someone has to explain this too me...

sarabluebell · July 2012

Im sure its been addressed a million times but be patiet with me as im new here...Why would I want to go work out at m and burn lets say 500 calories and then come home and eat them back...id rather spend an hour at home watching tv or cooking or playing with my kids...that seams like a waste of an hour...doesnt just sticking to whatever mfp suggest for calories work too.

Bobby_Clerici · July 2012

jenbison · July 2012

Yes, it is about eating the recommended calories. If you don't want to exercise, that is up to you. Just remember, there are alot of healthy benefits to exercise besides weight loss.

acv43 · July 2012

I eat a lot so i struggle to stay within my calorie limits when I am not working out. If you burn more calories, you can eat more while still loosing weight.

Helloitsdan · July 2012

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!

She can burn some cals reading through those!

rusialeelee · July 2012

You only need to eat them back when it's significantly lower than your BMR so that your body has sufficient energy to function (digest, grow, renew, etc. etc.) Some people warn others to not eat under BMR because (1) it's depriving your body of fuel that it needs to live and (2) it's not good for your weight loss plans because your body will cling onto the stored fat thinking you are undergoing a famine and so you won't lose any weight at all.... On the other hand, if you end up losing weight eating netting less than cal goal MFP set for you will probably be losing more than 2 lb/week which is "unhealthy".

Having done some readings on this site and others.. it seems there is scientific evidence and actual before & after results from people on this site that support both theories of to eat back or not to eat back.

In the end, eat them if you feel hungry and if not, don't.

I don't eat them back and I'm perfectly healthy and losing weight at a healthy and steady pace.

This question actually keeps coming up quite often and if you're really interested in finding out the answer you should look some of them up in past forums. There were A LOT yesterday, for some reason o.o.....

Good luck!

randomartisrgirl · July 2012

Well, exercise can help tone you up. Buuuut in all honesty (not aure if I'm bad by saying this), but forget that whole thing. Unless you're eating your lowest, like 1200, and are very hungry all the time, you don't have to eat those back. If you're eatinf 1200 or lower, you should be eating more, hence eatin back (some) of those calories. Those 500 you lost put you at a net of 700. But don't worry about the whole eating-back thing. I personally think of it as an option. If you need the extra cals, go for it. If you're fine, forget it.

Lisa_is_Fit · July 2012

As you lose weight, you also want to tone your muscles and body. When you have a tone body you look and feel so much better.

Plus exercise is good for your health and your heart.

Bonny619 · July 2012

I think a big problem with this is over estimation of calories burned which in turn leads people to completely overeating.

yarwell · July 2012

Why would I want to go work out at m and burn lets say 500 calories and then come home and eat them back

You might get some modest health benefit from the exercise but you are right in that eating extra to offset the exercise does nothing for weight loss.

The weight loss of 25% less calories in food and 12.5% less food and 12.5% more exercise calories comes out pretty similar :-

Assassins_Angel · July 2012

i found that eating my exercise cals back actually made me put weight on, so i uped my cals to 1500 at least and stopped eating my exercise cals back and ive lost weight from there

but everyones different i found it was a bit trial and error for me as i dont like fruit or veg so i shouldnt significantly change my diet

dvisser1 · July 2012

It comes down to how you set up your profile on MFP and how MFP is intended to work.

#1 You input your stats....height, weight, age, gender....That is used to calculate your estimated BMR (basal metabolic rate), which is the calories your body burns with zero activity. It's basically life support.
#2 You input your activity level...sedentary, lightly active, etc for an average day. I don't know exactly where the number comes from, but MFP uses that to create a multiplier. 1.2 1.3 something like that and multiples your BMR. So BMR x Activity Level = TDEE. Your total daily energy expenditure. This is how many calories your body burns in an average day doing whatever you do on an average day.
#3 You input a weight loss goal 1 lb a week for example? 1 lb = 3500 calories. 3500 / 7 days = 500 calorie deficit per day to lose that 1 lb.

The NET Calories MFP gives you is TDEE - Weight loss deficit.

This above is how MFP is set up to work.

Now, addressing the exercise question. How much of the exercise you are doing is included in your average daily activity level? If you set it to sedentary, well that would be none. If you set it to lightly active, things like walking from your apartment to the bus stop / subway or from the parking lot to your office for work are pretty much included there but kicking your butt in the gym for 2 hours 3 times a week is not. You can not count the physical activity twice, it's either in your daily activity setting or it's extra exercise (which is basically any and all activity above and beyond your average daily activity level setting, at least for MFP purposes) that you can log.

You burn 500 calories of exercise, so your TDEE went up 500. To keep your calorie deficit to lose weigh constant, MFP increases your Net Calories by 500 as well. The deficit is still there, you will still lose weight! You can eat back some or all of those calories to refuel your body from the exercise. When you eat at a calorie deficit your body burns both fat and some muscle to make up for it. The combination of exercise and sufficient calorie intake to maintain the muscle helps protect against a loss of lean muscle mass while loosing the weight.

Hendrix7 · July 2012

If you think exercise is 'a waste of an hour' then I'm really not sure what to say to you

Take 2 groups of people, both in a 500 calorie deficit, one group works their *kitten* off I the gym 3/4 days per week and another group just does it by diet alone. After a years time which group looks and feels better...........?

Im sure plenty of people would rather sit In front of the tv for an hour rather than exercise, but they still go and do it anyway. Don't be surprised in 6 moths time when you haven't got the results you were hoping for.

I think a big problem with this is over estimation of calories burned which in turn leads people to completely overeating.

