Do you eat your excercise calories back?

Lauri524

Hi all. I've put myself on a 1200 calorie per day regimen. I workout 5-6 days a week which includes 3 days at gym with usually 30 minutes uphill walk on treadmill burning approx. 300 calories then 30 minutes circuit training. The other days I either hike or walk for at least an hour. I've been at this for over about 2 months now and managed to take off a measly 2 pounds. I am wondering if this is because I am eating my calories back after burning them? I figure 1200 is pretty low for me to begin with but everyone keeps telling me I'm not eating enough. I am wondering what the right thing to do is. I've been trying to switch it up by adding more protein and less carbs to my daily intake but in the meantime, I'd love to hear what others are doing.

seena511

yes, you need to be eating them back. how long did it take you to lose 2 lbs and how much weight do you have to lose? what is your height and current weight?

iLoveMyAR15

i use the TDEE -20% so yes, i do eat them back and LOVE every yummy calorie!

Squamation

Everyone's body is different, you'll have to experiment with yours to see if you lose weight better eating back the exercise calories or not. Give it two weeks and see if there's significant improvement, if not then move on.

Who cares about how many pounds you've lost? What about your size: have your measurements stayed the same or are you smaller? You could have lost fat and gained muscle leaving the scale to tell you there's little progress.

seena511

i use the TDEE -20% so yes, i do eat them back and LOVE every yummy calorie!

you're not supposed to eat them back using this method. your TDEE is supposed to include your excercise. that's why the T stands for TOTAL.

Lauramh31

I eat mine back to make sure I'm not eating below my BMR. My daily calories is set at my BMR (TDEE - 20% is lower than my BMR), so if I don't eat my calories back it's too low (my TDEE is low bc I have a desk job, no kids to chase, etc). That said, there are days I eat over my calories (yesterday 700 over...oops) and days when I am under (when I earn a lot from exercise) becuase I worked out in the evening and I'm just not hungry enough to eat them all back!

As far as your problem I would (a) make sure you are eating at least your BMR so your body doesn't start holding on to things and (b) make sure your calorie burn is accurate - if you think you're burning more than you are and eat back all of your calories, you are eating more than your calorie limit.

montana_girl

... i do eat them back and LOVE every yummy calorie!

Oh, this is so me!! I eat back all my exercise calories and enjoy the fact I get to eat a bit more throughout the day.

And I'm finally getting to the point that I use those calories on healthier choices (usually).

hmkohio

What is the TDEE? Thanks

iLoveMyAR15

i use the TDEE -20% so yes, i do eat them back and LOVE every yummy calorie!

you're not supposed to eat them back using this method. your TDEE is supposed to include your excercise. that's why the T stands for TOTAL.

when you use the TDEE method, you eat the same every day regardless of exercise, so YES technically i DO eat them back. And i know what TDEE stands for, thanks though.

Lauramh31

... i do eat them back and LOVE every yummy calorie!

Oh, this is so me!! I eat back all my exercise calories and enjoy the fact I get to eat a bit more throughout the day.

And I'm finally getting to the point that I use those calories on healthier choices (usually).

^^Also this - I exercise so I can earn more calories to eat

MistressAella

Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

seena511

i use the TDEE -20% so yes, i do eat them back and LOVE every yummy calorie!

you're not supposed to eat them back using this method. your TDEE is supposed to include your excercise. that's why the T stands for TOTAL.

when you use the TDEE method, you eat the same every day regardless of exercise, so YES technically i DO eat them back. And i know what TDEE stands for, thanks though.

did you mean that you're eating back the calories just by eating to your goal? the way you worded it, it sounded to me like you were putting your calorie burn in MFP and then eating back those calories on top of the TDEE - 20%. my mistake.

Bigal5565

if you use the following equation/link you cant go wrong. as long as you eat under the calories needed in order to maintain your current weight.


http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/

gimpygramma

I am a little old lady with a very low BMR. On a 1200 calorie diet I was to lose .2 lbs a week. Hard to maintain motivation at that rate. So when I was wanting to lose weight, I used my exercise calories to create a bigger deficit...might have eaten back a few but not most. Now that I am on maintenance, I try to eat them all back.

olDave

Most days I do eat them back.

