cringe when I hear the old adage, "muscle weighs more than fat does". Not true. A POUND of muscle weighs the same as a POUND of fat. The difference is in the SIZE of that pound. Muscle takes up less volume, so a pound of muscle takes up much less room than a pound of fat. The best way to tell if you're losing weight is by how your jeans fit -- honestly. A good pair of jeans can tell you more about your weight loss than any other piece of clothing in your closet. If your jeans are getting loose, especially when they have just been taken out of the dryer, that's a good sign. Hang in there! It will come if you keep with it.

    :) I think that old adage just rolls off the tongue better than "a pound of muscle is more dense and therefore takes up less space on the human body than a comparable pound of fat". At least its easier for me to say to myself when the scale hasn't moved but I've been working hard and my clothes fit better. I guess it's really a matter of perspective, because if you held up a one inch diameter ball of fat and a one inch diameter ball of muscle then the muscle would, in fact, weight more than the fat.
  • NatalieWinning
    NatalieWinning Posts: 999 Member
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    People are often saying that the calorie burned amounts are incorrect so I wouldn't suggest eating all the calories at all. I've seen some people eat only 80% back and leave 20% uneaten.
    Sometimes MFP estimates too high, but sometimes it's estimated too low. eg: I walk "moderate pace" and for me it's more of a "really brisk walk" or "slow run". My treadmill has a HRM built in, it's 100 calories overall too high. You really don't know until you get your own personal HRM what your more accurate estimate of calories burned is. But I went over half a year eating back calories burned just by using the database and lost half my weight. The only difference when I got a HRM and began eating more (because overall I was burning more than MFP estimated) was that I got to eat more and still continue to lose weight all the way to my goal. My husband lost all his 65lbs without a HRM. He just got his first one last month. It's great! But don't mistrust MFP, it does okay overall for a good general estimate.
  • christiangandy
    christiangandy Posts: 48 Member
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    Always remember that : Muscle weighs more than what fat does!

    I have to respectfully disagree with this quote. Muscle does not weigh more then fat. Muscle takes up less space then fat but weighs the same. If you can, you should have your body fat % calculated and your measurements done.

    I do eat back my workout calories. Since January only twice have I gain and that was about a lb each time. Last Monday I gained a pound and this monday I was down 1.8lbs. There are days where I just can't eat all of it back because I'm just not hungry.

    Best of luck on your journey. :flowerforyou:

    Frankly, neither of these statements make any sense. You need to put it into context. Think about it for a second.



    Which weighs more - muscle or fat
    Answer
    This is a common myth. The easiest way to understand this is to look at it this way...

    5 lbs. of fat is much bulkier than the 5 lbs. of muscle, but five pounds is still five pounds. Muscle does not weigh more than fat.

    Fat is bulky and lumpy so if you carry an extra five pounds of fat, you'll be lumpier than with five pounds more muscle. A five pound pile of fat will take up more space (volume) than a five pound pile of muscle; but five pounds is still five pounds.

    A woman weighing 150 pounds with 19% fat will look much smaller (and be much healthier) than a woman at 150 pounds with 35% fat. They weigh the same, yet the composition is different. Because muscle is more dense than fat the person with less fat and more muscle will look smaller.

    Taken from: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Which_weighs_more_-_muscle_or_fat
    [/quote

    and even easier way to explain it, is to say that what they all actually MEAN is DENSITY

    MUSCLE is DENSER than FAT...... grams per cm squared for example a cube of muscle measuring 1cm x1cmx1cm would weigh more than the same sized cube of fat
  • arathena720
    arathena720 Posts: 449 Member
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    I eat back some of my exercise calories, but usually not all of them. I would look to what you're eating, too. Are you eating 1200 calories of mostly fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats, or 1200 of mac and cheese? There's a big difference. Also, look at your percentages of protein, fats, and carbs. I found out by logging that I eat too much protein during the day. Good luck to you!
  • laungier
    laungier Posts: 10
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    I eat back some of my exercise calories, but usually not all of them. I would look to what you're eating, too. Are you eating 1200 calories of mostly fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats, or 1200 of mac and cheese? There's a big difference. Also, look at your percentages of protein, fats, and carbs. I found out by logging that I eat too much protein during the day. Good luck to you!

    Hey - yep I'm eating loads of stir frys with heaps of vegetables, I'm eating more fruit too - definitely not using my calories with fatty foods. Found the same issue too with the protein - what's the consequence of too much protein in the diet do you know??
    Best of Luck to you too!
    Thanks
    Liz, Dublin - Ireland
  • Dani_wants_to_be_fit
    Dani_wants_to_be_fit Posts: 550 Member
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    I've also been wondering this. MFP has set me on 1200 net cals and I am pretty sure that's a little low with being active (so there are untracked calorie burning) and my BMR. In 2 weeks despite working out and eating 1200 net cals I have lost 0.5lb) Today for the first time in 2 weeks I actually went over the net cals (I burn around 500 a day on tracked cals so gave myself an extra 200) and will try this out for 2 weeks to see if it makes any difference

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