Question about Eating Your Exercise Calories!

Eyeliner
Eyeliner Posts: 6
in Food and Nutrition
So I am fairly new to MFP, and this is my first forum post! Woooo! Go me!

Hi Everyone :)

anyway....


Can anyone fill me in on the exercise calories and why we can eat them back? It just doesn't make sense to me, lol. What's the point of eating back all the calories we just burnt off?? How does it cause you to lose weight?


Thanks! :)

Replies

  • jacquelyn220
    jacquelyn220 Posts: 1
    Your calorie goal for the day accounts for weight loss only based on food consumption- exercise calories burned are just added bonus calories burned. If you eat them back, you are still meeting your weight loss calorie goal for the day... But not eating them back is best for max weight loss!
  • tbolashana
    tbolashana Posts: 2,707 Member
    I eat some of mine back. I just make sure my NET stays above BMR. if you are not sure what that means you can you to the EAT MORE TO WEIGH LESS group.
  • caitlyn30
    caitlyn30 Posts: 207 Member
    I do not eat mine back - but if i go over..they are there.
  • DrJanet98
    DrJanet98 Posts: 138 Member
    Can anyone fill me in on the exercise calories and why we can eat them back? It just doesn't make sense to me, lol. What's the point of eating back all the calories we just burnt off?? How does it cause you to lose weight?
    The calorie goal that MFP sets for you is based on your typical day *without* any extra exercise. Losing weight at a pound or two a week is much more sustainable than trying to crash-diet or crash-exercise a whole bunch off very quickly. You're much more likely to be able to *keep* the pounds off if you've lost them slowly and your system has had time to adjust.

    When you exercise, you burn more calories. If you don't eat them back, then your weight loss would be faster in theory, yes, but your body feels like you're starving and your metabolism will change to hold on to every pound as hard as it can. Studies have shown that the metabolic rate can double or cut in half in response to diet and activity level. If you eat enough extra calories to make up for the extra that you've burned, and come back to a calorie deficit that will have you losing a pound or two a week, then your metabolism stays on an even keel and you can continue to lose.

    You can lose weight with a huge calorie deficit, fighting uphill against a slower metabolism and going cold turkey on all your bad habits, or you can lose weight with a much smaller calorie deficit but do so relatively easily, making gradual changes for the better. I know which I'd prefer!

    Check out the book "Rethinking Thin" by Gina Kolata for an overview of pretty much *all* the actual research that's been done into weight loss and diet in the last hundred years plus. Forget conventional wisdom, look at what people have found when they actually *test* what works and what doesn't! :-)
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    Eat them back. The system works. You don't need to create a double deficit to lose. You could potentially be hindering your progress by not eating enough that way.
  • Eyeliner
    Eyeliner Posts: 6
    Thanks everyone! I felt kind of silly after posting this last night, because immediately after found another post explaining why to eat the exercise calories. Oops! :-X But your responses were definitely much more easy to understand, lol

    Makes sense! :)

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