Do you eat your exercise calories or leave them alone?

ASalner

I just started using MFP to track my calories and exercise but I don't like how it adds your exercise into your calories available for eating. I would think you should just eat your calories (mine are 1250 per day) and leave the exercise cals alone. What do you think?

Thanks!

half_moon

I, unlike most people on this forum, do not think it necessary. Eat if you're hungry! I end up eating like 80 - 100 back after intense workouts. My goal is 1200/day.

runfatmanrun

I on the othe hand feel I have earned them so they are mine to eat, and I do.

tadpole242

I’d eat my work out calories back so I net at least 1200, which can be hard if your workout calories are around the 1350 mark. It means I eat 2600 to net 1250. Saying that I don’t eat them all back, as that would mean eating 3400 calories on my exercising days

Tari_D

I eat mine back MFP has already built in a deficit of calories for you to lose weight, you don't want to overdo it or your body will not have enough to keep itself going and so could end up holding on to more fat rather than burning it. Exercise is a good way to get fitter and earn some more calories to eat without compromising your goals.

Acidique

I do not eat them back, as per instruction from a personal trainer. Everyone is different though, and it depends on how big your daily deficit is and how much your are exercising.

sawjaw23

I exercise so that I CAN eat (and drink!) I definitely eat my hard earned exercise calories, but always aim for an overall deficit at the end of the day.

lostwisdom

I'm on 1200 a day, and eat back around 50-75% of my exercise calories usually. Although right now I'm leaving them alone as much as possible, due to having friends to stay the rest of the week and know I'll be eating a little extra then!

danwood2

It depends on the day and how hungry I am. If I do a lot of working out and get a large portion of calories back - I normally always try to get to 1200 in my calories eaten (not my net)... if I have a big workout day and I have already eaten the 1200, I will snack if i get hungry or get another meal all together.

marie_cressman

I don't eat mine, but I do make a habit of eating 1700-1800 cals a day. I burn 600-1000 calories during my hour or so workouts on a regular basis. The 1700-1800 was recommended to me by my dietician I started seeing recently after being stuck on a plateau for 6 months of eating 1600 and not getting anywhere as far as weight loss. You do what works for you. If you're hungry, eat. If you aren't, don't. Don't force food down your throat because you can.

ElizabethRoad

The idea of eating your exercise calories is so that you eat less than you burn, but still get enough nutrition to be healthy. If you're eating 1200 and burning off 500, you aren't leaving a lot of fuel for your body.

sthrnchick

I do not eat back my exercise cals....I started changing the cals burned to 42 cals on almost every workout...I think many of the workouts here are WAY off in the cals burned...IMO....changing the cals burned to a small # accomplishes 2 things... 1. I can track what I have been doing and adjust if things are not progressing the way I want and 2. I do not see HUGE green cals waiting for me to eat at the end of the day. I try to eat between 1500-1600 cals everyday, regardless of what my workout was.

luvhandles74

I eat them...because I can and because I'm hungry when I exercise. Still getting some nice results so I'm on the right track! Plus I LOVE food!

now_or_never12

I do! I used to eat about 1/2 of them when I was using MFP estimates however now I have a heart rate monitor so I use those numbers.

I don't eat them all back if I'm not hungry though but I try to eat enough to net my calorie goal.

TeaBea

The closer you are to goal ... the more important it is too eat them back.

I eat EVERY single exercise calorie back because: I am close to goal (15 lbs) - I use a heart rate monitor (calories are not overstated ... like MFP "estimations") and MOST IMPORTANTLY - I want to lose fat and not muscle.

As previously stated ... the calorie deficit if "built in" already. By not eating enough to FUEL your workouts ... you risk losing muscle tissue along with fat. I want the scale to move .... but I want to keep the good stuff too.

LorinaLynn

I ate them from the beginning, lost the weight as predicted, and have kept it off for over a year now, all the while eating way more than I ever thought possible while "dieting."

On the other hand, what happened when I didn't eat enough: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/494091-i-just-don-t-care-anymore

MtnKat

Nope. Mine are already figured into my calorie goals.

I eat 1900 cals every day, whether I work out or not. I just make sure I bust *kitten* when I work out so that I can justify having an active lifestyle.

It comes out to about the same if I used MFP's method....1200 cals + exercise cals or my TDEE - 20%. For me it's a mental thing...I did not like having to workout so that I could eat more. On non workout days I would feel so deprived.

NoMoreJellyRolls

I dont eat them back. My calories goal, per MFP is 1900. I usually burn 1000-1500 calories a day, but If i go over my 1900 then oh well I have the exercise calories to back me up. I also burn the calories at 5am so I burn the calories from the day before.

