WHY DO PEOPLE EAT BACK THEIR EXERCISE CALS?!

SovanJedi

Because I'm hungry, duh.

Sharyn913

This topic is still around? It was annoying a week ago and it's still annoying.

secretlobster

I am SO over this EAT MORE crap!

Eating more is what made us all fat in the first place!

The idea isn't to gorge yourself or eat as much as you did when you got fat, it's to get enough calories and nutrients for a high performing body. If you think the idea of "eating enough" is BS, check out the people who are doing it.

Congratulations on being in the negative calorie zone. You're not losing muscle yet because you have fat yet to lose. Sorry if that sounds harsh. It's a different game when you're going for performance rather than weight loss.

doonesbury

K I am hopping OUT of this discussion!

I am ashamed that I butted in, but do not know how to take my post OUT.

Its too subjective for me!!

Thus, I wont be checking to see who disagrees with me.

Because frankly, I dont give a damn!

God speed to ALL of you on your journeys!

Busymomshantell

Because I'm hungry, duh.

LOL

rebelq

Wow, appreciate the physiology graph. Now, that's incentive to keep going, that week after week the % of fat burning goes up. NICE!

kiachu

Person A. "Stop doing meth to Its bad for your body and for your health, you'll eventually lose your teeth and your hair will fall out"
Person B "Well its working for me, I lost of ton of weight and fit into my size 4 jeans, and I still have my teeth and hair so why would I stop?"

dixiewhiskey

Lock

jennaworksout

sorry, if im hungry i will eat some of my exercise cals

SerenityGelsinger

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

This is a great way to get your point across!

cruzcrzyMarie

I am in maintenance, and if I don't eat my exercise calories, my daily calories are 1520. That's not much, imo. Many days, I don't eat my exercise calories back, but, some days I do.

masarc

I thought that was weird too but I think that if you are hungry, eat a little more protein and veggies to fill you up but dont eat the extra calories just because "you can"

lizzybethclaire

because they are yummy?

PixEm

I have noticed if I do not eat them back I am stuck at a certain weight. I figured you need to at least net 1200 calories a day. You can track that on your main MFP page where it has your goals.

lizzybethclaire

Doesn't this end up being debated at least once a week on the forums?

DoubleE615312

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 you look at your "Goals" tab MFP will tell you how many calories you should be burning a day.

For example this is mine:

Your diet Profile Target
Calories Burned
From Normal Daily Activity 2,170 calories/day
Net Calories Consumed*
Your Daily Goal 1,700 calories/ day
Daily Calorie Deficit 470 calories
Projected Weight Loss 0.9 lbs/ week

* Net Calories Consumed = Total Calories Consumed - Exercise Calories Burned

anfmusicgrl

I didn't always eat them back when losing..but now at -108 lbs, obviously my calorie budget for a deficit is smaller than when I began.

I work out HARD, I put in everything, every single time, and I also lift hard. Some days I find myself sooo hungry, and I listen to my body. I eat back calories until my body feels satisfied. While this doesn't mean I always eat them all back, I definitely don't feel bad about eating any portion of them back. In fact, I see really good changes in my body when I do this more often. It allows my body to be fueled better for exercise, and weight training along with intense cardio, my fat melts off, while my muscles are preserved. Although, gaining muscles while in a calorie deficit is somewhat difficult, I most certainly have gained some muscle, and gained a LOT of strength.

Example: I have a friend that has lost weight that weights 35 lbs less than me....but because I'm a beast and lift heavy weights AND eat at least my BMR, and try to cycle my days with eating back calories, etc.... I was the same size as her 15 lbs ago... (When I weighed FIFTY 5-0 lbs more than her)

So while, yes, not eating them back might cause a quicker loss...eating them back sometimes, or eating some of them back will help your goals in the long run. Because your goals are in fact to lose weight for health, AND for looks right? You are always going to look better when you are healthy. Don't force your body to feed off your muscle...force it to melt off the fat! I am not the type to "cheat" but if I have a day where I have multiple plans with people, go to eat, have a cocktail, etc, my body gobbles up those splurged calories, and for a year now, I have yet to gain a pound from eating back calories or eating at maintenance or a tiny bit above occasionally.

