WHY DO PEOPLE EAT BACK THEIR EXERCISE CALS?!

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Replies

  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I drink wine, eat burgers and french fries, eat chocolate, eat ice cream. It worked well for me until my BIL died and I started eating those things and losing track of my macros. However, my experience is that as long as I hit my macros first, I can do with ever I want with the rest of my calories and still be successful . . .

    :drinker: Cheers!

    All of the above, and chocolate milk at bedtime every night.
  • (like)
  • Okay, this makes sense to me!!!
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    Obese people feel better knowing they can eat more after they workout and as long as they're still in a caloric deficit it works but it just makes people feel better about eating more for the most part.

    Oh please...I burned an extra 1500 cals yesterday and a further 1400 today. If I didn't eat back my calories (or some of them) I'd be exhausted. I really need to concentrate whilst working, I cannot afford to be hungry/tired.

    I have had a headache all day. I have been hungry hippo too. Now, I am about to fall asleep at my desk, which NEVER happens anymore.

    I looked at my intake yesterday. I only netted 800. No wonder I feel like **** today! It must suck to always feel like crap by not eating enough! I'm not sure why someone wouldn't want to fuel their body properly?

    Maybe its not that we dont "want to fuel their body properly" but that we're uneducated. HENCE the reason i posted this topic. And instead of getting indepth answers, I get attacked.

    Not once did i say DONT eat back your calories. Im simply asking WHY you would if you just worked so hard to burn them off.
    Im also not saying to lose as fast as possible (as i stated 1.5lbs-2lbs a weeks which is healthy) and that I just work out lose weight.

    I love having words put in my mouth :)

    You're focusing on "being attacked" and not on what people are saying is their experience. Actually the above post wasn't quoting you but instead quoting the person who is niavely assuming that all the people who are eating their exercise calories are obese.
  • Jaccyber
    Jaccyber Posts: 620 Member
    As I have come to understand, the body needs energy from food to help the body process what you just did during the workout. Correct me if I am wrong, but if you don’t eat protein and carbs before or after a strength training session the muscles will not be able to repair themselves in a way to build properly. I have been eating my calories back after workouts and have been able to lose 44 lbs over a 1.5 years time. It just seems like the healthier way to do it. Maybe it works for some and not for others. I wish you well on your fitness journey.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Jaccyber
  • cynthiaj777
    cynthiaj777 Posts: 787 Member
    I drink wine, eat burgers and french fries, eat chocolate, eat ice cream. It worked well for me until my BIL died and I started eating those things and losing track of my macros. However, my experience is that as long as I hit my macros first, I can do with ever I want with the rest of my calories and still be successful . . .

    :drinker: Cheers!

    All of the above, and chocolate milk at bedtime every night.

    Don't get me wrong! I indulge too. Then I spend all week fighting the bloat from water retention. The best advice I can give people is to eat HEALTHY, FRESH, RAW choices. Tons of fruits and veggies.....and low glycemic carbs if doing high intensity cardio. And of course, high protein if doing heavy lifting.

    For someone fresh on their journey, healthy is best!

    The ones that have been here a while have found the balance in life :wink:
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    You look great...just curious - how tall are you?

    Im 5'5, 187 lbs.
    Im supposed to be 140lbs MAX (according to my doctor)
    I'm 6ft and you weigh more than me? Sorry, but judging by your profile pic I call BS.

    Ill post a pic of the scale just for you :)
    No seriously where are you carrying it? I'm not talking a little more than me, it's 19 lbs.

    Wow. As a 5'2'' woman who also weighs 168, I wonder if you're a total stick at 6'?
    Far from it which is why I can't understand why she weighs 187. You can see from my profile pics I am not a stick.

    For one, women carry their weight differently than men. For two, women don't lie about their weight unless it's to say they weigh LESS, not MORE. Only a man would think that a woman has lied about her weight to make herself heavier. :noway:
    Why make this a gender issue?

    Because women have different bodies than men. Did you not know that? We have boobies, for one. :tongue:
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Be careful with the Skinny cow. It has tons of high fructose syrup which can make ou pretty I'll. It does me anyway.

