Who is and Who isn't?

leenabeana1

I'd like to know who eats all their calories back and who isn't. And if you aren't if you are still getting the results you exspected? I see a lot of ppl's diaries and they are wayyyy under. And most days I myself am. But then I read about ppl who hit a plateau because they're not eating enough! It's confusing me

trophywife24

I'm not... actually I don't even log my exercise on here. I think mfp grossly overestimates what we actually burn and I haven't bothered with a heart rate monitor yet. I loose just fine. I don't do extensive cardio though, I mostly lift, do pilates and a little spinning. My cals are set on 1500 a day.

ETA Even when I did use mfp to log my exercise, I rarely ate back my calories, even when I started on 1200. No issues. If I'm hungry, I eat. If I'm not, I don't.

chris1816

That I have seen, most TDEE calculators are either innacurate or can vary wildly depending on what you use. The same goes for HRMs and many calculations for calories burned; even on MFP. With this, I make it a point only to -maybe- eat back 25-50% of exercise calories if at all. I don't make it a conscious effort; more on days I do strength training/cardio I don't sweat if I have a a bit extra that day, I just log it and carry on.

However in my case, I'm fat/hambeast/lipomorph whatever you want to call it. If I'm eating at a deficit, days I exercise I am just increasing that deficit; which is good. Now for some in the lower body fat range, eating back exercise calories may benefit them but the reality is the body does not go into any "Starvation mode" or start magically defying the laws of physics to hold onto more stored energy than it can with what is being expended.

sarrylove

You do need to eat enough or it isn't good for your body. Your caloric needs and how much you need to eat to lose weight is going to depend on your height, weight, activity level and how much weight you want to lose. I have a really good website I use to calculate mine. If you are interested, message me and I will help you out

Amber50lbsDown

Some days I eat some, some days I eat them all and some days I eat none.
but I do it day to day and week by week. I know on the weekends or if we have a special day planned I will go over so I do a weekly average insted of daily.
I find its working for me this way and I still get to enjoy everything I use too.

chivalryder

I try to, but I don't burn much. 400-500 cals/day at this point in time. When I burn more, I will be doing my best to eat it back.

The problem for me right now is that I'm big enough my daily calorie needs without working out is pretty high (2500 for maintenance). I get my info from my scale which also measures body composition. It's very accurate.

I also use a HRM which is very accurate. The past few days, I'm finding MFP's numbers are turning out to be fairly close to what my HRM is reading.

NemoDog

I don't eat back my exercise calories simply because I'm never that hungry after working out.
I've been losing approx. 10 pounds per month but slowing down a little since I hit my 50 pounds lost...
I also think everyone's body is different and none of us will get the same results doing the same thing.

ATOLLIT

It really depends on how much exercise I have done.
If I've had a day of being bored revising (like most at the moment haha) then I generally eat less healthily and will exercise in order to earn enough calories to eat what I want.
If I have a more interesting day with less time available for eating, and then go for a decent length run, I am easily 2-300 calories under goal most days.

I haven't noticed any difference really in results between good weeks and and weeks, mostly I have lost just over or just under 1 lb each week regardless.

GeorgieLove708

I eat back up to 50% of the calories earned according to MFP (They grossly overestimate in my opinion). At the same time, if I'm not hungry, I'm not going to force myself to eat just so I can get those calories back. I don't feel forcing myself to eat more just so I can follow some peoples' rules is really the best way to change my eating habits for the better. I've lost 16 pounds so far, but I have a lot to lose and it comes off easier, I'm a long way off from being able to determine if its working for me or not.

xxzimmer

I eat them back. I use to not eat them and I lost weight, and some muscle definition. A few months ago I started eating my cals back, and I have gained weight....but its from muscle growth not fat. Eat right, workout hard, and you will see the results you want.

DefyGravity1977

I do occasionally if I am still hungry, but the majority of the time I have some left over. You have to go with what works for your body.

lostwisdom

I only eat them back when I'm super hungry, and as I'm on 1200 and only just begun it's most days atm (before this was probably eating around 2000 a day so a big change!), but I'm looking forward to when I can start coming under on calories after my exercise!

Silverstar46

I often eat back my exercise calories or at least some of them. MFP figures out what you need to lose weight without the exercise, so when you burn those calories away, you'd think working at even more of a deficit would help, right? Except your body NEEDS calories to work efficiently and you can damage your body by not eating enough. So I make sure to eat half of my exercise calories since I think MFP is a little too generous in the 'calories burned' area.

