Eating back workout calories

My goal is 1230 calories per day to lose 2 pounds. I just set it at 1600 and run about 100 miles per month.

haha I was really tired and I read that as "run about 100 miles per hour" and I was like WHAT?! then I realized it said month. :laugh:

I was asking the same thing I have been doing everything but not sure if eatting back the calories is a good thing I've been doing this since Aug 19th and it tells me that I should be down 10 pounds and it has been way longer the 5 weeks yet nothing has happen not even a pound .. I'm getting real upset. What I'm I doing wrong?

Eating back your calories for the day is a good way to ruin your weight loss goals. No paper or diet has ever stressed eating back your exercise calories. If someone has a paper that says otherwise then i would glady be openminded enough to read it. It's a MyFitnessPal myth.

Then why don't you use a different site? It works for so many of us that it's now too well tested to just be a myth. I've lost 59lbs since March doing this and eating back every calorie (although not always on the day it was burned) and feel much stronger for it rather than weaker as has been in the past.

WeightWatchers also give extra points for exercise so it's not just this site.

So now the "eat your calories back" crowd is deciding who should or should not use this site? Get off you freaking high horse. It has not been tested in any way. It supposedly works for some, not others, as this thread alone shows. IMO, the same people who preach eating calories back are the same ones who believe their HRM's, FitBits, and other gadgets accurately tell you what your workout calories are, and that tells me all I need to know.

There's no right or wrong way of doing it, because the whole point of this site, and others like it, is to ensure that people are fit and healthy.
The way I see it is, if you're full, don't eat back the exercise cals... there's no point in stuffing yourself.
If you lose, great.. if you don't - try upping the cals a little until it works.
If you're still hungry after workouts, then you can eat back the calories (ensuring you're within the macro limits) until you've had enough. And the same principle works the other way round too.

Eating between BMR and TDEE works for so many people, but for some it doesn't work and they need to eat a restricted diet.
It's not rocket science, it's just a personal choice.

Good luck to everyone whichever way you choose to lose weight

Thank you, people like you are what love to see on this site

I have taken the technical route, and love it and it helps with my ultra races. I have researched so much that when people try and be silly and ignore science and say is only opinions, it is irritating...

However, you got it exactly right, it doesn't matter, it what works at the end of the day and makes YOU happy

As long as there is a deficiency you will lose weight, it is that simple. How you do it, should be fun and up to each person

Yeh! Am supposed to eat 1650 too each day but it amount to like 2200 most days in addition to my exercise calories. Pls I need ur advise since it looks like we are on the same level though am still loosing, am @ 218 and 5"8 tall. Do I eat the entire calories pr stick to my 1650. What did u do?

No I don't.

My my, there are so many know it all opinion's on this thread....why give us an example of marathon running and the calories you consume and expend when the majority of people here are not interested in running a marathon. No one will take your advice when you put it across in such a patronising, 'I'm far superior in my knowledge to you' way. How about posting constructive advice rather than ramming your opinion down our throats. If people want to eat 5000 cals they burn off and they lose from it let them, if they choose not to and can still lose and be healthy thats cool too. Just because you do it a different way doesn't make your way the only way.

i usually only eat some of them back. MFP's calculations of exercises are a little exaggerated. I'm never quite sure how much I really burned (and my HRM broke a couple weeks ago) so I find that if I stick to around 1500 cals a day I'm still in a deficit but I don't feel deprived or want to binge.

Is a myth really. Nutrition is what your body needs NOT calories. Quite funny how people seem to not understand that.

Here is a question, do you know what a calorie actually represents? If not look it up. The concept is cool however it doesn't translate over to a human body quite the same...

Also like I said in previous reply, I can burn up to 3000 calories a day on training runs. According to most people with TDEE and all this rubbish, I would need to eat close to 5000 calories on training days! Not realistic AT ALL!

Dude the only reason MFP makes us eat exercise calories back is that we've already got a deficit built in. You don't eat back a small percentage of what you burn you're just turning that deficit into a gaping hole so your body is running on basically nothing. If you're hitting your goal calories a day, great, but if you're under your goal then exercise on top of that you're going to be in trouble and end up losing weight in a bad way.

Please stop this, "Look at my horse, my horse is amazing" pretentious BS.

Everyone has different opinions, what works for some people doesn't always work for others.

