WHY DO PEOPLE EAT BACK THEIR EXERCISE CALS?!

LorinaLynn · August 2012

I drink wine, eat burgers and french fries, eat chocolate, eat ice cream. It worked well for me until my BIL died and I started eating those things and losing track of my macros. However, my experience is that as long as I hit my macros first, I can do with ever I want with the rest of my calories and still be successful . . .

:drinker: Cheers!

All of the above, and chocolate milk at bedtime every night.

LiZzie1917 · August 2012

(like)

150bound · August 2012

Okay, this makes sense to me!!!

AlsDonkBoxSquat · August 2012

Obese people feel better knowing they can eat more after they workout and as long as they're still in a caloric deficit it works but it just makes people feel better about eating more for the most part.

Oh please...I burned an extra 1500 cals yesterday and a further 1400 today. If I didn't eat back my calories (or some of them) I'd be exhausted. I really need to concentrate whilst working, I cannot afford to be hungry/tired.

I have had a headache all day. I have been hungry hippo too. Now, I am about to fall asleep at my desk, which NEVER happens anymore.

I looked at my intake yesterday. I only netted 800. No wonder I feel like **** today! It must suck to always feel like crap by not eating enough! I'm not sure why someone wouldn't want to fuel their body properly?

Maybe its not that we dont "want to fuel their body properly" but that we're uneducated. HENCE the reason i posted this topic. And instead of getting indepth answers, I get attacked.

Not once did i say DONT eat back your calories. Im simply asking WHY you would if you just worked so hard to burn them off.
Im also not saying to lose as fast as possible (as i stated 1.5lbs-2lbs a weeks which is healthy) and that I just work out lose weight.

I love having words put in my mouth

You're focusing on "being attacked" and not on what people are saying is their experience. Actually the above post wasn't quoting you but instead quoting the person who is niavely assuming that all the people who are eating their exercise calories are obese.

Jaccyber · August 2012

As I have come to understand, the body needs energy from food to help the body process what you just did during the workout. Correct me if I am wrong, but if you don’t eat protein and carbs before or after a strength training session the muscles will not be able to repair themselves in a way to build properly. I have been eating my calories back after workouts and have been able to lose 44 lbs over a 1.5 years time. It just seems like the healthier way to do it. Maybe it works for some and not for others. I wish you well on your fitness journey.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Jaccyber

cynthiaj777 · August 2012

I drink wine, eat burgers and french fries, eat chocolate, eat ice cream. It worked well for me until my BIL died and I started eating those things and losing track of my macros. However, my experience is that as long as I hit my macros first, I can do with ever I want with the rest of my calories and still be successful . . .

:drinker: Cheers!

All of the above, and chocolate milk at bedtime every night.

Don't get me wrong! I indulge too. Then I spend all week fighting the bloat from water retention. The best advice I can give people is to eat HEALTHY, FRESH, RAW choices. Tons of fruits and veggies.....and low glycemic carbs if doing high intensity cardio. And of course, high protein if doing heavy lifting.

For someone fresh on their journey, healthy is best!

The ones that have been here a while have found the balance in life

AlsDonkBoxSquat · August 2012

WendyTerry420 · August 2012

You look great...just curious - how tall are you?

Im 5'5, 187 lbs.
Im supposed to be 140lbs MAX (according to my doctor)

I'm 6ft and you weigh more than me? Sorry, but judging by your profile pic I call BS.

Ill post a pic of the scale just for you

No seriously where are you carrying it? I'm not talking a little more than me, it's 19 lbs.

Wow. As a 5'2'' woman who also weighs 168, I wonder if you're a total stick at 6'?

Far from it which is why I can't understand why she weighs 187. You can see from my profile pics I am not a stick.

For one, women carry their weight differently than men. For two, women don't lie about their weight unless it's to say they weigh LESS, not MORE. Only a man would think that a woman has lied about her weight to make herself heavier. :noway:

Why make this a gender issue?

Because women have different bodies than men. Did you not know that? We have boobies, for one.

WendyTerry420 · August 2012

Be careful with the Skinny cow. It has tons of high fructose syrup which can make ou pretty I'll. It does me anyway.

I've been eating HFCS my whole life. It never made me sick, and it never even made me fat until I became sedentary and got older. A whole candy bar for only 110 calories is a good thing.

