Eat back what you burn or not??

Mcgrawhaha

I never eat back my exercise calories. Ever.

I drink them. Usually bear. Wine sometimes. When I'm out of beer and wine, Scotch will do.

Works for me, but wouldn't work for everyone I'm sure.

Isn't it a little dangerous to try and drink a bear, and therefore against forum guidelines by suggesting a harmful or destructive diet?

3. No Promotion of Unsafe Weight-Loss Techniques or Eating Disorders

a) Posts intended to promote potentially unsafe or controversial weight loss products or procedures, including non-medically prescribed supplements or MLM products will be removed without warning.
b) Profiles, groups, messages, posts, or wall comments that encourage anorexia, bulimia, or very low calorie diets of any kind will be removed, and may be grounds for account deletion. This includes positive references to ana/mia, purging, or self-starving. Our goal is to provide users with the tools to achieve their weight management goals at a steady, sustainable rate. Use of the site to promote or glamorize dangerously low levels of eating is not permitted.
c) Photos intended to glamorize extreme thinness will be deleted.
d) Those seeking support in their recovery from eating disorders are welcome at MyFitnessPal.

choosing to drink beer instead of eat a cupcake is not bad. thats wierd that you think that because someone uses thier extra cals for beer, that they are promoting unsafe diet practices. rubbish!

MoreBean13

i do not eat back my calories. and, if you do, you need to make sure you have an accurate hrm to ensure that you are not eating back more cals than you burned. alot of equipment will give you numbers that are too high, even mfp gives numbers that are way too high! mfp says i burn almost 600 cals when in reality i only burned 300... as i said, i do not eat back my excercise calories, and instead, i give myself 2 days a month where i can have what i want and go "a little crazy" with my family... these are the days where ill plan outings and such, cause i know i can eat whatever and not worry about it. so far, its great! good luck to you, and whatever you decide, just remember that it has to work for you, not us! eaveryones body is different!

I disagree with this about the HRM. The OP has a built in deficit of 500 calories, which means that for her to NOT lose any weight, her calorie estimate would have to be off by more than 500 calories. I suppose that's possible if she was logging 1500 calorie workouts, but it's EXTREMELY unlikely to offset that within a normal 30-60 minute workout. Your weight loss will tell you whether your numbers are right or not- the HRM is just a more expensive estimation method- it's not infallible. I have one and don't wear it, and have lost my weight 98% without it and with eating my calories back. If a person wants to use one that's fine, but it is certainly not a requirement to lose weight while eating your calories back.

MoreBean13

I never eat back my exercise calories. Ever.

I drink them. Usually bear. Wine sometimes. When I'm out of beer and wine, Scotch will do.

Works for me, but wouldn't work for everyone I'm sure.

Isn't it a little dangerous to try and drink a bear, and therefore against forum guidelines by suggesting a harmful or destructive diet?

3. No Promotion of Unsafe Weight-Loss Techniques or Eating Disorders

a) Posts intended to promote potentially unsafe or controversial weight loss products or procedures, including non-medically prescribed supplements or MLM products will be removed without warning.
b) Profiles, groups, messages, posts, or wall comments that encourage anorexia, bulimia, or very low calorie diets of any kind will be removed, and may be grounds for account deletion. This includes positive references to ana/mia, purging, or self-starving. Our goal is to provide users with the tools to achieve their weight management goals at a steady, sustainable rate. Use of the site to promote or glamorize dangerously low levels of eating is not permitted.
c) Photos intended to glamorize extreme thinness will be deleted.
d) Those seeking support in their recovery from eating disorders are welcome at MyFitnessPal.

choosing to drink beer instead of eat a cupcake is not bad. thats wierd that you think that because someone uses thier extra cals for beer, that they are promoting unsafe diet practices. rubbish!

beAr

bexp11

I think the unsafe practice he was referring to was the 'drinking of BEAR' not beer :laugh:

Mcgrawhaha

i do not eat back my calories. and, if you do, you need to make sure you have an accurate hrm to ensure that you are not eating back more cals than you burned. alot of equipment will give you numbers that are too high, even mfp gives numbers that are way too high! mfp says i burn almost 600 cals when in reality i only burned 300... as i said, i do not eat back my excercise calories, and instead, i give myself 2 days a month where i can have what i want and go "a little crazy" with my family... these are the days where ill plan outings and such, cause i know i can eat whatever and not worry about it. so far, its great! good luck to you, and whatever you decide, just remember that it has to work for you, not us! eaveryones body is different!

