Bonus Calories for Cardio???

AlsDonkBoxSquat

I tried this theory out and did 6 weeks NOT eating them back and then 6 weeks eating them back, I stuck to it religiously and gained
back everything I lost originally, so it doesn't work for me. However, as we are all different it might work for some and not others.

I think the important thing is to find what works for yourself and stick with that.

1 - MFP builds in a deficit to begin with, but if you really just want to have a set singular goal to reach every day go here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717565-in-place-of-a-road-map
Look around and find the TDEE and BMR calculators (they really have made it easy to figure out on the spreadsheet). Otherwise get yourself a HRM if you don't already have one.

2 - by under fueling your body can sap your energy making you lethargic. This means that with you can't meet your maximum potential when doing just about anything, especially exercise.

3 - Changing your diet and exercise program or goals for 1 week as an evaluation method doesn't really prove anything. Anything you change requires your body to make adjustments and regulate. It takes 4 - 6 weeks to prove out a change in caloric goals. The goal isn't to figure out what works right now, the goal is to find maximum efficency over the long term.

omma_to_3

As others have pointed out, MFP *already* has a calorie deficit set for you. That is why it tells you to eat back your exercise calories so that you don't under eat. When you eat back your exercise calories, you are doing your TDEE minus the deficit you need to lose. When you don't eat them back you are more than likely under eating and will hit a stall sooner than later.

You shouldn't think of it as "canceling out" your exercise. You should think of the extra calories as the fuel you need for the exercise you're doing. Don't exercise to create an insane deficit and then feel like you're "canceling" something out. Exercise because you want to be fit and feel good, and then fuel that so you CAN be fit and feel good.

*clapping loudly*

Goal_Line

Go by how you feel. If you feel good and have energy don't eat them back. - Listen to your body.

If you'r hungry - eat....just make sure you eat something good (lean protean, veggies or fruit).

I didn't eat them back and didn't experience starvation mode - beware of blanket statements about starvation mode.

ucandanz01

Thanks for all the feedback - the link provided me a lot of info:

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

Cheers!
Lee

Riemersma4

I have been losing, on average, about 1.5 lbs per week. I have my goal set for 1. I eat ALL of my exercise calories back as my goals have already 'built in' the calorie deficit.

You MUST 'feed the beast' if you want to lose weight and change your fitness.

Work out hard (weight training and cardio)
Make sure that you get enough quality fuel.

It is easy to starve your body. It does NOT like that and will shut down/slow down and frustrate your progress.

EAT BACK ALL OF YOUR EXERCISE CALORIES. If you want to lose more and faster, adjust your goals and let MFP calculate.

BTW, no one in the fitness industry recommends more than 2 lbs per week for any duration.

Good luck!

XDiet_SlayerX

I would not eat them back if I were you for weight loss. You will get better results that way.

Mama_Jag

Bonus calories taste better. True story.

stu236

I tried this theory out and did 6 weeks NOT eating them back and then 6 weeks eating them back, I stuck to it religiously and gained
back everything I lost originally, so it doesn't work for me. However, as we are all different it might work for some and not others.

I think the important thing is to find what works for yourself and stick with that.

1 - MFP builds in a deficit to begin with, but if you really just want to have a set singular goal to reach every day go here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717565-in-place-of-a-road-map
Look around and find the TDEE and BMR calculators (they really have made it easy to figure out on the spreadsheet). Otherwise get yourself a HRM if you don't already have one.

2 - by under fueling your body can sap your energy making you lethargic. This means that with you can't meet your maximum potential when doing just about anything, especially exercise.

3 - Changing your diet and exercise program or goals for 1 week as an evaluation method doesn't really prove anything. Anything you change requires your body to make adjustments and regulate. It takes 4 - 6 weeks to prove out a change in caloric goals. The goal isn't to figure out what works right now, the goal is to find maximum efficency over the long term.

As I said, I tried both ways over a 6week period each and it doesn't work for me. I do have a long term plan and that is to lose the excess weight I am carrying in a healthy way for me. However, when I was eating the exercise calories back I constantly felt like I had over-eaten and was eating for the sake of it which is what got me here in the first place. I'm not for one minute saying what is right or wrong as I have no right or qualifications to make that assumption but I do feel qualified to know what works for me.

As I stated earlier, we are all different and what works for one doesn't always work for another. We all have to find our own individual ways of acheiving our goals.

cubbies77

What works for me is to eat some of them back. If my net calories are under my BMR (1500), I eat enough to get back over that. If I end up over 1500, then I don't eat any back unless I feel hungry (not craving food, actually hungry).

I always look at my weekly calories, and I've found that if I have a couple days where I'm low, they're balanced out by days where I eat a bit more (usually the day after weights; I'm always SO hungry that day). That's another reason I don't eat all of them back every single time; I like to keep them in the bank for a higher-calorie day. As long as I'm at or above 1500 but below 1900, I'm golden. My average calories at the end of the week tend to be right on the 1820 mark.

krickeyuu

I approached this a little bit differently. I started out by calculaing maintenance TDEE for my GOAL weight, sedentary (I have a desk job and don't do a lot during the week other than planned exercise) which for me is about 1500 calories. My BMR is somewhere between 1190 and 1310 (depends on site). I just make sure that my "net" calories for the day are under 1500 but over 1300 most days. To do that, I have to eat back most of my exercise calories. Not eating back calories might work short term if you have a lot of weight to lose, but when you only have 20 lbs to lose, it puts you at too great a deficit. I have lost 21 lbs and dropped from a size 12 to a size 6.

akaMrsmojo

MFP creates the deficit for you. Exercise calories are bonus, eat them back. I do and lost bunches.

