earned calories with exercise, should I eat those extra?

Options
2

Replies

  • ttknowles01
    ttknowles01 Posts: 255 Member
    Options
    If you are netting too few calories, eat them back!! For example, if your "net" calories after working out are below say 1200, eat more! You need to fuel your body to lose weight the healthy way. If you are only netting like 600 calories, you are starving yourself.
    Hope this makes sense!

    ^^^ this....didn't realize this and was wondering why I wasn't dropping any weight. I was only netting 600 or lower cals a day. But at the end of the day, do what works for you...some people do, some people don't :-)
  • tryshaantonelli
    tryshaantonelli Posts: 41 Member
    Options
    I always find that if i don't eat some of them back, i get ravenously hungry either that day or the next day and risk binging and ruining all my hard work. You should base it on how your body reacts, but if you eat back some of the calories, especially in lean protein, you are helping your body recover and build lean muscle.
  • brokenjawedmuse
    brokenjawedmuse Posts: 132
    Options
    No, it's not up to you. PEOPLE, FOR GOD'S SAKE... STOP SAYING THAT.

    If you have to ask the question, then you don't understand the issue well enough to make the decision for yourself.



    When you setup your goal/profile... if you included exercise into the formula to calculate your daily calorie goal (which MFP doesn't do by default, but most TDEE calculators DO include), then you don't need to log exercise or eat back those calories. If you didn't include exercise in the calculations, then yes, you should be logging exercise cals and eating them back.

    THIS.

    Plus, there are some days that if I didn't eat back my calories, I'd literally net negative calories :-(
  • emchip1983
    emchip1983 Posts: 80
    Options
    i eat half back as mfp tends to be over generous with the calories it says you burn
  • jdaley90
    jdaley90 Posts: 259 Member
    Options
    No, it's not up to you. PEOPLE, FOR GOD'S SAKE... STOP SAYING THAT.

    If you have to ask the question, then you don't understand the issue well enough to make the decision for yourself.



    When you setup your goal/profile... if you included exercise into the formula to calculate your daily calorie goal (which MFP doesn't do by default, but most TDEE calculators DO include), then you don't need to log exercise or eat back those calories. If you didn't include exercise in the calculations, then yes, you should be logging exercise cals and eating them back.

    ^^^This
  • shak29
    shak29 Posts: 114 Member
    Options
    Eat them back, that is how the site is set up to work.
  • danityree
    danityree Posts: 20
    Options
    Thank you so much jdaley!

    I had a feeling I was eating too many calories and I couldn't figure out why I was following my calorie count and exercising and not losing weight. I was getting very frustrated! Now I have gone back in and changed my exercise goal to zero so that I will know I can eat the calories I burn!! Thanks for breaking it down to those of us who are new here!!
  • ladymiseryali
    ladymiseryali Posts: 2,555 Member
    Options
    I would eat them. It adds the calories so you net what your original goal is. You don't have to eat all of them, but half or most is usually what's best.
  • NZhellkat
    NZhellkat Posts: 355 Member
    Options
    Yes eat back some or most of your exercise calories. I eat back most of mine and have shed around 38lbs since joining MFP with a total loss of about 53-58lbs. Not sure since I did not weigh myself right at the start. It has been painless to do. I'm not on a diet so never worry about what I eat as I eat smaller portions, make better choices and will never have to worry about what is going to happen when I move over to maintenance. I don't binge but I do have the occasional day when I eat above my allowance. But this is always offset by the days of being under.
  • 89Madeline
    89Madeline Posts: 205 Member
    Options
    Ok, thanks so much for all the great replies, clears up how myfitnesspal reasons :)

    one more question though, currently my profile is set to 'sedentary' and 2x 30 minute work out per week as a goal. I just did my 60 minutes and filled those in. Are you saying that I shouldn't because that's my goal and is already calculated in my intake?
    Or are you saying that it's good that I fill them in since I am 'sedentary and my calorie calculation is based on that?

