Eating back exercise calories... does it work?

Options
1235

Replies

  • Tomhoffman84
    Tomhoffman84 Posts: 99
    Options
    Always eat back my exercise calories, I exercise sometimes just for the purpose of eating something later.

    For example...tonight, I'm making puerto rican rice and beans and fried plantains (about 1400-1500 calories)...the reason why most puerto rican women have many curves. So...when I leave work, I'm going for a nice 7-8 mile run so I have an extra 1000 calories in the bank to keep myself on goal.

    Regarding if it works or not...please reference below! Hit triple digits last week.
  • StArBeLLa87
    StArBeLLa87 Posts: 1,582 Member
    Options
    Now Ive read this Im confuse arrgghh..........some days I eat them all back some days I only eat 1/2. I do 30dshred & 30day squat & sometimes walk & have only losted 1kg its been a month but have losted 39.9cm in measurements total. Now Im wondering if thats why the scale hasnt moved because Ive eaten cals back :( confuse??

    If you're not losing weight then you're not in a calorie deficit. I'd look more closely at how accurately and honestly you're logging rather than because you are eating back exercise cals.

    Again, it's not the method that's broken, it's your execution of the method.

    I agree you have to be honest with yourself when logging calories or you will only be hurting yourself!
  • kevinindelaware
    kevinindelaware Posts: 127 Member
    Options
    I've lost 34lbs in 40 days and most days I do not even come close to my calorie limit after exercise. At this point what would be the benefit ?
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Options
    I've lost 34lbs in 40 days and most days I do not even come close to my calorie limit after exercise. At this point what would be the benefit ?

    Depends on the person, but for most it's things like healthy weight loss and long term sustainability.
  • Gordo1981
    Gordo1981 Posts: 59 Member
    Options
    I find there are days that I try not to eat them back because I don't feel hungry right then. the next day I am often ravenous and lose any benefit of not eating back the night before by binging.

    Lost 20 lbs, but I have 70 more to go....So remember this is my experience.
  • Tomhoffman84
    Tomhoffman84 Posts: 99
    Options
    I've lost 34lbs in 40 days and most days I do not even come close to my calorie limit after exercise. At this point what would be the benefit ?

    Depends on the person, but for most it's things like healthy weight loss and long term sustainability.

    Its the difference between "dieting" and making a health lifestyle change. The more normal you eat (which exercise allows) and the more you ingrain exercise into your life, the more likely you will sustain weight loss. If you are drastically short of your calorie goal each day, its difficult to sustain the loss over time.

    There are some great articles and research studies about how the body adjusts to diet, weight loss, and why sustaining weight loss is so difficult. One research study about sustaining weight loss over long the term (for people who lost 30+lbs) found that someone who loses 40lbs to get to 180, their body actually uses 10-15% less calories in a day to maintain that weight than someone who has been 180 for years. They pointed to this as one of the primary factors in weight gain after significant weight loss. Just another thing to consider on your approach...
  • anm6c6
    anm6c6 Posts: 8
    Options
    Typically I'll eat 1/2 back. If I'm hungry, I'll eat them all back.
  • LBNOakland
    LBNOakland Posts: 379 Member
    Options
    Always eat back my exercise calories, I exercise sometimes just for the purpose of eating something later.

    For example...tonight, I'm making puerto rican rice and beans and fried plantains (about 1400-1500 calories)...the reason why most puerto rican women have many curves. So...when I leave work, I'm going for a nice 7-8 mile run so I have an extra 1000 calories in the bank to keep myself on goal.

    Regarding if it works or not...please reference below! Hit triple digits last week.

    Congratulations!!! I went to Puerto Rico for my 20 wedding anniversary! What a beautiful place!! Loved the fried plaintains!! I would run for that meal too!!
  • LBNOakland
    LBNOakland Posts: 379 Member
    Options
    Thanks for all the responses :smile: Makes me feel a bit better about eating most of them back. I just see a lot of people who are using TDEE/not eating exercise calories and wondered if there was anyone using MFP the way it was designed to be used! (Not that other ways aren't valid - it's whatever works for you I guess.)

    Yes, there are lots of people using the MFP method. TDEE is simpler for some and kind of a buzz topic right now on the forums.

    It is the buzz and I did try it. It didn't work for me. I am sure it was my math skills and not calculating my BMR or TDEE or ABC! Logging exercise and eating some of those calories is just easier for me!! LOL I have built in zigzag days because I eat more on some days than others naturally. On those days, I try to make sure I am lifting weights or do a nice, long cardio session.

