Exercise calories?!

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msgabismit
msgabismit Posts: 195
in Health and Weight Loss
To eat or not to eat back??? Why or why not? I'm really struggling with this, because there are days I am soooo hungry that I do eat some of them back and some days I just can't even force myself to eat them back..

But majorly, why is important to eat them back or would it change anything if I didn't? For example, I eat around 1500-1600 calories a day, but burn about 500..That means I'm netting 1100..is it safe for me or should I really just net my goal?
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  • DietandVlogsense
    DietandVlogsense Posts: 48 Member
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    I think, long term, that it's not a great idea. But from day to day you can vary it to meet your mood.

    Just my personal opinion, not based on any facts.
  • rjcelmer
    rjcelmer Posts: 431 Member
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    You'll get 100 different answers from 100 different people on this. Do what you feel you're most comfortable with. Personally, I eat back as much as I can but hardly ever balance out. If I'm not hungry, I'm not going to force myself to eat because I need more calories. Sometimes, I enjoy the fact I have more than usual around dinner time because I can have a higher calorie meal and not kill my goals.

    If you feel you're not getting enough nourishment (you feel run down, dizzy, etc) then eat! If you have 600 left at the end of the day and you are stuffed, then so be it. I never felt my body was on a 24-hour schedule.

    I believe the only real answer can be given by you and how your body reacts to your intake. It might take a little while for you to figure it out, but don't let anyone tell you either eating or not eating is unhealthy.
  • msgabismit
    msgabismit Posts: 195
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    You'll get 100 different answers from 100 different people on this. Do what you feel you're most comfortable with. Personally, I eat back as much as I can but hardly ever balance out. If I'm not hungry, I'm not going to force myself to eat because I need more calories. Sometimes, I enjoy the fact I have more than usual around dinner time because I can have a higher calorie meal and not kill my goals.

    If you feel you're not getting enough nourishment (you feel run down, dizzy, etc) then eat! If you have 600 left at the end of the day and you are stuffed, then so be it. I never felt my body was on a 24-hour schedule.

    I believe the only real answer can be given by you and how your body reacts to your intake. It might take a little while for you to figure it out, but don't let anyone tell you either eating or not eating is unhealthy.


    Thank you. This is what I needed to hear. I just feel like some people are so clear cut about how they eat and exercise. I am just starting with this and learning, so I don't really know what's "good" for me yet.
  • Alpina483
    Alpina483 Posts: 246 Member
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    Yeah, I also have not quite figured that out yet. One should probably try and see what works for them, and that's what I'm doing now.
  • krisiepoo
    krisiepoo Posts: 710 Member
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    I do not eat back my calories, HOWEVER, I have my exercise calories pre-programmed (so to speak) into my daily calorie allowance.

    I went to scooby's calculator (google it) and entered in how much exercise I do and it gave me what my TDEE and BMR are. I subtracted 20% from my TDEE and that's the cals I eat.

    An exception to this is when I have a long run on the weekend and run for 2+ hours... then I up my cals because you have to feed your body. Not for "starvation" mode, but for it to work.

    If you're hungry hungry (not bored hungry, not stressed hungry, not sad hungry) then EAT! It's your body's way of telling you it's, well, hungry ;-)
  • msgabismit
    msgabismit Posts: 195
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    Yeah, I also have not quite figured that out yet. One should probably try and see what works for them, and that's what I'm doing now.

    That's what I am trying to do. I just get so flippin' scared of experimenting and think I'm going to gain weight if I just do one thing wrong.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    Your ticker says you only have about 25 lbs to lose. Too big of a calorie deficit isn't very good for you if you don't have a lot to lose. People who have a lot more to lose, and therefore larger fat stores, can usually sustain bigger calorie deficits. MFP gives you a calorie goal based on the information you give it (including activity level), but the goal it gives you is based on the assumption that you will log additional exercise (that isn't accounted for in your activity level) and eat back those calories. Otherwise, MFP would have given you a higher calorie goal.

    To avoid having too large a calorie deficit, you should account for your exercise somewhere, whether it's in the activity level you give MFP, or whether you choose to log & eat back exercise calories. Having too large of a calorie deficit could mean that you risk losing more lean mass than you would on a small deficit. That means losing muscle along with fat. People generally do lose some muscle, but you can reduce this risk with a smaller deficit, doing some strength training and getting adequate protein. You might also find that you are more likely to plateau as your metabolism adjusts to a reduced intake. Again, this happens anyway, but drastically reducing your calorie intake makes this problem worse.

    It is true that you really have to find what works for you, but do bear in mind that not being hungry doesn't necessarily mean your body doesn't need food. It's actually quite common to have a reduced appetite when you're not eating enough. It's also true what someone said that you don't have to have the same number of calories every 24 hours. It's fine to spread them out over the week if it suits you better to eat more on some days than others.
  • msgabismit
    msgabismit Posts: 195
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    Let me try to understand a couple of things by just sharing with you guys my numbers and we'll go from there...I am currently sitting at 158 lbs. I want to lose 26 more lbs. I am 5'5, and I'm 26 years old. According to fitnessfrog.com and their calculators, my BMR is 1519.
    Now, I have a desk job and do not do any daily activities, so my TDEE is 1823...That is with no exercise daily. BUT I do work out 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week, which is moderate exercise so my TDEE with that calculation would be 2355.