MB_Positif

Like LorinaLynn, I have been eating them since the beginning and haven't had any trouble losing weight or keeping it off. They're mine to enjoy so why should I "leave them alone?" Poor lonely exercise calories!

beckajw

I eat them. But to each his own--it's a personal choice, despite what you may hear on these boards.

Owlie45

Sometimes I do sometimes I don't. If I'm still hungry I do.

fatpanda96

I try to leave them but sometimes I just get hungry and I worked for the calories so I might as well eat something.

Stacylynn1977

I emailed a former contestant from the biggest loser the other day asking this same question, and she told me to leave them alone, if you should get hungry just fill up on veggies

and eat protein with every meal that helps keep you full

MFP says I should eat 2200 calories but I only allow myself 1800 and I stay full just by eating lots of fiber and protein

ashtynplatt

I don't eat them!

MinnieInMaine

Eat them up - YUM!

A lot of people don't get this... When you set up your MFP profile (personal data, activity level, how many pounds per week you want to lose), MFP gives you a calorie deficit based on this so you can lose weight without exercising. Once you do exercise, you create an even larger deficit. Too high of a deficit and you're not eating enough to fuel the basic functions of your body and therefore you're less likely to burn fat and weight loss will likely stall. Even if you do lose the weight, you're doing it in a very unhealthy way and will likely gain back quickly once you stop your extreme dieting/exercising.

Personally I eat my BMR (1500) plus whatever I earn exercising. I use an HRM though, not what MFP gives me for numbers, so I know it's fairly accurate. If you go by MFP's numbers, I'd still recommend eating some of them back but maybe lower it to 1/2 or 2/3rds. So say MFP gives you 600 calories for an hour of walking at 4mph. You can safely eat back 300 to 400 of those calories without worrying about an overestimate

LuckyLeprechaun

eat. proof? __________________________VVVVVVV :bigsmile:

DonniesGirl69

I eat them back if I'm hungry....which I usually am after a 3-5 mile run......LOL
I don't force myself to eat them back, though. I eat when my body tells me I need to eat.

gatorginger

Try eating half of them back and see how it goes. The goal besides losing weight should be to be able to eat more and maintain. If your losing weight with what your doing and your happy with that then don't but if you want to eat more and lose give it a try.

sweetchildomine

Why do people make this so complicated? If you are hungry, EAT. If you are not hungry, don't force yourself to get those extra calories in. That doesn't even make sense to me lol.

minkakross

I don't and obviously as there are people on both sides of the question that are finding success I'd say you might have to find what works for you through trial and error.

LondonEliza

Here is why you must eat -

Your brain
Your lungs
Your heart
Your liver
Your kidneys
Your pancreas
Your veins
Your skin
Your immune system
Your speech
Your hearing
Your wanting to change the channels on the tv
Your not being able to find the controller
Your crossing the floor to try to figure out how to do it from the screen
Your accusing your wife/husband/partner of hiding the controls
Your walking on the remote in bare feet
Your loud cursing
Your eventually changing the channels on the tv
Anything else I left out

..... this all takes fuel to run. Like a car engine needs petrol, diesel or electricity when it is in motion, 'uman beans (us) need a minimum amount of calories to function. Except we need it all the time, not just when we are hopping around the front room in agony cos we stepped on the sharp edged remote with our little tootsies.

You must burn about 3500cals to lose a lb. A 1000cal a day (7000cal a week) difference between calories burned by living and exercise will mean you lose 2lbs a week.

So if it takes 2200 cals to keep your engine ticking over, eating 1200 with no exercise will mean you lose 2lbs a week.


If you exercise, you use up your cals that your body needs to keep the engine running so you have to eat those to keep you in peak condition. So eating your engine ticking over level + your exercise cals burned keeps your body in tip-top condition and makes you fitter too. WIN.

I currently eat about 1800 to 2000 cals a day and lose 1-2lbs a week.
My ticking over level is 1280 and I exercise another 700-1000 cals on top of that, most of which I enjoy every mouthful of eating back.

You need to work around with the figures and find out what works for you.
Some people need to eat up to +350 cals more to lose more (I call them 'lucky bas ... tards') and some have to eat down to -350 cals outside of the range recommended on MFP to lose weight.
Some have to eat more protein to keep them fuller for longer.
Some have to eat more carbs as they already have very active lives outside of exercising to lose the weight.
Some have to take a serious look at their sodium levels

Personally, during my TOM, I take my weightloss goal down to 1/1.5lbs per week because I get so hungry. Works for me and I keep on losing.

Read the motivation stories in the success / motivation forums for the 'how I did it' accounts. They tell a consistent story of eating back your exercise cals.

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Eat as many of them as it takes to give you the energy to keep working out. Besides, they are the ones that test the best