Eat your calories you burned while exercising?

kamc96
kamc96 Posts: 11
in Health and Weight Loss
Basically wondering if I eat my goal, but don't eat the calories I burned exercising, am I doing any harm?


ADMIN NOTE

I just would like to add that we encourage repeat questions in all of our forums. We do not want multiple posts by the same user of the same thing, but simply asking a question that has already been answered is completely acceptable.

This helps the new people learn the forums and fosters new relationships. Telling someone to use the search feature is not a helpful response, your response will be deleted and may cause you to receive a warning.

Again, repeat questions are perfectly okay in our forums. Please do not suggest otherwise.

Cheers,
Scott
MyFitnessPal Staff

Replies

  • GuybrushThreepw00d
    GuybrushThreepw00d Posts: 784 Member
    To what extent? If you are sticking to eating 1200 calories and are exercising 500 and not eating them back then that's not advisable. If your eating 1800 and exercising 100 and not eating that back I wouldn't beat yourself up.

    Lots about eating back exercise calories on the boards. The short answer is, always eat them back.
  • TArnold2012
    TArnold2012 Posts: 929 Member
    You are going to get those that say eat them back and those that say don't.

    I myself do not eat them back most days. If I am holiday and need a few more calorie allowed I do eat some but I never eat more than 1/2 back as many of the exercise numbers are overestimated unless you have a hrm that gives more accurate numbers.
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    If you're eating to MFP's goal, then that includes eating your exercise calories. A lot of people eat only part of them to account for inaccuracies. A larger deficit isn't always better.
  • kenazfehu
    kenazfehu Posts: 1,188 Member
    The search engine isn't user friendly for some of us newbies.

    Me - I might eat a few of them back if I'm extra hungry, but I don't get to exercise every day, so I figure intake/output will come into line by the end of a week.
  • ahavoc
    ahavoc Posts: 464 Member
    If you eat back your exercise calories and you stop losing weight, then you should try eating back 1/2 your exercise calories, or none.

    It's different for each person. Find what works for you. But you do need to eat your basic goal calorie amount, whether it's 1200 or 1500 or 1800, whatever it is.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    Basically wondering if I eat my goal, but don't eat the calories I burned exercising, am I doing any harm?

    No, you're not doing any harm.
  • LeeLee0415
    LeeLee0415 Posts: 23
    If you don't like the topic, skip it and refrain from negative nonsense.
    This^^ I agree
  • Kryxx
    Kryxx Posts: 34
    What about really big numbers? Today I gained an extra 2000 calories to eat adding to 4000 overall; Ive eaten 3,200 and I physically cant eat anymore, and Im not depriving myself I love eating. Surely that 800 deficit shouldnt be a big deal
  • djsupreme6
    djsupreme6 Posts: 1,210 Member
    wow!!...although sure its easy to search this place for answers to questions already posted, it really doesn't matter if OP has a PhD in internet searching because this is the diet and weight loss help section. This is what its for...help lol

    Anyway...it shouldn't cause harm to eat them back. Its all according to what type of workouts you do. The tracker is built at a deficit anyway so even if you eat them back you are still at this deficit. The calories burned here can be off though so a good investment is an HRM for a more accurate burn count.

    Really, its the food choices not so much the calorie amount as in you could eat chips all day and still be under your calorie goal, but not within the macros at all. Wise food choices along with hitting the cal goal whether you eat them back or not and also hitting those macros will help you lose.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Eat them back. It's how the site was designed to work.

    How much you SAY you're going to exercise does not affect your calorie goal. You could tell MFP you plan on running 10 miles every day of the week, or you could tell MFP you plan on sitting on your bum every day of the week, and it will give you the same calorie goal, because your exercise doesn't count UNLESS AND UNTIL you do it.

    Surely everyone understands that the person who runs 10 miles a day is going to require more fuel than the person who does nothing. And taken to lesser degrees, the person who exercises 30 minutes a day still needs more fuel than the person who does nothing.
  • hayleymc3
    hayleymc3 Posts: 128 Member
    I don't get why it bothers people so much when things are reposted. It's the internet, my goodness... No, not everyone knows how to use a search engine very well. My grandmother uses websites like this, she's fairly young, and still has a hard time. You don't know how old this person is, their history, or why they can't figure out how to use the search engine. If that's all you have to say, best to say nothing at all.
  • djsupreme6
    djsupreme6 Posts: 1,210 Member
    Eat them back. It's how the site was designed to work.

