WHY DO PEOPLE EAT BACK THEIR EXERCISE CALS?!

Cherryblosm3

I just DO NOT get it!! You spend an hour in the gym working off burning 600 cal and then you just eat them back???
Why would you eat even a LITTLE back??

I thought the point was to burn these calories. WHY does MFP then add them to your food?!

pastryari

Because MFP already creates a deficit for you. You technically don't need to exercise to lose weight. But you do need to fuel your body and not create a too large deficit that can be harmful and dangerous.

MoreBean13

Because MFP already figures in a reasonable to high calorie deficit when you choose your weight loss goals. If you are shooting to lose 2lbs/wk, and you don't eat back exercise calories, your deficit becomes higher than well established safe limits. You can only lose so much fat in a day, so pushing the boundaries means your additional weight loss beyond a reasonable deficit is going to come from your muscle mass. Not a good choice.

Cherryblosm3

So since my BMR is like 1700 cal and i want to burn 2lbs a week, i need a defecit of 7000 cals a week (-1000 a day).

So, MFP sets my food at 1200 (-500 so far) and then i need to burn 500 more a day to meet that -7000 cal a week.

So why would I eat it back?!?

tmauck4472

Because they want you to net at least 1200 calories. Meaning if you eat 1200 and no exercise then that's fine. But if you exercise and burn 600 calories then they say your only having 600 calories that day for food intake and that's to low. Whatever I don't eat mine back unless I'm hungry.

At least that's what I get from all the other posts about this subject

jealous_loser

I eat back some these days because I feel like I am starving. I am still losing.

Do whatever you want and I will do whatever I want. I don't eat all my exercise calories back, but that's neither here nor there.

pastryari

So since my BMR is like 1700 cal and i want to burn 2lbs a week, i need a defecit of 7000 cals a week (-1000 a day).

So, MFP sets my food at 1200 (-500 so far) and then i need to burn 500 more a day to meet that -7000 cal a week.

So why would I eat it back?!?

Change your goals manually if you're going to use your BMR/TDEE information. If you're doing that, then your exercise is already factored into your goals and you don't need to eat them back.

tmauck4472

Because MFP already figures in a reasonable to high calorie deficit when you choose your weight loss goals. If you are shooting to lose 2lbs/wk, and you don't eat back exercise calories, your deficit becomes higher than well established safe limits. You can only lose so much fat in a day, so pushing the boundaries means your additional weight loss beyond a reasonable deficit is going to come from your muscle mass. Not a good choice.

NOT TRUE, you won't start using muscle until your below 6% body fat.

MoreBean13

So since my BMR is like 1700 cal and i want to burn 2lbs a week, i need a defecit of 7000 cals a week (-1000 a day).

So, MFP sets my food at 1200 (-500 so far) and then i need to burn 500 more a day to meet that -7000 cal a week.

So why would I eat it back?!?

Your deficit should come from your TDEE, not your BMR. If your BMR is 1700, a sedentary TDEE is 2040, so your deficit at 1200 cals is actually 840 cals, not 500. And most people have higher TDEE's than truly sedentary.

Cherryblosm3

I eat back some these days because I feel like I am starving. I am still losing.

Do whatever you want and I will do whatever I want. I don't eat all my exercise calories back, but that's neither here nor there.

Ive noticed lot of people do either or.. i was just wondering why the people who do eat them back do it to begin with! I just dont get it!
The only way i can understand them doing this is if they went WAY over their calories to begin with and needed to work them off. Then technically they "ate" their exercise cals

Goal_Line

So since my BMR is like 1700 cal and i want to burn 2lbs a week, i need a defecit of 7000 cals a week (-1000 a day).

So, MFP sets my food at 1200 (-500 so far) and then i need to burn 500 more a day to meet that -7000 cal a week.

So why would I eat it back?!?

If your photo is current, 2 lbs a week may be too aggressive for you, from it you don;t appear to be that overweight. The less weight you have to lose the harder it is to drop 2 lbs per week. Perhaps1 lb per week is a better target for you?

Consider the following question. Do you want to lose 2 lbs of fat OR 1.3lb f fat and 0.67lbs of muscle per week? The weight loss is the same but the composition is different.

Cherryblosm3

So since my BMR is like 1700 cal and i want to burn 2lbs a week, i need a defecit of 7000 cals a week (-1000 a day).

So, MFP sets my food at 1200 (-500 so far) and then i need to burn 500 more a day to meet that -7000 cal a week.

So why would I eat it back?!?

Your deficit should come from your TDEE, not your BMR. If your BMR is 1700, a sedentary TDEE is 2040, so your deficit at 1200 cals is actually 840 cals, not 500. And most people have higher TDEE's than truly sedentary.

