Eating back exercise calories made me gain - so confused

donnacervelli11

So, I wish I could say that the extra 6lbs on the scale didn't bum me out. But they do, and I'm confused about how to make them go away.

For the most part, my weight loss has been pretty non-existent. I started at 147lbs and then pretty much stayed there for the entire two months I was logging MFP. I have a desk job, but otherwise I stay pretty active after work. I lift twice a week, and I run 3 - 5 miles on average 2x a week.

Some other threads suggested eating back my exercise calories or eating up to the MFP calories for the day to avoided the dreaded 'starvation mode'. So, I started eating back my exercise burn (which I thought was pretty accurate, I've been wearing a BodyMedia Fit band that supposedly measures calorie burn. It syncs with MFP to log a calorie deficit).

I thought I was doing the right thing, but a month later I'm up 6lbs.

I'm pretty discouraged. What am I doing wrong?

Sunnyjb

I do not follow that silly idea. Why would you eat back what you worked so hard to burn?

drefaw

your diary is closed, so wecould not begin to guess what you are doing wrong .....

dimsumkitty

How are your measurements looking? You might be building muscle.

If your measurements are going up as well, then you either need to revise your calorie total down a bit (since MFP's calculations aren't right for everyone!) or, if they're already quite low (1200 or less is what people normally say), eat more for a while until your body adjusts to using up more energy, then drop back down from there to lose the weight.

goodtimezzzz

eating back calories is stupid and useless.

GauchoMark

nobody ever wants to hear this, but based on what you are saying, I am pretty certain you are either over-estimating your activity level or under estimating our food or both.

You have to be meticulous in logging your food - especially you women that don't have that much to lose because you guys have such a small window of opportunity between your bmr and tdee. I'd recommend getting a digital food scale and measure EVERYTHING you eat for a couple of weeks and see if it makes a difference.

A little game you can play during that 2 weeks is to try to estimate the portion first, then weigh it and see how close you are. This will help you get better at estimating at restaurants and stuff since you really can't take your scale with you everywhere!

goodtimezzzz

we overcomplicate EVERYTHING!! Simplicity is key here...if you are losing great! if you are feeling a bit weak and hungry eat!!
Do not follow the many false guidelines and fad diet and so called health practices on this site and other sources..just keep it simple and elegant

omma_to_3

I agree with GauchoMark. You are likely underestimating what you eat. The BMF should be fairly accurate on your calorie burn, but do you have a heart rate monitor you could use to check it? For your runs, how many calories does it estimate you burn?

The issue is likely in your intake. Way too easy to underestimate what you're eating.

goodtimezzzz

also there no "starvation mode" or slow metabolism! jeeeeeez

AmyRhubarb

I do not follow that silly idea. Why would you eat back what you worked so hard to burn?

Because MFP has you at a deficit already with your daily calorie goal - meaning you could eat to goal, do zero exercise, and you're at a deficit and will lose weight. Exercising and burning more calories creates an even larger deficit, which can lead to problems - that's why they add those burned calories back into your daily goal - you are supposed to eat them back.

Now this is assuming you entered all your info correctly when you set up MFP, going for a reasonable weight loss goal (as in, not 2lbs a week unless you've got 100+ pounds to lose, etc), and that all the food consumed is measured and accounted for correctly - the system works.

OP - as for the six pound gain - how long has it been since to switched to eating back exercise cals? Do you also take measurements and progress photos? Do you lift heavy? And how often do you weight - the body can easily fluctuate 6lbs in a week due to a new or harder workout, too much sodium & water retention, hormones, time of the month, etc.

Hard to offer more advice without more info - if you could make your diary public that might help. Hang in there - with only 17 pounds to lose, it's a pretty slow process anyway, and hard to be patient!

GauchoMark

I do not follow that silly idea. Why would you eat back what you worked so hard to burn?

eating back calories is stupid and useless.

First of all, she wasn't losing weight BEFORE she started eating back calories, so something else was off originally.

Secondly, why eat back calories from exercise? So you can actually build/retain muscle instead of losing it from not having enough fuel. There are many other reasons why you should eat back calories - at least 50% or more. If you want to lose weight in a healthy manner, you need to be fueling your muscles properly.

SideSteel

GauchoMark nailed it IMO.


Regarding exercise calories in general:

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

GauchoMark

also there no "starvation mode" or slow metabolism! jeeeeeez

so you lose weight linearly? Wow, he first known person to do that, congrats!

goodtimezzzz

thank you!

cschiff

nobody ever wants to hear this, but based on what you are saying, I am pretty certain you are either over-estimating your activity level or under estimating our food or both.

You have to be meticulous in logging your food - especially you women that don't have that much to lose because you guys have such a small window of opportunity between your bmr and tdee. I'd recommend getting a digital food scale and measure EVERYTHING you eat for a couple of weeks and see if it makes a difference.

Yes. I agree.

I tried eating back exercise calories and I don't think I gained, but I didn't really lose either. On a day where I really bust *kitten* at the gym I might eat more back but if I don't feel like I need them, then i dont. Listen to your body!!

AmyRhubarb

..just keep it simple and elegant

:huh: Like this?

eating back calories is stupid and useless.

Very elegant!

LOL Yeah, and proper nutrition and fueling your body by eating enough is stupid and useless. :smokin:

donnacervelli11

your diary is closed, so wecould not begin to guess what you are doing wrong .....

Whoops! Just made it public. Thanks!

1223345

I do not follow that silly idea. Why would you eat back what you worked so hard to burn?

Exactly. Further, I don't track my exercise calories. One reason, I doubt it is possible to really get an accurate count of calories burned. I find that MFP seems to be WAY overestimating. I say don't eat it if you don't feel you need to. Even as someone with an appetite control problem, I do notice a difference in my "hunger" that I feel when full, and my real hunger after working out. The after workout hunger is way more intense, yet easier to satisfy. Listen to your body.

