Do I or don't I eat back exercise calories?

Rays_Wife

I just realized my last post may have seemed mean and snarky towards Medilia. Sorry Medilia, it was just a joke aimed towards the split opinion of the MFP population regarding whether or not to eat the exercise calories. Some will say yes, some will say no. You'll get a lot of varying opinions, you just have to experiment and find what works for you. I know it's confusing at first. Personally for me, it helped to eat most of my exercise cals back. when I ate too little, my weight loss really slowed. If I ate enough to fuel my body, it was a lot easier to lose weight. Some people swear that if they "eat back" their exercise cals, they don't lose weight or even gain *shrug* So it's different for everybody.

ClairBears84

I just realized my last post may have seemed mean and snarky towards Medilia. Sorry Medilia, it was just a joke aimed towards the split opinion of the MFP population regarding whether or not to eat the exercise calories. Some will say yes, some will say no. You'll get a lot of varying opinions, you just have to experiment and find what works for you. I know it's confusing at first. Personally for me, it helped to eat most of my exercise cals back. when I ate too little, my weight loss really slowed. If I ate enough to fuel my body, it was a lot easier to lose weight. Some people swear that if they "eat back" their exercise cals, they don't lose weight or even gain *shrug* So it's different for everybody.

yes!

WinnerVictorious

If you are hungry EAT, if you are not DONT! Listen to your body, its smarter than the website.

who are you and how did you get so wise in the ways of science?

crimsoncat

Alternative point: if you don't feel like eating them back today (exercise makes me very not hungry) bank them for the weekend and go out with friends. It's a lot more to eat really well through the week and enjoy onion rings with a soda on sat. night.

chrishgt4

The fat loss comes from a calorie deficit.

So you, in the course of the day, use say 2000 calories. If you then eat 1500 per day you will be under by 500 cals per day.

So then if you work out you might use 3000 cals that day. You would then be 1500 cals under.

That is just the same as if, on a 2000 cal day, you ate 500 cals.

There is a reason why you can't just stop eating and lose weight, there's a whole body mechanics that would mess up so basically, exercise doesn't speed up your weight loss, it just keeps you healthy while you do it and, if you are lifting weights, will help preserve your lean body mass, because you are aiming for fat loss, not weight loss after all. Weight loss is indiscriminate. Fat is specifically what you are aiming to lose. Exercise can also be used as a tool for those who struggle to only eat their calorie goal and want to eat more. Do some exercise and you can eat some more.

To repeat though, it is not a tool to lose weight faster in most circumstances.

Okay I get it now XD

But then after I "Earn" these new calories MFP tells me that I haven't consumed enough if I don't eat them back.

Because it's just maths really.

At the end of the day you should have a calorie deficit of (say) 500 calories. You burn calories when exercising so if you did not eat these back then the deficit would be more than 500 calories.

So as a mathematic equation, intake - expenditure = -500
If your normal daily activity uses 2000 cals and you exercise for 500 then your expenditure would be 2500
So......... intake - 2500 = -500

For that to work your intake needs to be 2000.

Lincolnshire_Jock

Not been doing MFP that long (started last Monday), however as others have stated your weight loss goals allows MFP to work out a daily calorie requirement in order for you to lose weight. Now that I have started logging everything that goes in my gob I have noticed I am under that daily requirement more often than not.

So when it comes to exercise then that is all credit to my allowance. It is entirely at your discertion if you want to take advantage of the extra calories and eat some more. As others have said - you will know if you need to eat.

Direct example for me was yesterday - MFP is giving me 1850 cals to lose 1lb a week. My total calories consumed for the day was 1265 (dieting sucks!), however after playing football for an hour I had another 854 calories on top of my remaining 585 calories to play with. Thankfully as it was after 9PM, I decided against stopping for a kebab meat & chips from the local takeaway therfore ended up with 1439 calories in credit. The good news would have been that I could have still ate that food and been within my calory amount for the day.

What does that all mean - everyone is different. Last month I would have devoured that kebab meat and chips, however seeing as I now watch what I eat and bearing in mind the time, I witheld and my scales are happy bunnies.

So it would appear to be down to personal choice - exercise & eat back and lose weight, exercise, dont eat back and lose weight!.

WinnerVictorious

The fat loss comes from a calorie deficit.

So you, in the course of the day, use say 2000 calories. If you then eat 1500 per day you will be under by 500 cals per day.

So then if you work out you might use 3000 cals that day. You would then be 1500 cals under.

That is just the same as if, on a 2000 cal day, you ate 500 cals.

There is a reason why you can't just stop eating and lose weight, there's a whole body mechanics that would mess up so basically, exercise doesn't speed up your weight loss, it just keeps you healthy while you do it and, if you are lifting weights, will help preserve your lean body mass, because you are aiming for fat loss, not weight loss after all. Weight loss is indiscriminate. Fat is specifically what you are aiming to lose. Exercise can also be used as a tool for those who struggle to only eat their calorie goal and want to eat more. Do some exercise and you can eat some more.

To repeat though, it is not a tool to lose weight faster in most circumstances.