Sure, then eat crap and make your calorie goals for all I care. As if you train hard the only way your going to is by eating junk really.

By eating healthy foods, your not going to come close to 4500 calories without a struggle. And even if you did, no point as your body does not have the genetic capacity to absorb massive amounts of nutrients in one go. Hence why dieticians recommend a few smaller meals broken up.

But hey, medical biology is stupid and incorrect and even though blood is tracked along with hormones and markers it is wrong. Only opinions matter on MFP right? That essentially what your saying.

My point is that while we do differ in some aspects, the human body and it's capacities to absorb is still a human body. We can change how our bodies use fats proteins and carbs etc, however their absorption rate isn't going to differ.

If you want to argue about something, read up on human anatomy... it is really interesting. MFP is full of bs opinions with no medical science behind them, that is a fact not opinion. That is why you say what works for one person wont work for another, because there is no science behind your methodology hence the varying results.

People get so arsey on this. Go channel your energy into your training dude. It was a nice simple topic asked to deduce what everyones stance and opinion was on eating back exercise calories. Its fairly simple - do what your body tells you to. Burning 3000 calories a day isnt your 'everyday' I am presuming so Im sure you could help your body out preparing and repairing on the day before and after your big burn training days. Most people do that. It would in my opinion too be very hard to eat 5000 calories but realistically most people would probably aim to hit 3000 that day and maybe fit in 500-700 more the day before (prep) and 500-700 the day after (repair).
That way you are getting stronger and faster. No need for junk either, plenty of healthy fats like adding olive oil to meals, nutritious seeds and nuts for snacks and some extra milk/cheese/even a protein shake would probably hit it with ease.

Im not saying this really for you, coz you appear to know everything about everything but it might be informative to others.

i think it depends how you set your target calories... for me if i go with 1200/day (set for my age and sedentary lifestyle to lose 2lbs/wk) then i treat it as daily net calorie goal so do 'eat back' my calories. But am looking to change this and setting my daily goal as about 1600 cals/day - based on active lifestyle coz i do a fair bit of exercise and average about 400cals/day in exercise, but without eating back calories. the maths work out the same and for me over the course of the week it ends up with about the same net calories. I'm looking at this approach to even out my eating and try to eat 1600 cals/day rather than a lot one day, and little the next, and my exercise schedule is such that i burn a lot on somedays (so my net calories is stupidly low on those days coz i can't eat back everything) and others do a lot less. I figure by eating steadily my energy levels will be on an even keel. I also log calories in and out and weight loss in a spreadsheet (just taking the daily totals from here) so i can calibrate my calories to my weight loss and use the recommendations here as a guideline.

I do!

Most people have their MFP calorie allowance set to a level that will lose them weight. If you eat back the exercise calories, you are still at that level that will make the weight come off.
If you do not eat them back, you might start to feel weak and lose the motivation to exercise.

I usually go a little over my 1240 calorie recommendation but not much. I have hypothyroidism and my metabolism is sluggish. I feel certain that I would lose very little if I ate much more due to past attempts to lose weight. That being said I never eat under 1200 and I drink lots of water.

I've been eating most of them. I don't go by what Mfp says I burned though, use an hrm. I have my activity set to sedentary which isn't always true. I weigh and measure all my food. For me this is not a short term solution. I'd rather steadily lose a small amount then lose it all only to gain it back. You have to do what you think is right. And I'm no scientist but I'm pretty sure you can't get nutrition without calories.

Is a myth really. Nutrition is what your body needs NOT calories. Quite funny how people seem to not understand that.

Here is a question, do you know what a calorie actually represents? If not look it up. The concept is cool however it doesn't translate over to a human body quite the same...

Also like I said in previous reply, I can burn up to 3000 calories a day on training runs. According to most people with TDEE and all this rubbish, I would need to eat close to 5000 calories on training days! Not realistic AT ALL!

Dude the only reason MFP makes us eat exercise calories back is that we've already got a deficit built in. You don't eat back a small percentage of what you burn you're just turning that deficit into a gaping hole so your body is running on basically nothing. If you're hitting your goal calories a day, great, but if you're under your goal then exercise on top of that you're going to be in trouble and end up losing weight in a bad way.

Please stop this, "Look at my horse, my horse is amazing" pretentious BS.

Everyone has different opinions, what works for some people doesn't always work for others.

