feel stupid..but why eat your workout calories?

Allfor3

I thought the whole point of working out was to lose weight? so why do you eat those calories back?

hen1946

I feel the same way. I do not eat them back

quirkytizzy

MFP automatically figures your calorie deficit in before you exercise, I think. So, add a few hundred calories lost due to exercise on top of that and you could be sitting at an unhealthy deficit for long-term weight loss.

KelseyPalmtree

Well, there are a couple different opinions I've heard on this subject.

1. Eat back PART of your exercise calories - still gives you a bit higher of a deficit, but doesn't cross over into "not eating enough" territory.

2. MFP has calculated how many calories you need to eat to lose weight. Let's say it gives you a goal of 1370 each day, which will average out to ~2 lbs a week of weight loss. If you have a big calorie burn (let's say 500 cals), and you only eat the 1370, you're body is actually only getting about 870 calories worth. It's not enough for your body, and it starts trying to hold on to whatever calories it can, storing them as fat.

There are tons of opinions on this. Some people say do, some say don't. I usually try to eat back at least half my exercise calories (or more, depending on how big a burn I have, and how hungry I feel). I would suggest just trying a couple ways, and see what works for you.

justkeepswimng

Because working out builds muscle which helps you burn fat faster and keeps your metabolism up. You don't exercise just to burn calories. You need those calories so that your body doesn't go into starvation mode. Then you won't have any energy to workout and you will want to binge. Eat back your calories, you will still lose weight.

dittmarml

The whole point of working out is to become fit.

One way to look at it is that MFP "rewards" working out by showing you how many extra calories you can eat.

More to the point, however, MFP sets you at a calorie deficit to begin with, meaning it sets your daily intake calorie goal lower than the number of calories you're burning daily. When you work out and keep your calories the same (in other words, you don't increase intake) you have more of a deficit. When you eat back your exercise calories (but not more) you are still at a deficit (the one you started with). The point of eating back calories is to make certain you fuel your body so you can exercise more and continue to lose weight without becoming fatigued, crabby, stalling your weight loss or your exercise, etc.

It doesn't hurt anything if you don't eat back all your calories. Some people don't. Some people have to or they stall, feel fatigued, etc. Most people eat back some. Up to you.

The key is to make sure you maintain caloric intake sufficient to increase exercise over time (become more fit), build more muscle mass (means you can eat more, by the way), but still eat at a deficit so you lose weight.

The rest is pretty much up to you.

thistimeismytime

because eating is really, really fun?? :drinker:

....and because you can eat them, not feel deprived, and STILL lose weight in a sustainable way. :flowerforyou:

AEFidgets

It all depends on how you set up your profie. If you put that you were sedentary then you should eat back your exercise calories because the system thinks your spending your day on your butt. If you put that you were active every day then I wouldn't eat them all back, just if you were really hungry that day. Personally I set it to sedentary and then that motivates me to earn more calories that I can eat. I don't eat them all back but about half of them makes me happy.

slkehl

Your body needs a certain number of calories a day for optimal functioning. If you don't eat enough, you're not only likely to feel weak and irritable, but your body will start metabolizing your muscle for energy. You don't want to lose lean muscle mass-it's more metabolically active than fat and is therefore helpful in weight loss.

Keep in mind that MFP already gives you a good deficit built in for weight loss, so you'll still lose at a healthy rate, even when eating back exercise calories. Provided that you're actually estimating your caloric intake and activity level correctly.

WendyTerry420

I thought the whole point of working out was to lose weight? so why do you eat those calories back?

I completely disagree. To lose weight, you eat less food. To change your body composition, you exercise and make sure you eat mostly healthy foods.

Now, if you eat a LOT less food than you need *and* you exercise a lot, then you will create an energy deficit in your body that is too high. MFP sets your calorie goal without including exercise, so if you stick to the calorie goal, then you already have an energy deficit, so additional exercise just increases the deficit. And if it's too big of a deficit, over time your body will suffer from the stress and actually hinder your weight loss goals. (hormone production/metabolism, etc.)

Mokey41

Because working out builds muscle which helps you burn fat faster and keeps your metabolism up. You don't exercise just to burn calories. You need those calories so that your body doesn't go into starvation mode. Then you won't have any energy to workout and you will want to binge. Eat back your calories, you will still lose weight.

Working out doesn't build muscle if you're eating at a calorie deficit and your metabolism is a genetic thing not something you can reset by increasing or decreasing your workouts or food. Starvation mode is a term thrown around with no understanding. You'd need to be eating at less than 400 calories a day for many months to even come close to the scientific definition of starvation mode.

Eating calories from exercise back isn't necessary unless you're a professional athlete putting in hard effort for long hours each day or you've set your budget way too low. Most people don't require the extra fuel to get their 30 minutes a day in.

maqsmj

when you calculate your calouries and u oputed in there 3 times a week it is calculated in your calorie intake , then u do not eat them back

ashenor

Good to know, i am currently on my 3rd week of diet and doing Insanity. I have lost 14 lbs so far and have ate between 1200-1400 calories daily. That is before my workout calories burned, i got a new heart monitor and i am burning around 570 calories per workout, so my net calories for the days ends up around 850-900. The MFP says around 1750 calories. But i am still losing weight, gaining strength and not hungry since i eat small throughout the day. Most people say i should eat more, but i would like to finish my 2 months of Insanity at this same pace and hopefully be down to 180, starting at 211. I am at 197 now after week 2, i am 5'8" Male and 38 years olf.