    That doesn't always work either. Had to rest yesterday because I had a school event that I forgot about so I didn't get up and exercise in the morning. they served pizza - blah, blah, blah. So today will be a low cal day and weight lifting tonight. Life will happen and we have to adjust. I used to let it completely derail me but not anymore!! That's what MFP is good for!!
  • chezzaleech
    chezzaleech Posts: 1
    Options
    you will still lose weight, if your sticking to your daily calorie allowance
  • Ashshell
    Ashshell Posts: 185
    Options
    I don't eat back my exercise calories. It works for me and I'm not going to force myself to eat when I'm not hungry and I feel fulfilled. I am very happy with my progress at this point. I'm not losing too fast or too slow (around 1.5-2lbs per week) and I never feel restricted.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    Options
    I see a lot of people on these forums saying that they don't eat back their exercise calories, or that they only eat half of them/some of them back. I just wondered if there was anyone on here who has eaten all their exercise calories back and still lost weight?

    You can eat all your calories back and lose weight. If:

    1) You are accurately recording your food and creating an appropriate calorie deficit; and
    2) You are expending the amount of energy you think you are during exercise.

    It's easy to be wrong on both counts and gain weight, which is why some people simply don't eat their calories back, or eat back only a portion.

    For weight loss, I focus on calories. Exercise, while important for health, is not part of my equation.
  • Tomhoffman84
    Tomhoffman84 Posts: 99
    Options
    This question is also very relative to the person and the exercise being done.

    If you are burning 600+ calories during a workout, its rather unhealthy not to eat those back, unless you have your MFP goal set to "maintenance."

    If you take the dog for a 30 minute walk and burn 150, then I get not eating them back. However, if you are doing anything high intensity, strength related, endurance, I dont see how you get the full benefits of those activities without eating properly? Using the scale as the only measure of your success seems foolish to me.

    I'm much happier judging my progress by saying my half marathon time is now under 2 hours than the weight I have lost.
  • Diamond05
    Diamond05 Posts: 475 Member
    Options
    When I was counting my calories, I wasn't eating them back. I do drink a whey protein shake after... But that's 140calories
  • Msdirection
    Msdirection Posts: 54 Member
    Options
    YES, it works! I eat back every singe exercise calorie and have lost those difficult last 5kg doing it. The only thing I would suggest is picking up a heart-rate monitor - some of the estimates on MFP can be wildly optimistic, so at least with a HRM, you know exactly what you burnt!
  • wendybird5
    wendybird5 Posts: 577 Member
    Options
    I eat them back and didn't have any issue losing weight.
  • fufi04
    fufi04 Posts: 471 Member
    Options
    I never eat them back. I have trouble even eating 1490/day :/
  • EmmaKarney
    EmmaKarney Posts: 690 Member
    Options
    I never eat them back. I have trouble even eating 1490/day :/

    How did you put the weight on in the first place?
  • Cheeky_and_Geeky
    Cheeky_and_Geeky Posts: 984 Member
    Options
    I don't eat back my exercise calories. It works for me and I'm not going to force myself to eat when I'm not hungry and I feel fulfilled. I am very happy with my progress at this point. I'm not losing too fast or too slow (around 1.5-2lbs per week) and I never feel restricted.

    Same here. Ill usually eat back my exercise calories twice a week but that's it
  • pavrg
    pavrg Posts: 277 Member
    Options
    This question is also very relative to the person and the exercise being done.

    If you are burning 600+ calories during a workout, its rather unhealthy not to eat those back, unless you have your MFP goal set to "maintenance."

    If you take the dog for a 30 minute walk and burn 150, then I get not eating them back. However, if you are doing anything high intensity, strength related, endurance, I dont see how you get the full benefits of those activities without eating properly? Using the scale as the only measure of your success seems foolish to me.

    I'm much happier judging my progress by saying my half marathon time is now under 2 hours than the weight I have lost.
    This +100.

    I run 3 miles for my cardio, so that's fairly easy to calculate. I put that into MFP, and I eat that back.

    I don't put weights into MFP because the calories burned lifting weights is miniscule. I also don't log calories burned if I do a lot of chores, if I happen to walk more that day or go on a hike, if I happen to do a low intensity sport like softball/baseball, or anything like that. I consider that all part of the 'sedentary maintenance' calories that MFP calculates.

Categories