so confused on eating exercise calories back!

alikonner

http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/

Yes, haha, thank you, I've seen this. lol. I know, it's really simple to some people.. but I'm new at this and I have read/seen so many conflicting things. I just want to make sure I'm doing this right. I want to lose weight and exercise and be strong, and it confuses me a bit.

Did you see the 2nd page?

STILL YES

followed by lots of links ?

oh. whoops. haha. If they all say "yes" at the end.....

no, they just point back to several threads and discussions on MFP about this very topic. believe it or not, you're not the first person to ask this question. :flowerforyou:

Yes, I imagined I wasn't haha.. but I had to ask anyway because it's going right over my head... but thank you :drinker:

LeggyKettleBabe

eat when you are physically hungry not b/c some stranger on the internet or some website tells you too.

mwooderson

I've personally been grossing 750 to 900 calories a day with a net of usually around 200 - 275. I exercise intensely (strenth and cardio) daily. To date, I have lost 68 lbs (17 lbs since January 2012...per my doctor as I just go by my shrinking clothing size). I never eat my exercise calories back. Every bite of food I put in my mouth MUST be a nutritional powerhouse or I won't touch it. To date I love the way I look. That being said, these posts have convinced me I am on the road to a bad result. I've worked way to hard to lose the fat and build great lean muscles. After reading this board, I plan to lose the last 8 lbs by increasing my daily caloric intake. Sounds like a foreign concept but I'm going to try it.

stargazer008

To stay healthy, eat your exercise cals. You will need all that energy since babies can be a handful right? Btw your baby is very cute from the profile pic!

alikonner

To stay healthy, eat your exercise cals. You will need all that energy since babies can be a handful right? Btw your baby is very cute from the profile pic!

Aww, thank you! Yes, I've decided that's what I'm going to do. You know, it's just frustrating when the scale doesn't really move. But I have to not give up. If all else fails, I feel good about myself that I am exercising and being a bit healthier.

tmauck4472

Why on earth would you want to eat them back if you did all that work to burn them. Save yourself some hassel and don't exercise if your going to just eat those calories back.

UNLESS.....your hungry. I seldom eat mine back. The first 4 months of this new journey of mine I ate 1000 calories a day and no exercise. I still lost.

In the end if it works for you then do it, but know it may not work and you will have to change it up again. Not everyone's body works the same as much as some people would like to think so.

I didn't lose 100 lbs by eating my exercise calories back. It's up to you.

taso42

One last note - people who are extremely overweight, like the poster above was when they started out, can apparently sustain these huge calorie deficits for a good length of time. if you are "overweight" (not obese) or "normal", then it's best to stick to a moderate deficit, like 20% of your TDEE.

tmauck4472

One last note - people who are extremely overweight, like the poster above was when they started out, can apparently sustain these huge calorie deficits for a good length of time. if you are "overweight" (not obese) or "normal", then it's best to stick to a moderate deficit, like 20% of your TDEE.

I agree, but I still would not eat my calories back unless I was hungry. Doesn't make sense to me. I am moving my calories up now just moving slowly, very slowly so I don't gain even a lb back

alikonner

One last note - people who are extremely overweight, like the poster above was when they started out, can apparently sustain these huge calorie deficits for a good length of time. if you are "overweight" (not obese) or "normal", then it's best to stick to a moderate deficit, like 20% of your TDEE.

I agree, but I still would not eat my calories back unless I was hungry. Doesn't make sense to me. I am moving my calories up now just moving slowly, very slowly so I don't gain even a lb back

A lot of times I am hungry after I work out, so I like to have some extra calories to play with.

rlmadrid

Hi, in a nutshell, MFP already calculates you at a deficit if you were to NOT exercise. When you "earn" more calories through exercise, MFP is recalculating such that you still eat the original deficit and fuel you workout.

Read the stickies please, there is a ton of debate on this and a lot of it is speculation. You can find some better info here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

tmauck4472

Hi, in a nutshell, MFP already calculates you at a deficit if you were to NOT exercise. When you "earn" more calories through exercise, MFP is recalculating such that you still eat the original deficit and fuel you workout.

