Eating back exercise calories made me gain - so confused

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  • donnacervelli11
    donnacervelli11 Posts: 109 Member
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    Thank you! I'll give that a read. Those two numbers, TDEE and BMR are what I find confusing. I've been wearing BodyMedia Fit band that I thought was pretty accurate for my TDEE. I've worn it for about a month now and it tells me I burn an average of 2400 - 2500 calories in a 24 hour period. Is that number my TDEE or my BMR?

    That's your TDEE - Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

    BMR is what you'd need to stay alive in a coma, and is usually recommended to be the minimum you net (since you're not in a coma).

    Aha. Got it.

    So, in a nutshell my BMR is 1489.75 (which I just calculated using my current weight) and my TDEE is 2400 (according to BodyMedia). In order to lose weight I shoult be eating between 1489.75 and 2160 (-10% of TDEE) a day?

    Does that sound right?
  • joleenl
    joleenl Posts: 739 Member
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    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

    Thanks for the info! The youtube video was great. I do measure using cups and spoons too. I'll use my scale more now!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,692 Member
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    You lost the point of my posts again. EATING BACK is a bad idea. Plan your food around what you need to eat. Don't wait till you enter and then EAT BACK. You do not understand what I'm saying at all do you???
    For all intensive purposes that's fine IF the routine is the same everyday. But one if one works out longer? Or doesn't work out that day because they missed class due to commuting traffic? Somedays I'll add in more than I usually do. For instance last Sunday I went trampoline jumping for an hour. Haven't done it since my 20's. Had I planned my regular Sunday food intake, I would have had too big a calorie deficit. So while planning ahead is a good habit, one still adjusts to how one is active on any given day.
    Don't worry, I got this down. That's why I do it for myself and others for a living.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • laurenmanderson1
    laurenmanderson1 Posts: 113 Member
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    Honestly, the silly statements on this thread make my head hurt and are going to require a third cup of coffee.

    So, eating back exercise calories is useless, counterintuitive, there is no such thing as slow metabolism or starvation mode?

    Hmmm... I am sensing a lot of people on here with MAGIC bodies that don't require fuel to operate. Apparently for them, the same meal that can fuel sitting on your *kitten* watching TV can also fuel running a marathon. Well in that case, since there is no relationship between the energy your body expends and fuel you eat, then why eat at all? Just give up food altogether! After all, there is no "starvation mode," right? Why bother with silly food at all? :indifferent:

    Come on people, use some common sense! If you eat exactly what you burn, you will keep your weight the same, if you eat more you will gain, if you eat less you will lose. How much you exercise affects how much you burn and THEREFORE how much you need to eat. And if there was no way to "slow" your metabolism, then you need to go and correct a bunch of scientific and scholarly research studies and scientists who have published papers because you apparently know better that all the PhDs out there *rolls eyes*

    ^^^THIS!!
  • donnacervelli11
    donnacervelli11 Posts: 109 Member
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    Honestly, the silly statements on this thread make my head hurt and are going to require a third cup of coffee.

    So, eating back exercise calories is useless, counterintuitive, there is no such thing as slow metabolism or starvation mode?

    Hmmm... I am sensing a lot of people on here with MAGIC bodies that don't require fuel to operate. Apparently for them, the same meal that can fuel sitting on your *kitten* watching TV can also fuel running a marathon. Well in that case, since there is no relationship between the energy your body expends and fuel you eat, then why eat at all? Just give up food altogether! After all, there is no "starvation mode," right? Why bother with silly food at all? :indifferent:

    Come on people, use some common sense! If you eat exactly what you burn, you will keep your weight the same, if you eat more you will gain, if you eat less you will lose. How much you exercise affects how much you burn and THEREFORE how much you need to eat. And if there was no way to "slow" your metabolism, then you need to go and correct a bunch of scientific and scholarly research studies and scientists who have published papers because you apparently know better that all the PhDs out there *rolls eyes*
    Thank you, Betty!! Well said:) OP, I started at your original weight and dropped roughly one pound a week, until landing around 125, which I've maintained for four months. I was set at sedentary (1200 cals), work out 5-6x a week (burning roughly 400 cals per hrm) and ate back approximately half of my exercise calories. I didn't eat back all of them simply because we all know you can't accurately, to a T, record every single solitary calorie we consume. I left myself a couple hundred calories of wiggle room each day. Try upping your calories a bit and see what happens. Your body truly does need fuel in order to function properly and ultimately, to lose weight:)

    Thank for that. I've been eating I would say around 1600 - 1800 calories a day (although, this is a rough estimate since I don't weigh my food. I've also been flaky about logging everything. Whoops). I guess my NET calories is what I've been neglecting.

