Eating "Exercise" Calories?! Advice Please =]

Rodderick89

Hello MFPals!

** My question: If I burn e.g 500 calories at the gym, should I leave these out of my daily calorie allowance as "extra" or should I eat those extra 500 calories?!! **


Some background:

I am 5 ft 10, currently 188lb, goal of 164lbs.. popped that into the Fat2Fit BMR calculator (http://www.fat2fitradio.com/tools/bmr/)
and was told that my BMRs were as follows:

Sedentary - 1907
Lightly Active - 2185
Moderately Active - 2463
Very Active - 2741

Now - I would class myself as lightly active - I have a job whereby I am on my feet walking about for 75+% of my work day.

However, this week I have been to the gym 3 times, burning 500-650 calories each time.

So - 2185 is my "maintance" amount, and I want to lose weight - so I've cut down my calorie intake to 1700 calories a day, firstly, is this enough?

Secondly - If I take into account my exercise calories, if I do not eat them, technically I am eating 1700 a day but burning (2185 + 500 = 2685) so I will have about a 900 calorie a day defecit.. is that ok?

I'm so confused!

Any advice welcomed, thanks

steare31

Hi,

It doesn't have to be confusing

In simple terms, as long as you burn more calories than what you eat, you will naturally lose weight. I always wondered about the should I or shouldn't I eat the additional calories burned, and decided against it..... I generally eat an average of 2000 calories a day, and burn roughly around 500, and I am losing around a 1lb a week, it's always help to keep plenty of protein in your diet so you don't waste muscle tissue, and keep your metabolism as high as possible.

Hope this helps

Stephen

rizzaG

Hello Sabrinakelly8,

I agree with Stephen. Losing weight is not as complicated as what people think, I never reach a plateau and I stick with what works for me. I workout 6 times a week and burn about 500+ to 800+ combined Insanity+outdoor run some days. I try to eat at least 1500cal since I have a rigorous workout I try my best to up my calorie intake and protein of course. I have a calorie deficit of roughly 400/day that was before when i was just trying to lose weight now my goal is to maintain. I'm 5'6 1/2 120lbs.

It does sound like majority of your workout is cardio, it would be best to incorporate some strength and resistance training to your regimen. This will significantly help you burn more calories when you train.

Ultimately, remember that one pound is 3,500 calories. Many times people don’t realize that their active metabolic rate isn’t that high above the calories they are consuming. For example: if your body is burning 1,400 calories a day without fitness, then you add the elliptical in and every other day your total calorie burn is 1,600, this would mean that over the course of the month you have a calorie deficit of roughly 5,000 calories (based on your 1,200 to 1,300 calorie per day intake). That’s only about 1.5 pounds. This is why accuracy with calorie counting is critical as well and intensity during training is the key to seeing the results you are looking for. Those two factors, when mastered will deliver the results you are looking for.

Rodderick89

Thank you for both replying!

I actually have a session with a Personal Trainer next week so will ask him how I can incorporate strength training into my workout as I don't have a clue where to begin!

So would you recommend eating back the calories I burn off at the gym? E.g - today I have an 'allowance' of 1700 cals, after burning off 500ish at the gym, I'd technically have 2200 to eat... should I eat the 2200, just my 1700 or meet in the middle? This is where I seem to have made mistakes before and ended up getting stuck on a plateau for ages!

Cheers guys

IronSmasher

Thank you for both replying!

I actually have a session with a Personal Trainer next week so will ask him how I can incorporate strength training into my workout as I don't have a clue where to begin!

So would you recommend eating back the calories I burn off at the gym? E.g - today I have an 'allowance' of 1700 cals, after burning off 500ish at the gym, I'd technically have 2200 to eat... should I eat the 2200, just my 1700 or meet in the middle? This is where I seem to have made mistakes before and ended up getting stuck on a plateau for ages!

Cheers guys

It's unclear WTH you are doing.

With MFP, you don't account for exercise calories in your daily goal, so they are added as you log them
With F2F, exercise calories are already included, so you don't log them at all.

Rodderick89

Sorry if my post was confusing.

Basically, using F2F I was given the "lightly active" BMR of 2185... I understand that to mean that I could technically eat 2185 calories a day and stay my current weight, neither gaining nor losing. I chose lightly active as I do not work out every day but my job means I am on my feet for most of each shift, walking/running around.

As I want to lose weight, it was suggested elsewhere to start by reducing my calorie intake by 20%, i.e eating 1748 (1700 ish) calories a day.