Read the stickies please, there is a ton of debate on this and a lot of it is speculation. You can find some better info here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

It's only MFP, most people are at 1200 because they want to be not because MFP says thats where they should be. I think unless your new to the site you set your own calorie intake goal and go from there. I can't see being religious to what MFP says, kinda silly if you ask me, they are NOT your doctor or your nutritionist. They believe in "starvation mode", for me this site has for the most part good people, and a great way to track your calories and exercise, and forums where you learn things and also take things with a grain of salt. This is of course MY OPINION.

Smuterella

Just follow the system for a bit and see if it works, if it doesnt ask questions then.

rlmadrid

http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/

Well, awesome. :drinker:

tmauck4472

One last note - people who are extremely overweight, like the poster above was when they started out, can apparently sustain these huge calorie deficits for a good length of time. if you are "overweight" (not obese) or "normal", then it's best to stick to a moderate deficit, like 20% of your TDEE.

I agree, but I still would not eat my calories back unless I was hungry. Doesn't make sense to me. I am moving my calories up now just moving slowly, very slowly so I don't gain even a lb back

So if your eating 20% below your TDEE then that shoud be a lot of food, I should be eating over 2000 a day. 2000 is alot of food. You can google a site that will help you find your TDEE.
A lot of times I am hungry after I work out, so I like to have some extra calories to play with.

rlmadrid

Hi, in a nutshell, MFP already calculates you at a deficit if you were to NOT exercise. When you "earn" more calories through exercise, MFP is recalculating such that you still eat the original deficit and fuel you workout.

Read the stickies please, there is a ton of debate on this and a lot of it is speculation. You can find some better info here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

It's only MFP, most people are at 1200 because they want to be not because MFP says thats where they should be. I think unless your new to the site you set your own calorie intake goal and go from there. I can't see being religious to what MFP says, kinda silly if you ask me, they are NOT your doctor or your nutritionist. They believe in "starvation mode", for me this site has for the most part good people, and a great way to track your calories and exercise, and forums where you learn things and also take things with a grain of salt. This is of course MY OPINION.

Yes, but you will be hard-pressed to find people who want to hear that MFP is not the secret to weight loss. It's not the missing link, but an extremely helpful tool in understanding what we put into our bodies in a day. It helps us learn to make better food choices in terms of calories, macronutrients, sodium, and sugar. It helps give a (very) general idea of what exercise activities will burn.

I agree, everything read on ANY forum must be personally investigated for truth. I've seen everything from people advocating "starvation mode" to people who are adamant that you will not lose weight unless you eat under 1200 calories a day AND work out.

OP, though it is sometimes good to simplify the information into a yes, there are more technical explanations. For calculations of your BMR and TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) I found this site: http://www.iifym.com/tdee-calculator - though I am sure you could find more with a Google search.

If you would like some articles on this information, this were found using Google Scholar and the full article is free by pdf:
http://www.ajcn.org/content/59/4/800.short

I hope some of that was helpful! Don't get overwhelmed; use MFP as a guideline for fuelling your body.

alikonner

Hi, in a nutshell, MFP already calculates you at a deficit if you were to NOT exercise. When you "earn" more calories through exercise, MFP is recalculating such that you still eat the original deficit and fuel you workout.

Read the stickies please, there is a ton of debate on this and a lot of it is speculation. You can find some better info here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

It's only MFP, most people are at 1200 because they want to be not because MFP says thats where they should be. I think unless your new to the site you set your own calorie intake goal and go from there. I can't see being religious to what MFP says, kinda silly if you ask me, they are NOT your doctor or your nutritionist. They believe in "starvation mode", for me this site has for the most part good people, and a great way to track your calories and exercise, and forums where you learn things and also take things with a grain of salt. This is of course MY OPINION.

Yes, but you will be hard-pressed to find people who want to hear that MFP is not the secret to weight loss. It's not the missing link, but an extremely helpful tool in understanding what we put into our bodies in a day. It helps us learn to make better food choices in terms of calories, macronutrients, sodium, and sugar. It helps give a (very) general idea of what exercise activities will burn.

I agree, everything read on ANY forum must be personally investigated for truth. I've seen everything from people advocating "starvation mode" to people who are adamant that you will not lose weight unless you eat under 1200 calories a day AND work out.

