So if you eat your exercise calories back...

tobeftmom

I always eat my exercise calories back, but am getting worried that I am not losing weight because of that.
Do you lose weight doing this or does it get out of hand where you are eating way too much?

hhayes06

From what I have seen when this topic comes up is that it depends on the person. Some swear by eating exercise calories back and others swear by not eating them back. If you are finding that you are not loosing by eating your back try only eating half of them back and see what happens.

liog

I've lost 39 pounds so far and I do eat back my exercise calories. If that stops working, I'll re-evaluate.

stephyy4632

check my ticker and yes I eat my exercise cals

Romans624

I do not and it works for me. However at some point I will start eating some of them back (on purpose, as long as it doesn't end weight loss)

tobeftmom

Thanks, I'm thinking of trying to eat just half back and see if it works.

davidlbass

I would eat back my calories until I was full. I didn't force calories down and I didn't run around looking for something with 37 calories in it.

dellashanks

To be honest some days I do others not even close. I try to stagger my calories so I keep my metabolism guessing. I have heard if you consistantly eat the same and lose your body will adjust to that level. I don't know how true that is but it seems to work for me. I also don't let myself get hungry, makes me crabby.

Nana_Booboo

I eat them and usually exercise harder on days I need them.
Not all of them every day because I don't like eating when I'm not hungry.
I average about 1800 cal a day .for my total but my net is closer to the goal that MFP sets for me

Nana_Booboo

Thanks, I'm thinking of trying to eat just half back and see if it works.

My daughter changed her cal goal to = her BMR and started exercising at least 30 minutes a day but only counting it as 1 cal burned. Everyone has seen the difference but she's only weighing every 6 weeks due to getting discouraged from the scale not moving. It's working for her.

katiekrusher

I would eat back my calories until I was full. I didn't force calories down and I didn't run around looking for something with 37 calories in it.

This is exactly how it should be done.

mamasmaltz3

I just got a HRM because I was always suspicious that the MFP estimates of calories burned were a little on the high side. So, before getting it when I would work out if I actually worked out for 40 minutes I would only put in 30. Then, I would eat back about 2/3 of my exercise calories. I have found with my HRM the calories were estimated high by MFP. MFP said that I burned 693 calories doing eliptical and when I did 45 minutes with my HRM I actually burned about 450. That is quite a difference. So my point with all this is that eating back your calories is a good thing if you are sure of the amount of calories you are burning. If not, you could be inadvertently going over you daily calories and never know it.

cococa

Depends - I do eat more when I work out. I'm especially ravenous after a long run, but I burn 600+ calories. I don't think it would be healthy if I didn't eat more afterward. If I've just done a light workout and burned 200 or so, my appetite seems to be about the same.

imaginaryplaces

I generally don't worry too much about it, except on days that I am going to be exceptionally active. Like tomorrow - I'm going on a 9-mile hike in the mountains. I will definitely be eating more tomorrow to keep my energy levels up. But, if I'm doing only my 40 minutes of cardio at the gym, not so much.

In general, I only eat more if I feel like my energy levels are flagging.

dvisser1

I always eat my exercise calories back, but am getting worried that I am not losing weight because of that.
Do you lose weight doing this or does it get out of hand where you are eating way too much?

When you set up on here, did you include the exercise you're doing in your activity level? Yes, do not log your exercise burned calories as it's already included and you'll be counting them twice.....but make sure you get that amount of exercise as a minimum EVERY day. No, then log your exercise calories and you can eat back your exercise calories.

How do you calculate your exercise calories? Do you use a HRM, rely on gym equipment or the MFP database estimates? A lot of people have found the MFP database to be overstating the amount they were burning. I do recommend a getting a good HRM as it's really the closest to accurate.

If you think about it, when you exercise your body is burning more calories. Food is fuel, you burn more so you need more. The Net Calorie maintains the necessary deficit to lose weight. If your activity level is accurate, your food is logged accurately (weighed / measured, minimal estimating) and your exercise is logged accurately, then eating back some or all of your exercise burned calories is somewhere between fine and recommended.

And yes, I do eat back all my exercise calories. I do use a HRM, but made the conscious decision to log the lowest of the HRM, gym equipment (if using) and the MFP database. My choice, but I prefer to err on the conservative side and understate my exercise a little. It might only be 50-100 calories a day difference, so it's not a huge delta.

tobeftmom

Thanks, I actually got a hrm today. I'm also thinking a food scale would probably help me log more accuratly.

kristyl_tift

To be honest some days I do others not even close. I try to stagger my calories so I keep my metabolism guessing. I have heard if you consistantly eat the same and lose your body will adjust to that level. I don't know how true that is but it seems to work for me. I also don't let myself get hungry, makes me crabby.

