TO EAT OR NOT EAT EXERCISE CALORIES??.....(calm down)

llpaq
llpaq Posts: 263 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just tell me you knowitalls .:smile::happy: :smile: :happy:

Please.:ohwell: Don't get angry at me for asking :grumble: ...... I just want to know. I KNOW I'm doing something right- because I've lost weight but if I can do it SMARTER AND QUICKER (2 lbs a week opposed to 1) I like most of the worlds population trying to lose - would rather do that. :bigsmile:

Eat them back?

Don't eat them back?.

5'5" tall - 165 pounds - exercise at least six times a week for at least 40 minutes. wants to lose 10 more pounds. <- don't think this matters but it might.
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Replies

  • eowynmn
    eowynmn Posts: 165 Member
    1 lb a week is pretty spot on for your current weight, so keep doing what you are doing (which is what? are you eating them or not right now?)
  • BaconMD
    BaconMD Posts: 1,165 Member
    If you REALLY wanted to know, I suspect you would have read one of the approximately 26343982343 other threads on the matter.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    quicker ≠ smarter
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    This one is stickied at the top of the General Diet & Weight Loss board, in the Newbies Please Read topic:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    quicker ≠ smarter

    This^^^

    Safe and healthy weight loss is very gradual. The less you have to lose, the slower it should be. It looks like you only have about 10 Lbs to lose...personally, I'd dial it back to .5 Lbs per week and eat 80% (to account for error and BMR calories) or so of your exercise calories back and go really slowly. You'll preserve more lean body mass that way.
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
    1 lb a week is pretty spot on for your current weight, so keep doing what you are doing (which is what? are you eating them or not right now?)

    I agree with this reply
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Try this. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    :flowerforyou:
  • llpaq
    llpaq Posts: 263 Member
    If you REALLY wanted to know, I suspect you would have read one of the approximately 26343982343 other threads on the matter.

    Unlike you I don't have time to read the other 26343982343 other thread but since you opened this one up - you obviously like them so maybe you can just tell me huh? :wink:
  • loril13
    loril13 Posts: 320 Member
    I eat most of them back. I get hungry, light headed and overall cranky when I don't. I need the energy.
  • llpaq
    llpaq Posts: 263 Member
    1 lb a week is pretty spot on for your current weight, so keep doing what you are doing (which is what? are you eating them or not right now?)

    I'm kind of all over the place, sometimes I do- sometimes I don't. Because I'm just not sure. :ohwell:
  • DrLabRat
    DrLabRat Posts: 20
    Pick one :)

    It really doesn't matter one way or the other. What matters, in the end, is the calorie deficit that you can best maintain over the long run. Too great a deficit = too hard to sustain for long. You get hungry and grumpy and binge. To small a deficit = too easy to 'opps' by miscounting and not have a deficit at all.

    I personally prefer to eat my exercise calories because it helps motivate me to go to the gym! I'd rather work out and eat 1700 calories a day than not work out and only eat 1500 calories a day.
  • lina1131
    lina1131 Posts: 2,246 Member
    I have read 238923892 threads on this and let me tell you this, there really isn't a right or wrong answer (IMO).

    Everyone is different. You have to see what works for you. If you are not eating them, try to eat them and see what happens. If you are eating them, try not eating them and see what happens. See how your body responds and how you feel and then make a decision based on your experience.

    How is that for an answer? :bigsmile:
  • llpaq
    llpaq Posts: 263 Member
    quicker ≠ smarter

    This^^^

    Safe and healthy weight loss is very gradual. The less you have to lose, the slower it should be. It looks like you only have about 10 Lbs to lose...personally, I'd dial it back to .5 Lbs per week and eat 80% (to account for error and BMR calories) or so of your exercise calories back and go really slowly. You'll preserve more lean body mass that way.

    Thank you so much! :flowerforyou: A helpful answer is a breath of fresh air on MFP!
    I was talking to a trainer momentarily today and he said that 2 pounds is always safe- that's what had me thinking if I could be doing this just a smiggen faster. Not that I want to lose 3 lbs a week or anything- but I just want to be summer ready so I'm working my tail off- literally :smile:
    Thank you again for your kind response! :flowerforyou:
  • schaskes
    schaskes Posts: 103 Member
    I didn't - it worked for me. I lost 39 pounds in 6 months. I think that by not eating them back it made up for any over counting of exercise calories and/or imprecise logging. But I never had any serious plateaus or other issues that might have made me question what I was doing. Now I'm maintaining, and it's easier for me just to eat a certain amount no matter how much I exercise. But I understand the science of eating them back. I would say everyone is different, so try one and if it doesn't work, try the other! Or eat some but not all. It will take a while to figure it out, but everyone is individual.
  • llpaq
    llpaq Posts: 263 Member
    Pick one :)

    It really doesn't matter one way or the other. What matters, in the end, is the calorie deficit that you can best maintain over the long run. Too great a deficit = too hard to sustain for long. You get hungry and grumpy and binge. To small a deficit = too easy to 'opps' by miscounting and not have a deficit at all.