    My goal on here, I set it myself. The goal is 1600 a day. That is perfectly in between my BMR and TDEE with no exercise at all (I'm accounting for the days when I may not feel like exercising...which is none at all..YET)
    My diet fitness profile on here, my normal daily activities were described as sedentary, but the plan for exercising was 45 mins, 5 days a week.
  • msgabismit
    msgabismit Posts: 195
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    bump
  • msgabismit
    msgabismit Posts: 195
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    C'mon guys.I'd love to hear more opinions.
  • Lisah8969
    Lisah8969 Posts: 1,247 Member
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    Ok...I don't have a heart rate monitor to accurately track my calories burned so I have to use what MFP tells me. That being said, I eat back half of them. It has been working for me. Yes, you might need to experiment a little to see what is right for you, but it sounds like if you set your goal at 1,600 and do eat some more on days you exercise you should be fine. And that is my non-medical, educated by MFP message boards, opinion.
  • katevarner
    katevarner Posts: 884 Member
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    500 calorie burn for 45 minutes is pretty high. Are you measuring that or just going by MFP or machines? If you don't have a HRM or some other device to measure your burn, I'd assume it's lower. That said, I agree that you can probably eat around 1600 and still lose, and maybe even eat back some of your exercise calories on days you feel hungry. Try it for a while longer. If you've lost 4 lbs in a month, that's pretty good. Everyone is different, tho, so don't want to do what everyone else is doing. Just keep trying things and see what works for you.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
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    If the activity is Yoga, MFP tells me I have burned about 200 cals, but I don't eat those back because I feel energised and I get home toward bedtime anyway, so I have an egg sandwich within my TDEE and a supper light hot chocolate. I don't think Yoga increases my metabokic rate even if it is a challenging class as I come away calm and relaxed although energised.

    However, if I have cycled 18 miles round trip to and from work and my muscles are aching and I have been breathing hard for around 80 minutes (40 there, 40 back), then I eat half of those calories back because I know my metabolic rate will be up for a while, because I need to feed and repair those muscles and because I need to build a defense around myself after road cycling which can be quite stressy.

    Depends on what I'm doing. Hope this helps.
  • julieh391
    julieh391 Posts: 683 Member
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    I eat back about 75% of mine and have lost 43lbs in 5 months.
  • msgabismit
    msgabismit Posts: 195
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    OK, that's helped..Thanks guys..I'm going by what the machine tells me..so that's why I don't eat most of them back..because 500 for 45 mins does sound a lot..i walk on the highest possible incline on the treadmill at a moderate speed, and then i sprint for a minute..so it may or may not be true, but I won't know until I get my heart rate monitor in the mail. lol
  • LeidaPrimal
    LeidaPrimal Posts: 198 Member
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    keep eating at 1500-1600 cals as long as you are steadily losing weight AND inches. You can't estimate exercise calories with any precision. Let the scale and the measuring tape tell the story! Up the calories and protein if inches go up, but weight goes down.
  • JIGGLYbellyPUFF
    JIGGLYbellyPUFF Posts: 81 Member
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    I like eating mine back. My bonus is getting a burger or whatever on the days I exercise. This whole thing wouldn't be sustainable if I didn't.
  • marieautumn
    marieautumn Posts: 932 Member
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    if you have hunger pains, eat them back. if you don't, then dont bother. thats my theory at least. i'm always extremely hungry after a work out though.
  • marieautumn
    marieautumn Posts: 932 Member
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    OK, that's helped..Thanks guys..I'm going by what the machine tells me..so that's why I don't eat most of them back..because 500 for 45 mins does sound a lot..i walk on the highest possible incline on the treadmill at a moderate speed, and then i sprint for a minute..so it may or may not be true, but I won't know until I get my heart rate monitor in the mail. lol

    get a HRM...the machine is usually wrong. you could be burning a lot more or a lot less depending on the stats set up on the machine. a HRM is the best way to go.
  • msgabismit
    msgabismit Posts: 195
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    OK, that's helped..Thanks guys..I'm going by what the machine tells me..so that's why I don't eat most of them back..because 500 for 45 mins does sound a lot..i walk on the highest possible incline on the treadmill at a moderate speed, and then i sprint for a minute..so it may or may not be true, but I won't know until I get my heart rate monitor in the mail. lol

    get a HRM...the machine is usually wrong. you could be burning a lot more or a lot less depending on the stats set up on the machine. a HRM is the best way to go.

    Yeah, I'm waiting for mine to come in. I know I'm probably burning less than the machine says, but I'll know more when I get my HRM. I know I'm sweating like a pig for those 45 minutes and I feel pretty good for it. LOL Calories burned are a plus.

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