However, as an example - yesterday at the gym I "burned" 660+ calories (I round down) on the cross-trainer, treadmill and bikes. Technically that means yesterday my body burned off 2185 (BMR) plus 660 from the gym = 2845. As I want at least a 500 calorie defecit a day, (2845-500) technically can I then eat 2345 calories and still be losing weight in the long run?

Should I just stick to eating 1700 calories a day, even if I was to burn off 1000 calories in a day in exercise (e.g a run and later gym?)

I'm sorry this is so long and waffly, just want to make sure I lose weight the healthy way and don't under or over do it!

Thanks

lawtechie

Your calorie count to maintain is 2185. Your food eating is 400 calories under that -- about 0.8 lbs/week with eating alone. When you exercise that's an extra burn using up those 1700ish calories. So if you burn 500 and don't eat it back, you're fueling your body with 1200ish calories for the day. Is that enough? Probably not in the long run, so you eat most if not all the exercise calories to keep your NET calories (in-out) around the 1700ish goal.

Make sense?

Sorry if my post was confusing.

Basically, using F2F I was given the "lightly active" BMR of 2185... I understand that to mean that I could technically eat 2185 calories a day and stay my current weight, neither gaining nor losing. I chose lightly active as I do not work out every day but my job means I am on my feet for most of each shift, walking/running around.

As I want to lose weight, it was suggested elsewhere to start by reducing my calorie intake by 20%, i.e eating 1748 (1700 ish) calories a day.

However, as an example - yesterday at the gym I "burned" 660+ calories (I round down) on the cross-trainer, treadmill and bikes. Technically that means yesterday my body burned off 2185 (BMR) plus 660 from the gym = 2845. As I want at least a 500 calorie defecit a day, (2845-500) technically can I then eat 2345 calories and still be losing weight in the long run?

Should I just stick to eating 1700 calories a day, even if I was to burn off 1000 calories in a day in exercise (e.g a run and later gym?)

I'm sorry this is so long and waffly, just want to make sure I lose weight the healthy way and don't under or over do it!

Thanks

Rodderick89

Thanks for your reply

That does make sense - will aim for net calories to be 1500-1700 a day, thank you

foleyshirley

Sorry if my post was confusing.

Basically, using F2F I was given the "lightly active" BMR of 2185... I understand that to mean that I could technically eat 2185 calories a day and stay my current weight, neither gaining nor losing. I chose lightly active as I do not work out every day but my job means I am on my feet for most of each shift, walking/running around.

As I want to lose weight, it was suggested elsewhere to start by reducing my calorie intake by 20%, i.e eating 1748 (1700 ish) calories a day.

However, as an example - yesterday at the gym I "burned" 660+ calories (I round down) on the cross-trainer, treadmill and bikes. Technically that means yesterday my body burned off 2185 (BMR) plus 660 from the gym = 2845. As I want at least a 500 calorie defecit a day, (2845-500) technically can I then eat 2345 calories and still be losing weight in the long run?

Should I just stick to eating 1700 calories a day, even if I was to burn off 1000 calories in a day in exercise (e.g a run and later gym?)

I'm sorry this is so long and waffly, just want to make sure I lose weight the healthy way and don't under or over do it!

Thanks

If you use Fat2fit, you do not eat back your calories. That being said, make sure you pick the right activity level. If you continue working out the way you are, you may be moderately active or active. Try 1700 for a few weeks. If your weight loss is too fast, up your calories and re-evaluate.

wheels5894

So I have more or less the same question but I am not trying to lose weight any more but stay the same. I am 6' 4" male, sedentary (wheelchair) and currently weight in at 159.6lbs. I was trying to stay at 163lbs but even eating too much over Xmas, New Year etc. didn't help - I still lost a little.

Now I don't do much exercise though I am out pushing my wheelchair shopping most days and probably get towards 200Kcals a day for it. Should I eat those Kcals to stay the same weight? I can't afford to lose much more or I will be just a skeleton!

fluffypetal

Hiya,

Now I can't teach anyone how to suck eggs as I have not been doing this very long so it's all new to me and I am not a professional BUT when I first tried this last year, I was eating my exercise calories and my weight remained the same. Took me a while to notice this mind and when I did realise I wasn't losing virtually any weight, I did get a little upset and frustrated with myself. So, starting it again last week, I decided I was going to try and NOT eat back my exercise calories.

Annie xxx

Sujit8383

in short : u can eat back ur exercise cals which u hv logged.........period..........