Eating back your workout calories

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asteele54
asteele54 Posts: 4 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone!

I'm starting my journey of weight loss again and for the last time!

I've been pretty surprised that I'm not getting a bigger loss on the scale though (ex: 0.6 lbs lost last week even though I never went over my calorie count of 1200 and worked out 4 times). Slow and steady wins the race so I'm not that disappointed with the loss, I just want to make sure that I'm not doing it an unhealthy way.

Should I be eating back the calories that I work off to get the results that I'm expecting? What have you guys been doing to reach your successes?

Thanks so much!

Replies

  • CricketsGirl
    CricketsGirl Posts: 31 Member
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    I read a thread on this yesterday but look forward to hearing more, especially from people who have been doing this for a while. I only started a week ago and found myself eating back most of my exercise calories but I'm wondering if I should be making a habit of that. I lost 4 pounds last week but that's pretty normal for me for the first week of a program (I think my body is shocked because I'm actually doing something!).
  • dschassie
    dschassie Posts: 192 Member
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    You are going to get a 50/50 response on this from the crowd so brace yourself :)
    I personally don't eat them back as a general rule and have been doing great with my loss. However, on some occasions my body needs more than my allotted 1,200 a day so I try to go with healthy options when going over 1,200. Also keep in mind that YOUR body might need more fuel so it might actually benefit you to eat some of them back so your body doesn't think it's going in starvation mode and is trying to hold on to what it gets :)
  • NinjaJinja
    NinjaJinja Posts: 147 Member
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    Uhm, definitely eat those calories back. 1200 net is the amount you need to eat so your body doesn't go into starvation mode, which means it will start hoarding nutrients because it thinks you're starving - therefore you won't lose any. So if you are eating under that number, that's why you haven't seen much loss. If you exercise off 300 calories, then you need to eat 300 calories more to bring it back up.

    My calorie goal is 1600, and I don't go over it either, but I also make sure I'm eating at least 1200 each day.
  • nancnancrevolution
    nancnancrevolution Posts: 9 Member
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    I've been hitting the gym daily and only eating a 1200 calorie almost 80% raw diet and i have gained 3 pounds. I am assuming it is because my poor body is in shock from the cutting out of grease and sugar and being made to do something other then sit down and watch tv. I've heard that most women will gain/have no progress for a couple weeks but will then start seeing results. I have started trying to not LOOK for results but to FEEL for results. Meaning, i feel much healthier. I am less tired, i have more energy with less caffeine. I am able to run faster and farther without my lungs exploding. I generally eat 1200 calories and burn about 400, and some days i eat the calories back, some days i do not. It just depends if i am sluggish (i'll have some protein), if i am feeling good, i don't. Just make sure not to starve yourself, if you feel hungry, give your body some nutrition. If not, drink some water :-)

    good luck!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    The closer you are to goal .... the more important it is to eat back your exercise calories.**

    **Estimating calorie burns** Many machines & MFP overstate calorie burns .... you could be eating back too many calories. A heart rate monitor will give you more accurate burns. Some people choose to use MFP numbers .... and then eat only a percentage back.


    The more weight you have to lose .... the quicker weight will come off. On the other hand ..... a .6 pound loss is a good number..... when you only have 10-15 pounds to lose.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    It depends on how you setup your daily calorie goal. If your goal includes exercise, then no you don't as they are already accounted for. If it doesn't, then yes you do.

    Read these for more:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/383956-exercise-calories-explained
    and
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
  • cms721
    cms721 Posts: 179 Member
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    Stand back - not sure how big its going to get.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    You are going to get a 50/50 response on this from the crowd so brace yourself :)
    I personally don't eat them back as a general rule and have been doing great with my loss. However, on some occasions my body needs more than my allotted 1,200 a day so I try to go with healthy options when going over 1,200. Also keep in mind that YOUR body might need more fuel so it might actually benefit you to eat some of them back so your body doesn't think it's going in starvation mode and is trying to hold on to what it gets :)

    It's not starvation mode that people need to worry about (grossly exagerated) ..... not eating enough calories can backfire because your body will use existing muscle mass for fuel. Most people who need to lose weight, need to lose FAT not muscle.

    Part of the reason you exercise in the first place is too keep muscle .... too little fuel... and you can't achieve that.

    The closer you are to goal the more important it is to "fuel your workouts" .... you don't have that much in reserve, anymore.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Eat them back, your deficit is worked out on a net calorie basis.
    Remember the footnote when you set your goals?

    * Net Calories Consumed = Total Calories Consumed - Exercise Calories Burned
  • perfect_storm
    perfect_storm Posts: 326 Member
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    This is completely non scientific just based on a 40lb loss in a 4 month period then maintaining it another 2 years ..(I gained 3 not watching...back to watching.) Here goes....

    when I was in weight loss phase I did not eat back my exercise calories.
    when I was in maintenance the only way I did not continue to lose was to eat them back plus about 200 more.
    I stopped logging for a bit and gained 3 lbs back.....I have lost 2 already by just not eating them back.

    This worked for me...to each their own tho.
  • asteele54
    asteele54 Posts: 4 Member
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    Thanks everyone! You've given me some experience and some science- exactly what I was looking for.

    I've had some body image issues in the past and became obsessive about how much I ate and worked out to an unhealthy extreme, so I just wanted to make sure that what I am doing so far is normal and healthy.

    I think that I'll add a larger breakfast (a 250 calorie meal instead of my tiny 110 calorie granola bar!) and leave the rest the same for now. Maybe my body will figure it out :) It's a great point that the workout machines overestimate how many calories are burned- I would probably run into some trouble if I ate them all back!
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    It depends on how you setup your daily calorie goal. If your goal includes exercise, then no you don't as they are already accounted for. If it doesn't, then yes you do.

    Read these for more:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/383956-exercise-calories-explained
    and
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

    Quoting for emphasis. This thread is finished. There is nothing to add here.
  • DonniesGirl69
    DonniesGirl69 Posts: 644 Member
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    Everyone does it different.....I don't set out to intentionally eat back or not eat back workout calories.
    I eat when I'm hungry and keep it within my recommended numbers.
  • firststepper
    firststepper Posts: 6
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    HEY---very nice clarification of the problem. As a new MFP user, I appreciated your original post a lot. Thanks

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