For I man, I heard 1500 at the minimum and that is probably too low.

Follow the MFP program, it works.

Razzy43

I think it depends on what your goals are? If you main goal is to just lose weight then don't eat them back or maybe just half of them, as that will give you extra calorie burn. If you did your goals to lose weight, then MFP already has them built in for you and this give you some play calories. If you are hungry that day, eat some back if not then, bank them.

For me, I am trying to lose fat and put on lean muscle, so I need to fuel the body, eating my calories back. You can't gain lean muscle if you are feeding them. What most people don't realize from reading some of these posts, is when you lose weight, it isn't only fat you are losing, it is a combination of fat and muscle. You want to keep as much lean muscle as you can because they burn calories, fat doesn't. This is why taking measurements can be important. Just because the scale tells you that you aren't losing weight doesn't mean you aren't leaning your body out. Remember, fat has more volume then muscle, so if you are weighing the same and dropping in measurements, you are most likely putting on lean muscle, doing exactly what I would think you would want. Looking better!!!!

beeblebrox82

Eat your calories back! Exercise makes you stronger, faster, leaner. The deficit built in from MFP makes you lighter.

It doesn't all have to be heavy food either. If you blow off 700-1000 calories on a hard run or workout and dont want to eat another meal/not hungry, have a sports drink or eat some peanut butter or a protein shake or something.

purpleipod

You're not undoing the work.. the calorie deficit is there before you even exercise.

cwolfman13

go by gross calories, not net. it makes no sense to eat back those calories you just burned.. its basically just a wash at that point

Uhhhhh....NO....MFP actually builds in a caloric deficit into your goal. I eat back all of my exercise calories and I lose roughly 1 Lb per week for the last 3 months, which is exactly the way I set my goals on MFP. If one is going to use a tool, one should learn how to properly use said tool.

porky44

I dont eat them back! NO WAY!!!!!

now_or_never13

I eat my exercise calories back... if I use my HRM. The calculations MFP has are overestimated so if you are going off of those eat back half. MFP already builds a deficit into account so not eating your exercise calories back can leave you with too little net calories.

When you dont eat enough you risk losing muscle mass which in turned lowers your metabolism. Eating exercise calories back also helps you to have the energy needed to continue on with your workouts. I find if I do a long workout and don't eat my exercise calories back I lose energy and get shaky.

You are no undoing your hard work by cardio when you eat your exercise calories back since you already have a deficit built in. The only time you shouldn't eat your exercise calories back is when you are going off the TDEE cut for your daily calories.

You should always net your BMR.

cwolfman13

I tried this theory out and did 6 weeks NOT eating them back and then 6 weeks eating them back, I stuck to it religiously and gained
back everything I lost originally, so it doesn't work for me. However, as we are all different it might work for some and not others.

I think the important thing is to find what works for yourself and stick with that.

1 - MFP builds in a deficit to begin with, but if you really just want to have a set singular goal to reach every day go here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717565-in-place-of-a-road-map
Look around and find the TDEE and BMR calculators (they really have made it easy to figure out on the spreadsheet). Otherwise get yourself a HRM if you don't already have one.

2 - by under fueling your body can sap your energy making you lethargic. This means that with you can't meet your maximum potential when doing just about anything, especially exercise.

3 - Changing your diet and exercise program or goals for 1 week as an evaluation method doesn't really prove anything. Anything you change requires your body to make adjustments and regulate. It takes 4 - 6 weeks to prove out a change in caloric goals. The goal isn't to figure out what works right now, the goal is to find maximum efficency over the long term.

As I said, I tried both ways over a 6week period each and it doesn't work for me. I do have a long term plan and that is to lose the excess weight I am carrying in a healthy way for me. However, when I was eating the exercise calories back I constantly felt like I had over-eaten and was eating for the sake of it which is what got me here in the first place. I'm not for one minute saying what is right or wrong as I have no right or qualifications to make that assumption but I do feel qualified to know what works for me.

As I stated earlier, we are all different and what works for one doesn't always work for another. We all have to find our own individual ways of acheiving our goals.

Actually, it's science...their are no snow flakes...if you're truly at a deficit and one is built into your caloric goal, you will lose weight even if you eat back exercise calories, because you would be netting to said goal which includes a deficit (provided you set up your profile that way).

If you're gaining with eating exercise calories, one of these is most likely:

1. you are guestimating on weights/measurements and consuming more than you think you are.
2. you are over estimating caloric burn from exercise and thus no longer at a deficit
3. you are using estimated calories from the data base rather than verifying that those calories are correct (either food or exercise)
4. the inputs you put into MFP to establish your goal are flawed (i.e. lightly active when you're really sedentary, moderately active when you're really lightly active, including exercise in your daily activity (TDEE method) when the MFP method is to exclude exercise from your daily activity and log those separately.
5. You have a medical condition, diagnosed or otherwise that results in having a slower than average metabolism for someone of your age, weight, and height...(ok, that's the only snow flake possibility...barring that, it's math plain and simple).

beeblebrox82

it really blows my mind that people still think you aren't supposed to eat back your calories. Just a recipe for disaster. If you're doing TDEE that's fine, your exercise calories are already baked in... but if not... come on, It's just math people. The post above is perfect. If it's not working, it's not because of the exercise calories, it's because something else is wrong.


I sometimes consume over 3000 calories on days where I do long runs or a ton of exercise. I haven't gained back a pound.

dea5311

For me not eating them back works well. There was point when I was eating them back and I started to gain weight. I have since stop and the weight I gained is coming back off.