I disagree with this about the HRM. The OP has a built in deficit of 500 calories, which means that for her to NOT lose any weight, her calorie estimate would have to be off by more than 500 calories. I suppose that's possible if she was logging 1500 calorie workouts, but it's EXTREMELY unlikely to offset that within a normal 30-60 minute workout. Your weight loss will tell you whether your numbers are right or not- the HRM is just a more expensive estimation method- it's not infallible. I have one and don't wear it, and have lost my weight 98% without it and with eating my calories back. If a person wants to use one that's fine, but it is certainly not a requirement to lose weight while eating your calories back.

well i dont trust the numbers the machine or mfp gives me. for a 30 minute ride on the elliptical, it just about doubles my cals burned. sometimes i do a full hour, and thats a number of 600 cals over what i actually burn. that can easily sabatage someone whos eating back thier cals. i dont have to worry about it, because i choose not to eat mine back, but for those who do, i highly reccomend a good hrm. some girl on here the other day, a hundred and something pounds, said that her elliptical said she burned 13 hundred cals after 30 minutes on her elliptical... really? some machines are whacked and even mfp can only give estimates. i find good hrm to be much more reliable!

Mcgrawhaha

I think the unsafe practice he was referring to was the 'drinking of BEAR' not beer :laugh:

lol.. ok, well, yeah... i guess that would be a little dangerous...

heybales

That effectively explained the deficit thing for me. No I did not factor it in. So, I am not sure yet how I am going to handle it. As I said I think I will try "eating them back" for now and see how I feel, but, I also kind of agree that if it is working for now, maybe don't change it until I plateau. Thanks so much for all of your input everyone!

The kicker with that method though, is you will very greatly increase your odds of losing muscle mass with a steeper deficit - which you create by NOT eating them back.

Unless you are doing mainly strength training 3 x a week, and little cardio, you will lose muscle mass doing that method.

And the only way to get it back when you reach goal weight - is to eat in surplus and be ready to gain weight. Fat and muscle then.

At this point in your journey though, keep the deficit at 2lb weekly goal, eat back properly estimated exercise calories, and retain the muscle mass. Oh, increase protein above MFP recommendations too.

And you can't actually trust your body to tell you when it's hungry. Because you can easily cause enough hormone craziness to cause you not to be hungry when your body is starving for energy.

If you were deficient with a vitamin or mineral - how long before it shows up that you have been? Weeks, months? And the possible effects at that point when it finally shows up?

Same with energy needs, may not notice now, but when it shows up later by a 3-6 month or longer plateau that many find themselves in, the effect is terrible.

Now add all that time up, weight loss now, 3-9 months or longer plateau, and how much did you really lose on avg weekly? And what would have been the effect if you'd just done that from the start? You'd probably be much farther ahead.

And how are you deciding exercise calorie burn?
If treadmill walking, and you input weight, trust the treadmill.
If using MFP description of walking, and you matched the pace at level, trust MFP.

Other activities besides those could be over or under depending on how much effort to you.

basschick

(And thank you for being reasonable and listening to all the varied advice.)

Well, I am looking for real answers. I would not be helping myself if I ignore life experience from others. That's what the forums are supposed to be for after all.

You'd be amazed at the people that do just that. Many people on here ask for advice and then when they get it, they ignore it, do exactly what they want, and then complain because they can't lose.

VelociMama

The kicker with that method though, is you will very greatly increase your odds of losing muscle mass with a steeper deficit - which you create by NOT eating them back.

Unless you are doing mainly strength training 3 x a week, and little cardio, you will lose muscle mass doing that method.

And the only way to get it back when you reach goal weight - is to eat in surplus and be ready to gain weight. Fat and muscle then.

