eating back exercise cals: yay or nay?

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  • dukes418
    dukes418 Posts: 207 Member
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    Makes no sense.

    You should be tracking your intake regardless.

    The question is HOW many calories are you consuming in the first place. If you're eating 1200 calories a day, doing Zumba x5 a week, and running 2 miles in the morning. You would be well advised to "Eat your calories back".

    The my fitness way of displaying calorie burn leads to confusion. What determine calorie intake on a guess of their activity rate. The only way for true calorie intake to be dialed in, is through trial and error, and note taking.

    That being said, to the OP. If you're consuming a reasonable amount of calories 1600-2000, I would eat them back. If you're in the 1200 calories range well....

    Sounds like someone with legit experience and real knowledge. Preach bruh!
  • TazzytheMotivator
    TazzytheMotivator Posts: 646 Member
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    Nay ,and i never have
  • vmekash
    vmekash Posts: 422 Member
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    Yay. Nearly always, and usually all of them.
  • darleyschroeder
    darleyschroeder Posts: 322
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    It probly depends on how much exercise you are doing and what your daily calorie goal is.
    I am at 1,200 and you better believe I eat back most or all of what I burn off. By the time I am done with a long workout I start to feel nauseated and light headed, simply because I need more food to sustain. I feel sick when I try to not eat them back.
    BUT if I was eating at 1,400 calories or more then I likely would not eat any of them back or maybe 1/3 of them back simply because I would be eating more food normally. I used to eat 1,550 and not eat back what I burned. It's just too hard to do that on 1,200. For me anyways.
  • ShawnaCurley
    ShawnaCurley Posts: 82 Member
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    I never do! To me if you do it just seems like your excersizing to eat. lol
  • ElizaRoche
    ElizaRoche Posts: 2,005 Member
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    for me? .. nay

    but to each their own
  • taeliesyn
    taeliesyn Posts: 1,116 Member
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    If you have your MFP profile set up correctly (Right activity level etc) and a realistic loss set for your target, then definitely eat those cals back. Be careful about using the MFP Calorie count though for exercise.
    MFP has the deficit built in already, so you don't need to go overboard.

    Plenty of success in both camps. I eat back most of mine, some days I won't eat them all back and use the extra as a 'buffer' for a day where I blow my diet out, over all it averages out I would eat 75%+ of my exercise cals
  • tommygirl15
    tommygirl15 Posts: 1,012 Member
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    I only eat them if I'm hungry, and even then I don't eat them all. Don't force yourself to eat if you're not hungry.
  • mercymarque
    mercymarque Posts: 450
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    I don't eat any back.... I go to the gym after I have eaten for the day. I usually go around 8 pm after putting my youngest child to bed. On a day like today I won't go until after 10 pm because of work. You should do what works best for you. I would make sure I ate all my calories or close to it as possbile without going to far over. Or eat if I was hungry. I usually have some water before, during and after the gym so I'm pretty full from water.
  • gingerjen7
    gingerjen7 Posts: 821 Member
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    If you have your MFP profile set up correctly (Right activity level etc) and a realistic loss set for your target, then definitely eat those cals back.
    That's a little misleading, though. If you set your activity level correctly to account for exercise, you shouldn't eat those calories back because they've already been accounted for. Logging your exercise would just be for recording purposes and shouldn't factor in.
  • Violetta86
    Violetta86 Posts: 150 Member
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    Depends on the day - sometimes I eat them all back and sometimes just about half. I try to focus on the overall weekly averages and charts to judge how well I am doing. However, I think that if I didn't eat the calories back then the scale would move faster, but I like food too much! I don't want to be on a diet - I just want to be healthier all around. I think you need to learn to read your own body. Everyone is different. Good luck with figuring out what works for you!
  • know_your_worth
    know_your_worth Posts: 481 Member
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    Just depends. If I'm hungry I will. If not, I will not.
  • NoahandPresleysMom
    NoahandPresleysMom Posts: 763 Member
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    If you have your MFP profile set up correctly (Right activity level etc) and a realistic loss set for your target, then definitely eat those cals back.
    That's a little misleading, though. If you set your activity level correctly to account for exercise, you shouldn't eat those calories back because they've already been accounted for. Logging your exercise would just be for recording purposes and shouldn't factor in.