    How much you SAY you're going to exercise does not affect your calorie goal. You could tell MFP you plan on running 10 miles every day of the week, or you could tell MFP you plan on sitting on your bum every day of the week, and it will give you the same calorie goal, because your exercise doesn't count UNLESS AND UNTIL you do it.

    Surely everyone understands that the person who runs 10 miles a day is going to require more fuel than the person who does nothing. And taken to lesser degrees, the person who exercises 30 minutes a day still needs more fuel than the person who does nothing.

    love this :)
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    Basically wondering if I eat my goal, but don't eat the calories I burned exercising, am I doing any harm?

    You should try to keep your NET calories above your BMR. You don't want to create too large of a deficit with your exercise.
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    Surely everyone understands that the person who runs 10 miles a day is going to require more fuel than the person who does nothing. And taken to lesser degrees, the person who exercises 30 minutes a day still needs more fuel than the person who does nothing.
    Exactly. It really depends from person to person. You have to test the waters and see how eating back some works for you. It's not really a question someone else can answer for you. It's kinda about the bigger picture, what are you using those exercise calories on, what are you netting without the exercise cals, can you cope on your daily allowance without the exercise cals?


    That's not what Lorina's saying - she's saying you SHOULD eat them because when you exercise your body needs more fuel, not anything about what you're eating using those exercise cals or how much your base goal is.
  • djsupreme6
    djsupreme6 Posts: 1,210 Member
    Surely everyone understands that the person who runs 10 miles a day is going to require more fuel than the person who does nothing. And taken to lesser degrees, the person who exercises 30 minutes a day still needs more fuel than the person who does nothing.
    Exactly. It really depends from person to person. You have to test the waters and see how eating back some works for you. It's not really a question someone else can answer for you. It's kinda about the bigger picture, what are you using those exercise calories on, what are you netting without the exercise cals, can you cope on your daily allowance without the exercise cals?

    love this as well :)
  • marie_25m
    marie_25m Posts: 64 Member
    If you burned a lots of calories while exercising, your body may need you to those extra calories, that extra energy to keep up so I will suggest you have fruits, cereal bars close by if you dont want to eat all the exercise calories back by the end of the day.
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
    Surely everyone understands that the person who runs 10 miles a day is going to require more fuel than the person who does nothing. And taken to lesser degrees, the person who exercises 30 minutes a day still needs more fuel than the person who does nothing.

    Exactly. It really depends from person to person. You have to test the waters and see how eating back some works for you. It's not really a question someone else can answer for you. It's kinda about the bigger picture, what are you using those exercise calories on, what are you netting without the exercise cals, can you cope on your daily allowance without the exercise cals?



    I don't know what's going on with the quote, but this is MY response to the above:

    That's not what Lorinna's saying - she's saying you SHOULD eat them because when you exercise your body needs more fuel, not anything about what you're eating using those exercise cals or how much your base goal is.
    [/quote]

    I didn't say she was saying that. I agreed with her post and added my opinion, Is that ok with you or are you the MFP opinion police now as well?
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    Eat them back. It's how the site was designed to work.

    How much you SAY you're going to exercise does not affect your calorie goal. You could tell MFP you plan on running 10 miles every day of the week, or you could tell MFP you plan on sitting on your bum every day of the week, and it will give you the same calorie goal, because your exercise doesn't count UNLESS AND UNTIL you do it.

    Surely everyone understands that the person who runs 10 miles a day is going to require more fuel than the person who does nothing. And taken to lesser degrees, the person who exercises 30 minutes a day still needs more fuel than the person who does nothing.

    OP - in case you missed this post with all the ridiculousness, I'm quoting this in the hope that you don't miss it.
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
    Eat them back. It's how the site was designed to work.

    How much you SAY you're going to exercise does not affect your calorie goal. You could tell MFP you plan on running 10 miles every day of the week, or you could tell MFP you plan on sitting on your bum every day of the week, and it will give you the same calorie goal, because your exercise doesn't count UNLESS AND UNTIL you do it.