    Should I be increasing my NET calories? And therefore eating 3200 - 3600 calories a day?
  • angleu
    angleu Posts: 140 Member
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    Should I be increasing my NET calories? And therefore eating 3200 - 3600 calories a day?

    oh my gosh don't that much lol. you had your TDEE -a certain% so do that and don't eat your exercise calories but do figure your TDEE with lightly active..
  • Strangella
    Strangella Posts: 4 Member
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    Oh okay. lol
  • donnacervelli11
    donnacervelli11 Posts: 109 Member
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    Should I be increasing my NET calories? And therefore eating 3200 - 3600 calories a day?

    oh my gosh don't that much lol. you had your TDEE -a certain% so do that and don't eat your exercise calories but do figure your TDEE with lightly active..

    Hm. So, if my TDEE is 2400 and subtracting 10% for weight loss, I should eat 2160 calories a day?

    Does that account for any exercise I do?
  • OtiWanKenobi
    OtiWanKenobi Posts: 340 Member
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    Thank you! I'll give that a read. Those two numbers, TDEE and BMR are what I find confusing. I've been wearing BodyMedia Fit band that I thought was pretty accurate for my TDEE. I've worn it for about a month now and it tells me I burn an average of 2400 - 2500 calories in a 24 hour period. Is that number my TDEE or my BMR?

    That's your TDEE - Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

    BMR is what you'd need to stay alive in a coma, and is usually recommended to be the minimum you net (since you're not in a coma).

    Aha. Got it.

    So, in a nutshell my BMR is 1489.75 (which I just calculated using my current weight) and my TDEE is 2400 (according to BodyMedia). In order to lose weight I shoult be eating between 1489.75 and 2160 (-10% of TDEE) a day?

    Does that sound right?

    If your BMR is 1489 and your TDEE is 2400 ...then YES in order to loose weight you need to consume at least 2160 a day (-10% of your TDEE).

    If you do the TDEE - 10% method....you SHOULD NOT be eating back your exercise calories because they are already built into your TDEE...base of your Bodymedia Fit.

    I was like you and not loosing weight at all!!! I started this method two months ago and these are my results from March 2nd through May 3rd.

    15x7kn9.jpg

    I gained a few pounds the first couple of weeks.... It takes anywhere between 4 - 6 weeks to adjust if you've been eating at a large deficit for too long. I was eating 1200 - 1400 NET for about almost a year. I lost close to 50 lbs...yes, BUT I hit a plateau since August and it wasn't until March that I started eating NETTING 1900 - 2000 calories that I've started to loose the weight again.

    Now I'm losing the weight but at a slow and steady pace. about a 1 lb a week and in two months I've lost 11 inches.
  • Sunnyjb
    Sunnyjb Posts: 220
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    You lost the point of my posts again. EATING BACK is a bad idea. Plan your food around what you need to eat. Don't wait till you enter and then EAT BACK. You do not understand what I'm saying at all do you???
    For all intensive purposes that's fine IF the routine is the same everyday. But one if one works out longer? Or doesn't work out that day because they missed class due to commuting traffic? Somedays I'll add in more than I usually do. For instance last Sunday I went trampoline jumping for an hour. Haven't done it since my 20's. Had I planned my regular Sunday food intake, I would have had too big a calorie deficit. So while planning ahead is a good habit, one still adjusts to how one is active on any given day.
    Don't worry, I got this down. That's why I do it for myself and others for a living.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    For all intents and purposes sir, no. I don't think you should go eat whatever you feel like eating because you jumped on a trampoline. If your numbers are set correctly it will even out. Also *AGAIN* I will say that it matters what you put in your mouth, IF you are actually at a 20% less than peak HR long enough to burn calories you think you are burning and WHEN you put that food in your mouth. (BTW, I do a post workout meal, and carry protein with me for my *just in case I jump on a trampoline long enough to burn 200 calories* moments)

