Do I eat back calories when I exercise?

Tracytxray
Tracytxray Posts: 26
in Motivation and Support
Do I eat back calories on the days that I exercise? If I don't eat the cals back then I will be netting around 1100 to 1200.

Replies

  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
  • Tamefearnua
    Tamefearnua Posts: 62
    No No No
    you put them in the calorie Bank
    some people never learn
  • Tracytxray
    Tracytxray Posts: 26
    THX taso42!
  • Tracytxray
    Tracytxray Posts: 26
    @tamefearnua....thx for your input. There are so many different posts/threads on here that I get confused with what I am supposed to do. One will say yes and one will say no to eating back cals. Thx.
  • NobodyInParticular
    NobodyInParticular Posts: 352 Member
    There's no right answer. People lose weight with both.
    I eat my calories back. No biggie. I'm still losing the weight I want to lose.
  • Tamefearnua
    Tamefearnua Posts: 62
    Hi Tracyxray this Topic is like being a first time mum
    you listen to everyone (all experts)
    then do your own thing
    Have a good day
  • Tracytxray
    Tracytxray Posts: 26
    thx for everyones feedback! i appreciate it!
  • sophasaurusx
    sophasaurusx Posts: 17
    I lose weight when i workout and i dont eat back my excercise calories..

    In my opinion, whats the point in burning calories and just eating them all back again? You may aswell not excercise at all and not eat anything else but your normal daily calories :smile: .. It just seems a bit daft, burning calories = weight loss. Eat calories burnt = maintaing weigt, (some people might lose a little) your best best, is just to eat your daily calories :) . Keep a little notebook handy where you can write the days of the week, and for each day write down how many calories youve burnt by doing cardiovascular excercise, at the end of the week add them all up! And then for the following weeek, try and beat the previous calories burnt for that week :smile:

    Good luck x
  • JanaCanada
    JanaCanada Posts: 917 Member
    Hi Tracyxray this Topic is like being a first time mum
    you listen to everyone (all experts)
    then do your own thing
    Have a good day

    ^^^THIS!!!!^^^
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    I lose weight when i workout and i dont eat back my excercise calories..

    In my opinion, whats the point in burning calories and just eating them all back again? You may aswell not excercise at all and not eat anything else but your normal daily calories :smile: .. It just seems a bit daft, burning calories = weight loss. Eat calories burnt = maintaing weigt, (some people might lose a little) your best best, is just to eat your daily calories :) . Keep a little notebook handy where you can write the days of the week, and for each day write down how many calories youve burnt by doing cardiovascular excercise, at the end of the week add them all up! And then for the following weeek, try and beat the previous calories burnt for that week :smile:

    Good luck x

    You're missing the point of exercise. The point is not to burn calories
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Hi Tracyxray this Topic is like being a first time mum
    you listen to everyone (all experts)
    then do your own thing
    Have a good day

    I'd say it's more like balancing a checkbook than it is like raising a baby.
  • katevarner
    katevarner Posts: 884 Member
    I ate mine back and still lost weight, but it depends on how much you are eating. You shouldn't net less than 1200 on a regular basis unless you have LOTS to lose. I'd say with less than 40 lbs. to go (I lost 40 lbs.) that you should try netting a little more--even if you only eat some of your exercise calories back. But as everyone else has said, we all go about this differently. I found it easier to convert to maintenance this time, tho, because I wasn't starving myself. I'm eating 1960+ calories right now (net) and not gaining weight.
  • sandradev1
    sandradev1 Posts: 786 Member
    If you included your exercise when you chose which activity level best suited you then you do not need to eat the calories back as you have already calculated them.

    If you did not include your exercise when you chose which activity level best suited you then you can eat the calories back.

    Note - the exercise database on MFP is not necessarily correct and often over estimates, so best to either use HRM and log accurate calorie burn or don't eat all of calories back.

    Hope this helps.
  • Tracytxray
    Tracytxray Posts: 26
    Thx so much everyone! According to MFP calculations I should be eating about 1230 cals a day. I have been doing that for weeks....and barely lost. I would eat my cals back because MFP would tell me too. I saw a post by "DAN" (seems to be very trustworthy on this site). He suggested to go to Fat to Fit radio and use the calculations there and to take away 20% of cals and that would be my cals for the day to lose weight and if I read it right, I am NOT to eat cals back when I exersice. Here is the link - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12. I hope I understood it right!
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Thx so much everyone! According to MFP calculations I should be eating about 1230 cals a day. I have been doing that for weeks....and barely lost. I would eat my cals back because MFP would tell me too. I saw a post by "DAN" (seems to be very trustworthy on this site). He suggested to go to Fat to Fit radio and use the calculations there and to take away 20% of cals and that would be my cals for the day to lose weight and if I read it right, I am NOT to eat cals back when I exersice. Here is the link - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12. I hope I understood it right!

    Correct - either you go by the MFP #'s and eat back calories. Or you find your TDEE, take a deficit, and eat that amount, ignoring exercise (which is already factored in to TDEE).

    Dan's link and the links I posted above explain this in further detail.
  • Tracytxray
    Tracytxray Posts: 26
    Thank you taso42! You have been very helpful!!!! :-)
  • Louisianababy93
    Louisianababy93 Posts: 1,709 Member
    i'd say yes,so that you can net your calories! and actually meet your calorie goal.

    do some reserch, figure out what works for your goals.
    some people eat them,some people dont.
  • Shas2228
    Shas2228 Posts: 187
    I don't and I've lost 47 pounds since September 12th. Hope that helps.
  • MuslimFitnessInstructor
    MuslimFitnessInstructor Posts: 119
    it depends on how many calories I burn during a workout and how hungry I am.

    If i only burn 300-500 calores, i dont touch them usually. if i burn 500-1300 calories and I am starving I will eat an extra 300.

    i really judge it by what is going on and how I feel, I dont starve myself at all.

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