I agree.

lbcbeachbum77

I do eat them, but with exceptions. I do not eat past full or force it. I do not increase the volume of food eaten during breakfast/lunch/dinner meals as I don't want to be overfull or stretch my stomach. The extra calories (for me) are not an excuse to eat food with poor nutritional value- so I try to make sure they are healthy. I am really wanting to be healthy, not just lose weight, so it seems counterproductive to me to eat well and then put junk in to offset a workout.. a good workout uses a lot of important stuff, so I try to put important stuff back. This is the hardest part for me because it is so, so, much easier to eat one high cal/low nutrient item like a beer or some ice cream than piece together enough with lower cal/nutritious foods.

Usually I get them in by adding a banana and a bit of peanut butter to the shake I normally have. Sometimes if working out in the morning I might have a pre-workout shake, but then eat a "2nd" breakfast after exercising like oatmeal, greek yogurt with berries, or some eggs. I also may add some "treats" to my snacks that would be too "spendy" on my non exercise days like nuts, an avocado, a hard boiled egg, and higher calorie fruits that I don't eat as often. These are also the days that I may choose some higher carb options to add to my regular meals like wild and brown rice, whole wheat pasta, or a starchy vegetable which I normally try to avoid like peas, corn, or potatoes.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if you are looking for overall health vs. just weight loss, I believe that what you eat to use up your exercise calories may matter just as much as whether or not to eat them... I would venture to say that if you fill them in with fast food or other junk you might be better off without, strictly from a nutritional perspective.

Lastly, I log my foods very honestly and accurately and am also very careful not to overestimate my workouts- sometimes this can be especially hard because intensity/effort is not a factor for many of MFP's calculations... my 5mph jog for 30 minutes may be the hardest thing I do, keeping my hr at target, working up a dripping sweat, and getting the lungs and blood pumping. Whereas a 5mph jog for 30 minutes for you may be your warm-up and not even cause you to sweat or increase your hr or breathing. Or my bike ride at 7.5 mph is hard work every minute because I am going uphill, whereas your 7.5 mile ride was all on the flats and fairly easy. I have not found a great way thus far to feel super confident that the estimation for exercise calories is extremely accurate. If you go to log your exercise in, really consider the number it spits out and whether or not you feel you worked that hard. If in doubt I use this... http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx to get a alternate method of estimating calories burned based on heart rate. I can usually guesstimate my average heart rate by the amount of effort I am giving.. if unsure take a minute the next time you do cardio and see what it is when you are really working, moderately working and casually working for future reference.

I hope this helps you make a decision. Sorry for writing so much :yawn: And just remember that this is a process not written in stone. If you try something and find it is not working well, change it up, make adjustments, and reevaluate.

Witchmoo

I would eat back my calories until I was full. I didn't force calories down and I didn't run around looking for something with 37 calories in it.

This has to be the most sensible and helpful answer I've ever read on here, thank you! I now feel I have half a clue what to do :bigsmile:

shivles

I would eat back my calories until I was full. I didn't force calories down and I didn't run around looking for something with 37 calories in it.

+1

Lindaendall

I aim to eat a third of my exercise cals back as a rule and I have steadlily lost weight. Some special days, I will eat more but I never go over if I can possibly help it. If I need more cals for a special occasion I go out there and burn them

Good luck

Linda

milhawk

I was eating my calories back, but found I was sabbatoshing my self becasue my phone was entering more calories than the machine said I burned. So, now I don't trust the phone calculations , use the machine versions and I like to mix it up also. Sometimes I eat them back sometimes I don't. I eat when I'm hungry and try to eat as healthy as possible! Good Luck

JesterMFP

I eat all mine back (estimated on an hrm) and I'm losing consistently. If I'm not very hungry, I choose calorie-dense food so that I don't feel stuffed.

LorinaLynn

I ate mine from the beginning, lost weight as predicted, and have been maintaining around the same weight for a year.

Some days I don't eat them all back, but other times I go buck-nutty and eat everything in sight, so it balances out.

nxd10

I would eat back my calories until I was full. I didn't force calories down and I didn't run around looking for something with 37 calories in it.

Exactly. If I worked hard enough to be hungry I feel good eating. If I'm not hungry I don't. I'm losing weight slowly but surely. This is a lifetime change for me and I don't like being hungry. It's not a diet.

thefullmontysmom

I would eat back my calories until I was full. I didn't force calories down and I didn't run around looking for something with 37 calories in it.

I Agree! Eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full!!! Eat slow and enjoy every bite!!

3LittleMonkeyMom

I tried very hard to eat all of my exercise calories back yesterday, and I think I failed miserably. LOL I think I was under 300+ calories....I love to eat, but wow, if I ate back all of the calories, I wouldn't have time for anything else!!

Can't wait until my HRM gets here so I can REALLY track! Yippiee!

katkins3

check my ticker and yes I eat my exercise cals

ditto