Okay I get it now XD

But then after I "Earn" these new calories MFP tells me that I haven't consumed enough if I don't eat them back.

think of it this way.

every day, your body does things that require calories to be burned. these are internal processes and external processes. everything from breathing to walking to your car to digesting your food. these are normal everyday calorie expenditures that we all have. the amount is dependent on the person, but in essence this is your maintenance level of calories. if you eat this many, no more and no less, in theory you will stay at the same weight forever. just to pick an example, let's say for a random person, that number is 2000.

now, if you add exercise to your daily activity, you will burn MORE calories, so you have to increase that number accordingly. if the random person is jumping around like a fool at an aerobics class for a couple of hours every day and burns an extra 500 calories as a result of this activity, then the new number for them is 2500 (i.e., 2000 + 500). they have to eat that many calories per day to maintain their weight.

if they eat fewer, they will start to burn fat (mostly) and lose weight. if they eat more, they will store the excess calories as fat and gain weight.

that's the basics.

so, if you let MFP calculate your daily calorie needs for you, and you assign yourself to do a certain amount of exercise per day in those calculations, then MFP assumes that extra calorie burden is part of the calculation and adjusts your numbers accordingly. so MFP expects you to eat back those calories.

for example, the random person who jumps around at an aerobics class in the above example who wants to lose 1lb per week will get a number from MFP of 2000 + 500 - 500 = 2000. that's the 2000 for their normal everyday calorie burn, plus the 500 they need for the exercise, minus the 500 they need to lose 1lb per week (500 x 7 = 3500 = # of calories in a lb). so MFP will tell that person to EAT 2000 calories per day. so long as that person does the exercise and limits themselves to 2000 calories per day, they will lose that 1lb per week - because they will be running a 500 calorie per day deficit.

eating back your exercise calories is simple algebra. if you don't, then you run a larger deficit. that's fine for alot of people. some people will have a problem because they will feel tired/hungry without those extra calories. however, since MFP calculations are designed to promote slow, steady weight loss, eating back the calories is assumed. you don't have to. but if you feel tired/hungry without those extra calories, then do eat them back. or some of them. your body will tell you what's best for you.

wrevhn

Some days I do, some days I don't. It seems I lose more when I don't.

This. I find I maintain more if I do, lose if I do not.

Though, if you're eating 1200 and burning 1000 I'd eat back some.

StaceyJ2008

You are not supposed to eat back your exercise calories. You will lose more if you don't. If you are going to eat back your calories, get a high calorie burn on a day you know you are going out to eat that way you can eat what you want to.

tadpole242

You are not supposed to eat back your exercise calories. You will lose more if you don't. If you are going to eat back your calories, get a high calorie burn on a day you know you are going out to eat that way you can eat what you want to.

I think you're on the wrong forum, this is the forum where you're meant to eat back your calories

JRaeZins

I usually try to eat back about half of my excercise calories. Somedays, I excercise so that I can have more calories! If I want that brownie, I work for it.

getmotivatedRachel

Hi
I have just joined today and i'm just as confused as you are.

Graceious1

I would say yes but mfp can over estimate the exercise calories. This is why i suggest eating 50% of them. If you get a hrm, then eat at least 80% of them.

I would also suggest getting a heart rate monitor because that will give you a more appropriate account of your calories burned. I started eating them back and now I have more energy, and am losing at a steady pace. All the best with things and friend me if you wish, I log every day and love sharing ideas.

MommaKit79

HRM?

This is so confusing for me lol.

Heart Rate Monitor...I dont have a montior so, I tend to eat SOME back but not usually ALL. This site over estimates the exercise calories so, I dont like to eat them all back for that reason. Once I get a HRM, I will be able to adjust accordingly.

GOOD LUCK!! YES, it is all a bit confusing but, you will soon realize what is best for your body. Some people NEED to eat back the calories while others dont...

MommaKit79

I dont as I struggle to eat my calorie allowance anyway .. but I have to say after a week or so my loss slows down .. it discourages me .. I go off the diet , .. then I restart at a later date and start the process again
from this and the above replies I would say that we should eat at least half of our excercise calories . Not sure how I am going to do that personally

Find higher calorie, but healthier foods to eat...you still wont eat at much but, you'll get your intake in.

MommaKit79

Okay I think I have it now!

Eat back 50% and don't worry about anything else XD

This way you will find what works for you and your body. you can always adjust it, up or down

YELP!!! Just make sure you give your body a couple weeks to adjust before changing anything. Whatever you do, do it for at least 3 weeks and see how it works...your body takes some time to adjust. GOOD LUCK...there is a LOT of good advice on here and I, myself, have learned a LOT but reading it!! :-)

Graceious1

The question from me to you is do you want to lose fat or weigh less?

Lisah8969

MFP already has a deficit built in to the calories they give you for the day. I personally eat back half my exercise calories b/c I do go by what MFP gives me for the burn as opposed to a more accurate heart rate monitor. I've been losing around 1.5 pounds a week.

To the OP, if my kg to lbs conversion is correct, you are trying to lose about 35 lbs. One pound a week loss should be your goal so you'll have more calories to eat to begin with and then some extra for the days you work out. Your body needs fuel...feed it.

escloflowneCHANGED

I ate all of mine back and I used a HRM, I've lost 79 lbs since January doing it like that...

Hellbent_Heidi

Some people do and some don't, and people have had success with both methods. It really depends how much you exercise and what you're eating.

Bottom line is, you need to figure out what works best for you....and make sure you're eating enough to sustain your physical activity!