    I've been eating HFCS my whole life. It never made me sick, and it never even made me fat until I became sedentary and got older. A whole candy bar for only 110 calories is a good thing.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    You're focusing on "being attacked" and not on what people are saying is their experience. Actually the above post wasn't quoting you but instead quoting the person who is niavely assuming that all the people who are eating their exercise calories are obese.

    As someone that's been attacked in these forums before, it's very difficult to continue carrying on a conversation in the midst of being personally attacked. People want refer to newbies as trolls and idiots and everything else, just because they don't understand something.

    Personally, I've grown fond of the ignore feature. :smile:
  • GaryRussell123456
    GaryRussell123456 Posts: 87 Member
    You look great...just curious - how tall are you?
    Not 19 lbs worth of booty. Also if you want to compare genders then men generally have lower body fat therefore at the same height and weight the man will look thinner or have I got this wrong?

    Im 5'5, 187 lbs.
    Im supposed to be 140lbs MAX (according to my doctor)
    I'm 6ft and you weigh more than me? Sorry, but judging by your profile pic I call BS.

    Ill post a pic of the scale just for you :)
    No seriously where are you carrying it? I'm not talking a little more than me, it's 19 lbs.

    Wow. As a 5'2'' woman who also weighs 168, I wonder if you're a total stick at 6'?
    Far from it which is why I can't understand why she weighs 187. You can see from my profile pics I am not a stick.

    For one, women carry their weight differently than men. For two, women don't lie about their weight unless it's to say they weigh LESS, not MORE. Only a man would think that a woman has lied about her weight to make herself heavier. :noway:
    Why make this a gender issue?

    Because women have different bodies than men. Did you not know that? We have boobies, for one. :tongue:
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
    Because MFP already creates a deficit for you.

    ^
  • katicasi82
    katicasi82 Posts: 121 Member
    Obese people feel better knowing they can eat more after they workout and as long as they're still in a caloric deficit it works but it just makes people feel better about eating more for the most part.

    Oh please...I burned an extra 1500 cals yesterday and a further 1400 today. If I didn't eat back my calories (or some of them) I'd be exhausted. I really need to concentrate whilst working, I cannot afford to be hungry/tired.

    I have had a headache all day. I have been hungry hippo too. Now, I am about to fall asleep at my desk, which NEVER happens anymore.

    I looked at my intake yesterday. I only netted 800. No wonder I feel like **** today! It must suck to always feel like crap by not eating enough! I'm not sure why someone wouldn't want to fuel their body properly?

    Maybe its not that we dont "want to fuel their body properly" but that we're uneducated. HENCE the reason i posted this topic. And instead of getting indepth answers, I get attacked.

    Not once did i say DONT eat back your calories. Im simply asking WHY you would if you just worked so hard to burn them off.
    Im also not saying to lose as fast as possible (as i stated 1.5lbs-2lbs a weeks which is healthy) and that I just work out lose weight.

    I love having words put in my mouth :)

    I don't think any of the above was aimed at you...rather at the guy I quoted originally. Sorry if you felt besieged...If I were speaking directly to you I would have quoted your post not his.

    As for the hungry hippo - I know the feeling, tired and listless...euch!
  • katicasi82
    katicasi82 Posts: 121 Member
    Obese people feel better knowing they can eat more after they workout and as long as they're still in a caloric deficit it works but it just makes people feel better about eating more for the most part.

    Oh please...I burned an extra 1500 cals yesterday and a further 1400 today. If I didn't eat back my calories (or some of them) I'd be exhausted. I really need to concentrate whilst working, I cannot afford to be hungry/tired.

    I have had a headache all day. I have been hungry hippo too. Now, I am about to fall asleep at my desk, which NEVER happens anymore.

    I looked at my intake yesterday. I only netted 800. No wonder I feel like **** today! It must suck to always feel like crap by not eating enough! I'm not sure why someone wouldn't want to fuel their body properly?

    Maybe its not that we dont "want to fuel their body properly" but that we're uneducated. HENCE the reason i posted this topic. And instead of getting indepth answers, I get attacked.

    Not once did i say DONT eat back your calories. Im simply asking WHY you would if you just worked so hard to burn them off.
    Im also not saying to lose as fast as possible (as i stated 1.5lbs-2lbs a weeks which is healthy) and that I just work out lose weight.