Sure, then eat crap and make your calorie goals for all I care. As if you train hard the only way your going to is by eating junk really.

By eating healthy foods, your not going to come close to 4500 calories without a struggle. And even if you did, no point as your body does not have the genetic capacity to absorb massive amounts of nutrients in one go. Hence why dieticians recommend a few smaller meals broken up.

But hey, medical biology is stupid and incorrect and even though blood is tracked along with hormones and markers it is wrong. Only opinions matter on MFP right? That essentially what your saying.

My point is that while we do differ in some aspects, the human body and it's capacities to absorb is still a human body. We can change how our bodies use fats proteins and carbs etc, however their absorption rate isn't going to differ.

If you want to argue about something, read up on human anatomy... it is really interesting. MFP is full of bs opinions with no medical science behind them, that is a fact not opinion. That is why you say what works for one person wont work for another, because there is no science behind your methodology hence the varying results.

People get so arsey on this. Go channel your energy into your training dude. It was a nice simple topic asked to deduce what everyones stance and opinion was on eating back exercise calories. Its fairly simple - do what your body tells you to. Burning 3000 calories a day isnt your 'everyday' I am presuming so Im sure you could help your body out preparing and repairing on the day before and after your big burn training days. Most people do that. It would in my opinion too be very hard to eat 5000 calories but realistically most people would probably aim to hit 3000 that day and maybe fit in 500-700 more the day before (prep) and 500-700 the day after (repair).
That way you are getting stronger and faster. No need for junk either, plenty of healthy fats like adding olive oil to meals, nutritious seeds and nuts for snacks and some extra milk/cheese/even a protein shake would probably hit it with ease.

Im not saying this really for you, coz you appear to know everything about everything but it might be informative to others.

Yep I eat more the few days before a race after depletion of my glycogen stores as part of carbo loading phase

In next week or so I am going to be training normally again and that is running 5-6 times a week, sometimes double sessions one in morning, one in afternoon.

You sound cool, would ask if you could join me for a morning run and we could debate and talk about this further haha

I do know a lot, because as a programmer, technician I need know about computers and I love my fitness that I buy books relating to subject, I buy anything relating to it really, read up on it for fun etc and currently writing my own personal trainer app for iPhone/iPad/Mac

I know right? That is why when body builders cut down and eat below TDEE which is a big no no here they turn into weeds and stick figures for competitions right? I mean they just LOSE all that muscle using a PSMF type diet netting 600-800calories usually a day for a few weeks!

terrible analogy,.

Doing something for a few weeks and doing something over a long period of time are totally diffident.

Even drug assisted bodybuilders will lose some mass during a contest prep phase.

I know right? That is why when body builders cut down and eat below TDEE which is a big no no here they turn into weeds and stick figures for competitions right? I mean they just LOSE all that muscle using a PSMF type diet netting 600-800calories usually a day for a few weeks!

terrible analogy,.

Doing something for a few weeks and doing something over a long period of time are totally diffident.

Even drug assisted bodybuilders will lose some mass during a contest prep phase.

Yea likely not the best, but you got the point of it... I mean not everyone has loads of weight to go to be in ideal range.

Yes they will lose some muscle mass, however the most important factor is how long they have been lifting as muscle memory plays a big part in gaining the mass back after. Much more so than genetics etc. So that little you lose, you will gain back without much effort if you train right and eat correct after the cutting phase.

I understand your concern however...
As most people here need more than say 30 lbs to lose. a 3 week PSMF you can expect about 20 lbs roughly lost. Some water however, but still, there are some here that need 200lbs etc maybe 100 and I would never recommend that diet for them as for that long time it wouldn't be healthy at all and they wouldn't be solving the underlying overeating issue.

I just pointed out that it works and it works well at what it does. If your not in ideal range and just on the verge of getting into the range, it will help a lot as you likely know what to change for food and wont be on the diet for a long time to get where you want to be.

Besides, eating at a deficit to lose VS eating enough to be anabolic is also a bad analogy that people use. You are losing weight and not getting enough calories to be in an anabolic phase. You maybe can offset the muscle mass, in newbies you can still gain, and you will gain strength however once your out the newbie phase, you wont gain mass on a deficit. So yes, even the normal "diets" people take they will lose muscle mass and that is unavoidable.

However PSMF has been a tried and tested method for cutting down to weight with minimal muscle loss over the short period.