Extra calories from exercise? can I use them?
rachelsmum10
Posts: 5 Member
I am new to MFP and just wondered if it is OK to use the extra calories earned from exercise. Will I still lose weight? I'm just trying to be ultra careful and don't want to mess it all up on week 1! Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks 
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Replies
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The answer: Maybe.
Some people eat back all of those exercise calories, some people eat none, some eat half, etc. Different things work for different people. It also depends on how you have MFP set (sedentary, active or whatever), if you are logging exercises separately or just setting MFP for "active."
Some of the stickied topics at the top of this forum may help you. Unfortunately, all of our bodies react differently, we all burn calories differently, and there is no blanket answer.0 -
Absolutely!! MFP already sets up a calorie deficit for you based on you personal info, activity level and how many pounds per week you said you are aiming to lose. This allows you to lose weight without exercise. (As you may already know, exercise isn't really about losing weight - it's about gaining health benefits.)
When you exercise, this creates even more of a calorie deficit and too little calories can be detrimental to both your weight loss efforts and your health. Therefore you are allowed to eat these back! Yay!
One point I'd like to make though, if you are new to exercise or if you have ramped up your exercise recently, this can actually stall your weight loss a bit as your muscles are retaining water and glycogen as part of the natural healing process. Think of it like if you sprain your ankle - it hurts and the ankle swells, right? Same thing happens in your sore muscles but it not as visible because it's spread out over a larger area. So don't be discouraged if you don't lose or don't lose much the first couple of week. It will kick back in once your body adjusts to the new activity level, I promise! 0 -
I don't eat back my exercise calories. I don't see the point in burning them off, then eating them back again. That being said, I only burn around 200-300 cals in a day. Lots of people do eat them back and have had success though, this is just my way and it's worked for me 0
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It depends....
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
ETA: DOH! Sidesteel has faster fingers than me.0 -
I am new to MFP and just wondered if it is OK to use the extra calories earned from exercise. Will I still lose weight? I'm just trying to be ultra careful and don't want to mess it all up on week 1! Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
as long as your burned cals are accurate? yup. that's exactly the way the site is set up.0 -
MFP calculates your deficit BEFORE any exercise. Therefore, you put yourself into an unhealthy deficit if you don't eat those back. Eat them, and enjoy.
The only thing I caution is using MFP exercise calorie burns. Some of them are far overestimated. :-/ I have a heart rate monitor to prevent this discrepancy for a more accurate account of calories burned.0 -
It depends....
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
ETA: DOH! Sidesteel has faster fingers than me.
I think he has these links memorized...0 -
Seriously. Read it.0 -
I personally don't eat back the calories I exercise. Your goal is to burn more calories than you consume to give yourself the calorie defict to lose the weight. It has worked great for me. I am 2 pounds away from goal and currently have lost a total of 76 pounds in 7 months with this mindset.0
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MFP is designed for you to eat back your exercise calories, but I rarely do. 1. not sure how accurate the calories are without a heart rate monitor (which is on my Amazon wish list) and 2. I am not feeling deprived on 1,200 calories a day. Since I've been doing this, my weight loss went from 5lbs per month, to averaging 2lbs a week.0
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It depends....
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
ETA: DOH! Sidesteel has faster fingers than me.
I think he has these links memorized...
Memorized???? He WROTE it....
LOL0 -
It's wizardy. WIZARDY, I SAY!It depends....
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
ETA: DOH! Sidesteel has faster fingers than me.
I think he has these links memorized...
Memorized???? He WROTE it....
LOL0 -
Didn't taso start a site? shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com. Something like that...0
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Honestly so many people say you should, so many people don't. I don't know what to do either so I (not saying I'm right, this is just my preference) set my cal target a little lower and then eat back my exercise cals. So on an average day I might eat 1500 cals and net 1300 for example.
So I am not netting too low and I'm not restricting myself so much that I binge.
Ultimately you've gotta just play around and see what works for YOU. we are all different.
Good luck! And welcome 0 -
It's wizardy. WIZARDY, I SAY!It depends....
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
ETA: DOH! Sidesteel has faster fingers than me.
I think he has these links memorized...
Memorized???? He WROTE it....
LOL
I love me some good wizardry.....
it's the wand usage you know...0 -
I read it, it was helpful! I just started with MFP 3 days ago, having gained some holiday weight and then some due to life changes. Now that I'm at a period with actual TIME to exercise, I was happy to find this app.
I've tried many diets before, and been successful, but never kept it off or kept in shape. Having this app track me is really helpful. I have been aware in the past that if I don't eat enough while really trying to work out to lose, I feel tired, woozy and generally unwell, as well as it taking longer to recover. I have a touch of low blood sugar too, and experimenting with that has taught me I DO need carbs, I DO need protein, and mostly that I don't have to enforce denial of food on myself.
This app really helps me see clearly how WHAT I am eating effects me, calorie and otherwise, and helps me find more nutritious foods to eat during the course of the day, while still maintaining an overall caloric deficit. Knowing, even if its approximate, what I'm burning in exercise and that it allows me to actually EAT to recover and simply function is just making my life that much better.
And when I can have those foods that I typically deny myself, even if its just a bit, (lite beer, reeses miniature, spinach and artichoke dip, things I CRAVE), and know I didn't just totally blow my diet (may have slowed it but didn't blow it), helps keep my motivated to continue, to exercise more perhaps so I can allow those things I love, AND still lose weight.
I can use those extra calories when I want to, or not if I don't want to or NEED to (in the case of chocolate when in a mood, or the lite beer when my bursitis flares up, its really the only thing that works). :-)0 -
Thank you to all of you for your great help and explanations. I have decided I am going to eat back half my calories burned from exercise. I am also rather going to use Endomodo to work out calories burned as I feel MFP does rather overstate the amount of calories burned (why is this do you think?).0
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