    I love having words put in my mouth :)

    You're focusing on "being attacked" and not on what people are saying is their experience. Actually the above post wasn't quoting you but instead quoting the person who is niavely assuming that all the people who are eating their exercise calories are obese.

    Precisely...
  • shellybean73
    shellybean73 Posts: 88 Member
    *
  • MireyGal76
    MireyGal76 Posts: 7,334 Member

    I'm 6ft and you weigh more than me? Sorry, but judging by your profile pic I call BS.

    Ill post a pic of the scale just for you :)
    No seriously where are you carrying it? I'm not talking a little more than me, it's 19 lbs.

    Wow. As a 5'2'' woman who also weighs 168, I wonder if you're a total stick at 6'?

    I'm 6'1" and I weigh 165... look at my pics.. I am totally not a stick. :)

    Oh - and my calories are set 1740. I eat back almost all of my exercise calories because I am freaking STARVING all of the time! :-D
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    You look great...just curious - how tall are you?

    Im 5'5, 187 lbs.
    Im supposed to be 140lbs MAX (according to my doctor)


    Going by the info provided:


    BMR 1622
    TDEE 2514

    Perfect weight 132.2lbs

    Eating 2k cals a day will net you 1lb lost per week with 10lbs gone in 10 weeks time.

    Protein and fat 30% each and whammo!
    Fat loss machine!

    PS: if you use this method you dont eat back calories.
    I included them in the variables.

    Cutting cals to 1759 nets 1.51lbs lost per week though the hit on LBM is much greater than at 2k a day.
    1759 cals is not recommended.

    Dont know if OP saw this but out of over 230 numbers done on MFP i've only had 3 people who this formula didnt work for.
    If you dont want to worry about eating back cals just set it and forget it.
    =D
  • NWCountryGal
    NWCountryGal Posts: 1,992 Member
    Exercising alone is not all it takes to build a healthy body, or rebuild one. You have to eat adequate nutrition as well as the right stuff. There is so much more to weight-loss then people normally know. We think it's as easy as, don't eat, lose weight. It's not and thank God there are people here that can explain and suggest the right way to us.

    Sure, I am losing fat, but I do it by eating enough of the right foods that will give me energy to burn off fat but yet maintain and build muscle. If you just eat less food you will lose fat, muscle, water. I for one don't care to lose muscle. Take the time to read up, check out more then just what peoples tickers say, look what they eat? Figure out what it is they are actually losing, then decide which way you want to go.
  • Robin_Bin
    Robin_Bin Posts: 1,046 Member
    Read a few of the posts where people are complaining about plateaus or weight loss that went fine for 3 weeks and then stalled out. Read the other posts from people who are asking why their hair is falling out, they have numb extremities, skin problems, dizziness or fatigue. Everyone's different, and not eating back exercise calories will work for some people, but it seems to me that almost everyone who posts about problems, like these examples, is eating less than MFP suggests or eating extremely dense calorie, low nutrition processed foods in relatively small amounts.

    Your mileage may vary, but eating back exercise calories has worked for many people here. Feel free to ignore any advice they give. Personally, I may not always eat back all my exercise calories, but except if I'm sick, I try to stay above 1,200 Net calories and within 1-200 calories of the amount including my exercise calories.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    Also I want to address losing 1.5-2 pounds a week. That is perfectly doable for people with a fair amount of weight to get rid of -- but is NOT realistic for most people.

    Also, lets talk about net calories. If you only have 10-20ish pounds to lose and aren't VERY tall, you're probably going to be set to 1,200 if you select anything other than 1 pound per week (which is recommended, not 1.5, not 2 -- 1 single pound per week). If you work out and are not eating ANY of those calories back, you are netting less than 1,200 which isn't healthy over the long term.

    I am not tied to 1,200 net calories every, single day (some people are) or something terrible will happen to you, but you really shouldn't be under 1,000 ever -- and certainly you should be between 1,000-1,200 always. If I was set to 2 pounds for week, I would have 1,200 calories per day. Then I would work out and burn 300. My net would be 900 -- which is the same as only eating 900. So yeah. For those of us with only a few pound to lose, you actually HAVE to eat some back otherwise, you're not doing your body ANY favors.

