Eating back exercise cals does not wok for me

Confuzzled4ever

well since I get an answer of 2200 or more on most of those TDEE calculators.. minus 20% means I should be eating around 2,000 calories.. give or take..

Hmmm, get thee a calculator...2200 -20% is 1760 calories...not "2,000.. give or take". Big difference!

ah yes.. I did 10%... my bad..

i just used fitness frog and it says 2589.. minus 20% would be 2,000 give or take (I knew I got that number from somewhere.. I just gave the wrong starting number). i get closer to that because i pick moderately active, because I work out 5-7 days a week. Which is what i'm supposed to do right?

I'm working on getting to 1600 everyday currently and increasing protein. (which I think I figured out)

Yeah, you definitely want to choose the appropriate activity level when doing TDEE -20% since your exercise is factored in and you don't eat the exercise calories back. Protein can be a pain to get up there. I have recently started trying to up mine just using food, no protein drinks. Really makes you take a look at what you thought had a lot protein and what really does have a good amount of protein.

No kidding! i've been making my protein goal 100g or more everyday.. and I can't seem to get there without the powder most days. I have to switch back to regular milk .. my friends convinced me to try almond milk this week and it's not really good and sure low calorie.. but there's no protein in it either.. I realized I have to start eating chicken or fish or some kind of meat for lunch and probably need to switch my snacks up a bit too. Problem is if I don't eat enough veggies I feel crappy. Hi i'm a veggie-a-halic.It's been 2 hours since my last veggie.. and i'm already caving.. . lol. I know that LBM says I should be eating closer to 160 g of protein, but you have to start somehwere.

meeper123

I rarely eat them back I just eat more on days I workout example 1400 on days I don't and around 1700 on days I do ( depending on what I am doing)

I hate to break it to you, but that means you're eating them back. That's the definition of eating them back, even if it's not one-for-one.

yes I suppose it is just not every single calorie or I would be eating A LOT

staplebug

I stopped eating back my exercise calories and FINALLY started to lose weight, but I'm eating about 1700, not 1200.

prmilkshake

Weight loss is about a simple mathematical formula: calories consumed - calories burnt = weight loss.
To use this formula correctly, you need to put in accurate numbers, so for 'calories consumed' you need to be accurately tracking each and every calorie consumed by being honest about what you are consuming, and weighing out portion sizes. You probably do this already. For calories burnt, you also need to be as accurate as possible, although admittedly this is more difficult. Work out your TDEE using an online calculator and estimate calories burnt during exercise as accurately as possible – a gadget with a heart rate monitor is the best way. The exercises in the MFP database can only give an average estimate of calories burnt during different exercises - the actual amount burnt depends on your body, and how hard you are actually working out.
The average female has a maintenance calorie allowance of 2000 cals (though check you TDEE to make sure what is more accurate for you). So, as long as your calories consumed – calories burnt = less than 2000, you should lose weight.

The "simple" formula only works if your body is working like it should. Not everyone's body has a normal metabolism.

I had been trying to diet for over a year and nothing worked. Come to find out I'm insulin resistant which is why I was gaining weight and not losing.

sixisCHANGEDjk

Invest in a Heart Rate Monitor such as a Polar so you know how many calories you are burning.

weinbagel

I also think that MFP way inflates the cals earned during exercise.

Have you looked into a HRM? That gives you a more accurate calorie count during a workout.

Csoldano

I love these threads people who haven't lost anything or don't need to telling people who have lost that what they're doing doesn't work

beelanc

Seems stupid and surely defeats the point if you burn off 300 cals then these are added back to your allowance to eat?!?!?:huh:

MFP is set up to create a deficit BEFORE exercise... that is why you should then eat back exercise calories, as too large a deficit can be detrimental.

THIS^^^

MFP asks what your activity level is during a normal day at work. NOT how much exercise you do a day. READ FOLKS!!

RunningMum2017

There is no way that you are burning 2000 calories each day, my husband does a 5 hour cycle and he burn 2000... I am more than positive you aren't burning that much energy... I would suggest a heart rate monitor ... I find swimming doesn't burn as much as a 2 mile run!

That's because he's stopping for a beer or two.

Edit: OP there is some good advice in this, my suggestion is you take the time to read it and ask questions.

Edit he is actually burning 3000 over in 5 hours .... which I highly doubt the above is doing!

amy1612

ha. had to give a smart *kitten* response. it was mandantory. i guess i'll get there somehow one day. I just know.. if I try to eat that much more then what i eat now all at once.. i'm going to fail miserably. I am getting closer to 1600 more often then not. I think that's pretty good, given where I started. I eat really healthy so my plates are full and low calorie and i'm stuffed. It definatly helped me to eat breakfast every morning.

