Do you eat back your exercise calories?

124

Replies

  • mistakenidentity
    mistakenidentity Posts: 28 Member
    I eat them all; sometimes I go over in a day; sometimes a bit under, but I try to reconcile within 24-48 hours bc that's what works best for my energy level.

    I exercise a lot, because my job is teaching dance and fitness (specifically, spin). I teach about 20 hours a week, and outside of that, I also go road cycling, paddleboarding, and I enjoy lifting heavy objects and putting them back down :)

    I eat A LOT of calories, and I burn a lot of calories.

    Anyway, here's an old post of mine which may interest you:

    From one of my old posts from a similar topic:

    OK. I'm gonna give this a shot. I am an avid lifelong athlete. I have never been overweight, however, I used to eat too few calories (without knowing it), and a couple years ago, I actually GAINED weight bc of having slowed my metabolism to the point that every little extra treat I ate caused a weight gain, even though overall my calories were too low. THIS DOES HAPPEN.

    It is also the reason so many fat people stay fat. They restrict their calories so low, slow their metabolisms, binge (even a little), gain weight, restrict more . . . . and so on and so on. But they are still fat.

    It is also the reason most people can't lose that last 10-20 lbs. For real.

    1. MFP has a deficit built in. Let's say you're trying to lose 1 lb/ week. That is a 500/day deficit from your BMR (the amount of calories your body needs to complete basic functions.

    2. You exercise and burn 500 calories. Now you are at a 1000 deficit. If you eat back those 500 exercise calories, you refuel your body and you still have a 500 deficit for that 1 lb loss. If you DON'T eat back those calories, you have too little fuel. This is bad. This is too much of a deficit for basic functions. If you do this for a long time, you will STOP LOSING WEIGHT. Why? bc your metabolism will slow down -- it's like a brownout--not quite enough electricity to make the whole city (your body) run, so it has to slow down some things. You will probably start being tired a lot, your skin and hair might start to look worse, and you might even gain weight. But you might NOT be hungry -- your body is getting used to fewer calories. That's bad.


    That's when you start to gain weight. Let's say you're running along, eating 1200 calories a day, and exercising 400 calories a day, so net is 800. You're losing, you think this is great. You keep doing it, but after a while you stop losing. hmmmmm. One weekend you go out to a special event and have a slice of pizza and a beer. 1 slice of pizza and 1 beer. So you ate maybe 2000 calories that day and exercised off 400, so net 1600. BOOM! You gain 3 lbs! What?!

    Next, you freak out and restrict yourself down to 1000 calories a day and work out extra hard, burning 500 calories. Great, netting 500 now. You don't lose any weight, but you sure feel tired. Better get some red bull.

    Are you getting the picture?

    EDIT: When you work out, you need fuel. Food is fuel. If you don't eat back those exercise calories, you will not only have a big calorie deficit, you will have an ENERGY deficit. Remember, the calorie deficit for weight loss is built in when you use MFP. Exercising basically earns you more calories because you must refuel.
    --

    There are many people who will tell you not to eat exercise calories. Before you take their advice, you might want to see whether they are at goal, have EVER been at goal, or have ever been able to maintain at goal. If anyone says to you 'THE LAST TIME I LOST WEIGHT", just stop listening right there.

    Ask some athletes whether or not they replenish their bodies with food equal to the calories they burn. Ask people who are fit and have achieved and maintained a healthy weight for some years. Don't ask people who count walking across a parking lot as exercise.

    Here's an interesting case study about how to stay fat while consuming only 700 calories a day. Take a moment, you'll be glad you did:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    blessings.
  • skdrake
    skdrake Posts: 4
    I have always ate them back...period. Most people that don't, do not understand that MFP has a deficit already built in....or some say they tried and it "doesn't work", ie they gain. Key is...you should be weighing/measuring your food accurately and wearing a HRM to accurately track your burns if you are going to eat them back, otherwise you're just guessing at everything.

    I am new to the site and still working it out. So if my goal is 1200, I have burned 400 calories and now it shows my goal for the day is 1600 calories that I should eat??
  • DesireeLovesOrganic
    DesireeLovesOrganic Posts: 456 Member
    I have always ate them back...period. Most people that don't, do not understand that MFP has a deficit already built in....or some say they tried and it "doesn't work", ie they gain. Key is...you should be weighing/measuring your food accurately and wearing a HRM to accurately track your burns if you are going to eat them back, otherwise you're just guessing at everything.