How do I get my TDEE?

whatwouldmulderdo

I don't eat back mine. I burn between 500-800 a day and eat 1200 calories. My nutritionist told me not to eat more than 1200 a day, so I try not to

oonegative

I don't get it either I do cardio twice a day and don't eat all the calories back.Is that like a Paris Hilton diet minus the cocaine?I'm gonna start eating more ..I guess

Cherryblosm3

So since my BMR is like 1700 cal and i want to burn 2lbs a week, i need a defecit of 7000 cals a week (-1000 a day).

So, MFP sets my food at 1200 (-500 so far) and then i need to burn 500 more a day to meet that -7000 cal a week.

So why would I eat it back?!?

If your photo is current, 2 lbs a week may be too aggressive for you. The less weight you have to lose the harder it is to drop 2 lbs per week. Perhaps you should set a target of 1 lb per week?

My photo is current, but im getting married soon! So i need to lose fast, but not unhealthily fast...

jealous_loser

I eat back some these days because I feel like I am starving. I am still losing.

Do whatever you want and I will do whatever I want. I don't eat all my exercise calories back, but that's neither here nor there.

Ive noticed lot of people do either or.. i was just wondering why the people who do eat them back do it to begin with! I just dont get it!
The only way i can understand them doing this is if they went WAY over their calories to begin with and needed to work them off. Then technically they "ate" their exercise cals

Just my personal experience, but if I do eat a little of my exercise calories back, I lose more *shrug*

MoreBean13

Because MFP already figures in a reasonable to high calorie deficit when you choose your weight loss goals. If you are shooting to lose 2lbs/wk, and you don't eat back exercise calories, your deficit becomes higher than well established safe limits. You can only lose so much fat in a day, so pushing the boundaries means your additional weight loss beyond a reasonable deficit is going to come from your muscle mass. Not a good choice.

NOT TRUE, you won't start using muscle until your below 6% body fat.

That's absurd. Everyone on a deficit loses some muscle- the goal is to preserve it as much as possible. It's impossible to lose 100% fat. I think you're confusing losing muscle with starvation (not starvation mode, true starvation).
Here's typical weight loss, per my exercise physiology textbook.

RHSheetz

Your BMR is 1700, and if all you do is lie in bed, that is what you need to survive. NOW, if you want to walk, talk, eat or do any other activity, you need more calories. MFP takes your activity level into consideration as well. which is why you do not see your calories at 700 it adds your activity level to the 1700 and then substracts your 1000 per day (which is really to much in my opion). If you exercise on top of that, you are creating a very drastic calorie deficit.

WOW, you guys are all over this.. Before I got my post up, it was answered like several times! :-)

KiKi429

bump

LorinaLynn

Because MFP, unlike most calorie counting websites, doesn't include the exercise you SAY you'll do into your calorie goal. It doesn't matter if you say you're going to sit on your *kitten* 7 days a week, or run a marathon every day, MFP will give you the same base calories. Surely you understand that someone who exercises a lot needs more fuel than someone who doesn't?

When I just cut calories, when I believed that creating a large deficit was all it took to get the body I wanted, I lost weight, but too much of that weight was my lean body mass... my muscle. By "eating my exercise calories," I was able to maintain a moderate deficit, which allowed me to retain most of my lean mass and lose mostly body fat.

What that means in terms everyone can understand... The jeans on the bottom are the size 8 jeans I wore at 130 pounds about 5-6 years ago when I didn't eat enough, and the top pair is the size 5 jeans I'm wearing NOW, eating my exercise calories, at about 135-138 pounds. (Typically a 2 or 4 in misses.)



Here's me at about 130 pounds 5-6 years ago, and me at 133 pounds in February.



Then I still had a muffin top, back fat rolls, double chin, and cellulite out the wazzo. Now?



http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/494091-i-just-don-t-care-anymore

yubafarm

Based on those #'s I think you might not have much weight to lose. When this is the case, 2 lbs/week can set a deficit that in theory falls below 1200 cals/day, but MFP sets a 1200 calorie limit on the low end because this is considered a minimum amount to keep your body functioning.

But it is possible that even 1200 can be too low. You should compare to your BMR and not eat below your BMR. For some reason MFP does not do this simple comparison when it sets your targets even though it knows both numbers. My BMR is about 1350 calories so I don't eat below that. I had to set MFP to a 1/2 lb per week loss so that it wouldn't keep telling me to eat 1200. At 1/2 lb / week it sets my target close to my BMR. It is a slower rate of loss than I want but I'm told this is the healthier way to lose weight and it makes sense to me.

I am no expert on this but hope this helps.