Angelsrose12

Over the summer I did almost exactly what you did. I lost a little at first, then stayed the same or gained after that. When I upped my calories and ate back my exercise I did much better. Right now I am trying TDEE and it seems to be working well.

TomTomato

A couple weeks ago I saw a post that made me realize something. The exercise calories are replacing calories we would be burning doing something else. For instance, if you burn 2,400 Cals/day being sedentary, that equates to burning 100 Cals/hour doing little. So if you burn 600 Cals in a one-hour workout, you really only added 500 Cals to what you expended. If you calculated your TDEE including your workout activity, it won't make a difference. I chose to calculate mine as "sedentary" so I can add my exercise activity manually and it won't be double counted.

iLoveMyAR15

i use the TDEE -20% so yes, i do eat them back and LOVE every yummy calorie!

you're not supposed to eat them back using this method. your TDEE is supposed to include your excercise. that's why the T stands for TOTAL.

when you use the TDEE method, you eat the same every day regardless of exercise, so YES technically i DO eat them back. And i know what TDEE stands for, thanks though.

did you mean that you're eating back the calories just by eating to your goal? the way you worded it, it sounded to me like you were putting your calorie burn in MFP and then eating back those calories on top of the TDEE - 20%. my mistake.

Sorry, I prob should have worded it differently....I noticed that after i posted. I eat the same amount every day, just seems easier to me than entering my exercise and eating those calories back.

Lauramh31

i use the TDEE -20% so yes, i do eat them back and LOVE every yummy calorie!

you're not supposed to eat them back using this method. your TDEE is supposed to include your excercise. that's why the T stands for TOTAL.

when you use the TDEE method, you eat the same every day regardless of exercise, so YES technically i DO eat them back. And i know what TDEE stands for, thanks though.

did you mean that you're eating back the calories just by eating to your goal? the way you worded it, it sounded to me like you were putting your calorie burn in MFP and then eating back those calories on top of the TDEE - 20%. my mistake.

You can also calculate your TDEE so that it DOES NOT include your exercise. This is how I do it since I don't do the same exercise from day to day or week to week. So I calculate TDEE w/o exercise to make sure it doesn't over/under calculate when I add/skip exercise. Then I log my exercise in MFP as I earn it (type in the calories as per my heart rate monitor) and eat those calories back (mostly).

RonandDi

I have found that if I eat as much as MFP tells me I can, I don't lose. So, I had to play around with how much I eat. I have been averaging a little over a pound a week, but according to MFP, I would be losing more than 2 pounds per week.

Don't be surprised if you don't lose by following their guidlines...IMHO, there is way to much room for error, either in your entries or just differences in body make up.

bjmarsh14

I don't eat mine back. I eat so much filling stuff throughout the day though that I don't have room for them. I have also noticed that I don't get the same results eating them back as when I don't. It's different for everyone though.

cwolfman13

What is the TDEE? Thanks

TDEE - Total Daily Energy Expenditure. One way to determine your calorie goal is the TDEE method. You figure out your TDEE (maintenance level of calories) estimate based on a calculator like this:

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

...and you deduct some percentage from your TDEE...generally 5%, 10%, 15%, or 20% for weight loss. Your TDEE calculation includes all activity, including exercise. Keep in mind that nothing is set in stone...these calculators are designed to give you a starting point, they aren't the be all end all and you'll have to fiddle with your numbers a bit as you go along.

MFP uses your NEAT rather than your TDEE...otherwise known as the NEAT method (Non Exercise Activity Thermogensis). Using the NEAT method, a calculator such as MFP will calculate a calorie goal based on your activity level WITHOUT exercise. This is often an easier approach for people who are not set into a workout routine...who frequently miss workouts...who have calorie burns all over the map because they are inconsistent in their workouts, etc. The NEAT method allows you to log exercise as extra activity, thereby increasing your calorie GOAL (something to be achieved OP).

I used the MFP method for months and now use the TDEE method...it really comes out 6 of 1, half dozen of the other..here's an example for me.