At this point in your journey though, keep the deficit at 2lb weekly goal, eat back properly estimated exercise calories, and retain the muscle mass. Oh, increase protein above MFP recommendations too.

And you can't actually trust your body to tell you when it's hungry. Because you can easily cause enough hormone craziness to cause you not to be hungry when your body is starving for energy.

If you were deficient with a vitamin or mineral - how long before it shows up that you have been? Weeks, months? And the possible effects at that point when it finally shows up?

Same with energy needs, may not notice now, but when it shows up later by a 3-6 month or longer plateau that many find themselves in, the effect is terrible.

Now add all that time up, weight loss now, 3-9 months or longer, and how much did you really lose on avg weekly? And what would have been the effect if you'd just done that from the start? You'd probably be much farther ahead.

This is SUCH an important point to make. My hunger signals are very messed up from yo-yo dieting and extremely restricting my intake levels for over a year when I first started dieting.

I agree with the rest of this post as well. Solid advice here.

jenilla1

I always eat them back. When I was losing I tried to eat back as many as I could (didn't always make it) and I always made good, steady progress. Now that I've been at goal weight and on maintenance forever, I have to eat them all back or I start losing weight again - which is not great because I'm already at the minimum weight I want to be at.

MoreBean13

i do not eat back my calories. and, if you do, you need to make sure you have an accurate hrm to ensure that you are not eating back more cals than you burned. alot of equipment will give you numbers that are too high, even mfp gives numbers that are way too high! mfp says i burn almost 600 cals when in reality i only burned 300... as i said, i do not eat back my excercise calories, and instead, i give myself 2 days a month where i can have what i want and go "a little crazy" with my family... these are the days where ill plan outings and such, cause i know i can eat whatever and not worry about it. so far, its great! good luck to you, and whatever you decide, just remember that it has to work for you, not us! eaveryones body is different!

I disagree with this about the HRM. The OP has a built in deficit of 500 calories, which means that for her to NOT lose any weight, her calorie estimate would have to be off by more than 500 calories. I suppose that's possible if she was logging 1500 calorie workouts, but it's EXTREMELY unlikely to offset that within a normal 30-60 minute workout. Your weight loss will tell you whether your numbers are right or not- the HRM is just a more expensive estimation method- it's not infallible. I have one and don't wear it, and have lost my weight 98% without it and with eating my calories back. If a person wants to use one that's fine, but it is certainly not a requirement to lose weight while eating your calories back.

well i dont trust the numbers the machine or mfp gives me. for a 30 minute ride on the elliptical, it just about doubles my cals burned. sometimes i do a full hour, and thats a number of 600 cals over what i actually burn. that can easily sabatage someone whos eating back thier cals. i dont have to worry about it, because i choose not to eat mine back, but for those who do, i highly reccomend a good hrm. some girl on here the other day, a hundred and something pounds, said that her elliptical said she burned 13 hundred cals after 30 minutes on her elliptical... really? some machines are whacked and even mfp can only give estimates. i find good hrm to be much more reliable!

There's nothing wrong with trying to get reliable numbers from an HRM. I agree that it works.

I don't understand why you're telling people that eating back calories without using an HRM will stall weight loss, though. That's awfully specific advice when you don't eat yours back at all, since you're basically speculating about what might happen if you did do it.

heybales

well i dont trust the numbers the machine or mfp gives me. for a 30 minute ride on the elliptical, it just about doubles my cals burned. sometimes i do a full hour, and thats a number of 600 cals over what i actually burn. that can easily sabatage someone whos eating back thier cals. i dont have to worry about it, because i choose not to eat mine back, but for those who do, i highly reccomend a good hrm. some girl on here the other day, a hundred and something pounds, said that her elliptical said she burned 13 hundred cals after 30 minutes on her elliptical... really? some machines are whacked and even mfp can only give estimates. i find good hrm to be much more reliable!

And you are saying the machines are that off based on what your HRM is telling you?

You might want to inform yourself as to it's trustworthiness.

As to someone punching in the wrong numbers into the machines, I see it all the time. I do it sometimes.

Being good at reading and displaying your heart rate, the primary purpose of a "Heart Rate Monitor", is potentially a far cry from the recently added secondary purpose the huddled masses have desired, estimating, yes, estimating calorie burn.

