Exercise calories

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bassanne
bassanne Posts: 56
in Health and Weight Loss
I understand the whole eating back your exercise calories, but I'm just wonder how much weight you have lost, if you eat back the calories or not, and how long you have been at it. A friend and I started this journey together and I have lost 30lbs, and she has lost 60lbs in the same amount of time, 7 months, and the only difference is she does not eat back the exercise calories and I do. So just wondering what others are finding.

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  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    I eat them back when I'm hungry.

    There are so many reasons for different speeds of weight loss. A major part is WHAT you eat as well as how much. Is there a difference between what you and your friend are eating in terms of the type of foods?
  • jasonp_ritzert
    jasonp_ritzert Posts: 357 Member
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    I've been able to meet my goals thus far by eating back some/all of my exercise calories. Has it taken a little longer than if I did not eat them back? Yes, but it is something that I can see maintaining for a long time. Don't feel like it's a challenge to eat back all the calories you burn, I take it as if I am still a litlte hungry and I have 300 extra calories that day from exercise, then I may choose to have a small snack.
  • LesleLu4
    LesleLu4 Posts: 14
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    I personally don't eat back my exercise calories... Sometimes if I know I'm going to be eating more (going out to dinner, family gathering, etc.) I will make sure and work out harder/longer to burn more calories, but that is the only time...
    So basically I don't purposefully think, "oh yay, I burned 600 calories now I can have that piece of cake" but, on occaision, I do use them in my favor.

    I hope that makes sense!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I understand the whole eating back your exercise calories, but I'm just wonder how much weight you have lost, if you eat back the calories or not, and how long you have been at it. A friend and I started this journey together and I have lost 30lbs, and she has lost 60lbs in the same amount of time, 7 months, and the only difference is she does not eat back the exercise calories and I do. So just wondering what others are finding.

    The difference may be this ..... you have lost 30 pounds of fat .... she has lost 60 pounds of fat AND muscle. Maintaining a healthy percentage of muscle mass helps keep your metabolism fired up.

    30 pounds is a GREAT accomplishment!
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    I eat mine back - up to 6-700 cals. (If I burn more than 700, I tend not to but am a little easier about going over on cals on rest days.)

    I do try to ensure that my calorie estimates are as accurate as possible.

    It doesn't seem to be doing me a *lot* of harm.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,404 MFP Moderator
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    Did you start at the same weight, are you the same height? It's hard to completely compare against some as there are all small difference. I will note, there is a much greater chance that your friend lost a lot of muscle, which in the long run, you will end up with better results. Stay tuned for the below link. I plan on doing a write up on this soon. I can tell you, just by looking at the preliminary results, you are doing the right thing. Also, do you either of you weight training. Does one exercise more than the other?

    I include my exercise as part of my lifestyle, I have cut at least 6% body fat (started at 18% and 60 days ago I was at 12%) and I eat 2600-3000 calories a day.



    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/708037-weight-loss-vs-fat-loss
  • bassanne
    bassanne Posts: 56
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    Thanks everyone who replied. I know there are various reason for our different weight loss. I was just curious to know about who has eaten the calories back, how much you have lost, and how long that has taken. We have both done amazingly well, and are both happy with what we have accomplished.

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