    the *you* is the collective you. You know your body and I can guarantee you reacted to the situation properly. I am talking about the average Jane/Joe that thinks when they exercise they deserve a 200 calorie treat.
  • ckmama
    ckmama Posts: 1,668 Member
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    Never trust the scale it is a LIAR and you should find other ways to measure progress along with the scale.
  • cutestmomof2
    cutestmomof2 Posts: 5
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    So, I've been losing weight now for 2 years. And lately, have been at a total plateau. I've been under Dr supervision the entire time... and way back when I started, she told me to make SURE i don't log any of my exercise on here or any other tool I use...because it gives you more calories to eat... which is defeating the purpose! I have been on a strict 1200 cal diet now for 2 years. Not really a diet anymore! Just a way of being ... but, we have recently increased it up to 1500 just to see if that will jumpstart the weightloss again... since i've been at the SAME weight now for months. haven't gained or lost really. But, I totally wouldn't be eating back anything you're doing for exercise. As everyone else has pointed out... kind of silly
  • donnacervelli11
    donnacervelli11 Posts: 109 Member
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    Thank you! I'll give that a read. Those two numbers, TDEE and BMR are what I find confusing. I've been wearing BodyMedia Fit band that I thought was pretty accurate for my TDEE. I've worn it for about a month now and it tells me I burn an average of 2400 - 2500 calories in a 24 hour period. Is that number my TDEE or my BMR?

    That's your TDEE - Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

    BMR is what you'd need to stay alive in a coma, and is usually recommended to be the minimum you net (since you're not in a coma).

    Aha. Got it.

    So, in a nutshell my BMR is 1489.75 (which I just calculated using my current weight) and my TDEE is 2400 (according to BodyMedia). In order to lose weight I shoult be eating between 1489.75 and 2160 (-10% of TDEE) a day?

    Does that sound right?

    If your BMR is 1489 and your TDEE is 2400 ...then YES in order to loose weight you need to consume at least 2160 a day (-10% of your TDEE).

    If you do the TDEE - 10% method....you SHOULD NOT be eating back your exercise calories because they are already built into your TDEE...base of your Bodymedia Fit.

    I was like you and not loosing weight at all!!! I started this method two months ago and these are my results from March 2nd through May 3rd.

    15x7kn9.jpg

    I gained a few pounds the first couple of weeks.... It takes anywhere between 4 - 6 weeks to adjust if you've been eating at a large deficit for too long. I was eating 1200 - 1400 NET for about almost a year. I lost close to 50 lbs...yes, BUT I hit a plateau since August and it wasn't until March that I started eating NETTING 1900 - 2000 calories that I've started to loose the weight again.

    Now I'm losing the weight but at a slow and steady pace. about a 1 lb a week and in two months I've lost 11 inches.

    You look fantastic! You're doing an awesome job and I envy your progress :)

    So, just because I'm thick - I should consume/GROSS 2160 calories a day and then ignore the NET since exercise & activity is already factored into the TDEE. Does that sound right?
  • Sunnyjb
    Sunnyjb Posts: 220
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    Thank you! I'll give that a read. Those two numbers, TDEE and BMR are what I find confusing. I've been wearing BodyMedia Fit band that I thought was pretty accurate for my TDEE. I've worn it for about a month now and it tells me I burn an average of 2400 - 2500 calories in a 24 hour period. Is that number my TDEE or my BMR?

    That's your TDEE - Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

    BMR is what you'd need to stay alive in a coma, and is usually recommended to be the minimum you net (since you're not in a coma).

    Aha. Got it.

    So, in a nutshell my BMR is 1489.75 (which I just calculated using my current weight) and my TDEE is 2400 (according to BodyMedia). In order to lose weight I shoult be eating between 1489.75 and 2160 (-10% of TDEE) a day?

    Does that sound right?

    If your BMR is 1489 and your TDEE is 2400 ...then YES in order to loose weight you need to consume at least 2160 a day (-10% of your TDEE).

    If you do the TDEE - 10% method....you SHOULD NOT be eating back your exercise calories because they are already built into your TDEE...base of your Bodymedia Fit.

    I was like you and not loosing weight at all!!! I started this method two months ago and these are my results from March 2nd through May 3rd.

    15x7kn9.jpg

    I gained a few pounds the first couple of weeks.... It takes anywhere between 4 - 6 weeks to adjust if you've been eating at a large deficit for too long. I was eating 1200 - 1400 NET for about almost a year. I lost close to 50 lbs...yes, BUT I hit a plateau since August and it wasn't until March that I started eating NETTING 1900 - 2000 calories that I've started to loose the weight again.

    Now I'm losing the weight but at a slow and steady pace. about a 1 lb a week and in two months I've lost 11 inches.

    You look fantastic! You're doing an awesome job and I envy your progress :)

    So, just because I'm thick - I should consume/GROSS 2160 calories a day and then ignore the NET since exercise & activity is already factored into the TDEE. Does that sound right?

