What's the point...?

PixieChick24
PixieChick24 Posts: 36 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Alright, you guys are going to think this is a really dumb question but why do we need to eat back our exercise calories? For instance if I eat 1800 calories and burn 300 calories and then eat them back I'm back up to 1800. Even if I don't eat back the calories I'd still be at 1500 which isn't starvation mode. Seems very contradicting. I've read that you should eat back all your exercise calories and I've also read that you should only eat back half.

First question is why do we need to eat back these calories?
Second question is eat back all or only half?

Thanks! :smile:

Replies

  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    The point is that creating a moderate deficit is better than creating an extreme deficit.
  • thighgapsplease
    thighgapsplease Posts: 5
    dont eat mine back
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
    Yes
    All

    It's the way MFP works.
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
    dont eat mine back

    Yes but I just read your thread saying you have a eating disorder!
  • Xiaolongbao
    Xiaolongbao Posts: 854 Member
    First question is why do we need to eat back these calories?
    Second question is eat back all or only half?
    Thanks! :smile:

    Partially you need to work out what works with you. A lot of the arguments on here are because people fail to grasp the fundamental idea that we're all different.

    I under-log mine (to avoid the risk of over-logging) and then eat back what I've logged. But I'm a hungry person so I feel I need those extra calories. The idea of being able to eat more gets me out the door to exercise.
  • Marrhet
    Marrhet Posts: 13
    I personally don't eat all mine back because I am full eating what I do I can't imagine eating 800-1000 more calories a day anymore.
  • LadyPakal
    LadyPakal Posts: 256 Member
    Eat half to 3/4 back - because then you are not double booking calories - when you exercise you are adding onto calories that would have been used had you sat on the sofa instead.

    The 1800 calorie allowance you get has your deficit built into it (500 a day if you are going for 1lb/wk loss for example). If you exercise without eating back, you increase that deficit.
  • Izzwoz
    Izzwoz Posts: 348 Member
    I don't think there is a yes or no answer, it's more like an "it depends" ...

    It depends, for example, on whether you factor in daily exercise in your category of "active", "sedentary", etc. If you do, the exercise cals should be considered there, so your goal would be set higher to account for the exercise.

    For example, I am set to "sedentary", I work from home and don't regularly exercise. When I do exercise, I log this exercise and eat the calories back, because my goal is based on the "sedentary" setting.

    Has worked fine for the past 45 lbs. :-)

    ETFT
  • gil_u
    gil_u Posts: 165 Member
    dont eat mine back

    Yes but I just read your thread saying you have a eating disorder!

    Well, that was unnecessary...
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    I don't eat mine back unless I'm hungry. I'm not going to force myself to eat food if my body is not asking for it. I'll burn off about 1000 a day, eat about 1200. I'm not dead, I don't have a disorder, I'm full of energy, I'm not hungry & I'm actually in maintain mode. Bite me those who think I should FORCE myself to eat.
  • chatogal
    chatogal Posts: 436 Member
    Yes
    All

    It's the way MFP works.

    this reply made me laff...doh!!
  • drefaw
    drefaw Posts: 739
    Every one is different. I say listen to your body. It is what I do. If I am not hungry, I don't eat them back, if I am a little hungry I will eat some of them back. If I still feel HUNGRY, I will eat most/all of them back.

    Again, this is what is working for ME. You really need to experiment around a little and see what works best for you .....

    We are all the same, ......................... but different .......
  • PixieChick24
    PixieChick24 Posts: 36 Member
    Thanks everyone! I always find it hard to eat them back because it's already difficult for to eat 1300-1400 calories. And I tend to have no appetite after I work out for some odd reason so I didn't want to force feed myself if it's not necessary. Thanks again for all the help!
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,467 Member
    The point is that MFP calculates your deficit without the exercise, so to maintain that same deficit you have to eat back exercise calories.

    MFP looks at the calories you burn without exercise, in your daily life, when you set it up (you choose a category of sedentary, lightly active, etc., according to what your occupation and daily activity is). Say you burn 2000 calories day to day, without exercise. MFP then subtracts an amount from that figure depending on how much you want to lose. It calculates 3500 calories per pound lost, so if you said you wanted to lose 1lb a week, that would mean losing 3500 calories per week. That works out as 500 calories a day, so MFP would give you a goal of 1500 calories, without exercise.

