Eating back calorie advice needed
Replies
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Thank you all for your help! I think I will try something new: only enter 1/2 the exercise calories. If I am full, then great. If not, then I will allow myself to finish up.
Part of it is I don't want to over eat because I think the numbers the elliptical machine gives me are not too accurate.
Anyway, thank you all for your advice and suggestions! I appreciate you taking the time to read and respond to my post. Good luck to you all.
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You could always figure out your bmr & TDEE......take TDEE- 20%. Excercise is included so when you log your excercise change the calorie burn to 1 therefore no extra calories are added to your goal.0
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This. Exercise is never a waste--it makes you stronger and fitter, and helps preserve or even increase lean muscle tissue, which increases your metabolism. Eating too little has the opposite effect: you'll lose muscle and slow your metabolism. Trust to the calorie deficit you set MFP for, and you can eat your exercise calories back and lose weight at exactly the same rate as if you ate your base calories and didn't exercise. Faster, probably, thanks to the effect exercise has on your metabolism.
Oh, sorry, yeah I know exercise is not a waste for other things. I was talking in terms of the weight loss.
Basically what I am hearing people say is exercise is NOT for weight loss though it has other benefits? Is that what people seem to agree on?
I am by no means an expert, but one thing I can tell you. Well, multiple things really, and things others have already said. You just have to decide if you want to hear the correct information, or only hear what you want to hear:
MFP sets you at a caloric deficit that reflects your goals to lose weight. If you are at sedentary, and then you exercise it is anticipated that you eat back your workout calories. So if you eat 1200 net, and work off 300, then you should eat those 300 back to get back to your 1200 net amount.
You should check out http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 and learn a little something about BMR (what your body needs to function at its basic level) and TDEE (your max cal expenditure for the day) and then see how startling it can be to understand that eating back your calories, eating a good net calorie amount both equal weight loss.
I would like to think that you want to lose weight, and keep it off - which means sustainability. Your body might take you hitting less than 1200 net for a while, but it won't appreciate it in the long run and really there is no need to. Take it from someone who is currently working on that program and have lost 14 lbs since upping my calorie intake. I always eat back my workout calories. Why wouldn't you? It's food..
I am not a "live to eat" person, but I sure do enjoy the process of eating food and you can eat well, eat your calories, and not gorge or binge or pig out, or fall into the old ruts that got you into the position you find yourself.
Bottom line:
Eat back your cals, never let your daily intake fall below what MFP has you set as a net amount, it's nonsensical. Exercise = more food you can eat and it will NOT hurt your weight loss. Good luck. :drinker:0 -
Surely the simplest solution would be just to wait until tomorrow to log today's exercise in today's diary? That way you can look back at what you burned but it won't give you the extra green number on the day you are actually in.
I don't think not eating back 300 cals is going to cause you too many problems but if you start exercising seriously you should consider eating some back if you don't want to fall short of vital nutrients.0 -
you're supposed to eat back your exercise calories Problem solved. Nothing to feel bad about!
If you eat back your exercise calories then you don't lose that weight. The whole reason I'm exercising is to lose weight! So I don't want to go waste all that time spent working out.
It's more a mental issue, of I see I'm allowed this much and therefore I feel the need to use it up.
when you set up your goals, it automatically factors in your calorie deficit. SO, when you workout you need to eat back those cals to ensure you are fueling properly. There is a difference between losing weight and losing body fat. If you don't eat enough, you will not lose fat, but lean body mass (muscle). You will surely gain that "weight" back because not eating enough is gonna backfire. Guess what..that weight is all fat. So, not only have you lost muscle, but you've replaced it with fat.
unless you want to be limited to like 600 cals a day when you get older. If you're okay with that, then by all means, starve your body all you want.0 -
you're supposed to eat back your exercise calories Problem solved. Nothing to feel bad about!
If you eat back your exercise calories then you don't lose that weight. The whole reason I'm exercising is to lose weight! So I don't want to go waste all that time spent working out.
It's more a mental issue, of I see I'm allowed this much and therefore I feel the need to use it up.
