Why You Shouldn’t Eat Back Exercise Calories

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  • PinkHurricane88
    PinkHurricane88 Posts: 156 Member
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    Wow, I had a similar question about exercise calories and this is obviously quite a huge debate. It's good to see everyone's thoughts, I really thought the art of losing weight, becoming healthy and fit just came down to a simple science.
  • zaph0d
    zaph0d Posts: 1,172 Member
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    a) this is a blog post on someone's tumblr, not an article

    b) they are describing a tdee-based approach to calorie deficits which is a perfectly good approach (and in fact the one i follow)

    But comparing this to MFP is sort of apples and oranges. The MFP calorie target is not TDEE; it's an estimate of daily activity sans exercise; therefore when following the MFP calorie target, one SHOULD eat back the exercise calories.

    So, pick one - Eat a flat TDEE sans deficit; or Eat the MFP target + exercise calories. You don't mix and match both.

    If you go by the MFP number and don't "eat back exercise calories", then you're doing it wrong.


    Well, according to this dude (who's a registered dietician and PT), you're wrong:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/755899-registered-dietitian-in-tx-here-to-answer-questions

    Tony specifically recommends that people go by their MFP limits AND not each back their exercise calories (individual cases permitting).

    LOL. Yes, it's clear that Tony knows better how MFP works than MFP's developers and staff. :laugh:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/help/faq/3-how-does-myfitnesspal-work

    Tony is a registered dietitian. Does the MFP staff have any doctors or Dietitians on their staff other then the computer programmers that made the app for my smartphone?

    Actually you are misinterpreting Tony's post. Like most dietitians, he includes exercise in the calculation (the TDEE based approach I mention above). Here is a quote from his thread.

    You don't have to be a mathematician, dietitian, or computer programmer to have some logical reasoning skills and reading comprehension. Open your mind and get a clue.
    I don't recommend that my clients "eat back" calories from exercise because I use them in my estimations when I write their calorie prescription.

    In my opinion MFP can overestimate calories burned from exercise.

    My practical advice is that if you're able to function without eating back the extra calories, you don't feel worn down, or deprived, having a larger caloric deficit will just help you lose weight faster. If you're eating back calories and still losing weight at the rate you're happy with, then keep on eating them. If you're not losing weight, it could be a good place to start.

    Hope that helps.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
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    I find some days if I cycle to work and back (which I dont get to do every day) and then go on to do an hour of cardio at home or weight training I can end up with 1000 or so calories to "eat back". If I do this, my body simply can't process that amount of calorie increase and so it will end up as fat and not processed to heal and build.

    For this reason I tend to eat about half of my workout calories back.

    It would probably serve me better to make sure I stick to my weekly workout routines and just up my MFP dailiy calories threshold by one level - that way, instead of one day demanding 1000 calories more than the day before or after, my exercise calories would be shared across the week which is more in line with how a body heals and develops itself surely?

    Does a body need the exercise calories actually on the day you do the exercise or during the following 24 hours (shared across the day of exercise and the recovery day)? I think it is likely to be the latter as the body takes a day or so to carb back up or repair muscle mass.
  • jenlipe
    jenlipe Posts: 54 Member
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    I almost always eat back my exercise burned calories. But then again, I work out so I can have my Tuesday night family dinner, Wednesday night Old Chicago nachos, Thursday night Twin Peaks burgers and get a little crazy on the weekends (love beer and olives). Somewhere along the line of working out for necessity (to not give up the foods I love) I found out I love to work out. So very, very rarely skip a day even if it is a great eating day. Those days I tend to not eat back some of those calories.

    I keep my breakfast, snacks and lunches healthy. Just not so great in the evenings.
  • kiachu
    kiachu Posts: 409 Member
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    Here we go again...
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    I find some days if I cycle to work and back (which I dont get to do every day) and then go on to do an hour of cardio at home or weight training I can end up with 1000 or so calories to "eat back". If I do this, my body simply can't process that amount of calorie increase and so it will end up as fat and not processed to heal and build.

    For this reason I tend to eat about half of my workout calories back.

    It would probably serve me better to make sure I stick to my weekly workout routines and just up my MFP dailiy calories threshold by one level - that way, instead of one day demanding 1000 calories more than the day before or after, my exercise calories would be shared across the week which is more in line with how a body heals and develops itself surely?

    Does a body need the exercise calories actually on the day you do the exercise or during the following 24 hours (shared across the day of exercise and the recovery day)? I think it is likely to be the latter as the body takes a day or so to carb back up or repair muscle mass.

    I find that it is better to "feed the workout" rather than stick to a fixed rule like "eat back your calories". In other words, eat what you need to replenish your fuel stores so that you can maintain your workout program.

    There are different strategies that are appropriate at different stages of the journey. Someone who is 35+% body fat can sustain 1000+/day calorie deficits without any problem--if they are eating enough protein and doing resistance exercise. However, by the time that person got down to say 20%-22% BF, that strategy would likely be counterproductive.

    I think two common mistakes that people make are: rushing to the "1200 calorie" limit thinking it will speed up weight loss, or being overly concerned about "starvation mode" and so they eat back too much.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    You can lose any way you wish. Losing is not success. Keeping it off is success. The point being that bc your body is losing at 1200 (or whatever, maybe even fewer) net calories, your body MUST slow down some in order to keep you alive. What do you think will happen when (if) you get to goal? Will you say, "ah, this is awesome, I'm gonna keep eating 900 net calories forever!" OK. you can do that if you like. Let us know how that works for you.