MFP calorie goal for 1 Lb per week loss - 1750 calories
Avg calorie burn per day - 300 calories

Gross calories (1750 + 300) = 2050 (net is still 1750)

TDEE method...

TDEE - 2525

TDEE - 20% = 2020 calories

MFP calorie goal (added exercise) = 2050 (1 Lb per week loss)
TDEE calorie goal (exercise included in formula) = 2020 (1 Lb per week loss)

As you can see...6 of 1. Most people who have issue losing when they eat to their GOAL calories; 1. overestimate burn and underestimate intake...there are no magic, special snow flakes...this is basic science and mathematics. Exceptions would be 1.) medical condition, 2.) medication interference with metabolism, 3.) someone who's crash dieted so often that they've completely jacked their metabolism.

MommaKit79

Everyone's body is different, you'll have to experiment with yours to see if you lose weight better eating back the exercise calories or not. Give it two weeks and see if there's significant improvement, if not then move on.

Who cares about how many pounds you've lost? What about your size: have your measurements stayed the same or are you smaller? You could have lost fat and gained muscle leaving the scale to tell you there's little progress.

^This^ It depends on your individual goals and what works better for you. Some days i eat back my calories and others I dont. But, Lately, I have been eating them back and I havent lost nearly what I was before, when I wasnt eating them back. At least I havent really gained tho. Increaseing protein is a good idea too.

And, totally agree with the measurements. You may be losing the "weight" but, gaining it back with more muscle. Remember, a cubic foot of muscle weights more then a cubic foot of fat. :-) The scale can be SOOOO diceiving...take your mesaurements and see how that adds up. I usually measure every 4 weeks.

GracefulDancer4Christ

I ea the 15% of my tdee cut so I do not eat the exercise calories back.

meeper123

I eat back all i can but i can never eat them all lol

sheep_dog

Yes I do, and you're supposed to - MFP already adjusts your caloric eating to your weight loss plan, and what's safe for you. If you only eat 1200 calories a day, and exercise 300 off , 900 calories a day isn't good. I eat about 1500 calories, exercise 300 off, so that my net is 1200 to safely lose 2 lbs a week. (That's what I did do, last time when I lost 25 lbs in about 2 and a half months).

I know it feels weird like "why even exercise then, why not just eat 1200 and do no exercise?" The answer is exercising isn't just for caloric loss, it helps build your endurance, time you up a bit so your end look is better, and makes you feel better ^.^

Hope that helps!

ldsnowden22

Sometimes i eat them back and sometimes i don't. I think it works out because i forget to log every thing in at times.

quirkyone1

I follow the TDEE - 20% method (though sometimes I eat at maintenance on heavy workout days if necessary). I do not log any of my exercise. Trying to eat back my guesstimated exercise cals and not eating enough on other days has failed miserably for me.

badbradclark

I log 50% of whatever MFP says should be what I burned for calories on any given exercise - then I plan on eating all of that back. However, about 1/2 that ends up being pre-, during-, and post- workout foods (necessary for those 40 mile bike rides). I tried logging and eating back 100% of what MFP said were may calories, but I didn't lose as much as I wanted.

I don't get using a TDEE number that would also includes exercise - unless you did the exact same thing 7 days a week. And that doesn't seem likely. I think it makes more sense to use a TDEE number that does not include exercise and then as you work out allow for more calories to be consumed.

Lauri524

Hi and thanks for your reply. Last year I took off 42 pounds through weight watchers and doing Zumba 3 times a week. A couple of pounds started to creep back which is what drove me here (tired of paying to lose weight!). I'm currently 179 lbs, 5'4". Weight watchers has my goal at 146 so I need to take off about 33 pounds.

Lauri524

Thank you everybody for such an overwhelming response! Now I don't feel so bad about eating them back! @Icehurts, you said it in a nutshell. If I didn't eat them back, I would be consuming 900, possibly 800 calories a day which would be too dangerously low. So I'm going to try the higher protein this week and see what that does. And while we're on the subject, I work out very early in the morning and try to eat breakfast when I get home from the gym (around 9-10am. I do, however, have to eat something before I leave for the gym and I'd love to know what everyone's eating for protein (other than protein shakes as I like to eat better than drink my calories!). Thanks!