OP, though it is sometimes good to simplify the information into a yes, there are more technical explanations. For calculations of your BMR and TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) I found this site: http://www.iifym.com/tdee-calculator - though I am sure you could find more with a Google search.

If you would like some articles on this information, this were found using Google Scholar and the full article is free by pdf:
http://www.ajcn.org/content/59/4/800.short

I hope some of that was helpful! Don't get overwhelmed; use MFP as a guideline for fuelling your body.

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer

rlmadrid

Hi, in a nutshell, MFP already calculates you at a deficit if you were to NOT exercise. When you "earn" more calories through exercise, MFP is recalculating such that you still eat the original deficit and fuel you workout.

Read the stickies please, there is a ton of debate on this and a lot of it is speculation. You can find some better info here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

It's only MFP, most people are at 1200 because they want to be not because MFP says thats where they should be. I think unless your new to the site you set your own calorie intake goal and go from there. I can't see being religious to what MFP says, kinda silly if you ask me, they are NOT your doctor or your nutritionist. They believe in "starvation mode", for me this site has for the most part good people, and a great way to track your calories and exercise, and forums where you learn things and also take things with a grain of salt. This is of course MY OPINION.

Yes, but you will be hard-pressed to find people who want to hear that MFP is not the secret to weight loss. It's not the missing link, but an extremely helpful tool in understanding what we put into our bodies in a day. It helps us learn to make better food choices in terms of calories, macronutrients, sodium, and sugar. It helps give a (very) general idea of what exercise activities will burn.

I agree, everything read on ANY forum must be personally investigated for truth. I've seen everything from people advocating "starvation mode" to people who are adamant that you will not lose weight unless you eat under 1200 calories a day AND work out.

OP, though it is sometimes good to simplify the information into a yes, there are more technical explanations. For calculations of your BMR and TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) I found this site: http://www.iifym.com/tdee-calculator - though I am sure you could find more with a Google search.

If you would like some articles on this information, this were found using Google Scholar and the full article is free by pdf:
http://www.ajcn.org/content/59/4/800.short

I hope some of that was helpful! Don't get overwhelmed; use MFP as a guideline for fuelling your body.

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer

Not a problem, love. Keep strong and good luck. With dedication, it will come together

scarlettesong

Sounds like a reasonable burn if you are working hard during the 30DS workout. If you have MFP set up to correctly then you need to eat your exercise calories back. Here's why:

You enter your information into MFP.
MFP does a calculation to know that if you eat say 1700 calories/day (made up number, this will be based on on your height, weight, sex, activity level) you won't gain or lose weight.
You tell MFP you want to lose 1 lb/wk so it subtracts 500 calories/day to set your target (because 500 cal/day x 7 days = 3500 calorie deficit/week = 1 lb/week).
Any time you exercise above your activity level you set in MFP, then you essentially earn calories to eat and are still eating at a deficit to lose weight. Or in other words if you didn't eat your exercise calories back you would have a 750 calorie/day deficit and lose 1.5 lbs/week.

If you only have 10 lbs to lose, you may want to consider losing at a slower speed, no more than 0.5 lb/week. And know that the last 10 lb can take a long time to come off (several months).

Make sense?

Makes a lot of sense! Thank you! And thanks for taking the time to answer. I know a lot of people have posted about this, but for some reason it still confuses me. But, how you put it makes a lot of sense. After I had the baby, I lost like 20-30lbs pretty quick. Did weight watchers and lost another 10 fairly quickly (but wasn't so happy, and wasn't exercising) So, now I'm at the last 10-15lbs and it is just not coming off! But, exercising is helping with inches a bit.

Anyways, so I will eat them back.. Thanks a lot for your input! I know people get a bit impatient when other people don't understand this topic.. lol.

So you say the weight isn't coming off, but you're still losing inches? That's great! That means any weight you're losing, you happen to be gaining in muscle from your exercise. Because muscle is denser, you still get a smaller waistline/dress size. That's awesome! Congratulations! Just keep following the plan if you want to lose the pounds, but don't get discouraged if it takes even longer or even goes up a bit as long as you're seeing the good physical changes indicating muscle gain.