    I am new to the site and still working it out. So if my goal is 1200, I have burned 400 calories so it shows my goal for the day is now 1600 calories that I should eat??

    Yep. :)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    For all those who do not eat back exercise calories, I would like to challenge you to start tracking body fat. Buy some calipers from amazon or your local nutrition shop and see how much lbm you lose. You might change your ways shortly after you realize weight loss is from muscle.

    And just for fun, below are two links to what happens when you eat at a surplus level and gain muscle). So instead of waiting to gain muscle, why don't you preserve what you have to make this a lot easier.


    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/392784-skinny-fat-vs-fit-photo?hl=skinny+fat+vs
  • skdrake
    skdrake Posts: 4
    Agreed! I think this can be a bit decieving. If you burn 300 calories,it doesnt make sense to add that back to eat more for the day. Seems that defeats the purpose. I want that to come out of the reserve I have already built up!

    Then it is clear you do not understand how MFP works.

    I do now! I have been reading the links and some of the blogs. Good information and this makes sense to me. Thanks all - this has been helpful.
  • skdrake
    skdrake Posts: 4
    thanks! Very helpful.
  • MeeshKB
    MeeshKB Posts: 120 Member
    I eat pretty much all of my exercise cals.

    I exercise to improve my cardiovascular health and endurance (cardio), as well as my strength, flexibility and body composition (weights). There's already a 500 calorie deficit built in to my goals to help me make steady progress with weight loss.

    And I'm HUNGRY on workout days. My body needs the fuel.
  • glenette1
    glenette1 Posts: 140 Member
    If I'm hungry, I eat some of them. If not, I keep some of them. I see nothing wrong with eating them back as it's your net you should be concerned about. I look at it as extra credit if I don't but don't feel guilty if I do.
  • gaylynn35
    gaylynn35 Posts: 854 Member
    bump for later
  • jenmurray116
    jenmurray116 Posts: 18 Member
    I for the most part always eat back my exercise calories - if my body is working harder on a day I'm working out than on a day I'm not, it needs more fuel. I exercise to get stronger and leaner, not for a big calorie burn. I want this to be for life and the rest of my life can't be spent at bare minimum calories - I'd rather be used to having them now, then trying to add them in when maintaining.

    But, that's just me :)
  • Sierra_419
    Sierra_419 Posts: 201 Member
    yes. i eat them back... but i always make sure i at least NET my bmr . . ill leave 100- 200 calories extra at the end of the day since i dont have a HRM just yet...
  • Michellereducf
    Michellereducf Posts: 168 Member
    Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I eat, I exercise. Just that simple.
  • willowdancer
    willowdancer Posts: 95
    For me, it vairies. I have gotten to a point that I try to only eat them if I am truly hungry. Why eat if you are not hungry? If you are hungry, you should eat even if it puts you a little over your daily goal of intake. Our bodies can go into starvation mode if it feels as though it isn't getting enough calories. However, ever person is different and you need to take the time to observe and "listen" to what yours is telling you :-) I think it is extremely helpful to log everything that goes into your mouth esp in the beginning so you can see how things affect you. Some people can consume high carbs while others have to have fewer carbs even when they are eating the same caloric intake... If you do hit a plateau you can go back to your log and note if there have been any dietary changes that you may not have noticed otherwise.

    This is what I do as well, and I couldn't have put it better: listen to your body! I also agree with another poster who said she works out too hard to eat back all those calories. In my situation I am still at the beginning of my weight loss journey so I am not as worried about plateauing and mfp has me eating at least 1600 a day, so when I workout the way I like I end up netting around 1,000-1,200 (give or take a bit, each day is different!) I imagine, however, that when I get closer to my goal weight I will start re-feeding my body and eating back my calories because my daily calorie goal will have dropped. I read somewhere that it takes 1000 calories a day for the average woman to maintain bodily function; brain, muscle, organ function ,etc. So eating less than that on a regular basis would eventually lead to throwing your body into starvation mode, slowing down your metabolism, leaving you feeling exhausted, and possibly even deteriorating your muscle mass in your body's attempt to keep itself fed.
  • Danikc
    Danikc Posts: 6
    I eat them all; sometimes I go over in a day; sometimes a bit under, but I try to reconcile within 24-48 hours bc that's what works best for my energy level.

