Eating Back Calories

Alishaxmarie
Alishaxmarie Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
I noticed that most people don't eat back their work-out calories until they hit plateaus. Therefore, I was wondering if I should wait until then to eat mine back or if I'll lose weight at the same pace even if I do eat back my calories from the very beginning?

Replies

  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    I try to eat back about half of them. I think that is a fair middle ground.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,409 Member
    When I was actively losing I ate them all....and then some, sometimes..
  • Tilran
    Tilran Posts: 627 Member
    Everyone is different and it depends on how much weight you are attempting to lose. I would start with not eatting them back IMO.
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,785 Member
    I don't eat them back, but if I'm hungry then they are there for the consumption.
  • tamimac12
    tamimac12 Posts: 36
    I eat them back... at least a little bit of them. I don't like seeing a 800-900 calorie deficit, so I usually eat back some to make it a 300-500 deficit
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    I eat ever single one.

    Several reasons - I am close to goal - I use a heart rate monitor (calorie burns are not overstated) - I have my activity level set to sedentary ........ these kinds of things should impact your decision

    Also, it's not just a matter of hitting a plateau. Part of the reason I exercise is to KEEP muscle mass. When I consistantly eat too few calories ... I LOSE muscle mass.
  • BrianBanker
    BrianBanker Posts: 1
    I have tried both and found that if I eat back calories, it causes my weight loss to stop.
  • raeleek
    raeleek Posts: 414 Member
    When I was actively losing I ate them all....and then some, sometimes..

    YUP!
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,380 Member
    I always ate back at least most of mine and I never really hit a plateau. Worked well for me. :-) But I was also set to 'sedentary' in my profile so MFP was calculating my calorie goal based on me being lazy. So when I started exercising, I needed the extra fuel.

    If you activity level is set correctly (not including your extra workouts that you plan to log) then it should be fine to eat them back. But if you set your activity level with your workouts in mind, I would not log them separately. Meaning, if you set your activity level as 'very active' b/c you are counting going to the gym 5 days a week, then you don't need to log those workouts at the gym. But if you set your activity level at 'sedentary' or 'lightly active' and THEN you go to the gym 5 days a week, you need to log those workouts b/c they are certainly not included in your sedentary/lightly-active activity level setting. And THEN it's okay if you eat back your workout calories, b/c you truly earned more than what your activity level is set to include.

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