Not understanding the exercise calories added to food intake

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  • EmilyOfTheSun
    EmilyOfTheSun Posts: 1,548 Member
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    Because you'd already lose weight just by eating under your calorie goal. So the more you burn with exercise, the more you get to eat.
  • trainguy917
    trainguy917 Posts: 366 Member
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    This is a long-running argument between people who have followed the instructions as they set up their accounts and understand the MFP system and people who haven't read the instructions and don't know what they're talking about. It is also a discussion between people who have some basic knowledge of human physiology and people who still cling to the odd belief that the human body can get by netting nearly no calories without eventually breaking down. The lady who said 1200 calories is really hard is proving the point for the people she's disagreeing with.
  • whipdancer
    whipdancer Posts: 21 Member
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    Calorie cutting alone is more likely to have a suppressive effect on the immune system and less likely to affect abdominal fat, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

    Excessive calorie deficits, even combined with exercise are also likely to have negative effects on the immune system. Rapid weight loss from any cause affects the liver...

    Yes, I did mean health, not fitness.

    It is not a flaw in the system, it is MFP's way of encouraging exercise. Not eating back any of those calories is flawed thinking.

    The only way to lose weight is to consume fewer calories than you than burn in any given day. There is no magic to it.

    Being physically active is not an indicator of being healthy - it is an indicator of being physically active.

    Losing weight by consuming fewer calories may lead to suppression of your immune system. Losing weight by exercising and consuming fewer calories can have the exact same effect.

    Sensible calorie restrictions, just like sensible exercise regimen will have beneficial effects on overall health.
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,370 Member
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    I agree with nisthompson...

    I don't. Any deficit adjustments should be made within your goals area. I've lost 75lbs in 12 months eating all of mine back and don't see why you'd want to make yourself suffer unnecessarily!
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
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    HI...I DO NOT LIKE THAT THEY ADD THE EXERCISE CALORIES TO FOOD CALORIE ALLOTMENT...SO I JUST IGNORE THAT PART...I TRY TO CONSUME 1200 CALORIES A DAY LIKE THEY SUGGESTED AND I DO NOT PUT IN THE EXERCISE PART ANY MORE...THE EXERCISE IS WHAT IS GOING TO HELP YOU BURN MORE CALORIES...BY ADDING THAT TO YOUR DAILY CALORIC INTAKE YOU WILL NOT REALLY LOSE MUCH WEIGHT...ALTHOUGH I FIND 1200 CALORIES NEAR IMPOSSIBLE LOL...

    You eat your exercise calories back because your deficit is already built into the calorie amounts MFP gives you for food. Not consuming your exercise calories back can create too high of a deficit which increases the amount of muscle you will lose while losing weight. Not fueling your body enough will not help you. Consuming too little calories will cause more harm than good.

    You don't need to exercise to lose weight. You can lose weight by cutting your intake alone which is what MFP does.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    Other people have already explained it, but here's a detailed explanation:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
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    This is a flaw in this system, as far as I"m concerned. If you want to create a calorie deficit, and most of us in here do, then it should not add the exercise calories burned back to your daily calories. It should show the deficit and the approximate pounds of bodyweight that you are on track to lose because of the daily deficit.

    The system is not flawed at all besides the fact that it allows people to get a calorie goal that is far too low for them.

    The system is set up the way it is because your deficit is already taken when you are given your daily calorie goal. If you were to just eat the amount this site gives you, you would lose weight. You do not neeed to exercise to lose weight. Not consuming your exercise calories back can result in a deficit far too large which will increase the amount of muscle you will lose in the process.
  • EmmaKarney
    EmmaKarney Posts: 690 Member
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    I refuse to believe this thread is real.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    I refuse to believe this thread is real.

    This topic comes up daily, unfortunately.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    Other people have already explained it, but here's a detailed explanation:

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

    Just reiterating....
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    Wow! You guys are awesome. Thank you for all the pointers. I think listening to your body is key and although I will not plan on eating back all of the calories i will keep them in my hip pocket if needed and use them as I see fit. Big birthday bash on Friday so perhaps I can withdrawal them then for my wine and other goodies :wink: . Thanks again!

    Beware that your body won't tell you when you are depleting muscle mass. And keep in mind your body doesn't have proactive warning signs. For example, cancer. How often do people find out they have stage 4 with little to no signs? I don't know about you, but I rather be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to my body. For me, it's no different than my car. I do regular maintenance and make sure it can run at optimal levels. Below is thread will talk about it more too. Those who did not eat TDEE -20% or their exercise calories lost more weight from muscle.


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/729141-exercise-calories-to-eat-or-not-to-eat-results?hl=exercise+calories+psulemon&page=1#posts-10742097
  • anasantos61
    anasantos61 Posts: 86 Member
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    People dont take the time to read and post wrong information.

    Good food fuel's the body
  • MightyDomo
    MightyDomo Posts: 1,265 Member
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    If you setup your monitor correctly you will have a set deficit you need to meet along with food intake requirements, step requirementsm, sleep requirements and activity requirements.