WendyTerry420 · August 2012

You're focusing on "being attacked" and not on what people are saying is their experience. Actually the above post wasn't quoting you but instead quoting the person who is niavely assuming that all the people who are eating their exercise calories are obese.

As someone that's been attacked in these forums before, it's very difficult to continue carrying on a conversation in the midst of being personally attacked. People want refer to newbies as trolls and idiots and everything else, just because they don't understand something.

Personally, I've grown fond of the ignore feature.

GaryRussell123456 · August 2012

You look great...just curious - how tall are you?

Not 19 lbs worth of booty. Also if you want to compare genders then men generally have lower body fat therefore at the same height and weight the man will look thinner or have I got this wrong?

Im 5'5, 187 lbs.
Im supposed to be 140lbs MAX (according to my doctor)

I'm 6ft and you weigh more than me? Sorry, but judging by your profile pic I call BS.

Ill post a pic of the scale just for you

No seriously where are you carrying it? I'm not talking a little more than me, it's 19 lbs.

Wow. As a 5'2'' woman who also weighs 168, I wonder if you're a total stick at 6'?

Far from it which is why I can't understand why she weighs 187. You can see from my profile pics I am not a stick.

For one, women carry their weight differently than men. For two, women don't lie about their weight unless it's to say they weigh LESS, not MORE. Only a man would think that a woman has lied about her weight to make herself heavier. :noway:

Why make this a gender issue?

Because women have different bodies than men. Did you not know that? We have boobies, for one.

PayneAS · August 2012

Because MFP already creates a deficit for you.

^

katicasi82 · August 2012

Obese people feel better knowing they can eat more after they workout and as long as they're still in a caloric deficit it works but it just makes people feel better about eating more for the most part.

Oh please...I burned an extra 1500 cals yesterday and a further 1400 today. If I didn't eat back my calories (or some of them) I'd be exhausted. I really need to concentrate whilst working, I cannot afford to be hungry/tired.

I have had a headache all day. I have been hungry hippo too. Now, I am about to fall asleep at my desk, which NEVER happens anymore.

I looked at my intake yesterday. I only netted 800. No wonder I feel like **** today! It must suck to always feel like crap by not eating enough! I'm not sure why someone wouldn't want to fuel their body properly?

Maybe its not that we dont "want to fuel their body properly" but that we're uneducated. HENCE the reason i posted this topic. And instead of getting indepth answers, I get attacked.

Not once did i say DONT eat back your calories. Im simply asking WHY you would if you just worked so hard to burn them off.
Im also not saying to lose as fast as possible (as i stated 1.5lbs-2lbs a weeks which is healthy) and that I just work out lose weight.

I love having words put in my mouth

I don't think any of the above was aimed at you...rather at the guy I quoted originally. Sorry if you felt besieged...If I were speaking directly to you I would have quoted your post not his.

As for the hungry hippo - I know the feeling, tired and listless...euch!

katicasi82 · August 2012

Obese people feel better knowing they can eat more after they workout and as long as they're still in a caloric deficit it works but it just makes people feel better about eating more for the most part.

Oh please...I burned an extra 1500 cals yesterday and a further 1400 today. If I didn't eat back my calories (or some of them) I'd be exhausted. I really need to concentrate whilst working, I cannot afford to be hungry/tired.

I have had a headache all day. I have been hungry hippo too. Now, I am about to fall asleep at my desk, which NEVER happens anymore.

I looked at my intake yesterday. I only netted 800. No wonder I feel like **** today! It must suck to always feel like crap by not eating enough! I'm not sure why someone wouldn't want to fuel their body properly?

Maybe its not that we dont "want to fuel their body properly" but that we're uneducated. HENCE the reason i posted this topic. And instead of getting indepth answers, I get attacked.

Not once did i say DONT eat back your calories. Im simply asking WHY you would if you just worked so hard to burn them off.
Im also not saying to lose as fast as possible (as i stated 1.5lbs-2lbs a weeks which is healthy) and that I just work out lose weight.

I love having words put in my mouth

You're focusing on "being attacked" and not on what people are saying is their experience. Actually the above post wasn't quoting you but instead quoting the person who is niavely assuming that all the people who are eating their exercise calories are obese.