    Surely everyone understands that the person who runs 10 miles a day is going to require more fuel than the person who does nothing. And taken to lesser degrees, the person who exercises 30 minutes a day still needs more fuel than the person who does nothing.

    OP - in case you missed this post with all the ridiculousness, I'm quoting this in the hope that you don't miss it.

    She's probably realised how to use the search function, so is too busy to read this now anyway :laugh:
  • djsupreme6
    djsupreme6 Posts: 1,210 Member
    Eat them back. It's how the site was designed to work.

    How much you SAY you're going to exercise does not affect your calorie goal. You could tell MFP you plan on running 10 miles every day of the week, or you could tell MFP you plan on sitting on your bum every day of the week, and it will give you the same calorie goal, because your exercise doesn't count UNLESS AND UNTIL you do it.

    Surely everyone understands that the person who runs 10 miles a day is going to require more fuel than the person who does nothing. And taken to lesser degrees, the person who exercises 30 minutes a day still needs more fuel than the person who does nothing.

    OP - in case you missed this post with all the ridiculousness, I'm quoting this in the hope that you don't miss it.

    She's probably realised how to use the search function, so is too busy to read this now anyway :laugh:

    lol..yes I laughed
  • misskariw
    misskariw Posts: 171 Member
    I tend to only read the newer boards. There's always a fresh voice and we're always looking at new information. If someone hasn't been here long, it's definitely a simpler process just to ask the question. There's always someone willing to answer. If you want a new topic, ask a new question.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    It really seems like 90% of the threads on here are either this topic or "I'm not losing weight!!!! why????" to which people tell the person to eat more. Gets really old fast. Do people read the forum at all before starting a thread?
  • FitFabFlirty92
    FitFabFlirty92 Posts: 384 Member
    It really seems like 90% of the threads on here are either this topic or "I'm not losing weight!!!! why????" to which people tell the person to eat more. Gets really old fast. Do people read the forum at all before starting a thread?

    Yep. This. It's not that you need to go the search engine every time you have a question. The problem is that it gets old REALLY fast when the same two or three questions are asked 5 times a day.
  • jesz124
    jesz124 Posts: 1,004 Member
    It really seems like 90% of the threads on here are either this topic or "I'm not losing weight!!!! why????" to which people tell the person to eat more. Gets really old fast. Do people read the forum at all before starting a thread?

    Yep. This. It's not that you need to go the search engine every time you have a question. The problem is that it gets old REALLY fast when the same two or three questions are asked 5 times a day.

    SSSHHHHH!!! Your not allowed to suggest anything about the same threads being posted several times over, anything about using the search function, have any opinion on anything, you must be a fluffy pink loving bunny all day all the time :tongue: :happy:
  • Ellyabell
    Ellyabell Posts: 49 Member
    I eat back most of my exercise calories because I am hungry after a workout. But I log the exercise for less than MFP tells me to, normally between 20-25% less. Since I am doing that I lose weight again, when I logged it the way MFP estimates, I just maintained my weight.

    And yes, HRM is best, unfortunately mine is refusing to work at the moment.
  • Scott
    Scott Posts: 204 MFP Staff
    I just would like to add that we encourage repeat questions in all of our forums. We do not want multiple posts by the same user of the same thing, but simply asking a question that has already been answered is completely acceptable.

    This helps the new people learn the forums and fosters new relationships. Telling someone to use the search feature is not a helpful response, your response will be deleted and may cause you to receive a warning.

    Again, repeat questions are perfectly okay in our forums. Please do not suggest otherwise.

    Cheers,
    Scott
    MyFitnessPal Staff
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    What about really big numbers? Today I gained an extra 2000 calories to eat adding to 4000 overall; Ive eaten 3,200 and I physically cant eat anymore, and Im not depriving myself I love eating. Surely that 800 deficit shouldnt be a big deal

    No, it's not that big a deal, and you may not actually have burned 2,000 calories through exercise.
  • plarcade
    plarcade Posts: 125 Member
    I don't really eat them back, but I do allow myself to go over my calorie goal sometimes and I find it balances out. If you see what I mean? :)
  • kamc96
    kamc96 Posts: 11
    Lesson learned, I won't make anymore posts. :)

    Off to read the previous 1000+ forums..........

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