    For example

    2500 cals to burn
    1500 cals to eat
    1000 cal deficit
    8000 steps
    30 min activity
    15 min vigorous activity
    8 hours sleep with 75% efficiency (although this is a guideline rather than a requirement)

    If you have higher than your alloted calorie deficit you eat back ALL the additional calories above deficit.
  • stonel94
    stonel94 Posts: 550 Member
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    Because MFP sets up your profile so that you're already having a calorie defict, so you don't actually have to work out to lose the weight as long as you don't eat over calorie. You probably shouldn't net (so have a total calorie intake after the calories subtracted from exercise) under 1200, but it really shouldn't be below your BMR (which you can check on here or other sites), so if I have mine set to 1200 calories a day I should eat back all my exercises, I have mine at 1600 so if I don't eat them all back, it's alright, though i personally try to, and yes I used to not eat them back and i lost weight very quickly but it was hard to maintain and then I started gaining weight when eating more because I was netting at like 800 calories sometimes, which is far too few. Exercise, if you don't eat back all the calories, will speed up weight loss, but make sure you do it healthily, if you're burning almost 600 calories then that's a decent amount so I would eat at least some of that back, and remember to get lots of protein (if you have kept the settings on here the same and not manually changed them, strive to go over on protein)
  • KenosFeoh
    KenosFeoh Posts: 1,837 Member
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    I've been reading a lot of articles and visiting other sites, and the MFP way is not the only way. (It may not even be the correct way.) If you don't like the system, there are lots of other options.

    And it's your body. Have it your own way, and either enjoy or suffer the consequences.
  • stonel94
    stonel94 Posts: 550 Member
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    HI...I DO NOT LIKE THAT THEY ADD THE EXERCISE CALORIES TO FOOD CALORIE ALLOTMENT...SO I JUST IGNORE THAT PART...I TRY TO CONSUME 1200 CALORIES A DAY LIKE THEY SUGGESTED AND I DO NOT PUT IN THE EXERCISE PART ANY MORE...THE EXERCISE IS WHAT IS GOING TO HELP YOU BURN MORE CALORIES...BY ADDING THAT TO YOUR DAILY CALORIC INTAKE YOU WILL NOT REALLY LOSE MUCH WEIGHT...ALTHOUGH I FIND 1200 CALORIES NEAR IMPOSSIBLE LOL...

    They don't sugest 1200 calories a day, especially if you're a guy you should not eat that little, eat at your BMR and you'll lose weight faster (and that's net) I've tried both ways, and I may have intitally lost weight faster with the 1200 a day but I plataued and went up again, if you're finding 1200 really really hard, then it's too few, up it a little, it's scary, it's always scary, but trust me it really does work, especially if you want to be in shape, not just skinny-fat
  • EmmaKarney
    EmmaKarney Posts: 690 Member
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    Clearly the OP does not know what a BMR or a TDEE is so absolutely no use throwing those terms around....

    I would direct him to read the following:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
  • lexlyn14
    lexlyn14 Posts: 290 Member
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    hi...I get what everyone is saying about having to eat your exercise calories in order to lose weight at a safe rate. and so not to deplete your muscles...However it is very hard to retrain the brain...My whole life when trying to lose weight I consumed 1200 calories...did cardio for an hour a day and 30 minute weight training every other day... and drank 8 glasses of water... and always lost the weight...I am not used to being able to eat more than 1200 calories and quite frankly am afraid too...I recently cut down my smoking from a pack a day to 5 cig a day with the goal of quitting altogether... and am afraid my metabolism has slowed down...this is another reason I am afraid to consume more than 1200 calories...My goal is to lose 14 lbs in 11 weeks...ANY ADVICE IS SO WELCOMED...thanks.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    hi...I get what everyone is saying about having to eat your exercise calories in order to lose weight at a safe rate. and so not to deplete your muscles...However it is very hard to retrain the brain...My whole life when trying to lose weight I consumed 1200 calories...did cardio for an hour a day and 30 minute weight training every other day... and drank 8 glasses of water... and always lost the weight...I am not used to being able to eat more than 1200 calories and quite frankly am afraid too...I recently cut down my smoking from a pack a day to 5 cig a day with the goal of quitting altogether... and am afraid my metabolism has slowed down...this is another reason I am afraid to consume more than 1200 calories...My goal is to lose 14 lbs in 11 weeks...ANY ADVICE IS SO WELCOMED...thanks.

    If you only have 14 lbs to lose, 11 weeks is pretty aggressive. In order to have any chance of success, you need to be very in tune with your body. This includes feeding your body. If you are not comfortable with eating back calories, set MFP to maintain weight, instead of losing weight. The number it gives you would allow you to maintain without doing any exercise. Then your exercise will create your deficit.
  • icmuse
    icmuse Posts: 263 Member
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    I am 5 foot "tall" - 22 pounds down, 8 to go.

    I have my base set up at 1350/day, I work out daily and EAT ALL my workout calories back, so I end up eating 1500-1800/ day, still netting 1350 in the end and losing weight and inches.

    Why would you want to starve yourself at 1200 a day, workout, not eat your calories back and practically net under 1000 calories a day? That is just a foolish way to screw with your metabolism in a long run!

    Food is a wonderful thing to enjoy and to nourish our bodies.

    I workout more so I can eat more, period :tongue:

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