Precisely...

shellybean73 · August 2012

MireyGal76 · August 2012

I'm 6ft and you weigh more than me? Sorry, but judging by your profile pic I call BS.

Ill post a pic of the scale just for you

No seriously where are you carrying it? I'm not talking a little more than me, it's 19 lbs.

Wow. As a 5'2'' woman who also weighs 168, I wonder if you're a total stick at 6'?

I'm 6'1" and I weigh 165... look at my pics.. I am totally not a stick.

Oh - and my calories are set 1740. I eat back almost all of my exercise calories because I am freaking STARVING all of the time! :-D

Helloitsdan · August 2012

You look great...just curious - how tall are you?

Im 5'5, 187 lbs.
Im supposed to be 140lbs MAX (according to my doctor)

Going by the info provided:

BMR 1622
TDEE 2514

Perfect weight 132.2lbs

Eating 2k cals a day will net you 1lb lost per week with 10lbs gone in 10 weeks time.

Protein and fat 30% each and whammo!
Fat loss machine!

PS: if you use this method you dont eat back calories.
I included them in the variables.

Cutting cals to 1759 nets 1.51lbs lost per week though the hit on LBM is much greater than at 2k a day.
1759 cals is not recommended.

Dont know if OP saw this but out of over 230 numbers done on MFP i've only had 3 people who this formula didnt work for.
If you dont want to worry about eating back cals just set it and forget it.
=D

NWCountryGal · August 2012

Exercising alone is not all it takes to build a healthy body, or rebuild one. You have to eat adequate nutrition as well as the right stuff. There is so much more to weight-loss then people normally know. We think it's as easy as, don't eat, lose weight. It's not and thank God there are people here that can explain and suggest the right way to us.

Sure, I am losing fat, but I do it by eating enough of the right foods that will give me energy to burn off fat but yet maintain and build muscle. If you just eat less food you will lose fat, muscle, water. I for one don't care to lose muscle. Take the time to read up, check out more then just what peoples tickers say, look what they eat? Figure out what it is they are actually losing, then decide which way you want to go.

Robin_Bin · August 2012

Read a few of the posts where people are complaining about plateaus or weight loss that went fine for 3 weeks and then stalled out. Read the other posts from people who are asking why their hair is falling out, they have numb extremities, skin problems, dizziness or fatigue. Everyone's different, and not eating back exercise calories will work for some people, but it seems to me that almost everyone who posts about problems, like these examples, is eating less than MFP suggests or eating extremely dense calorie, low nutrition processed foods in relatively small amounts.

Your mileage may vary, but eating back exercise calories has worked for many people here. Feel free to ignore any advice they give. Personally, I may not always eat back all my exercise calories, but except if I'm sick, I try to stay above 1,200 Net calories and within 1-200 calories of the amount including my exercise calories.

devil_in_a_blue_dress · August 2012

Also I want to address losing 1.5-2 pounds a week. That is perfectly doable for people with a fair amount of weight to get rid of -- but is NOT realistic for most people.

Also, lets talk about net calories. If you only have 10-20ish pounds to lose and aren't VERY tall, you're probably going to be set to 1,200 if you select anything other than 1 pound per week (which is recommended, not 1.5, not 2 -- 1 single pound per week). If you work out and are not eating ANY of those calories back, you are netting less than 1,200 which isn't healthy over the long term.

I am not tied to 1,200 net calories every, single day (some people are) or something terrible will happen to you, but you really shouldn't be under 1,000 ever -- and certainly you should be between 1,000-1,200 always. If I was set to 2 pounds for week, I would have 1,200 calories per day. Then I would work out and burn 300. My net would be 900 -- which is the same as only eating 900. So yeah. For those of us with only a few pound to lose, you actually HAVE to eat some back otherwise, you're not doing your body ANY favors.

I get that you are new and weren't attempting to advise anyone -- but you post had attitude -- like eating somehow ruins the work done at the gym, and that's just not how it works. As somebody else posted, there is a TON of info on this site about exercise calories -- if you genuinely don't understand, don't post a question in all caps in the forums that reads like people who eat back their calories must be dumb. You'll get called out on it and then some.

WHY DO PEOPLE EAT BACK THEIR EXERCISE CALS?!

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