Test your own setup and see in first topic. Get educated in the second. See the results in the third.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/774337-how-to-test-hrm-for-how-accurate-calorie-burn-is

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/773451-is-my-hrm-giving-me-incorrect-calorie-burn

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/459580-polar-hrm-calorie-burn-estimate-accuracy-study

taso42

Read from one other member that is not such a thing as starving "fat people " only people who lacks of food for many many days can actually starve . also read that we do usually eat more than we should and the 1500 and the 1800 are way to much I kind of believe that should be truth
For Reference her name is Californiagirl2012

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Wait, were you being serious?

chevy88grl

i do not eat back my calories. and, if you do, you need to make sure you have an accurate hrm to ensure that you are not eating back more cals than you burned. alot of equipment will give you numbers that are too high, even mfp gives numbers that are way too high! mfp says i burn almost 600 cals when in reality i only burned 300... as i said, i do not eat back my excercise calories, and instead, i give myself 2 days a month where i can have what i want and go "a little crazy" with my family... these are the days where ill plan outings and such, cause i know i can eat whatever and not worry about it. so far, its great! good luck to you, and whatever you decide, just remember that it has to work for you, not us! eaveryones body is different!

I don't have a HRM. Refuse to spend the money on one. I lost every single pound without one. I lost it all relying on the numbers the treadmill at the gym gave me.

I also eat back all my exercise calories. After plateauing and almost giving up out of frustration because I wasn't losing weight -- I concluded I wasn't eating enough. You have to fuel your body properly if you want it to be comfortable losing weight.

chubbygirl253

I'm currently 271, my starting weight was 330. I lost most of my weight from exercise. I work out a lot and only eat back less than half of my exercise calories. And that means ACTUAL CALORIES BURNED, not the over-inflated mfp estimates which are far too generous. I use my hrm when possible and when it isn't I subtract a third of what mfp estimates because I find they are typically off 30-40%. If I have a low calorie burning workouts I consume little to no exercise calories, but generally I burn well over 1000 calories a day so I need extra fuel those (because I already have my calorie level set at a higher deficit that mfp recommended for me.)

If you are burning under 500 calories I can understand not consuming those and letting them go all to the greater good for losing. But if you are having extremely heavy workouts you need to fuel them.

fatladysings72

Interesting, several people suggested eating them back, but you only responded to the two that told you not to. I'd listen to the people who have several thousand posts on the forum (and are looking pretty great). For more information:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

Good call... see THAT is why I love this place. I value straight forward people. Thanks. That is a good point, but I was also looking at how much weight they lost. I think the point is that it may not matter unless you are highly active. So, if I want to eat it back, be very active... what is your thought on that?

I eat back my exercise calories. All. The. Time.


Check out my ticker. Yup.

Add me to the list of eating back my calories burned, gotta fuel my workouts and I have also lost a few pounds.... Best of Luck...

Ed, I have actually seen your pics... amazing. Thanks so much for your input. You are definately a source of inspiration for me.

emily_kenyon

hey i never eat my exercise calories back never have but i think it just depends on the person


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elsinora

When I was 250lbs, I didn't until I lost about 100lbs. After that I would eat back only half at the most or until i was either maintaining or doing events. I know do marathons, triathlons and mountain climbing and compete in a number of other events where you'd have to eat back your calories to remain fit and strong. But that is completely different to my 250lbs day.

The most important thing is eating at the right time to fuel your workouts, the right nutrition and accurate calorie burning stats.

fatladysings72

(And thank you for being reasonable and listening to all the varied advice.)

Well, I am looking for real answers. I would not be helping myself if I ignore life experience from others. That's what the forums are supposed to be for after all.

You'd be amazed at the people that do just that. Many people on here ask for advice and then when they get it, they ignore it, do exactly what they want, and then complain because they can't lose.

Sadly, I know people like that also. But I am not one of them.. lol

wickedwendy6

This is a post I stumbled across the other day that will explain everything fully. Hope it helps. :happy:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/539912-why-eating-exercise-calories-is-so-important