Sounds like you've asked a question and ignored any answers you don't agree with to be honest.
Look at it this way, im currently allowed 1760 calories per day. If i stick to this whilst eating the correct foods i will lose around 2Ibs per week until i need to re-adjust the calculator. This is without exercise.
Using your logic, last Thursday when i burnt 986 calories i shouldn't have eaten more than the 1760 given to me originally. So in essence, you believe it would be healthy for a man weighing 240 Ibs at 6"1 to get through the day with just 774 calories?
Are you sure?0 -
You need to be NETTING your calorie allowance. So if you're allowed 1650 cals a day, if you workout, make sure you are netting AT LEAST 1650 cals.0
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Eat to your daily goal. If it's a day you need a little extra, know that you have a surplus to dip into. It really depends on your body, but I've found staying near may goal and maybe going over into my surplus a couple of days a week is probably the best course for keeping weight loss steady.0
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Eating them back doesn't work for everyone. I know a lot of people on here preach eating them back, but it does not work for me. I have been steadily loosing since Jan 6th (16 lbs down) by not eating them or barely dipping in to the exercise calories. SO, I am going to do what is working for me.
Editing to add: If I get to a point to what I am doing stops working, I would consider some extra calories and changing my exercise routine. But for now, I am doing what works.
Exactly how I feel. I log the exercise but I just don't eat back the calories. I like logging not only to see how much I did, but to have a buffer cushion in my calorie count so that I don't stress if I have an extra 100 or so calories in the day. It's like a bank account. i like to have a little to play with, but i don't just use it all. I just try to keep close to the protein goal.0 -
I eat between 1700-1800 cals a day and losing. :bigsmile:
The problem is if you only eat 1200 cals a day, will you be able to live on that the rest of your life??
Figure your BMR and TDEE -20% and eat that!!0 -
I agree with not using the exercise amounts on MFP. I use the elliptical all the time. I am 187 lbs. 48 years old. MFP states that I burn almost double the calories that my Elliptical (which is set with my info) states. I checked today using my bodybugg and the difference between my elliptical amount and the bodybugg was <60 calories, yet MFP was >120 calories more. Getting a HRM is the best way to actually see what is being burned . As far as the extra calories, MFP is set up with a calorie amount that will get you to lose weight based on the information put in; eating the extra calories are there because when most people work out your body requires more calories to function properly. Eat them if you are hungry or feel that you are weakened in any way.0
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Be careful not to overestimate the calories burned in workouts, particularly if you plan on eating back those calories.
People burn vastly different amounts in an hour, for many different reasons (their physical size, intensity and type of workout, etc.), but in my personal experience, just about every estimate I've ever had was well over the amount my food cravings (and the pounds) suggested I'd actually burned.
MFP is one of the big offenders, as it pretty regularly tells me I've burned twice as much as the evidence suggests. I generally burn about 450 with an hour's worth of moderate/intense cardio, but so many estimates, from websites to heart rate monitors, tell me I've burned 1000 or more.0 -
Yeah, this is how I want to be. Based on all the responses I don't think I really explained my problem well.
I have a very hard time with self-control. The diet itself has been very difficult for me. However, I have committed to putting everything in my mouth in the tracker, and I really don't want to see that red number there. So I can limit myself to my daily amount (difficult but not impossible). But when I add in the exercise, now I have xxx calories extra that are there. SO I eat them.
I guess my question really is 1) how do I improve my self control and/or 2) is there another way to log the exercise that doesn't show the calories. Because if I am really hungry I want to know how much I get to eat back if I want.
Change your mindset. You didn't get overweight by eating a normal healthy diet. You ate too many calories (whatever those calories were comprised of) and/or exercised too little.
Don't think of it as a 'diet'. Think of it as changing your way of eating -- for life. Eat the way a person your goal weight would eat to maintain, and make healthy nutritious choices most of the time. You can still have the junk if you want -- just not a whole lot of it. You want to feed your body the nutrients it needs, AND you can still allow for the cravings you want in moderation.
