exercise calories

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Becca21
Becca21 Posts: 361 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
i just want to no how many people lose weight by eating the calories they gain from there workouts.

Replies

  • Alpina483
    Alpina483 Posts: 246 Member
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    I do... so far.
  • sydneyorbust
    sydneyorbust Posts: 11
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    I'm nervous to eat those calories in case mfp calculations are not correct!
  • dsanfordcasey
    dsanfordcasey Posts: 8
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    I have been eating some of the reclaimed calories and losing weight.

    BUT I use a GPS tracker to track my runs so that I know a reasonably accurate calorie burn and don't rely on MFP's cardio calculations.
  • msjessielynn
    msjessielynn Posts: 42 Member
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    I am trying really hard NOT to eat them. I have a hearty goal, and wanna get as far as I can before my first "off the wagon" experience.

    But I imagine it can be done. most all "programs" allow you to use what you burn.
  • just4nessa
    just4nessa Posts: 459 Member
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    I drink mine. :drinker:
  • chelw727
    chelw727 Posts: 93 Member
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    I eat most of mine, but usually have 100-200 kcal left over at the end of the day! I've been losing at my goal rate!
  • meghanner
    meghanner Posts: 180 Member
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    Don't trust MFP for calorie calculations. I have a HRM an it tells me that MFP overestimates, sometimes doubling the number. If you're trying to lose weight this could seriously derail your plans :)
  • nz_deevaa
    nz_deevaa Posts: 12,209 Member
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    I do. The deficit is already built into your daily calorie target, so eating them back is part of how MFP works.
  • Cisco99
    Cisco99 Posts: 3 Member
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    I am not an expert but I think the calorie burn for a given activity is not the same for everyone. You can assume that you are burning some calories with your exercise. I would suggest you start by cutting the projected exercise calories in half and see if you lose weight. If not, reduce the calorie assumption further. If you start losing weight too quickly and are hungry all the time increase the projected calories from exercise.

    Lose weight slowly though. The rebound affect is real - been there and done that.

    Good luck!
  • allgoodthings
    allgoodthings Posts: 82 Member
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    I do. I also slightly underestimate my calories burned. If MFP says 300, I type in 250 or 275 (depending on how hungry I am). There are days I just wouldn't feel good if I didn't eat back my exercise calories. If I run a 5K and do strength training, my body wants those calories.
  • allgoodthings
    allgoodthings Posts: 82 Member
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    Look around the web for other sites (runner sites, medical sites) that offer "calories burned" calculators. This may give you a better representation of your workouts. You can always plug in your own numbers.
  • invisibubble
    invisibubble Posts: 662 Member
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    I did, but: I accurately (as I can) gauged my calories burned with a HRM and a calorie calculator (http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx) tailored to age, sex, weight, VO2 max, height and average heart rate during workout, and made sure I subtracted my calories burned by normal living from that number with http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/net-versus-gross-calorie-burn-conversion-calculator.aspx afterwards.
    MFP's estimates tend to be off for most people, mostly they overestimate, but sometimes underestimate.
    It's easier to figure out your TDEE and eat at a certain percentage deficit to lose weight in my opinion. I do that and log all my exercise, but as 1 calorie.
  • _Tuyana_
    _Tuyana_ Posts: 83 Member
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    Don't trust MFP for calorie calculations. I have a HRM an it tells me that MFP overestimates, sometimes doubling the number. If you're trying to lose weight this could seriously derail your plans :)

    I got an HRM Polar FT7 a few days ago, and it gives me a higher calorie burn than MFP. I'm 5'2" (158cm) and 113.8 lbs (51.6kg), but I have 29% body fat. I thought that being smaller than average I would burn less calories for the effort I put in, but according to my HRM that's not the case.
  • taylorblues
    taylorblues Posts: 49 Member
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    I usually always eat back exercise calories unless I have gone over on my calories the day before.
  • eduardoschoen
    eduardoschoen Posts: 56
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    This topic comes up from time to time. I have seen people succeed with their goals using both approaches. Eating back their exercise calories while staying within their net calorie goal. Or, not eating back calories and having a larger immediate weight loss. I think it just depends on if you feel hungry or not.

    Myself, I eat a meal/snack every 2-3 hours during the day and do not eat back my exercise calories and have had great success in the four weeks I have been on my transformation plan.

    Best of luck meeting your goals. Either way you choose to go you will likely lose weight as long as you are in a calorie deficit from your BMR.
  • eduardoschoen
    eduardoschoen Posts: 56
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    I wholeheartedly agree with this approach. Get a HRM and use that to track calories burned. It produces a better estimate than the MFP calculations.

    I use a Polar RS300x which has been set to my specific V02 thresholds, max HR, etc from the results of my metabolic testing I did at Lifetime Fitness. This really helps me keep track of how hard I am working (working hard but staying aerobic vs anaerobic).

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