_stephanie0

i exercise so that i CAN eat more.... i soo cannot eat 1400 cals a day LOL...so yes, i eat mine, so i eat around 1700-1800 per day, and yes it works

Amryfal

i do eat my exercise calories back, because it motivates me to exercise, lol - and because if i don't eat them back, i get hungry, which is not sustainable for me.

but then, i'm relatively flexible on numbers, too - i deliberately set my calories lower than my BMR because i don't have a food scale, a heart rate monitor, etc. and if i turn my measuring into rocket science, i start to get OCD, which is also not sustainable for me. i've tried lower and higher daily calorie limits, and the weight loss stalls.

when my current levels stop working, i'll change it up again until i find something that works. i can't obsess about #s because it's bad for my mental health. some people need more structure, though. whatever works for you.

Dee_84

I eat most of my exercise calories back (I even log stuff like heavy cleaning :noway: ).
I set my goal for 0.5 lb loss a week and have lost 9 lb in 11 weeks. So it definitely works for me!

MalSponseller

I eat like 90% of them back, making sure that I'm AT LEAST over 1200 calories by the end of the night.

BrienJD

I eat mine back, so far (crosses fingers) I have had steady weight loss for the last six months. Might be hitting a plateau here now though. Eat em until it doesn't work anymore then adjust as necessary

mscrumbyy

I eat them back if I'm hungry. I struggle to eat all my calories every day as it is but my appetite is pretty awful recently and I don't see the point in force feeding myself.

krawl78

Initially I didn't, and on the advice of some of my pals, I started to eat them back and gained almost 5 lbs in a few days. I reset my body and continue to lose at a rate that I think is great! For some people, eating back works, for others it doesn't. Weight loss is a science and you have to figure out your formula. Good luck!

candi_jo

I typically try to stay under, even if it's JUST under. I was told to look at my calorie goal like a daily budget. Maybe because I'm a saver, I like to have a little something left over at the end of the day! However, I can't vouch for results, because I'm just finishing up my second week using MFP.

jdploki70

I don't. I usually don't eat my daily allowance either. Unless I start eating a lot more than I feel good with or some really greasy stuff, I'm probably not going to hit my calorie requirements. On very rare occasions I will hit the gym extra hard and then go to a party or have something not in my normal diet, but for the most part I eat until full, then stop and I don't try to force more food onto myself to reach a calculated number.

LeslePG

For me, it varies. I usually eat about 80% of my exercise calories. With me it's a mental victory on the days when I've worked out and feel like I ate more than I should, but MFP shows I still have calories left :laugh: And on the nights where my hubby says "lets go have margaritas", I am grateful to have those extras!

Just do what's right for you, but make sure you eat your minimum

runfatmanrun

I eat them. I also keep things pretty simple and haven't bothered to figure out how much MFP over or under estimates anything. It seems to have worked for me.

half_moon

Not only do my work out machines grossly overestimate the calories I've burned (I don't have an HRM and my elliptical guesses based on weight, etc)-- AND I know I underestimate calories every day (sandwich from a deli, I have to guess based on other similar items in the MFP listings; a bite here, one fry here, a sip of this drink, etc) so no, I do not eat my calories back. I end up around 1100 - 1350 calories a day and I exercise off around 500, 6 times a week. I am losing about 2 pounds a week, with some weeks only losing one pound. I'm happy with that progress for now and will readjust when I plateau. I think it's silly to go by MFP like the bible. It's all a guess! I just do what feels right, and for now, this feels right.

MzMandi1025

I eat back enough to net at least 1200. Sometimes I go over. I was losing consistantly until I stopped eating back my exercise calories. My weight loss pretty much stalled, then I gained weight when I started eating them back. That little experiment set me back about a month or so & I'm just now starting to get back on track. So I always try to at least net 1200 on the days that I exercise.

sarah5423

Ok here goes... I don't eat back my calories burnt and my goal is set at 1200 per day and I'm often below that. I have steadily lost 1lb per week for 19 weeks getting down to 112 lbs and at 5'2 I still feel I can lose a little more or at least tone up a lot! Granted I seem to have stopped losing 1lb per week over the past 2 weeks but I'm hoping that's down to the 30 day shred I've started and the fact that I am at a low weight. I eat veggies, lean meat, oatmeal breakfasts, fruit you name it healthy I get 3 meals and at least 2 snacks per day - usually enough left for a treat every night! It's daunting to post this due to the backlash people normally get but it has worked for me, I feel fit and healthy, I do between four and seven 50 minute dance workouts a week along with daily dog walks and recently 30DS most days. If I was starving myself and unhealthy then surely I would have collapsed after 4 and a half months of this way of living! Sorry for the rant but everyone is different and unless you are in need of medical attention due to lack of food why should people be made to feel they are doing wrong! Anyone out there in a similar situation please feel free to add me :-)

WhitneyT586

I tend to switch it up every 2-4 weeks. I tried higher calories but stopped losing so I switched back to lower calories. I use my exercise calories as a buffer for underestimating or when I want a treat. Still trying to figure out what works best for me.

diannethegeek

I eat most of mine back, but I'm so close to my goal weight that I'm worried about lean muscle loss if I don't.