eat the calories I just burned..... I don't get it

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tap_0072
tap_0072 Posts: 22 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm confused as to why I'm allowed to eat the calories that I have burned thru excerise. I get eating more when exercising because your body needs that boost, but it doesn't make sense to be allowed to eat ALL of the calories I just burned. Can anyone explain this to me?
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Replies

  • SheilaN1976
    SheilaN1976 Posts: 266 Member
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    i am a little confused on that as well, i have my allotted calories per day...and i exercised this morning and now it shows the calories i burned added to my allotted calories for the day?! HUH? that makes no sense to me what so ever?! I plan on just eating the allotted number of calories and not adding the calories i burned in to it.
  • rompers16
    rompers16 Posts: 5,404 Member
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    Because MFP already puts you at a deficit for the day. You could lose without exercising but when you do you create too large of a deficit.
  • MSeel1984
    MSeel1984 Posts: 2,297 Member
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    Because MFP already puts you at a deficit for the day. You could lose without exercising but when you do you create too large of a deficit.

    ^^^ This.
  • Midgetgem74
    Midgetgem74 Posts: 40 Member
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    Mmm I still don't get it?

    What you mean you are at a deficit?
  • Em05us
    Em05us Posts: 117 Member
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    I want to also point out that the reason why you exercise is to build mucsle and tone your body. The cardio is also to burn extra calories if you eat a sweet or something that day. Its all bout how you balance it out. But if you create to largeof a deficit your body will think its starving.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Read this... it explains it all.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/383956-exercise-calories-explained?hl=exercise+calories+explained
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
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    Mmm I still don't get it?

    What you mean you are at a deficit?

    When you input all of your information into MFP, it calculates the number of calories your body burns a day (your TDEE) without factoring in any exercise you do. It then subtracts the number of calories it needs to for you to lose weight (500/day to lose 1 pounds a week) putting you at a deficit.

    If your activity level is set to sedentary or lightly active, exercise increases that deficit, and for many people it puts us at too large a deficit for our bodies to sustain. Thus we eat back our earned exercise calories to fuel our bodies and keep it from decimating our lean muscle mass.
  • jeanmoreno
    jeanmoreno Posts: 139 Member
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    you already eating roughly 500 calories less than normal,so you can loose the weight !
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Because MFP already puts you at a deficit for the day. You could lose without exercising but when you do you create too large of a deficit.

    While this is generally true, it depends on how people setup MFP, so I would be hesitant to make such a blanket statement.
  • bdreilly84
    bdreilly84 Posts: 30
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    deficit meaning I should eat about 1575 calories a day to maintain my weight but MFP has me eating 1350 per day. So I am already at a 225 calorie deficit per day. If I exercise and burn 300 cals now I am at a 525 deficit and my body will eventually go into "starvation mode" if this happens too often.
  • StrongSandra
    StrongSandra Posts: 21 Member
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    When you signed up, you entered how much you currently weigh, how much weight you want to lose, and also at what rate (ie. 1 lb per week). MFP calculates your allotted calories based on this information.

    When you exercise, you're burning calories, therefore, you can either eat more to maintain the rate of weight loss you originally chose, or you can just stay in deficit. Choosing to stay in deficit will help you lose weight faster, but you may also be more hungry because of the working out. You can always go back and fine tune the rate of your weight loss, which will affect how many calories MFP calculates for your daily allowance.
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,370 Member
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    Mmm I still don't get it?

    What you mean you are at a deficit?

    The deficit is the difference between how many calories you'd have to eat to stay the same weight and how many you eat to lose. For me I eat 1000 calories less a day in the hope that I'll lose 2lbs each week - so the deficit is 1000. If I was to also do 2 hours exercise and burn say 850 calories but only eat the same as on a non-exercise day then my deficit would be 1850 for today - which would be less than half of what I'd have eaten to stay the same weight - which isn't good for you on an extended basis. So, if you eat back your exercise calories you will still lose due to the deficit you have preset when you registered here.
  • WAM777
    WAM777 Posts: 15 Member
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    My "exercise calories" have little to nothing to do with my calorie intake which obviously is working for me.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    MFP calculates a deficit for you. Everyday. No additional exercise needed. Because of this, it intends for you to eat your exercise calories.

    Think of it this way- MFP calculates how much you burn everyday- base activity plus exercise. Then it subtracts 500 calories from that, to have you eat enough so that you will lose 1lb per week.
  • Alford96
    Alford96 Posts: 70
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    what "deficit" means is that MFP has calculated the amount of calories that you need to operate your body daily (based on current size, activity level, etc...) and it subtracted calories from that amount based on how quicky you wanted to lose. For instance, it takes 2050 calories for my body to operate daily but I want to lose 1 pound per week so my alloted calories are calculated at 1550. Now when I exercise, I would be burning more calories than that 500 cal deficit so it adds those calories back into my allotted amount so that I am still losing 1 lb a week. Whether you eat back your exercise calories is a personal choice but you want to make sure that you eat enough to support your body throughout the day.

    Hope this helps.
  • janlee_001
    janlee_001 Posts: 309 Member
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    I don't get the deficit part. But look at it this way. Your body is burning calories 24/7 and even your everyday activities outside of excersice you are burning. Also, when you excercise you are building muscle which continues burning a higher rate of calories.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    MFP calculates a deficit for you. Everyday. No additional exercise needed. Because of this, it intends for you to eat your exercise calories.

    Think of it this way- MFP calculates how much you burn everyday- base activity plus exercise. Then it subtracts 500 calories from that, to have you eat enough so that you will lose 1lb per week.

    Unless you factor your exercise into your activity level, which some people do.
  • sowonderfultonight
    sowonderfultonight Posts: 41
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    Mmm I still don't get it?

    What you mean you are at a deficit?

    Your body needs a certain number of calories every day just to function. It gets called a lot of things, I usually use BMR. Either way, for everyone it's different based on height, weight, and fat vs muscle composition. When you want to LOSE weight, you want to eat about 500 calories below your BMR. That is, instead of just feeding your body what it needs to function, you're feeding it a little less. You're kind of making your body say "Hey, I don't have enough food to keep all of our important things AND all of this fat running...okay, burn off some of that fat and we can function the best!"

    If you eat too little, you're throwing your body into starvation mode, it's not good for your metabolism, etc. When you excercise, you're increasing the deficit.

    For example, as a 5'4" 19 year old female weighing in at 150.1lbs, I eat 1450 calories a day. On my work out days, I can burn up to around 700 calories (horse back riding, running 3-4 miles, and weight training). If I burn that much, I'll have only consumed a net 750 calories in that day. That is, maybe I ate 1450, but I went and burned off almost half of what I ate! That's the equivalent of only eating 750 calories a day, and that is NO WHERE near enough for my body to survive on, especially one like mine (horseback riding for 7 years gives me a looooot more muscle mass than a lot of 19 year old girls). So in addition to my 1450, I'll eat back most of what I burned off. I'm STILL feeding my body less than what it would need to keep so much fat on my body, but I'm feeding my body /enough/ to remain healthy, strong, and comfortable enough to not get "scared" and start storing extra fat.

    I tried to word that in a way that makes it more easy to understand, but I don't usually reply to these things. ^^' Best of wishes to all of you <3
  • Erica27511
    Erica27511 Posts: 490 Member
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  • sundaysurf
    sundaysurf Posts: 72 Member
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    You have to figure out what works for you. I have to eat them and then some or I feel like I am starving myself. I do believe in eat them back. Experimenter with your body. Find out what it needs. Proof is in the pudding (not literally).

    Try to eat healthy, exercise and find balance!

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