For those like me who had or have a large amount to lose, it is sabotage to net the smallest amount of calories the entire time...because after a while our bodies will adapt and start trying to preserve the stored energy (fat). I can say with confidence that I can give credit to my consistent weight loss for an entire year to 2 main things: Consistency/dedication, AND the fact that I have been very careful to preserve my metabolism and keep it at an optimum level.

dcglobalgirl

Because I don't want my body to eat my muscles, so I feed it. Plus I like food, and I love eating more and weighing less.

This! Because a lot of us really like food and that is why we are here in the first place.

MoreBean13

Rollover!

Whoop Whoop.....Now I don't have to see this thread anymore!

AwesomelyAmber

Rock Star post!

jimvandam33

I dont cause i need to lose weight

LorinaLynn

Cool.

Now that it's rolled over, it will stop showing in the "my topics" of the people who kept bumping it back to the top by posting, "Why won't this thread die?!" :laugh:

Cherryblosm3

LOL jeez. one simple question and it lasted 20+ pages!!! Silly people

Jynus

This might seem too complex for people, but I could give 2 craps about eating back exercise calories, just seems stupid as hell to do it. Eat a set level of calories daily, and have a consistent weekly activity sced. If you're losing weight, carry on. If you're not, drop that set calorie amount a touch until you're losing weight.

Why do people see the need to over complicate things. o.O

LorinaLynn

Eat a set level of calories daily, and have a consistent weekly activity sced. If you're losing weight, carry on. If you're not, drop that set calorie amount a touch until you're losing weight.

So how low would you have suggested I go years ago when I was eating around 700-800 calories a day and only losing a half pound every other week? Should I have kept shaving off more and more calories?

I fully agree with eating a set level of calories, but not if you're using the calories that MFP suggests because your exercise is NOT included in your calorie goal until you do it and log it.

I will lose weight if I eat 1900 calories a day and keep on exercising like I am. Or I can have MPF set my calories to 1500 and earn more calories when I exercise. The calorie total will be about the same. But I like the extra motivation of earning extra calories. It's positive reinforcement. It might seem over-complicated to some... but those of us with basic math skills know how the numbers add up.

LorinaLynn

Forum hiccup. Double post.

icesk8ermom

I will go back to what I said earlier....

Make things easier on yourself don't eat and don't exercise then there is no concern then you also don't have to worry about counting or not counting!

.....then you have tons of free time on your hands!

If i eat 1200 and I burn 1200 calories then I have zero calories for the day; goal accomplished! Right?

People....a 1200 calorie diet (for women) is based on NO exercise; this is what you need to function and live a healthy life. When you burn the calories it is like you never ate them; therefore, you must eat more to meet the 1200 calorie daily intake. When the doctor or nutritionist tells you to "eat" 1200 calories this is based on NO exercise so if you exercise you have to eat more to start with OR eat back your calories!

Lets' say it takes 3 logs to keep a fire going; if they all burn to ashes what will happen to the fire if you don't replace the logs???

Jynus

So how low would you have suggested I go years ago when I was eating around 700-800 calories a day and only losing a half pound every other week? Should I have kept shaving off more and more calories?

1) Your math skills were wrong and you were eating far more than you thought back then. This is the most common culprit.

2) Your screwed your metabolism by eating too few calories and only doing low impact cardio for exercise for a long period of time. In which case, the issue is not that you weren't eating back your exercise calories, but that you screwed your body. The fix would be to start resistance training, up your calories to about 2k for a few weeks, then settle back into a normal lower deficit of about 1700 and slowly dropping from there while continuing resistance training.

LorinaLynn

I didn't account for any exercise calories then, because I was always under the (misguided) impression "eat less, move more." I had a very physically demanding job at the time. That was, as I said, YEARS ago. But I know what I ate, and it was admittedly crap. A 90 cal granola bar for breakfast. Something microwavable for lunch (250-300 cal?). Another granola bar for a snack (90 cal) and maybe a banana (100 cal). And another frozen dinner for dinner (250-300). I ate a little more on the weekends. And yes... I did trash my metabolism.

Like I said, that was YEARS ago. This time around, I ate an average of 1800-2000+ calories or more during my entire weight loss, and never once had to drop my calories. Instead, I increased them as my goal got closer. I started at 1200 plus exercise calories for maybe a month, then 1350, then 1450, then 1500, then 1600... with a typical burn of 300-600 calories.

1700 and under for a total calorie goal would suck donkey scrotums.

fitQueenbeast

Good response Icesk8trmom! There is clearly a lot of misinformation on here.

Erica