    If you then did 300 calories of exercise, that would make that day a 2300 calorie day, not your exercise-free 2000 calorie day). If you want to keep the deficit that you have set, of 500, you have to eat those calories back for a total of 1800 that day. Otherwise your deficit would be 800 for that day, instead of 500. That's only leaving you 1200 calories net. You'd end up doing a more extreme diet than you meant to and that could be more difficult to stick to and also possibly cause some problems. The effect would be even more pronounced if you did a lot of exercise and already had a big deficit (2 lb a week).

    So you're meant to always eat your exercise calories on the MFP plan. The only caveat I have is that (I think) it's difficult to be precise about your exercise calories and easy to overestimate them. So while you should always eat them back, it's difficult to know exactly how much they are!

    I don't think MFP explains very well that this is how it works, and so people aren't clear about whether to eat their exercise calories back. It's also made more confusing because not all of us on MFP are following the MFP plan, so there are loads of us not eating our exercise calories back because we've set a custom goal which includes them.

    I've found it easier to go with TDEE - 20% and NOT eat back exercise (great post here which explains it simply http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/943139-weight-loss-cheat-sheet-ipoarm ).
  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
    Thanks everyone! I always find it hard to eat them back because it's already difficult for to eat 1300-1400 calories. And I tend to have no appetite after I work out for some odd reason so I didn't want to force feed myself if it's not necessary. Thanks again for all the help!
    Try eating high cal healthy stuff like nuts, peanut butter and avocado.
  • kenna44cat
    kenna44cat Posts: 105 Member
    I don't eat mine back anymore. I think MFP overestimates the amount we burn on exercise, anyhow. But some of us need more calories than others and some of us do more strenuous workouts. I have quite a low calorie goal every day partly because I'm a senior and my metabolism is lower, I've figured out I can't lose on any more than 1200 a day. Some of us are losing at much more than that. But to make a long answer short, no, I don't eat mine back.
  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
    I don't eat mine back anymore. I think MFP overestimates the amount we burn on exercise, anyhow. But some of us need more calories than others and some of us do more strenuous workouts. I have quite a low calorie goal every day partly because I'm a senior and my metabolism is lower, I've figured out I can't lose on any more than 1200 a day. Some of us are losing at much more than that. But to make a long answer short, no, I don't eat mine back.

    It's not often you hear that. These forums are bombarded by people telling you to eat more. How much are you losing, and how much do you have to lose.
  • live2learn2live
    live2learn2live Posts: 4 Member
    It depends. I under-log my exercises. Partially because I think that many of the exercises overestimate the calories burned and partially because I have my settings set to "Active". I work part time as a dog groomer, which is physically labor intensive, but that is a few days a week at most. I figure that if I balance my workouts so that on the days I do not work, I work out more than the days that I do, I come out even.
    I have lost 40 lbs this way and gained 10 lbs of muscle so it is working out well for me. I think you should find a system that works for you. I will add, though, that the TYPE of exercise will help determine how to eat. In the beginning I was just jogging and going to the gym a couple of days a week, nothing too strenuous. So I could eat the 1220 calories that MFP said I should and not feel dizzy or extremely tired. Now that I am doing H.I.I.T. I have to eat more calories (so I'm eating more like 1500-1600 calories) paying close attention to protein and carbs. More energy left over and no dizziness.
  • summerprize
    summerprize Posts: 2 Member
    Really impressed with your weight loss, Ladypakal. I've got about the same to lose and am really struggling.
  • LadyPakal
    LadyPakal Posts: 256 Member
    Really impressed with your weight loss, Ladypakal. I've got about the same to lose and am really struggling.

    Thanks - It's taken since mid-July last year - slowed down a lot now though as I get closer. Still not completely sure where I'll stop yet - I was aiming for 140lbs (which is where I was in my 20's) but I seem to have more lean mass now, so that may be unrealistic.

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