WHY DO PEOPLE EAT BACK THEIR EXERCISE CALS?!

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  • MSeel1984
    MSeel1984 Posts: 2,297 Member
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    I gotta say I'm both amused and amazed that this thread is still going.
  • SHHitsKaty
    SHHitsKaty Posts: 301
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    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.)

    IMG_3265.jpg

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

    five-years-later.jpg

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

    IMG_4850.jpg

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

    Thank you for this! I always thought that people who just stuck to a strict calorie limit and worked out and didn't eat anything else seemed to have a harder time losing the weight they wanted and what you are saying and showing proves it! You have to replenish yourself and make sure you are eating enough!
  • CarmenSRT
    CarmenSRT Posts: 843 Member
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    I eat back well over half of my exercise cals because even doing that I lost 13 pounds in a month. Losing even faster wouldn't be prudent.
  • golden7784
    golden7784 Posts: 5
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    Basically you NEED those extra calories...the more you ask of your body (AKA exercise) the more you have to give it (food/calories) to perform.
  • escloflowneCHANGED
    escloflowneCHANGED Posts: 3,038 Member
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    Reads title, posts...Shoots self in head!
  • kzcortes
    kzcortes Posts: 208 Member
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    I gotta say I'm both amused and amazed that this thread is still going.

    RIGHT. It could've been solved in like 2 posts.
  • golden7784
    golden7784 Posts: 5
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    Basically you NEED those extra calories...the more you ask of your body (AKA exercise) the more you have to give it (food/calories) to perform.
  • elainecroft
    elainecroft Posts: 595 Member
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    Because it's about developing a healthy lifestyle, not starving yourself.
  • danadarling09
    danadarling09 Posts: 12
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    wow, i posted pretty much the same topic yesterday and all i got was bashing on how i dont eat enough, i eat my cals im suppose to but i burn cals swimming and running, but aparently to everyone that posted on mine, i am starving myself. im sorry if i have ate my cals for the day and im not hungry im not going to eat more, thats what got me here in the first place

    I thought the point of working out was to burn cals.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
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    Part of the issue, though, is that while doctors may recommend 1200 or 1500 calories, they likely do with the assumption that one is doing the minimum recommended exercise of about a half hour a day.... NOT with the assumption that people are spending hours in they gym and burning 800-1000 calories.

    If you're eating 1200 calories and walking for a half hour on the treadmill and burning 100 calories, not eating that back isn't that big of a deal.

    If you're eating 1200, and doing an hour of spin class, followed by an hour of zumba, then coming home and doing a DVD and burning 1200 calories... you're going to crash and burn.

    People also hear a phrase like, "You have to burn more than you eat," and don't take into account the calories your body is burning every minute of every day. They think they if they eat 1200 calories, they need to burn 1200 calories through exercise alone. But the body is already burning more than 1200 calories a day, before you even tie your shoelaces.
  • susulani
    susulani Posts: 17
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    Because the calories you are allowed help you lose weight already, so if you burn more off you are allowed to eat more and still lose weight. I think it also helps your body not go into starvation mode which starts the dreaded plateau.
  • KCoolBeanz
    KCoolBeanz Posts: 813 Member
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    I'll throw in my 2cents on the subject. Disclaimer: This is what works for me.

    I eat back my exercise calories, sometimes all of them. The way I understand it, MFP does not include your exercise, it only includes it as a goal to work towards. The allowance it spits out for you already includes a deficit. I have mine set at lightly active, because I'm all over the place usually at work. I work out 5 days a week, and 2 of those 5 days include a pretty intense (for me) lifting circuit.

    I eat them back because it helps me mentally to feel like I'm not short changing myself, I still enjoy all the foods I love, I don't ever feel hungry, and most importantly, I've been steadily loosing on average 1 pound per week since I started. That can't be all terrible, can it?

    My advice to others? Try eat some back for awhile. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't. You have to figure out what's right for your body, and what you feel comfortable doing.
  • icesk8ermom
    icesk8ermom Posts: 82 Member
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    I have a grand idea......

    Why not eat at all and don't exercise then you will have so much more time to play, hang out with friends, watch TV, go to the movies etc.????? That is if you have the energy to do so because you haven't eaten anything!

    ***Same concept right? Sounds like a win win to me!
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
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    Keep seeing the same posts over and over and over.. surprised this threads still going
  • busywaterbending
    busywaterbending Posts: 844 Member
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    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?!

    finally, someone who understands. :)

    just stay safe.
  • busywaterbending
    busywaterbending Posts: 844 Member
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    No 1000 calories is one pound so if you want to lose 2 pounds per week you need to burn 2000 a week not 7000

    jajajajaaajaja:laugh: jajajajaaaa:sad: jajajaajajaa:laugh:

    http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_pound.php
  • joannbrunton
    joannbrunton Posts: 93 Member
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    because it works
  • 4theluvofme
    4theluvofme Posts: 23
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    I always eat my exercise calories back. Your body needs those calories to burn off the fat; technically you could not exercise at all and still lose 1 pound a week if you're eating 500 calories LESS than what your body needs to maintain weight safely and healthily. If you're only consuming 1200 calories (which honestly is too little for anybody, in my opinion) then burning 600, your body only has 600 calories to fuel its system and do what it needs to do, which means your body is going to hold on to the fat. Yes, you work hard to burn the calories, but you need to make sure you are giving your body enough energy to handle burning those calories off AND burning off the excess fat. If you exercise without putting at least half of those exercise calories back you're not going to lose effectively; sure the scale will go down but you'll be losing muscle instead of fat, and the goal is the opposite.

    Nicely said! Agreed! :smile:
  • AshleyAmmerman
    AshleyAmmerman Posts: 40
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    How many calories one should loose per week has a lot factored into it. The bigger you are the more weight you are going to loose per week (if you workout regularly and watch what you eat). Someone who looks as small as you are, you are not going to loose that weight that fast the health way. There is a simple answer to all this. It is a fact that eating back some or most of your exercise calories will still cause you to loose weight if not loose faster. The more you exercise the more energy your body needs. For example if your start calorie intake is 1500 (like mine) and I work out and burn 400 calories. The number will change to 1900 to eat. I generally do not eat back all although some days I do because I am simply hungry. I generally eat back half of my exercise calories.

    But the general rule is that your body needs between 1200 and 1500 calories to function in a healthy way. If you do not want to eat back your exercise calories then don't. It is your personal choice. But you should NET no less than 1200 calories. Most people need 1500 calories though. It depends on age, height, weight, desired weight, level of activity, etc.
  • thelovelyLIZ
    thelovelyLIZ Posts: 1,227 Member
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    Because MFP builds a deficit in for you. If I burn 600 calories while eating 1500 a day, that means I'm only netting 900, which is far too low to maintain an active lifestyle and health. Eating back your exercise calories is perfectly fine, especially if you're eating healthy whole foods.

    Low calories is not necessarily better.

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