Do you eat back your workout calories?

2

Replies

  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    *sigh*

    this is going to be a painful thread.


    Please people, at least the people who care to know, rather than just wing it... please please please please read this. There actually is science and reason behind all this... it's not a just gotta find what works for you type of thing.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/383956-exercise-calories-explained?hl=exercise+calories+explained
  • migdalp
    migdalp Posts: 50 Member
    I eat some some of the time. Never knew you had to eat what you worked out, if there such a thing.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Yes and they are DELICIOUS!
  • 1holegrouper
    1holegrouper Posts: 323 Member
    MFP is designed so that you eat back your exercise calories- BUT there are two problems with this. 1) MFP may be over estimating your calories burned and 2) you may not be accurately measuring what you are eating so the calories eaten are underestimated. This sets you up for frustration in your results.

    My lazy fix is this. I know I'm not going to be OCD about measuring my food. So, I tell MFP I want to lose 1/2 pound a week more than I actually do. This compensates for my intake innacuracy. For exercise, I set my activity to sedentary and say no exercise so that MFP is basically suggesting a deficit against my BMR. Then I add and eat on what I exercise. While not eligant it seems to work for me.
  • melclare10
    melclare10 Posts: 49 Member
    eat some back. Your body needs fuel.
  • brmoore8
    brmoore8 Posts: 3
    I've been wondering the same thing. I eat some of them but not all of them. I've been hesitant. Any advice you guys have I would appreciate it.
  • oOMusicBabii
    oOMusicBabii Posts: 494
    Please people, at least the people who care to know, rather than just wing it... please please please please read this. There actually is science and reason behind all this... it's not a just gotta find what works for you type of thing.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/383956-exercise-calories-explained?hl=exercise+calories+explained
    :flowerforyou: Good read and makes complete sense when worded the way your wrote it.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    I've been wondering the same thing. I eat some of them but not all of them. I've been hesitant. Any advice you guys have I would appreciate it.

    If your daily goal includes exercise, then you shouldn't be eating them back. If it doesn't include exercise, then you should be eating them back.

    More:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/383956-exercise-calories-explained?hl=exercise+calories+explained
  • cyclingben
    cyclingben Posts: 346 Member
    I do not, i ride 100-150 miles a week. It all depends on the quality and nutrients your taking in. If your eating junk food or processed food you will probably be hungry if you don't.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    eat some back. Your body needs fuel.

    True, it does... but if your daily goal already accounts for exercise, then eating them back will cut into your calculated deficit.
  • karrielynn80
    karrielynn80 Posts: 395 Member
    I am not sure if I should be eating back my workout calories. What do you do?

    Do your MFP goals have workouts figured in? if so, it's not necessary but if not, than it might help.

    I don't figure my workouts into MFP goals & I generally do, but sometimes I don't - I let my body tell me if I need it... Course on the days I don't - i find myself wondering if I could have pushed it harder that day... lol seems like when I'm @ 150% i NEED my workout calories & maybe then some.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    I do not, i ride 100-150 miles a week. It all depends on the quality and nutrients your taking in. If your eating junk food or processed food you will probably be hungry if you don't.

    Hunger is not always a good gauge for if/when you should eat. That's how a lot of people got into trouble in the first place.
  • MommyToCutie
    MommyToCutie Posts: 31 Member
    Hmm, I figured that the creators of this website knew what they were doing when they gave you extra calories to eat per day after you burn a bunch off. So I've been eating most or all of them back. I've been on this website since last Tuesday and I already lost 4 pounds, so it must be working so far. I can't imagine eating only 1200 calories on a day that I've exercised. I tried eating 1200 on the few days I don't exercise and I'm hungry enough. I don't think this should be about starvation. If I'm hungry I'm going to eat something.
  • kikicooks
    kikicooks Posts: 1,079 Member
    I don't have my calorie goals set the recommended way MFP suggests, but if I did I would eat back my exercise calories. I have my calories set based off my weekly TDEE average so my exercise is already figured into my calorie goal.
  • oOMusicBabii
    oOMusicBabii Posts: 494
    I do not, i ride 100-150 miles a week. It all depends on the quality and nutrients your taking in. If your eating junk food or processed food you will probably be hungry if you don't.
    Hunger is not always a good gauge for if/when you should eat. That's how a lot of people got into trouble in the first place.
    THIS.
    I know I used to go solely by hunger, but that 'hunger' was dehydration. Now that I hydrate enough (more than enough some days), I know that if I'm feeling hungry, it probably is actually hunger (though I will drink some water first to make sure).
  • BioShocked89
    BioShocked89 Posts: 330 Member
    I eat pretty much all of mine back. I notice the days where I burn calories that make my net calorie total close to or below 1200, I will start to feel like I have no energy and hungry.