    I exercise a lot, because my job is teaching dance and fitness (specifically, spin). I teach about 20 hours a week, and outside of that, I also go road cycling, paddleboarding, and I enjoy lifting heavy objects and putting them back down :)

    I eat A LOT of calories, and I burn a lot of calories.

    Anyway, here's an old post of mine which may interest you:

    From one of my old posts from a similar topic:

    OK. I'm gonna give this a shot. I am an avid lifelong athlete. I have never been overweight, however, I used to eat too few calories (without knowing it), and a couple years ago, I actually GAINED weight bc of having slowed my metabolism to the point that every little extra treat I ate caused a weight gain, even though overall my calories were too low. THIS DOES HAPPEN.

    It is also the reason so many fat people stay fat. They restrict their calories so low, slow their metabolisms, binge (even a little), gain weight, restrict more . . . . and so on and so on. But they are still fat.

    It is also the reason most people can't lose that last 10-20 lbs. For real.

    1. MFP has a deficit built in. Let's say you're trying to lose 1 lb/ week. That is a 500/day deficit from your BMR (the amount of calories your body needs to complete basic functions.

    2. You exercise and burn 500 calories. Now you are at a 1000 deficit. If you eat back those 500 exercise calories, you refuel your body and you still have a 500 deficit for that 1 lb loss. If you DON'T eat back those calories, you have too little fuel. This is bad. This is too much of a deficit for basic functions. If you do this for a long time, you will STOP LOSING WEIGHT. Why? bc your metabolism will slow down -- it's like a brownout--not quite enough electricity to make the whole city (your body) run, so it has to slow down some things. You will probably start being tired a lot, your skin and hair might start to look worse, and you might even gain weight. But you might NOT be hungry -- your body is getting used to fewer calories. That's bad.


    That's when you start to gain weight. Let's say you're running along, eating 1200 calories a day, and exercising 400 calories a day, so net is 800. You're losing, you think this is great. You keep doing it, but after a while you stop losing. hmmmmm. One weekend you go out to a special event and have a slice of pizza and a beer. 1 slice of pizza and 1 beer. So you ate maybe 2000 calories that day and exercised off 400, so net 1600. BOOM! You gain 3 lbs! What?!

    Next, you freak out and restrict yourself down to 1000 calories a day and work out extra hard, burning 500 calories. Great, netting 500 now. You don't lose any weight, but you sure feel tired. Better get some red bull.

    Are you getting the picture?

    EDIT: When you work out, you need fuel. Food is fuel. If you don't eat back those exercise calories, you will not only have a big calorie deficit, you will have an ENERGY deficit. Remember, the calorie deficit for weight loss is built in when you use MFP. Exercising basically earns you more calories because you must refuel.
    --

    There are many people who will tell you not to eat exercise calories. Before you take their advice, you might want to see whether they are at goal, have EVER been at goal, or have ever been able to maintain at goal. If anyone says to you 'THE LAST TIME I LOST WEIGHT", just stop listening right there.

    Ask some athletes whether or not they replenish their bodies with food equal to the calories they burn. Ask people who are fit and have achieved and maintained a healthy weight for some years. Don't ask people who count walking across a parking lot as exercise.

    Here's an interesting case study about how to stay fat while consuming only 700 calories a day. Take a moment, you'll be glad you did:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    blessings.

    Amen to that
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    I eat back mine and by doing so it has aloud me to keep alot of my LBM while cutting the fat which when you drop 300+ lbs. maintaining as much lean body mass as possible is a good thing.. I would always suggest getting a good heart rate monitor to track calories burned. I use a Polar FT60 HRM and never do a cardio workout without it... Best of Luck...
  • LeggyAmericanGirl
    LeggyAmericanGirl Posts: 285 Member
    nope
  • sagefitnessfanatic
    sagefitnessfanatic Posts: 75
    I'm super ravenous after exercising and tend to eat a lot of the cals I burned...refueling the body :). My net is sometimes below 1200... I eat every 2-3 hours so I'm never hungry and eat pretty clean. I've been having nice results.
  • _stephanie0
    _stephanie0 Posts: 708 Member
    i love food too much not to.
  • Antlady69
    Antlady69 Posts: 204 Member
    Everything that SleeyTexan says on the first page. Read it over and over and over again. And stop listening to those who give you advice with the words "LAST TIME I LOST WEIGHT" ; they are not in a position to give you good advice as they clearly have been doing something wrong (why did they gain back the weight??).