    Thanks for all the replies again!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Options
    When you tell MFP that your goal is to work out x times a week for y minutes, MFP doesn't factor that into your calorie goals. It's just a measurable goal for you to shoot for. The only factors that affect your calorie goal is your activity level (sedentary, lightly active, etc) and your weight loss goal (.5lbs/week, 1lb/week, etc)

    Since you chose sedentary as your activity level, then you'd still want to log your exercise and eat back those calories.
  • 89Madeline
    89Madeline Posts: 205 Member
    Options
    thanks jacksonpt :) very clear and informative!!
  • earpies37
    earpies37 Posts: 18
    Options
    Yes!!!!!! Eat them! And for those of you who say you aren't hungry, eat and your metabolism will start working again. No one is full eating 1200 or less. Don't' "listen to your body" either. If we knew how to "listen to our bodies", we wouldn't be here to begin with. Just eat them.

    I disagree, i never eat back my exercise calories since calories burned through exercise are estimates at best even with a HRM.

    MFP has had me between 1200-1300 cals/day thus far and i feel perfectly full, havent had any plateaus thus far. lost 20lbs since jan 1, increased lean mass, energy levels high, no problem with either the 6 days/wk hot power yoga i did in jan or my current 3 days/wk hot power yoga and 3 days/wk lifting and exercise bike. feeling better than i ever have!

    Obviously this has been my experience, it may not be the same for everyone. in the end the best diet is the one you can stick to and for me part of that is feeling good/energy. just so happens i can do that perfectly well on 1200 cals apparently :)
  • fluffyfoxx
    fluffyfoxx Posts: 49
    Options
    I was wondering the same thing and all the answers I got were basically "Whatever works for you" so you might try it one way for a couple weeks and then switch to the other if it doesn't seem to be working. Everyone's body is different so what might work for some people might not work for you!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Options
    Yes!!!!!! Eat them! And for those of you who say you aren't hungry, eat and your metabolism will start working again. No one is full eating 1200 or less. Don't' "listen to your body" either. If we knew how to "listen to our bodies", we wouldn't be here to begin with. Just eat them.

    I disagree, i never eat back my exercise calories since calories burned through exercise are estimates at best even with a HRM.

    MFP has had me between 1200-1300 cals/day thus far and i feel perfectly full, havent had any plateaus thus far. lost 20lbs since jan 1, increased lean mass, energy levels high, no problem with either the 6 days/wk hot power yoga i did in jan or my current 3 days/wk hot power yoga and 3 days/wk lifting and exercise bike. feeling better than i ever have!

    Obviously this has been my experience, it may not be the same for everyone. in the end the best diet is the one you can stick to and for me part of that is feeling good/energy. just so happens i can do that perfectly well on 1200 cals apparently :)

    What about that seems healthy to you? The 20lbs in 6 weeks? The 1200 gross cals?

    Also curious how you measured your lean mass gains.
  • JenniBaby85
    JenniBaby85 Posts: 855 Member
    Options
    I only eat them back if I'm hungry, and that is not even ALL of them. I don't think it's necessary at all
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Options
    I was wondering the same thing and all the answers I got were basically "Whatever works for you" so you might try it one way for a couple weeks and then switch to the other if it doesn't seem to be working. Everyone's body is different so what might work for some people might not work for you!

    Yes and no. The science is the same for everyone. What differs is the method. The reason why some people gain when they eat back calories isn't because the science or the approach is flawed, it's the method - they are mis-estimating something(s)... BMR, TDEE, cals eaten, cals burned, etc.
  • sigsby
    sigsby Posts: 220 Member
    Options
    Sometimes I eat some of them but never all of them. I think calories burned can be exaggerated.
  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member
    Options
    Yes... even MFP tells us that if we exercise we earn more calories, while our net is still at our calorie goal.

    I have done different ways before, but I lose while eating back exercise calories. What I usually do is look at MFPs exercise calorie estimation and I take 25% off that. I cut back a bit... because I think they over estimate my exercise. There are some days when I'm really not that hungry and then I just don't eat any exercise calories back. It won't kill me. I put 1lb / week loss... if there is a day I don't eat back calories, I might just lose 1.2 lbs that week instead. =P It's really no biggie.


    OH - I also have my activity level set to sedentary. If you don't have it set to that, you probably should if you're going to be eating back all the exercise calories.

    Just try what works for you - test it for a month and see if you lose any inches/lbs. Good luck!
  • jscro
    jscro Posts: 1
    Options
    I don't consume the actual total but I do look at it as a buffer in the event I edge over my goal. I don't panic about it. If I have 250 kcal remaining but 400 exercises calories not filtered in, I'm not going to avoid consuming 300 calories or anything. I'll just know I can go a bit over and leave it at that.

Categories