Eat exercise cals?

bb_tiu · July 2012

Hey everyone! So according to this food tracker, we eat back the calories we burn through exercise. Is that right? So my calorie goal is 1450 and if I burn 400 though exercise I'm supposed to eat 1850 and still have a 500 calorie deficit to loose 1 lb a week?

A little confused and still new to this!

Thanks!

SGreen134 · July 2012

Yep, that's right!

3foldchord · July 2012

I think the cal goal they give you aready IS 500 defecit- so eating them back still is 500 defecit.

I eat mine back- what's the point in exercising if I can't eat more...LOL

bb_tiu · July 2012

WOW I was under eating by A LOT! You think I will gain weight by increasing cals? Or just bust this plateau?

Nutrition1st · July 2012

Eat more, weigh less...

3foldchord · July 2012

Eat more, weigh less...

ditto

like we always used to say back-in-the-day:
"it takes fat to burn fat"
(if it's the good fats, I guess)

bluered3038 · July 2012

I try not to eat my exercise calories, but it is nice to know they are there if you need them.
Of course this is only my 4th day!! LOL

Assassins_Angel · July 2012

i dont eat mine back an ive lost weight doing that, as far as im concerned eating your exercise calories back is counter productive

(ignore my ticker i had an accident last week and was unable to exercise)

Bobby_Clerici · July 2012

katsue_0xo · July 2012

Keep in mind- if you do not consume enough calories, you will kill your metabolism....and it is hard to repair. You will loose a lot of weight, and very fast. But it will catch up to you, you will not only plateau but gain, you will feel like crap, and you will have a hard time getting your metabolism back on track. Eat small, balanced meals through out the day so your body isn't afraid to burn what it is given. When you eat too little, your body will hold on to eveything you give it.

dianediaz · July 2012

Eating back your exercise calories is not counter productive for a few reasons. You need to eat enough calories in order to be able to fuel your workouts. If you eat too few calories you'll begin to feel like you have less energy in the long run. In addition, since the calorie deficit is already built in you will still lose weight when you are eating back your exercise calories. And, eating actually fuels the metabolism which then helps your body to become more efficient at burning calories.

While not eating back your calories seems like it will make you lose weight more quickly, and it may at first, over the long run you more than likely will not be able to maintain that much of a calorie deficit and your weight loss efforts will be compromised.

And, besides, wouldn't you want to be able to eat more and still lose weight? That's why MFP is so great. The deficit is built in, you exercise and you eat. And . . . you still lose weight the healthy way that is sustainable over the long term.

nwilson91 · July 2012

I've been on this program for 6 weeks (and before that working out and tracking for 3 more weeks with fitday) and the first 3-4 I ate back my workouts, watching the weekly average and didn't lose a pound.

I've stopped doing that and only now am I meeting my minimum weekly weight loss goals (1lb/wk).

tryinghard71 · July 2012

This comes up again and again...
MFP suggests a daily net calorie intake to result in 1 lb of weight loss per week.
1 pound equals 3500 calories.
3500 divided by 7 days equals 500 calories per day. Our MFP daily number already has that 500 calories subtracted.
When we exercise, that green number goes up, because MFP expects us to eat back your exercise calories to keep your net daily calorie intake steady; that's how MFP works. Read this to learn more.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/23912-links-in-mfp-you-want-to-read-again-and-again
And This:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/173853-an-objective-look-at-eating-exercise-calories
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/153704-myth-or-fact-simple-math-3500-calories-one-pound-eat
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/TrainerRobin/view/myth-or-fact-calories-in-versus-calories-out-3500-calories-one-pound-and-should-i-eat-my-exercise-calories-62012
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/230930-starvation-mode-how-it-works
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/231636-the-eating-when-you-re-not-hungry-dilemma
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/175241-a-personal-view-on-exercise-cals-and-underfeeding
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/302589-eat-more-to-lose-more-explained

Just follow the MFP recommendations for healthy, steady and lasting results.
You could reduce quicker, but what would be the quality of that weight loss?
It could lead to increased muscle loss, and that stifles metabolism.
No, eat right, exercise - both cardio and resistance, lose weight in such a way that maintains health and preserves lean body mass which burns more calories at rest.
Good luck to you.:flowerforyou:
All Is Possible!