    At the very least, I make sure my net calories are 1300-1400. Most of the time, I'll make sure my net calories are the total I'm supposed to eat for the day, eating back exercise calories included.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
    I eat back 1/2 - 3/4 of my workout calories. I try to make sure I don't net below 1200 calories for the day. I don't eat back ALL of my calories, because I'm a little leery about the accuracy of the burned number. But that's probably the only reason I don't eat them all back.

    However - if I'm not hungry... I might 'save' some of the calories for the next day. That doesn't happen often though - exercising usually makes me a little hungry in the evening.
  • EmilyOfTheSun
    EmilyOfTheSun Posts: 1,548 Member
    Yes. Simply because I lose weight more quickly when I eat them back. I don't normally eat all of them back, but at least half. I make sure I eat them back in HEALTHY calories though. I don't say, "o0o I burned 500 calories! Let me go eat that back in ice cream!"
  • cbsavga
    cbsavga Posts: 11 Member
    I don't and have not had a problem with fatigue or anything. That said, mine tend to be about 25% of my total of 2030.
    I would say that there is a ratio that probably makes sense. for example you may want to start with eating back some workout calories to keep them less than 50% of your total or something like that
  • palmerig88
    palmerig88 Posts: 623 Member
    I have eaten all mine
  • Illona88
    Illona88 Posts: 903 Member
    Most of it.

    Sometimes I go for a 2 hour hike and then there is absolutely no way I can eat that much back without getting sick.
  • royal_ruler
    royal_ruler Posts: 4 Member
    It depends on how hungry I am and how intense of a workout I've did that day. Usually I try not to though...
  • topgun86
    topgun86 Posts: 7
    Hey guys, just need some help to work out what i need to be doing....

    (Me) Male, 5ft 10", 246lbs, 26years, sedentary = 2888cals

    Currently using mfp and struggling to eat the amount required on days i take dog for a walk for 2 to 3 hours up a winding mountain path. So my question is:

    Is the 1630 cals needed per day really appropriate then adding exercise on the days i do it or can i average it over the week?

    I have worked out my maintenance calorie allowance is 2888cals per day or 20,216 per week.

    I also do strength training 3 days a week 1 hour each day, which totals 1151 cals per week. Along with walking the dog for say an average of 450mins per week equals another 3653 cals burned in total per week.

    My target is 2lbs per week = 7000 cals, in total i burn roughly 4804 cals per week in exercise alone. Which leaves 2196 weekly cals for deficite to hit my target.

    2196/7 = 314cals per day.

    2888 - 314 = 2574cals

    2574cals to eat per day. In order to achieve my goal of -2lbs per week as I will get my cal deficit from exercise + slight reduction. And not the 1600 mfp gives + exercise for that day.

    Currently 2574 calls is not far off what mfp gives on 1600 + 1000 cals exercise day.

    I currently aint getting my goal weight loss from mfp. Is what I've worked out correct? Can I restrict cals further? (or would this result in starvation mode?)

    Please Help!!!
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    Never!

    Do what you want. I ignore exercise calories anyway so the exercise log is just to track time spent exercising for me. Exercise calories are highly over rated. You can't exercise away eating too much food. I learned this the hard way most of my life running marathon after marathon (and lifting) and not being able to lose weight and in fact continued to gain year after year. And I don't pig out, binge, snack mindlessly, eat out of boredom, etc, but the portion sizes are too big for a small person like me. (well I wasn't small when I weighed over 170 lbs at 51'0"!)

    Anyway I found what worked for me was separating out the two things:

    Eat less to lose weight
    Exercise to maintain or build lean body mass
    end of story.

    Well, it did work for me. I am the fittest, leanest, strongest, and most muscular I've ever been in my life at age 51 and I'm healthy and don't get sick and have long endurance. Doesn't feel like starvation mode to me. Can you build muscle like I did while supposedly being in starvation mode?
  • sparklelioness
    sparklelioness Posts: 600 Member
    I eat half of mine. Works for me :)
  • Molly182
    Molly182 Posts: 406
    I saw this and that made me think a little differently: My general level of exercise is already reflected in my choice of an activity level multiplier, so if I ate back my exercise calories I would be eating them twice!

    I think it just depends how you feel though.
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
    I am not sure if I should be eating back my workout calories. What do you do?

    Will it ever end?

    LOL
  • kaylou
    kaylou Posts: 375 Member
    I do 90% of the time
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,749 Member
    Not on purpose.

    Some days I end up eating some back but I don't consciously do it. In my opinion it's counter productive.
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,749 Member
    I am not sure if I should be eating back my workout calories. What do you do?

    Will it ever end?

    LOL

    No. And neither will the resurrection of the "Fifty Shades of Grey" posts.:grumble:

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