Mlkmaid

I never eat my exercise calories back. I think it's counterintuitive.

Sunnyjb

we overcomplicate EVERYTHING!! Simplicity is key here...if you are losing great! if you are feeling a bit weak and hungry eat!!
Do not follow the many false guidelines and fad diet and so called health practices on this site and other sources..just keep it simple and elegant

couldn't agree more...

Sunnyjb

I do not follow that silly idea. Why would you eat back what you worked so hard to burn?

Exactly. Further, I don't track my exercise calories. One reason, I doubt it is possible to really get an accurate count of calories burned. I find that MFP seems to be WAY overestimating. I say don't eat it if you don't feel you need to. Even as someone with an appetite control problem, I do notice a difference in my "hunger" that I feel when full, and my real hunger after working out. The after workout hunger is way more intense, yet easier to satisfy. Listen to your body.

I use a wrist heart rate monitor right now, but will be purchasing a Zephyr soon.... the numbers here are put in by people who likely have a much different caloric burn than myself, and I don't wanna flub. So, yes, I don't really count my exercise calories either. I just use it to keep a journal of what I'm doing

goodtimezzzz

I never eat my exercise calories back. I think it's counterintuitive.

goodtimezzzz

you would be correct!

misssiri

To all you people that think eating back exercise calories is stupid and counter intuitive, not to worry, the OP isn't eating hers. Also, you are doing it wrong. And yes, there is such thing as a slow metabolism. If you tell me you aren't hungry after eating 1000 calories per day, your metabolism is slow.

i don't know why people don't want to eat the food. There's nothing wrong with fueling your body. Don't tell me 1000-1200 calories per day is enough for an adult that exercises.

OP, you aren't eating yours. You are netting about 600 calories every day from what I saw in your diary. You probably do need to eat more.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

AmyRhubarb

Looking over your diary, I would say you need to eat more! I'm seeing net calories below 1000, some days below 500. Food is fuel - eat too little for too long & you give the body a reason to store fat rather than burn it.

Speaking from my own experience - eating more calories changed everything for me. I calculated my BMR and my TDEE and eat in between those two numbers, and have lost more fat, keeping my lean body mass in the process, since eating this way over the past year. Best success I've had has been since making the switch.

Great info here, give it a read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

Julettashane

i never understood the eat back you exercise calories thing......you just worked your butt off to get those calories off then you eat them back. i feel like you would be undoing what you did. you might need to redo your calorie needs or work out harder if your not doing much. not sure how youre eating. maybe less carb more protein. i know thats my problem

donnacervelli11

I do not follow that silly idea. Why would you eat back what you worked so hard to burn?

Because MFP has you at a deficit already with your daily calorie goal - meaning you could eat to goal, do zero exercise, and you're at a deficit and will lose weight. Exercising and burning more calories creates an even larger deficit, which can lead to problems - that's why they add those burned calories back into your daily goal - you are supposed to eat them back.

Now this is assuming you entered all your info correctly when you set up MFP, going for a reasonable weight loss goal (as in, not 2lbs a week unless you've got 100+ pounds to lose, etc), and that all the food consumed is measured and accounted for correctly - the system works.

OP - as for the six pound gain - how long has it been since to switched to eating back exercise cals? Do you also take measurements and progress photos? Do you lift heavy? And how often do you weight - the body can easily fluctuate 6lbs in a week due to a new or harder workout, too much sodium & water retention, hormones, time of the month, etc.

Hard to offer more advice without more info - if you could make your diary public that might help. Hang in there - with only 17 pounds to lose, it's a pretty slow process anyway, and hard to be patient!

My current settings are to lose 1lb a week. I have myself set to 'sedentary' since I work a desk job.

I do lift, and it's pretty heavy for me. Normal weight session would be deadlifts 60lbs, squats 90lbs, power cleans 45lbs. I also do kettlebells and generally use the 25 - 35lb weights.

I run 3x a week now, since I'm training for a half. At this point it's 3.5 miles 2x a week and then a long run (6miles this week, 7. this upcoming).

I weigh in about once a week. Although now that I'm now obsessing about it, I've started weighing in every day. I thought it might be water retention, but a few weeks ago I posted about gaining 6lbs of water weight in a short period of time. Apparently, that's never gone away..:(

Maybe it's water retention? I don't really know anymore.

bumblebums

Are you weighing your food or eyeballing it? I would guess that you are not tracking accurately. Even measuring by volume can result in errors that add up.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY

seif0068

I never eat my exercise calories back. I think it's counterintuitive.

It's only counterintuitive if you view exercise as purely a means of weight loss. The average person without other health/metabolism issues can lose weight without exercise purely by eating at a calorie deficit. Exercise is to improve your cardiovascular health, prevent you from losing lean muscle when you are losing weight, etc. Ask any personal trainer and they will tell you that people who don't have their diet under control and exercise to "lose weight" will not be successful.

I don't understand the raging debate over this. It is simple:

MFP asks for an activity level. Either you set it to sedentary and then log your exercise and "eat back" your calories (meaning you eat however many calories puts you at 0 calories left at the end of the day); or, if you exercise very consistently, you set your activity level to what your activity level actually is and then you DON'T log your exercise and you eat whatever amount of calories has you reach 0 calories left at the end of the day. Voila.

kennie2

id say cut down on the sugar youre eating like the cooking and chocolates, i think cutting these out or having one as a treat like once a week or 2 weeks would really help. I would even recommend eating a little more than what MFP set you as youre quite tall. Also i would try and eat more real and wholesome food instead of pre packaged. maybe switch to wholegrain instead of white. And not eating your exercise calories back and netting so low would not be a good idea AT ALL!!