Do you eat back your workout calories?

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  • carajpjones
    carajpjones Posts: 1
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    You are definitely supposed to eat back your workout calories because it is all acounted for in your net goal for the day. however, if you only have a few more pounds to lose it makes continued weight loss very difficult. I only have 10 more pounds to go and I have started to not eat back about 200 of my exercise calories a day to create a greater deficit throughout the week because it won't let my net goal be less than 1200 and it kinda needs to be if i want to see the scale drop. I just make sure to actually eat 1200 and then burn with exercise. If you do a big workout you have to eat back at least most of them to replenish your body and not starve yourself, and the day before my very long runs I make sure to eat back my workout calories burned so i am properly feuled for the next day. I think the most important thing is to listen to your body. if you have a lot of weight to lose you should definitely eat them back as they are intended to be.. I'm not fitness or nutrition expert, but this is what i have found to work for me and have researched around on the internet to make sure it wouldnt be damaging to my body to do this. good luck! :)
  • Wabbit05
    Wabbit05 Posts: 434 Member
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    YES!!! I workout so I can eat more! MFP already gives you a deficiency so eating back those calories is not going to hurt my weight loss. In fact, it helps fuel my weight loss since if I didn't eat them back, I would probably be under my BMI which is bad. So YES!
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
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    I Ignore exercise calories because they are over estimated. Most people underestimate calories so give it 10% less in the total. Also packaging will underestimate because legally they can put more not less so they will error on the more side. I learned this all from a book I called Anything Goes Diet, written by someone with multiple PHD's and he knows his stuff and I've had a chance to talk with the author.

    If you have a lot of body fat reserves you would be surprised at how little you can eat (unless you have emotional eating issues or disorders). The leaner you get the less your body has to draw from and then you have to taper up your calories. There is no such thing as starvation mode for women over 12% body fat or men over 6% body fat. I am a living breathing example of that. I went from obese to now under 12% BF and I've maintained for one year and built muscle the whole time. You don't BUILD muscle in starvation mode, so I proved everyone wrong.

    My blog http://bobbiesfitness.com/
  • buffyanne1
    buffyanne1 Posts: 19 Member
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    No.Why would I want to work as hard as I do everyday to lose those calories only to eat them back?Kinda negates the whole workout doesent it?What is the purpose of working out if your just gonna eat back what you just burned off.No thanks,Im trying to lose,not gain.Everytime I eat them back I gain.
  • carlene7937
    carlene7937 Posts: 3
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    i dont if i can help it i feel as though the exercise helps to loose more weight !!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    MFP is designed so that you EAT BACK your exercise calories. It's already built a deficit for you.

    Not necessarily, but that is how most people use it.
  • UrbanWild
    UrbanWild Posts: 48
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    I am not sure if I should be eating back my workout calories. What do you do?

    MFP gives you 'extra calories' for your workouts--but that doesn't mean you need to eat them--why would you want to? The whole point of successful weight loss is to scale back the calories by maintaining proper, balanced nutrition in order to trigger your body's natural fat buring process. I always have a surplus at the end of the day and quite frankly I find that I just can't eat that much now that I'm eating more healthy. I mean, I eat a lot when you look at my diary, but really, it's just all good food that's not going to waste--or my WAIST!
  • Debbe2
    Debbe2 Posts: 2,071 Member
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    Lots and lots of people on MFP do and are successful with weight loss. Others don't. I do not and have not all along and it has been working for me. Try it either way and find what you're most comfortable with and gives you success.
  • olong
    olong Posts: 255 Member
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    not exactly.... I eat my protein grams back... rather than focus on the calories on exercise days, I focus on hitting my protein macros (currently set at 30%)
  • angel_eyes17
    angel_eyes17 Posts: 103 Member
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    At first I didn't. I couldn't lose my belly no matter what I did. Then I not only ate back my exercise calories, but raised my calories from 1200 to 1350. (Only leaving myself a 10% deficit) That actually worked.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    *sigh*

    this is going to be a painful thread.


    Please people, at least the people who care to know, rather than just wing it... please please please please read this. There actually is science and reason behind all this... it's not a just gotta find what works for you type of thing.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/383956-exercise-calories-explained?hl=exercise+calories+explained
  • migdalp
    migdalp Posts: 50 Member
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    I eat some some of the time. Never knew you had to eat what you worked out, if there such a thing.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    Yes and they are DELICIOUS!
  • 1holegrouper
    1holegrouper Posts: 323 Member
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    MFP is designed so that you eat back your exercise calories- BUT there are two problems with this. 1) MFP may be over estimating your calories burned and 2) you may not be accurately measuring what you are eating so the calories eaten are underestimated. This sets you up for frustration in your results.

    My lazy fix is this. I know I'm not going to be OCD about measuring my food. So, I tell MFP I want to lose 1/2 pound a week more than I actually do. This compensates for my intake innacuracy. For exercise, I set my activity to sedentary and say no exercise so that MFP is basically suggesting a deficit against my BMR. Then I add and eat on what I exercise. While not eligant it seems to work for me.
  • melclare10
    melclare10 Posts: 49 Member
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    eat some back. Your body needs fuel.
  • brmoore8
    brmoore8 Posts: 3
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    I've been wondering the same thing. I eat some of them but not all of them. I've been hesitant. Any advice you guys have I would appreciate it.
  • oOMusicBabii
    oOMusicBabii Posts: 494
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    Please people, at least the people who care to know, rather than just wing it... please please please please read this. There actually is science and reason behind all this... it's not a just gotta find what works for you type of thing.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/383956-exercise-calories-explained?hl=exercise+calories+explained
    :flowerforyou: Good read and makes complete sense when worded the way your wrote it.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    I've been wondering the same thing. I eat some of them but not all of them. I've been hesitant. Any advice you guys have I would appreciate it.

    If your daily goal includes exercise, then you shouldn't be eating them back. If it doesn't include exercise, then you should be eating them back.

    More:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/383956-exercise-calories-explained?hl=exercise+calories+explained
  • cyclingben
    cyclingben Posts: 346 Member
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    I do not, i ride 100-150 miles a week. It all depends on the quality and nutrients your taking in. If your eating junk food or processed food you will probably be hungry if you don't.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    eat some back. Your body needs fuel.

    True, it does... but if your daily goal already accounts for exercise, then eating them back will cut into your calculated deficit.

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