Food will be so much better at that point, because food isn't evil. It's tasty!0 -
My #1 rule is to eat when I am hungry. Some days that requires me to eat back a lot of the calories burned and others not so much. I find that the more fruit and veggies I eat, the less hungry I am throughout the day and ultimately less calories I eat. =] Do what ever works for you!0
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Have a healthy low calorie snack ready ann waiting before you work out. That way if you are hungry you know exactly what to eat instead of grabbing the nearest thing like chips etc. That's what I do and it's helped me stay on track. keep an apple, avocado, banana etc handy with your water:)0
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Eating them back doesn't work for everyone. I know a lot of people on here preach eating them back, but it does not work for me. I have been steadily loosing since Jan 6th (16 lbs down) by not eating them or barely dipping in to the exercise calories. SO, I am going to do what is working for me.
Editing to add: If I get to a point to what I am doing stops working, I would consider some extra calories and changing my exercise routine. But for now, I am doing what works.
I agree COMPLETELY. I know some people who go to the gym for hours and hours eat them back and that helps their metabolism etc. But, a) I only go to the gym for 30-45 minutes of cardio and maybe some weights if I'm up to it. I choose to most of the time not eat back my exercise calories and it seems to be working for me. I lost 15 lbs in a month and a half this way (though the first 5 were probably water weight).
Honestly, I am proud of my work so far and I do not think it is necessary to eat back those calories (unless you're working out like CRAZYYYY which I am not).
That said, some days I go a little over my calorie limit and I think that is okay, too! Don't worry. Do what feels right for your body. Your're hungry? DEFINITELY EAT MORE. If you're not, then stick to your daily goal.
I hope I've helped a little!0 -
Sounds like you've asked a question and ignored any answers you don't agree with to be honest.
Look at it this way, im currently allowed 1760 calories per day. If i stick to this whilst eating the correct foods i will lose around 2Ibs per week until i need to re-adjust the calculator. This is without exercise.
Using your logic, last Thursday when i burnt 986 calories i shouldn't have eaten more than the 1760 given to me originally. So in essence, you believe it would be healthy for a man weighing 240 Ibs at 6"1 to get through the day with just 774 calories?
Are you sure?
Not at all. You should be allowed to eat back the calories if you want. Today I was more hungry after I worked out so I did want to eat back my calories with some extra nutritious food. But often, I find myself going, well I'm full but I have 150 left so I'll just have a cookie. Which is not giving me nutrients, so why am I bothering? Just because the number is there. I was wondering how people deal with that particular issue. I didn't mean for this to become an argument about whether or not people SHOULD or SHOULD NOT eat back calories. I was trying to discuss something different (related, yes, but different).0 -
Kate, I have never eaten the calories back. I just try to get as close to my regular calorie goal each day as possible. If I earned extra calories from exercise, and I go a tad bit over, no worries. I also just don't feel the need to eat them. If I did feel hungry, I would definetly dip into them. There is no straight answer that fits every single person. I am just doing what works for me right now. I am also completely willing to change it up if I start plateauing. Just have to see what works for you.0
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My #1 rule is to eat when I am hungry. Some days that requires me to eat back a lot of the calories burned and others not so much. I find that the more fruit and veggies I eat, the less hungry I am throughout the day and ultimately less calories I eat. =] Do what ever works for you!
This ^ I love fruits and vegetables.0 -
Hi,
This has beeb great afformation for me. No wonder I have been so hungry lately.0 -
do NOTeat back calories you burned while excersing. you're just hurting yourself and ruin your workout.0
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What I do is. if I burned 400 calories while excerising I try and make sure I have between 350-400 calories left at the end of the day. try not to eat back the calories you ate. you'd be ruining the workout you just had. this is a very common problem that a lot of people make. Try and and eat calories that will keep you full longer as well, so you won't get cravings. hope this helps!0
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There are many different attitudes on MFP regarding exercise calories, but you really have to figure out what works best for YOU! Personally, I always log exercise but usually don't eat back much if any of them unless I'm actually hungry. I'd also be careful with using the calorie expenditure listed on your elliptical because those usually overestimate by quite a bit. Your best bet would be to invest in a heart rate monitor to determine how much you're actually burning during your workouts.