Ive found adding in calorie dense, but good foods helps me bump up. I have half an avocado at breakfast with my eggs, and the other half at lunch. I also LOVE at the moment eating 0% yoghurt (or fromage frais....similar macros and cheaper) with a scoop of vanilla protein mixed in. It makes a sort of puddingy texture and is really great for upping protein (I aim for around 200g per day, and the yoghurt protein is around 35).

WifeofPJ

I've read the topics here on eating back exercise cals and had some comments that said I needed to eat more. But I'm here to say that eating back the cals is making me gain. I've put on five pounds and it's NOT muscle.

I'm going back to what was working, 1200-1400 cals a day and keeping my workout cals burned to boost my fat loss.

The theory sounds good, eat more and lose, but it's not happening for me.

I also think that MFP way inflates the cals earned during exercise.

Improtant thing to remember is that MFP does inflate the Cals earned during exercise. It's best to get a heart Rate Monitor and record your calories burned from that. It is common that most people under estimate their food and over estimate their calories burned. I would suggest measuring everything and trying to eat back calories earned and see what happens then. I don't eat back all my calories earned by I do eat back many of them.

I got myself a decent heart rate monitor because of my concerns about this. In fact, MFP estimates of my burn are near enough the same as the HRM - by which I mean that after have deducted my BRM from the HRM burn, it's within 20 or so calories either way of the MFP estimate. So now I don't bother much with wearing the HRM, I just use the MFP estimates (although I do periodically check my regular exercises against the HRM, and I use it when trying a new type of exercise). All these things are only estimates, you have to adjust according to your own experience. But I notice it's often stated almost as a given that Mfp estimates are way over, and I'm sure they are for some people - notably the ones fitter than me, lol - but my case shows that it ain't necessarily so.

So actually you are agreeing with me because you calculate your BMR and subtract it from the MFP burned. most people don't want to do that work or calculation.

gatorginger

I don't think eating more to lose more is anything more than anecdotal. Keep doing what works for you. Less calories can only equal more weight loss (unless you're too hungry to work out- which doesn't sound like the case with you).

I always hear people talk about how they needed to eat more to lose more, it never seems to be coming from anyone particularly fit.

Lol!!!! This is hilarious. Go visit the eat more group and honestly tell me that none of them are particularly fit. Sorry I stil can't stop laughing!

Are you talking about people who body build and lift weights or a 30s-50s aged woman who does primarily cardio and is looking to shed pounds?

I'm not familiar with the "Eat More Group" on this forum, but the idea that you need to eat more to break plateaus is prominent on another forum I visit and 80% of the members are pretty overweight.

What I said is a blanket statement, but 'eat more' works for a particular said of people. Unless you're doing some pretty vigorous, weight bearing exercises (not swimming and gardening, which is what the OP does), eating more is just going to make you gain weight.

You don't have to be a body builder. Plus people would only gain if they ate above TDEE. Eat more simply means eating at a smaller deficit to lose weight and maintain LBM. For many people it is a more sustainable way to lose weight. I don't know what hroups you have visited but I can tell you that you should really do some more research before making such blanket statements.

For the record: after regaining the weight I lost from under eating, I joined an eat more group because they were my inspirations. I lost 130 lbs lowered my bf% to under 20, I never stalled, I have been maintaining for 2 years and have reversed most of the damage done to my body from under eating. I am also not a body builder.

I agree with the eat more to lose as it worked for me. I started out at eating 1000 calories a day and then I came across the eat more to lose weight group so I bravely increased my calories by 100 more a day and stayed that way for two weeks and let me tell you I lost weight when I increased my calories. I didn't want to eat 1000 calories for the rest of my life. Anyhow I continued to take baby steps and continued to increase my calories and I lost more than I needed to and I have been maintaining for about a year now. I eat anywhere from 1500 to 1700 calories now. So eating more to lose does work but I think some people try eating a lot more too soon. I took baby steps and only increased by 100 more calories a day and would stay there for at least two weeks. Everytime I increased I lost weight until I got up to 1700 which seems to be my maintenance level. That is why when someone hits a plateau many people suggest eating more to jump start your metabolism again, all I know is it worked for me. It may not be the answer for everyone but the only way they will know is test it out. I'm sure the majority would like to lose while eating more