    Which calculator did you use? And yes, if you know your correct number, eat close to that and ignore the net :)
  • khall86790
    khall86790 Posts: 1,100 Member
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    Are you weighing and logging your food as accurately as possible?
    Have you calculated your TDEE calories as well to see if it's around the same number as MFP is giving you?
    Also, how is your activity level set on here?
    I think you've got to be eating the wrong number of calories initially to be gaining.
    However, you 100% should eat back your exercise calories IF you are using MFP's guidelines for calories. If you are using TDEE you should have already calculated them in and therefore don't need to.
  • PosterGuy1
    PosterGuy1 Posts: 163 Member
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    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.

    Hello all. I began this journey on 1/1, and I weighed 420.2 pounds. I've lost 86.4 pounds, and I now weigh 333.8 pounds.

    I'm going to be starting the exercise phase of this journey when I get to around 300 pounds.

    I'm not sure where where I stand on the "eating back exercise calories" issue, but I do think what was posted above has been the most convincing argument against eating back exercise calories.

    I will say that I currently eat between 1,200-1,400 calories a day, and I do recognize that will have to increase when I start to exercise.
  • roeann53
    roeann53 Posts: 124 Member
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    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!

    Great idea - thanks!
  • donnacervelli11
    donnacervelli11 Posts: 109 Member
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    Thank you! I'll give that a read. Those two numbers, TDEE and BMR are what I find confusing. I've been wearing BodyMedia Fit band that I thought was pretty accurate for my TDEE. I've worn it for about a month now and it tells me I burn an average of 2400 - 2500 calories in a 24 hour period. Is that number my TDEE or my BMR?

    That's your TDEE - Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

    BMR is what you'd need to stay alive in a coma, and is usually recommended to be the minimum you net (since you're not in a coma).

    Aha. Got it.

    So, in a nutshell my BMR is 1489.75 (which I just calculated using my current weight) and my TDEE is 2400 (according to BodyMedia). In order to lose weight I shoult be eating between 1489.75 and 2160 (-10% of TDEE) a day?

    Does that sound right?

    If your BMR is 1489 and your TDEE is 2400 ...then YES in order to loose weight you need to consume at least 2160 a day (-10% of your TDEE).

    If you do the TDEE - 10% method....you SHOULD NOT be eating back your exercise calories because they are already built into your TDEE...base of your Bodymedia Fit.

    I was like you and not loosing weight at all!!! I started this method two months ago and these are my results from March 2nd through May 3rd.

    15x7kn9.jpg

    I gained a few pounds the first couple of weeks.... It takes anywhere between 4 - 6 weeks to adjust if you've been eating at a large deficit for too long. I was eating 1200 - 1400 NET for about almost a year. I lost close to 50 lbs...yes, BUT I hit a plateau since August and it wasn't until March that I started eating NETTING 1900 - 2000 calories that I've started to loose the weight again.

    Now I'm losing the weight but at a slow and steady pace. about a 1 lb a week and in two months I've lost 11 inches.

    You look fantastic! You're doing an awesome job and I envy your progress :)

    So, just because I'm thick - I should consume/GROSS 2160 calories a day and then ignore the NET since exercise & activity is already factored into the TDEE. Does that sound right?

    Which calculator did you use? And yes, if you know your correct number, eat close to that and ignore the net :)
    \

    I used this calculator for my TDEE
    http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

    And this one for my BMR:
    http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

    Oddly enough, I just went to change the setting in my MFP to lightly active, current weight (153), exercise 3x a week for 60 minutes, lose .5 lbs and it put me at 1670.

    MFP calculates that at 2160 a day I will GAIN 2.5 lbs by next month. Should I just totally ignore MFP?
  • craigmandu
    craigmandu Posts: 976 Member
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    So, just because I'm thick - I should consume/GROSS 2160 calories a day and then ignore the NET since exercise & activity is already factored into the TDEE. Does that sound right?

    Theoretically, if your activity level is consistent. Have you tracked your daily TDEE over a time period to ensure it isn't all over the place? I'm just asking cause that will vary day to day based off your activity level. I don't know if the BodyFit thing does that or not.

    Personally, I would estimate on the low side if it were me, so if I had a crappy couple of weeks activity wise it wouldn't really affect my losses.
  • Sunnyjb
    Sunnyjb Posts: 220
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    I ignore MFP and use the real numbers... just use MFP as a tracker :) There are phone apps that are better

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