Also this ^

ctooch99 · July 2012

I think it is personal thing where you need to find what works for you. For me, I try to keep 2-400 calorie buffer under what MFP tells me to eat back in total (the green number). This has personally worked for me in that I eat more than enough to be satisfied, yet I have a calorie deficit happening that is clearly visible to me. If I ate my entire green number, I personally would feel like I ate too much.

Doing this I have dropped about 1 -1.5 pounds per week since I started (my weight loss is tapering off now as I am actually below goal weight).

I think it is a guide and each person needs to find their "sweet spot" where they are taking enough in, but dropping weight (or maintaining).

my 2 cents

tami101 · July 2012

I would suggest, since you are new here, to try it for a month the way mfp is designed. Which is to eat your exercise calories back, at least most of them. For many people, myself included, this works just fine and if you can lose weight and eat more why wouldn't you? Now, after you try this for a month and you find you are not getting the results you would like, then changed it up. Try different things to figure out what works best for you. Good luck!

Helloitsdan · July 2012

Please be sure you put down your "Actual" activity level.
Sooooooo many people make the mistake of saying "I'm sedentary but I work out 7 days a week!"
Doesnt work that way.

ixap · July 2012

id rather spend an hour at home watching tv or cooking or playing with my kids...that seams like a waste of an hour...doesnt just sticking to whatever mfp suggest for calories work too.

Yes you can still lose weight if you stick to your calorie count and don't exercise.

However you will look much better (firmer, proportioned, fit) if you also exercise.

There are also dozens and dozens of important health benefits from exercise that diet alone can't provide, both mental and physical health.

PurplePookie · July 2012

Please be sure you put down your "Actual" activity level.
Sooooooo many people make the mistake of saying "I'm sedentary but I work out 7 days a week!"
Doesnt work that way.

please explain

SuzieA1991 · July 2012

I think a big problem with this is over estimation of calories burned which in turn leads people to completely overeating.

Exactly! Before I got my HRM, I used MFP exercise calculator and it was always wayyyy over on how many calories I truly burned. I see this happen with my friends on here too. They will work out for an hour or 2 and say they burnt over 1000 calories. I mean that may be true...but yeah.

supplemama · July 2012

Exercise is never a waste! I don't work out just to lose weight, but also to improve my overall health. I love the way exercise makes me feel. I get up in the morning and do my power walk and BAM I am ready and raring to get on with my day! I NEVER felt like that in the morning before, even after drinking a huge cup of coffee or having an energy shot. I sleep better; I used to really struggle with insomnia but now I sleep like a baby.

mispotatohead · July 2012

You can lose weight without exercise. However, you stated that you'd like to spend the time with your kids rather than exercising. Why not do both? My kids love to ride their bikes, go for a swim, play catch, compete on the Wii, etc. It's a great way to spend time with your children and get them moving along with you.

Discoveri · July 2012

Exercise is never a waste! I don't work out just to lose weight, but also to improve my overall health. I love the way exercise makes me feel. I get up in the morning and do my power walk and BAM I am ready and raring to get on with my day! I NEVER felt like that in the morning before, even after drinking a huge cup of coffee or having an energy shot. I sleep better; I used to really struggle with insomnia but now I sleep like a baby.

^This times 1000000. I never thought I would be one of those people but I actually enjoy exercising now. I feel like a bad *kitten* when I am done and I sleep through the night. The last time I was at my current weight (221lbs) I was still a size 22-24. Now I am a size 16-18. My body is already more toned than it has been in years. When I hit below 199, I may actually look better than I did when I was 185lbs just because of the exercise and effort I have put in already.

JAllen32 · July 2012

<~~~~~I didn't get like this sitting on the couch for an hour. I go to the gym and then come home and eat my exercise calories. Bottom line: MFP gives you a calorie goal of say 1200 calories. That is already a 500ish calorie deficit. So if you go burn 600 more that puts you at a 1100 calorie deficit. You netted 600 calories for the day. Safe? Healthy? Not really. Eat back those calories and you are at your goal of 1200 cals and still have a 500 calorie deficit. You can sit on the couch, and eat 1200. You will lose weight. But you won't gain muscle, strength, energy, firmness, sexiness, endurance, or self confidence. And you won't get all the health benefits of exercise, lower blood pressure, heathy heart, lower cholestoral.

zyxst · July 2012

Please be sure you put down your "Actual" activity level.
Sooooooo many people make the mistake of saying "I'm sedentary but I work out 7 days a week!"
Doesnt work that way.

please explain

MFP wants your activity level *without exercise*. So if you sit at a computer = sedentary, on your feet all day (waitress/mailman/etc) = lightly active, and so on. Not including your exercise in your daily calorie goal is why MFP tells you you've "earned 399 extra calories" or whatever that number is after you log in your exercise.

mattsdad1961 · July 2012

There are many weight-loss implacts of exercise...however, I'd like to volunteer that for me exercise is more about the NSVs (non-scale victories). I am on my second time trying to succeed using MFP as a tool. The first time I lost 40 lbs in about 4 months. I didn't quite have the mental stuff to stay focused when some challenges hit (death of a parent, another parent affected with cancer, family job loss).

That said...the benefits of exercise for me are feeling stronger, being 'less-jiggly' not just having less to jiggle, increased metabolism so my body processes food more efficiently (I'm not having as many "digestive eruptions" as before), my clothes fit better and I am generally in a better mood (hormonal stabilization).

So, I'm back using MFP. Joined a 24/7 gym that is close to my office so I can actually fit an hour a day into my schedule. And I'm comitted to re-gaining a healthy mind and body.

I hope this helps. if it doesn't please ignore. Wishing you all the success you deserve on your journey to better health.

someone has to explain this too me...

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