Eating Back workout calories?

I try to eat no more than half of my exercise calories back (but I also do my best to eat within my daily caloric goal, being at least 50 calories within my target)

For instance, my daily caloric goal is 1500, I would eat at least 1450, up to 1500. If I burned 200 calories doing whatever exercise, I would eat about 100 calories back.

So far it's worked for me, and I feel good about my progress

I won`t claim to be an expert on eating back the workout calories- just from what I`ive read on other forums, many try to stay within their own caloric goal and eat about half of what they burned.

I`ve been doing that as well and so far so good. A co-worker of mine is really into fitness (and it shows- she looks great!) and when we have `bad`food at the office (cake, cookies, etc) she eats the junk and says the point of working out is to eat treats occasionally and maintain a healthy body.

Like I said, not an expert but so far it`s working for me

So, this makes its rounds every few days - So people regularly discuss this... In my experience here you will find 2 camps of people generally (and of course a few out in their own field playing their own game )


camp one: Target what MFP tells you since when it determines your target calories to create your deficit, it does so essentially ignoring additional exercise... so you should eat back your exercise calories... the reason some suggest a portion (50% to 75% - whatever) is that many people find MFP data overestimates the calories burned for a lot of cardio exercise. The example here is that you consume your target 1300 calories (just a fictional example) and go do a great long workout and burn 750 calories... you have only provided your body 550 calories for the day (what they call "net" calories) and that will be too significant a deficit if you do it continually - It may cause you to lose more muscle mass than desired and a lot of other adaptations your body makes when on a very low calorie diet.. (and LOTS of noise here about your body magically turning on some "starvation mode" where you will automatically defy all rules of energy in the universe and your body will lock away all fat and you will magically exist on nothing and never lose an ounce... Don't get me wrong....Very low cal eating is not healthy and isn't recommended for a variety of reasons - slow and steady wins this race, but there is a lot of bad information when people start talking extremes and what happens to your body and plateau's etc...)

Camp two: Ignore the MFP approach (Despite the fact this is the MFP site...) and incorporate your workouts in determining your Total Daily Energy Expenditure - build your target from this number (deduct 500 calories a day to lose 1 Lb a week, 750 for 1.5, etc) and do your workouts and eat your food and since you have already incorporated the workouts in your calorie target, don't eat them back...

then there are other approaches like eating the calorie target that will be your maintenance at the body weight you want, etc.... but that isn't exactly on topic..


My suggestion - If you are following MFP, and I think most people will be quite successful doing so, then DO eat back your exercise calories - best to get a Heart Rate Monitor to help you estimate calories burnt from cardio more accurately, but barring that, use the estimates MFP gives you conservatively and target 50-75% of what it says you burn...

No, you really should be eating your workout cals back if your net goal is around your BMR.

Not eating enough will hurt you!!

Please watch my YouTube video about this entitled "Eat More to Weigh Less"

http://www.youtube.com/jaymebales83

I'm sick and tired of people thinking and saying they need to starve their bodies to lose weight. IT'S NOT HEALTHY!

I've lost consistently doing that. Usually eat almost all of them back, even when I burn 800+ calories a day. Good luck!