^^
This!

erickirb · July 2012

WOW I was under eating by A LOT! You think I will gain weight by increasing cals? Or just bust this plateau?

No, but eating those cals you will lose your goal amount of weight, as long as you are logging cals correctly.

TeaBea · July 2012

I eat back every single exercise calorie because

1. I want to lose FAT not muscle. Feed the muscle.
2. I'm over 50 & cannot afford to lose muscle ... even if I were to lose weight more quickly (not eating calories back may cause plateaus)
3. I use a heart rate monitor .... so my exercise calories are not overstated. Be careful if your "calories burned" are taken from a piece of equipment (or MFP even) some things are overstated

NWCountryGal · July 2012

I think so many of us, me in particular, come here not understanding a whole lot about our bodies and the nutritional needs. I found a site yesterday that explains it all in a very readable, simple to understand way. Now I can see how MFP calculates things, but also, I can actually put in my own, custom settings which MFP allows. Here is the link if you want to read parts of it, or all of it.

http://www.acaloriecounter.com/diet/calorie-deficit-to-lose-weight/

Denise:drinker: :drinker:
PS MFPs calcs. have worked for tons of people. What I like about the link is that I am learning to be as accurate as possible with my own numbers, for my, individual needs. They are not far from MFP's figures, I just feel better understanding MFP's calcs and knowing I can be more in control and knowledgeable.

Hey everyone! So according to this food tracker, we eat back the calories we burn through exercise. Is that right? So my calorie goal is 1450 and if I burn 400 though exercise I'm supposed to eat 1850 and still have a 500 calorie deficit to loose 1 lb a week?

A little confused and still new to this!

Thanks!

NWCountryGal · July 2012

I believe changing the daily caloric intake to either higher or lower will "bust as you put it" a plateau or a time of not losing or gaining weight, but that is only a theory for me at this point;) denise:drinker: :drinker:

WOW I was under eating by A LOT! You think I will gain weight by increasing cals? Or just bust this plateau?

No, but eating those cals you will lose your goal amount of weight, as long as you are logging cals correctly.

amcauley17 · July 2012

I'm already having a hard time eating enough just to reach my daily goal of 1270 calories BEFORE exercising. Then when I exercise I'm up to almost 2,000 and I'm just no hungry. Obviously, if I was hungry I would definitely get on that! But I'm not, so I just don't bother. It's nice to know you have that buffer though if you want to splurge or treat yourself, especially on weekends!

I've been doing this for a week now and I've lost 4 pounds and I am VERY happy! I've been eating whatever I want basically. No looking through the frdige and thinking that looks really good but I can't have that. I love MFP!

olee67 · July 2012

Imagine it this way...

You body is the pot, the water is fat, wood logs are food, and the fire is your metabolism. The more wood you have on the fire, the hotter the fire gets... But, too little wood, and the fire slows down to a smolder... Too much wood and the fire slows down because it gets choked out... The hotter the fire, the more the water boils. The more the water boils, the more steam it creates. Steam is water "burning." By working out, you are adding gasoline to the fire. This burns more water. But, when the gasoline is all gone, the fire slows down and more wood has burned than it normally would over the same period of time. Beause of this, it burned more wood. If in a normal day, without working out, you would burn 4 logs... With a work out, your fire would be out before the end of the day. You need to add a 5th log to keep the fire burning all day.

seasicksquid · July 2012

I simply don't trust the calorie counts of the workouts enough to eat back exercise calories. On days where I do work out a bit, I don't feel bad if I'm hungry and go over...but if I'm not hungry, I'm not going to force myself to eat more just because some arbitrary number.

FWIW, I am going to invest in an HR monitor at some point.

Whooleeah · July 2012

really? I still can't wrap my head around that?

Eat more, weigh less...

Eat exercise cals?

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