    I'll still be happily eating my 2000-ish cals per day at 5'4 without gaining and you'll still be mystified.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    It depends on the method you choose for setting your daily calorie goal. There is no right/wrong way to do it.
  • Dawnymaries
    Dawnymaries Posts: 109
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    Oh come on...its simple math!!!

    If you ate 1200 (most people get this as a recommendation) , and burned 200 with exercise, you are only working with 1000 measly calories to get you through the day.

    1000 calories a day is not healthy...for anyone...(and don't you dig on the internet to prove me wrong with a 1%-er case!)
    This makes the most sense to me.
  • xtrout
    xtrout Posts: 193 Member
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    If I eat back my exercise calories on MFP, I gain weight. If I am lucky, I plateau. If I I don't eat back my exercise calories I lose weight. May not be true for everyone, but it is for me. Needless to say, you may have to play around with each scenario to find out what is optimum for you. Don't let anyone tell you that one way is better than the other.
  • bkwcsw
    bkwcsw Posts: 22 Member
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    If you log on to MFP website, from Home page>Goals it will show you more info. From that info I try not to increase my calorie intake to cover calories burned. For me that has been working well.
  • sarahisme18
    sarahisme18 Posts: 574 Member
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    If you go by the MFP number and don't "eat back exercise calories", then you're doing it wrong.

    And yet I still lose weight...how am I wrong?

    Oh you'll still lose weight. You're just obfuscating your calorie deficit. This may lead to stalling, poor performance, muscle loss. Or you might just lose weight faster. Roll the dice baby.

    I know this is true from experience! Do it long enough... it eventually catches up to you.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    To me it depends on what you're doing. If you've used the TDEE method to determine your calorie needs and put in the correct level of exercise for yourself then those exercise calories are already accounted for. If you use BMR then that's a survival in a coma number and you need to add to it for activity.

    If you're an professional athlete that spends huge amounts of calories daily on exercise then you'll probably need to eat those back. If you're the average person who puts in a couple hundred calories of exercise a day at most then you don't need those back if you're eating a healthy diet at your TDEE.

    Another thing that keeps getting dragged up is that if you eat 1500 and exercise 300 then you've only gotten 1200 calories. Not true, your body got 1500 calories of nutrition and it will take what you need from that first. Exercise isn't working off the vitamins, minerals, etc that you ate. It's converting the food to fuel and when the fuel runs out it turns to fat or to muscle if you aren't eating enough for that fuel.

    Most often the ones searching for exercise calories to eat back are those who least need to be doing it. People who are actually in tune with their body and nutritional needs will already have figured out what they need and not be logging walking to the corner in order to justify that extra piece of cake.
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
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    Actually you are misinterpreting Tony's post. Like most dietitians, he includes exercise in the calculation (the TDEE based approach I mention above). Here is a quote from his thread.

    You don't have to be a mathematician, dietitian, or computer programmer to have some logical reasoning skills and reading comprehension. Open your mind and get a clue.

    Yes, I know. That is why in my last post i said this topic has nothing to do with VLCD. He has also given advice to a few people that have weight loss stall to not eat back their exercise calories to get past their plateau.
  • gingerjen7
    gingerjen7 Posts: 821 Member
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    If you go by the MFP number and don't "eat back exercise calories", then you're doing it wrong.
    :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
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    please note that the author says:
    My general level of exercise is already reflected in my choice of an activity level multiplier, so if I ate back my exercise calories I would be eating them twice!
    so this author IS "eating back" her calories - she's just calculating the average number of exercise calories burned per day and adding them to her calorie goal rather than calculating the specific number burned on each separate day

    you can do this on MFP by bumping up your activity level or manually changing your calorie goal settings.

    Exactly. I've been manually setting my calorie goal using this TDEE method almost the whole time I've been here. I log my exercise but ignore the super-bonus-calories MFP gives me, because they're already averaged in over the week.

    I like this method because it's a static calorie goal so I can pre-plan more effectively and I don't have to starve myself on rest days.
  • mkzara
    mkzara Posts: 73 Member
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    I always eat back my exercise calories.i have my fitness listed as sedentary so on days I dont work out, I am only getting enough to stay alive. However on days I do work out, I am starving on that because my body just needs more to live and I did more than breathing or sitting at a desk. I know I could lose weight faster by not eating back the exercise calories, but I think 1/2lb weightloss a week is healthy and I am comfortable with that. I would rather form habits that I can sustain longer, than quick weight loss I couldn't maintain.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    It worked for me, but I didn't set my calorie limit super high.
  • SammyPacks
    SammyPacks Posts: 697 Member
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    What worked more for me was when my goal was 1200-1300 and I didn't/did eat back my calories depending how satisfied I was.

    There is a lot of 'yes' n 'no' to this argument, but in all reality, do what works best for you. Currently I don't eat back my calories. I'm not starving, and yes once in while I do have a cheat meal. But it isn't very often.
  • angiechimpanzee
    angiechimpanzee Posts: 536 Member
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    That girl already factors her exercise calories into her daily intake.. myfitnesspal doesn't.
    Obviously her calorie limit is already high because of that.

    That's like me saying my limit on MFP is 1200, and when I burn 400 I eat 1600. I just ate back my exercise cals.
    OR, I could set my MFP limit to 1600 since I know I'll burn 400 any ways, and now I'm "not eating back my exercise cals". But in fact I actually am.

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