Thanks

Prefessa

I may be the minority here...but my advice is to not eat exercise calories back until you have a 100% understanding of energy balance.

Many folks here undersestimate calories in and overestimate calories out. When you do that....you get stuck...then if you "Eat your Exercise Calories Back"...you gain weight.

Its called Measurment Systems Analysis....how accurate and precise are your calories in and calories out?? Thats why on "The Biggest Looser" everyone wears a Body Bugg on there arm...they don't estimate calories out...they MEASURE it.

For instance...In summer I bike to work....at my current body weight and pace(14.5 MPH) it estimates my calorie burn at 1800 cals/day. Measured Calorie Burn usingt a heart rate monitor is closer to 800 cals/day. HUGE ERROR

Same witn calories out....unless yoiur eating boring/simple foods...its very difficult to get the calorie count for complex recipies. So if you are say making turkey meatloaf...well unless you sit down and do the math...you may not get realistic numbers from using"Turkey Meatloaf, Generic" listed on this site.

Folks that want to be very lean will generally practice what I call Front Loading...rather than eating something and logging it in...they will create menu's that stay within there daily calorie and macronutrient balance, then they will eat those meals/menus.

Once you determine that your measurement system is sound...then eating exercise calories has merit.

Amberonamission

I do not eat back my workout calories at all. And I don't buy into starvation mode.

DawnieB1977

MFP thinks I should eat 1510 calories a day, so I aim for that, and I never eat back my exercise calories. On a rare occasion I have eaten about 100 of my exercise calories. I've been on MFP for 140 days, but I've been doing this for 16 months and it's working for me.

My personal trainer tells me to aim for 1500 calories too, and he doesn't recommend eating back exercise calories.

LorinaLynn

MFP gives you a lower calorie goal than another site would, then adds to that base the more active you are. Surely everyone understands that someone who runs 10 miles a day is going to require more calories than someone who walks 1 mile three times a week? But MFP doesn't count exercise you say you're going to do, it only counts it when you do it and log it. So eat them.

If I tell MFP I want to lose one pound a week, I would get a base calorie goal of about 1300 calories. With exercise, I'd earn between 200-600 calories more per day. Let's go for an average of 400. That would make my calorie goal 1700.

If I use another site to calculate my calorie goal, I'd find out that my TDEE (total daily energy expenditure - average amount of calories I burn in a day) is about 2300. If I wanted to lose one pound a week, I'd take 500 calories off that, and get 1800 calories. Pretty darn close to what MFP calculates for me.

If I ONLY ate the 1300 MFP suggests I eat, and continued to exercise the way I do, I wouldn't have a 500 calorie deficit, I'd have about a 1000 calorie deficit. In theory, that would mean I could lose 2 pounds a week instead of one, but in real life, that just means I'd feel like crap, lose too much lean mass, get burned out, binge and quit.

GypsysBloodRose26

MFP puts you at a deficit. So by eating back your exercise calories, you are still going to lose weight at a steady rate, AND you will be able to eat more. There is nothing wrong with that, and everything that is good.

wellbert

Greater recovery and ability to build fitness/strength.

But for straight up weight loss? I don't eat them.

gingerjen7

Because some people are successful that way and they like it. I am equally successful either way and I don't enjoy eating them back, so I don't do it.

SofaKingRad_

when you calculate your calouries and u oputed in there 3 times a week it is calculated in your calorie intake , then u do not eat them back

Okay.

timmymon

So your body has energy to live

hiker359

The whole point of working out is to burn calories, but not at the expense of what your body needs to continue to function well, which requires calories. As long as you're still in an overall deficit, weight will be lost.

BritneysStuntDouble

when you calculate your calouries and u oputed in there 3 times a week it is calculated in your calorie intake , then u do not eat them back

Hang on, guys, I got this. Just give me a minute.

skylark94

because eating is really, really fun?? :drinker:

....and because you can eat them, not feel deprived, and STILL lose weight in a sustainable way. :flowerforyou:

Absolutely this! I'm eating 1800 calories a day and still losing body fat. I like food!

sarah44254

The whole point of working out is to become fit.

umachanxo

Not everyone will eat them back, and not everyone won't. The best thing to do is to find what works right for YOU. I eat mine back, and I'm half the size that I used to be.

haroon_awan

Eating too little = muscle loss.

More muscle = increased metabolism.

Increased metabolism = more calories burned.

More calories burned = lean muscle tissue.

Therefore:

Eat more (and eat healthy).

Sarauk2sf

when you calculate your calouries and u oputed in there 3 times a week it is calculated in your calorie intake , then u do not eat them back

It actually is not included. Only your non-exercise activity level is baked in.

bpotts44

I typically don't eat back the first 500. However, I would experiment with what works best for you.

Contrarian

The way this site is designed, you are supposed to eat your exercise calories. Creating a larger deficit isn`t necessarily a good thing. Stick to the program. You will lose weight and are less likely to hit a plateau.