    exactly. every professional i talk to says not to eat back calories. The goal is to burn more then u take in. Why would you return them to your body. It makes no sense....
  • CINDYRN33
    CINDYRN33 Posts: 148 Member
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    yes I eat mine back at least 50%, I do use a HR monitor that counts calories burned so that I know I am eating back an accurate number of calories. The mfp questions when you sign up does not ask about exercise it asks what you do for a job. It does not take into account exercise so my understanding is that you can eat them back if you want or create more of a deficit by not eating them back. Personally, I want this to be a long term commitment so I dont want to be overly strict and find over time that for me it is not sustainable. I like the idea that today I went for a bike ride so if tonight i want an extra snack that I have that cushion and I can eat it without feeling like I "cheated" I do realize every person is different and that this debate can go on forever. The fact of the matter is what works for me may not work for the next person.
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
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    If you have your MFP profile set up correctly (Right activity level etc) and a realistic loss set for your target, then definitely eat those cals back.
    That's a little misleading, though. If you set your activity level correctly to account for exercise, you shouldn't eat those calories back because they've already been accounted for. Logging your exercise would just be for recording purposes and shouldn't factor in.

    exactly. every professional i talk to says not to eat back calories. The goal is to burn more then u take in. Why would you return them to your body. It makes no sense....

    I bet every professional you've spoken to doesn't know how the MFP system works either.
  • kenazfehu
    kenazfehu Posts: 1,188 Member
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    My calorie budget for my sedentary life (office job) is really small, so part of the reason I exercise is to get some extra calories. I try to eat only part of them back, though. I want a little margin for error in calculations.
  • 4Phoenix
    4Phoenix Posts: 236 Member
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    Nope.....I am here for weight loss. Now if I am having a day where I want to consume anything that moves.....yup, I'd do it. I'm in this for the long term lifestyle change. I think it is important to be flexible....less stress, more success.
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
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    If you have your MFP profile set up correctly (Right activity level etc) and a realistic loss set for your target, then definitely eat those cals back.
    That's a little misleading, though. If you set your activity level correctly to account for exercise, you shouldn't eat those calories back because they've already been accounted for. Logging your exercise would just be for recording purposes and shouldn't factor in.

    exactly. every professional i talk to says not to eat back calories. The goal is to burn more then u take in. Why would you return them to your body. It makes no sense....

    I bet every professional you've spoken to doesn't know how the MFP system works either.

    Exactly, that's the point. It's not misleading, it's just the way MFP is designed. Activity level on MFP is just daily activity level (job/lifestyle), it doesn't take exercise into account. Pretty much every other calorie calculator does, hence the confusion.
  • darleyschroeder
    darleyschroeder Posts: 322
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    If you have your MFP profile set up correctly (Right activity level etc) and a realistic loss set for your target, then definitely eat those cals back.
    That's a little misleading, though. If you set your activity level correctly to account for exercise, you shouldn't eat those calories back because they've already been accounted for. Logging your exercise would just be for recording purposes and shouldn't factor in.

    This is why I set my level at sedentary and MFP gives me 1,200 to eat daily. This way I can not overestimate what I am doing daily. I log when I workout and enjoy the extra food.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
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    I never did for weight loss and I'm real careful about it now even in maintenance. I ignore what the calorie burns say and if I'm hungry I eat a little more and go by how I feel.

    I got fat even though I ran marathon after marathon, year after year, thinking it would finally burn off the fat. Nope. It didn't seem like I ate too much, I didn't pig out, binge, emotionally eat, or sit in front of the TV eating. I was super active and I still got fat, so I'm careful about exercise calories and will be until the end of my days.

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