Do you eat back your exercise calories?

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  • AmandaTWaH
    AmandaTWaH Posts: 181 Member
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    if I ate them i'd probably spend my evenings throwing up from being sick from too much food. I can't eat that much. i barely reach 1000.

    Then you should really think about adding more healthy fats and such to your diet. Your body needs energy!
  • tourettte
    tourettte Posts: 142 Member
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    we all tend to forget that we're not the same, and what works for some might not work for others...

    i believe that losing weight has a lot to do with how you got to be fat in the first place. For me it was psychological trauma and later lack of exercise, for someone else junk food due to lack of time to cook/shop, genetics, being lazy, health issues...

    No one's recipe is universally correct. We can say what works for us to give ideas to others what to try next when/if they hit a plateau, but to call someone an idiot just because you don't agree with you...cmon, we're all adults here, let's act like it.
  • jennaworksout
    jennaworksout Posts: 1,739 Member
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    I do if I'm hungry. I don't if I'm not. I don't bust my *kitten* just so I can eat more.


    ^^^ this
  • lambertj
    lambertj Posts: 675 Member
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    I eat my TDEE minus 20% so my exercise calories are already built in. I starved myself on 1200 calories a day for months even though my BMR was 1700 (professionally done at a hospital). I am stronger, healthier and weight less now than I ever did at 1200. Don't be afraid to experiment a bit.
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
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    I eat according to my TDEE-15% and then sometimes eat back above and beyond that. I put my exercise in just to keep track. I figure if I'm hungry, I am set to maintain by eating my deficit back, so if I eat half back (I do a lot), then it's okay. I'm eating 2,000-2,300 calories. I walk and run, and I strength train.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
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    Don't listen to anyone that eats under 1200 calories a day net (unless they're an unusually small 80 or 90 lb adult & look healthy). I eat every single one back, and you should too!

    ummmm... if you are short like me that is just barely below my RMR... does that make me unhealthy? 1200 is a relative number, it depends on your size.
  • Elaine_NZ
    Elaine_NZ Posts: 30
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    Most times I workout only so I can eat more! I try to keep things balanced! If Im having a big night out I try to do more exercising during the day to cater to whatever calories I will be putting back in!
  • SV17GT
    SV17GT Posts: 16 Member
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    my doctor told me to eat my normal diet calories.. That is getting you the nutriton you need. Unless you're honestly burning 2000 - 2500 calories a day dont try to eat back your calories. some are ok, but eating back all defeats the puropse. hope this helps.. Almost forgot,, water,, and when you can drink any more have another glass just for luck.
  • crazyvermont
    crazyvermont Posts: 171 Member
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    I do but certainly can't expand on what sleepytexan has posted below.......she has hit nail on the head and is right on
  • Alicia7519
    Alicia7519 Posts: 160
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    I don't eat all of my exercise calories. I probably would if I want to a dinner and wanted to have a couple of glasses of wine or a dessert. Other than that, I eat until I am satisfied but not stuffed.
  • AlyssaJoJo
    AlyssaJoJo Posts: 449 Member
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    I've yoyo dieted my whole life and just recently started using MFP and for the first time I am losing weight. This is with me eating all my calories. This is what the site is built for - for that type of diet. Many other diets, such as weight watchers, also believe in eating "extra calories" once you have worked out in the day. I have lost over 12 pounds in a month doing this and I feel mentally and physically amazing and can't imagine not eating them back. Also, instead of going online and asking people that do not know me and by what I see, a majority of them are doing anything they can do to lose weight the fast and easy way, I went and spoke with my Doctor about this since it has everything to do with my health.
  • KeegansMomma
    KeegansMomma Posts: 156
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    I try NOT to eat my exercise calories back. There are days though that I'm glad to have those exercise calories because I (insert any given excuse here: went to dinner and chose unhealthy, ate an ice cream bar, etc) and thus don't feel as bad for going over my calorie intake.

    Also, when I am dealing with that time of month, I tend to be hungrier than what my daily calories allow, thus meaning I dip into those exercise calories.
  • skdrake
    skdrake Posts: 4
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    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!
  • NurseJodies
    NurseJodies Posts: 65 Member
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    No one really talks about "feeling well." Maybe it's assumed that we are dieting and supposed to feel like crap. I listen to my body. Somedays I'm hungry and fatigued. Feeling good and getting more fit is important to me. I eat more on the days I'm lacking energy so I can maintain my workouts. I also look at the reports MFP offers. The numbers don't lie. It really is simple... burn more than you consume if you want to lose. You just have to decide how much you want to lose and how hard you are willing to work at it.
  • WestCoastPhoenix
    WestCoastPhoenix Posts: 802 Member
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    my doctor told me to eat my normal diet calories.. That is getting you the nutriton you need. Unless you're honestly burning 2000 - 2500 calories a day dont try to eat back your calories. some are ok, but eating back all defeats the puropse. hope this helps.. Almost forgot,, water,, and when you can drink any more have another glass just for luck.

    It does NOT defeat the purpose. MFP has a deficit built into your goals already. If you meet your goals with 0 as the number at the bottom, this means you actually have a 500 calorie deficit for the day if you are set to 1lb/wk or 1000 calorie deficit if you're set to 2lbs/wk....and 250 if .5lbs/wk. Having excessively large deficits WILL work against you eventually...
  • WestCoastPhoenix
    WestCoastPhoenix Posts: 802 Member
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    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.
  • DesireeLovesOrganic
    DesireeLovesOrganic Posts: 456 Member
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    I did when I did 1200 cal because 1200 cal is so low. Now I am on maintenance and it's a lot more calories so I don't usually eat them all back but I dip in a little bit. I eat a lot of fruits/veggies and they are full of fiber which makes me too full to eat back all my exercise calories. I am maintaining.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    About five years ago, I lost weight and got down to 130 pounds eating less than 1000 calories a day. But I wasn't happy with how my body looked, couldn't keep up eating that way, and eventually gained it back.

    But this time around I lost weight and got down to 130 pounds eating about twice that. I've been happily maintaining (which isn't a good choice of words, because I've been IMPROVING!) for over a year now.

    Everything I thought I knew about weight loss was wrong. I've never been so happy to be wrong!!! :happy:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/709987-how-wrong-i-was-600-days-of-mfp-lotsa-pics
  • zaph0d
    zaph0d Posts: 1,172 Member
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    Wow - don't really appreciate being called an idiot!! I am losing weight steadily & I don't eat back exercise calories - my endocrinologist, who recommended this method of weightloss, has successfully helped many of his clients to lose weight & keep it off. What are your qualifications in this field exactly?? You must be an "expert" of some kind to be freely calling other people idiots for doing what works for them!! As would be the case for everyone one here, I will continue to use whatever method gives me results...:noway:

    Your endocrinologist has probably prescibed a calorie target for you, by estimating your TDEE and takiing out a calorie deficit. Or did your endocrinologist actually tell you to go make an account on MFP, where your daily exercise is omited from the calorie target and go ahead and eat that calorie target arbitrarily? :noway:

    Spare me on the "you must be an expert expert" nonsense You don't have to be an expert or a genius to understand a very simple energy balance equation.
  • RGONZALEZ888
    RGONZALEZ888 Posts: 24
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    Thank you for that excellent link - it was very helpful in learning to respect "the range" your body uses - not an exact number.

    It was very helpful!

    Thanks for the information.:smile:

    Rafael G.

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