    I get that you are new and weren't attempting to advise anyone -- but you post had attitude -- like eating somehow ruins the work done at the gym, and that's just not how it works. As somebody else posted, there is a TON of info on this site about exercise calories -- if you genuinely don't understand, don't post a question in all caps in the forums that reads like people who eat back their calories must be dumb. You'll get called out on it and then some.
  • wazzanz
    wazzanz Posts: 78
    A lot depends on what you eat too. Not all calories are created equal. If you want to eat back your exercise then a big mac and thickshake at the way home from the gym not the way.

    Exercise a key part of weight loss and especialy if you want to keep it off. I joined a gym about 6 weeks ago and was not losing weight (feeling better though). 2 weeks ago joined MFP and have lost 3.5kg (almost 8 pounds) since by eating good foods, (less highly processed carbs, takeaways etc) and not starving myself.
  • CAUSE I GET HONGRY!

    lol
  • i eat 2500 cals a day i dont eat back my cals though
  • twonkieone
    twonkieone Posts: 132
    Because MFP, unlike most calorie counting websites, doesn't include the exercise you SAY you'll do into your calorie goal. It doesn't matter if you say you're going to sit on your *kitten* 7 days a week, or run a marathon every day, MFP will give you the same base calories. Surely you understand that someone who exercises a lot needs more fuel than someone who doesn't?

    When I just cut calories, when I believed that creating a large deficit was all it took to get the body I wanted, I lost weight, but too much of that weight was my lean body mass... my muscle. By "eating my exercise calories," I was able to maintain a moderate deficit, which allowed me to retain most of my lean mass and lose mostly body fat.

    What that means in terms everyone can understand... The jeans on the bottom are the size 8 jeans I wore at 130 pounds about 5-6 years ago when I didn't eat enough, and the top pair is the size 5 jeans I'm wearing NOW, eating my exercise calories, at about 135-138 pounds. (Typically a 2 or 4 in misses.)

    IMG_3265.jpg

    Here's me at about 130 pounds 5-6 years ago, and me at 133 pounds in February.

    five-years-later.jpg

    Then I still had a muffin top, back fat rolls, double chin, and cellulite out the wazzo. Now?

    IMG_4850.jpg

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/494091-i-just-don-t-care-anymore


    THIS IS THE BEST PROOF EVER THAT SKINNY DOES NOT = HEALTHY AND THE SCALE ISN'T THE END ALL BE ALL OF FITNESS -- YOU LOOK AWESOME!!
  • dansls1
    dansls1 Posts: 309 Member
    WHY DO PEOPLE YELL AT RANDOM PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET?
  • BarbWhite09
    BarbWhite09 Posts: 1,128 Member
    I LOVE when people post about this topic...Seems that it's super hard to go back & look at the other 569,009,304,056 times it's been discussed on here...A google search would even give you a pretty quick answer...OR a textbook...! Education is fun.
  • XaviAvant
    XaviAvant Posts: 20 Member
    I thought the point was OK TO EAT THOSE CALORIES, as long as you have a deficit. If you have a calorie budget of 1900 calories and you work off 600 calories, then you have to ingest 2500 calories to maintain your current weight. But If you work off 600, and then you EAT 600, you're still 1900 calories in the clear for the day, so YOU'RE STILL LOSING WEIGHT.
  • CathEsh
    CathEsh Posts: 135 Member
    The whole net calorie thing confuses me, so I'm posting to save this forum. I've found it quite helpful! Sometimes I earn back 1,000 calories from a long bike ride but have a hard time grasping the concept that I can eat those back! :noway:
  • I view those exercise calories as extra sine MFP already calculates my daily calories at a number that would still allow me to lose weight. For me, those 1400 calories aren't enough and I feel like I'm starving all day. Exercise earns me enough extra calories (around 500/day) so that I don't feel hungry all the time and I'm still losing weight or at the very least maintaining my current weight but giving my body the fuel it needs to do my workouts. I may not be losing as much weight as I was previously but my body is still changing and tightening which is more important to me than the number on the scale right now. Just my two cents.
  • MsNewBooty83
    MsNewBooty83 Posts: 985 Member
    ill tell you why...ive lost 10lbs since joining MFP, 6lb of that was fkn muscle because ive been putting myself at such a deficiet. im so pissed that i didnt take the time to understand things better, thought id just burn burn burn and that would work. DOESNT WOOOORK....unless u dont mind being a flabby lil stick person. then carry on, lol.