could not agree more
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I rarely eat back my exercise calories. Maybe once or twice I have dipped into them. I eat 1500 calories a day, and exercise 5 or 6 times a week. I've been losing weight for 20 months now. I'm so close to my goal now and thinking that finally I may have to increase those calories as weight loss has slowed down, although I'm getting smaller all the time.0
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My dietitian told me I was NOT to eat those calories back!!:blushing:0
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Hi Everyone! I'm pretty new here...started my diet on 2/21/13. For that first week I lost 3lbs which I am pretty happy with (though I know it's mostly water weight). Anyway, I decided to mix in some exercise as well--I generally do the elliptical.
My problem is this: when I log the exercise, then I see all those extra calories I get to eat, and hungry or not, I eat them. I don't want to eat back all my exercise calories because my whole goal is to lose the weight, so that's just making it like I didn't exercise. (And believe me when I tell you, I'd rather eat less and not exercise, but I know it is good for me in other ways as well so I am determined.) I have considered not logging the exercise but I like to see that add up over the week.
Anyway, to make a long story short: does anyone else have this problem? How do you deal with it? Not log the exercise? Any other ideas?
Thanks!
The calorie goal number MFP give you already has a sufficient deficit and is calculated with the intent that you SHOULD eat back your exercise calories. You've earned them, eat them!0 -
If you're going with MFP's set up then yes you are SUPPOSED to eat your calories back. One of my friends actually emailed them and asked, because there is so much debate here.
They already put you at a deficit to lose when you set it up, so even if you eat back all your calories (which you should) you'll still be losing....that 0.5lbs, 1lb, or 2lbs you chose when setting it up based on the deficit that was set by them based on what you told them about how fast you want to lose as well as the stats you gave them.
Your body needs a certain amount of fuel (just like a car) to just LIVE -- heartbeat, digest, breathe, etc. When you sit up, that takes more energy and therefore requires more fuel. Even more for walking. And even MORE for strenuous exercise.
Fuel your body so it can do what it needs. You wouldn't expect your car to function without fuel.0 -
I don't always eat all my exercise calories back, it depends how I feel. If I feel hungry then I'll eat but keep in the limit. If not, I don't force myself to eat.
So some days I'll burn 500 calories and eat 1300 calories. Or I'll eat 1500. It just depends on how you feel, don't force yourself to eat if you're not hungry!
Yeah, this is how I want to be. Based on all the responses I don't think I really explained my problem well.
I have a very hard time with self-control. The diet itself has been very difficult for me. However, I have committed to putting everything in my mouth in the tracker, and I really don't want to see that red number there. So I can limit myself to my daily amount (difficult but not impossible). But when I add in the exercise, now I have xxx calories extra that are there. SO I eat them.
I guess my question really is 1) how do I improve my self control and/or 2) is there another way to log the exercise that doesn't show the calories. Because if I am really hungry I want to know how much I get to eat back if I want.
Also regarding the HRM...wish I could afford one. I am out of a job and just plopped $55 for a month pass to the only gym in my town. Hopefully will get enough together for next month (if I don't have a job by then). But anyway I really can't spend the extra money on that now.
I know where you are coming from re self control...I have decided to change things up and changed from sedentary to moderately active, gives me a few hundred cals extra each day. (went form 138- to 1550 approx). I have created myself an excersise which says what I did and that it is 50% of the calories the heart rate monitor says, that way i can add and eat it if i choose.... I will be trying this for a few weeks and see how it goes.... you could put in ZERO calories if you like.... I wish you well keep at it...
add me as a friend if you like0 -
i usually go with how i feel. if i'm real hungry i'll usually eat the calories back but if i'm not i don't. I just make sure to eat every 3 hrs to keep my metabolism up.0
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Stop listening to the people here who claim you absolutely have to eat back the calories. Of course you'll lose more weight if you don't eat them back.
If your problem is with self control, don't log the exercise. Or just put it in the notes if you want to keep track.
A great book that has helped me with self control is the Body Fat Solution by Venuto. It's the best $13 I ever spent.0
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