    Best of luck!
  • 02tods
    02tods Posts: 126 Member
    I'll eat some back if I'm hungry. I'm only on 1200 and am usually under that, so absolutely!
  • anemoneprose
    anemoneprose Posts: 1,805 Member
    I've been eating roughly at maintenance calories, as calculated on a different site, as this one's way too low, I find. I even eat a bit more than *that* calculator, because I think my burn rate might be high.

    I do not log exercise/use it to subtract calories on MFP. I use a couple of other websites to estimate that, and write it down it in my food diary 'notes'. Some days, I'll work out ~200 cals' worth. I may or may not eat that back, depending on how I feel.

    When I lost my weight, I ate 200-300 under maintenance (on a different site).

    I actually think MFP's 'net' calories trick, given the inaccurate activity calculator and the way people have been interpreting BMR, might even be a little dangerous.
  • funkkygirl
    funkkygirl Posts: 6
    This is all interesting!
  • funkkygirl
    funkkygirl Posts: 6
    Yep, if you get negative, red numbers, that means you overshot your calorie goal by that amount.
    [/quote]


    Thanks for informing me. I'll try not to over eat.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    Yep, if you get negative, red numbers, that means you overshot your calorie goal by that amount.


    Thanks for informing me. I'll try not to over eat.

    Over eating your goal is not always bad, especially if you have an aggressive goal lile 2 lbs per week with only 20 lbs to lose. There are days i eat extra calories to refeed my system to repair muscle to allow myself to push harder. And just like changing your worjout routine, its good to take periodic breaks from dieting in order to throw your body off. Its one reason why many people suggest taking a week off from exercise and eating at maintenance levels for that week. I cant tell you how many people that has helped.

    The simple point, dont be afraid to add a little extra fuel to the fire. You might be surprised that you can improve your workouts. In fact, i have done this test with several people on this board. I simply dont tell them the expirement i am doing. I tell the to log their exercises for a week and eat at current levels (pushing the max amount of weights they can or run as far as they can). And then i up their calories to 20% less than tdee. Every single one of them improved their weight sets or time. Improving your exercise, by lifting more weight or run faster will then in turn burn more calories and allow you to enjoy food.

    Besides who wants to sustain 1200-1500 calories the rest of their life. I love having the ability to eat 3000+ calories on a given day knowing i wont gain weight. Wouldnt you want the ability to eat an extra 800 calories knowing if you have a bad week you wont gain weight?
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    damn straight i do. and it's been showing great results.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    Hell yes.

    (Note: every calorie calculator I've seen suggests you eat more if you are more active. MFP just adds these extra cals in after you exercise instead of estimating them up front).
  • KLynn0107
    KLynn0107 Posts: 8
    I eat most if not all of them back. I always will.
  • rezn8
    rezn8 Posts: 263 Member
    I absolutely eat back the exercise calories. If not your deficit will be too much. By eating your 1200 you are already at a deficit, if you continue down the path you won't get enough nourishment to continue to support your workouts.

    One exception is if you already setup you normal daily activity level to include those workouts. I don't because everyday is a different workout and I prefer to add them as I do them.
  • Cmarques11
    Cmarques11 Posts: 1
    One comment..remember when you put in your information and you told MFP how much weight you want to lose and in how much time and it gave you a daily calorie goal? That calorie goal is already reduced from what your body typically uses/needs. In other words, you're already running at a loss calorie-wise. MFP created a deficit for you. As a PhD candidate in nutritional science and a personal trainer, I recommend staying above 1200 calories a day at the very least, including exercise.
    Our bodies, especially for women, want to keep/put on fat. There are so many more mechanisms in place to do just that than there are to use our fat stores; so any drastic measure, like severe calorie deficit compounded with increased exercise will elicit an immediate response and force your body to do more with less = lower metabolism. Whatever you decide just be careful, pushing your body to hard with not enough calories is dangerous to your health and counter-productive to your goals.

    If you don't believe me about your calorie goal being reduced try this tool from Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598

    I wish you all the best of luck and health!
  • Eat2Live2Run
    Eat2Live2Run Posts: 137 Member
    I don't always eat all of them back, but I eat a good portion of them. I try to eat by hunger cues when deciding about exercise calories. Some days I exercise a little, some days I rest and some days I exercise for 3 hours ... so I try to make it all come out even over the week by borrowing calories from one day to the next depending on my hunger levels.

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