    I personally prefer to eat my exercise calories because it helps motivate me to go to the gym! I'd rather work out and eat 1700 calories a day than not work out and only eat 1500 calories a day.

    My thoughts are very similar - at first I was not eating enough and not been really hungry at all- and now I really have started working out a lot more so I'm finding I'm just a little hungrier throughout the day then I have been in the past month and a half. So I'm seeking out advice :smile: And yours helped! Thank you:flowerforyou:
  • llpaq
    llpaq Posts: 263 Member
    I have read 238923892 threads on this and let me tell you this, there really isn't a right or wrong answer (IMO).

    Everyone is different. You have to see what works for you. If you are not eating them, try to eat them and see what happens. If you are eating them, try not eating them and see what happens. See how your body responds and how you feel and then make a decision based on your experience.

    How is that for an answer? :bigsmile:

    Well it's an answer....... :smile: thank you!
  • BaconMD
    BaconMD Posts: 1,165 Member
    If you REALLY wanted to know, I suspect you would have read one of the approximately 26343982343 other threads on the matter.

    Unlike you I don't have time to read the other 26343982343 other thread but since you opened this one up - you obviously like them so maybe you can just tell me huh? :wink:

    OK, well, the answer is: neither.

    MFP is designed in such a way that you are supposed to eat your exercise calories back, but many people here are too stubborn or scared to do it that way, so they end up eating 1200 calories, often less, and screw themselves over.

    MFP is NOT designed to NOT eat back exercise calories, and it does a piss-poor job of communicating that since these threads continually come up every ten minutes. :P

    But you don't HAVE to do it the way MFP was designed. The arguably better way is to figure out your TDEE and your BMR using one of many calculators out there, and then set your MFP calorie goal to your TDEE minus a percentage (10-20% or so is good). The exception being that if your calculation results in a number lower than your BMR, I would suggest you eat at least your BMR, preferably more if you so much as stand up once throughout the day.

    I used to log my exercise calories and eat them back, and that worked fine, but it's easier and far more liberating to just eat more every day and not track my exercise. Whatever makes this **** easier is the way to go, in my books.
  • llpaq
    llpaq Posts: 263 Member
    I didn't - it worked for me. I lost 39 pounds in 6 months. I think that by not eating them back it made up for any over counting of exercise calories and/or imprecise logging. But I never had any serious plateaus or other issues that might have made me question what I was doing. Now I'm maintaining, and it's easier for me just to eat a certain amount no matter how much I exercise. But I understand the science of eating them back. I would say everyone is different, so try one and if it doesn't work, try the other! Or eat some but not all. It will take a while to figure it out, but everyone is individual.

    I think I will eat some, but not all back and see how it goes- I'm afraid to eat them all back- but I'm working out more and feeling a little more hungry than I have been the past month and a half so I just wanted to try and clarify the correct way.
    THANK YOU for your kind response :flowerforyou:
  • llpaq
    llpaq Posts: 263 Member
    If you REALLY wanted to know, I suspect you would have read one of the approximately 26343982343 other threads on the matter.

    Unlike you I don't have time to read the other 26343982343 other thread but since you opened this one up - you obviously like them so maybe you can just tell me huh? :wink:

    OK, well, the answer is: neither.

    MFP is designed in such a way that you are supposed to eat your exercise calories back, but many people here are too stubborn or scared to do it that way, so they end up eating 1200 calories, often less, and screw themselves over.

    MFP is NOT designed to NOT eat back exercise calories, and it does a piss-poor job of communicating that since these threads continually come up every ten minutes. :P

    But you don't HAVE to do it the way MFP was designed. The arguably better way is to figure out your TDEE and your BMR using one of many calculators out there, and then set your MFP calorie goal to your TDEE minus a percentage (10-20% or so is good). The exception being that if your calculation results in a number lower than your BMR, I would suggest you eat at least your BMR, preferably more if you so much as stand up once throughout the day.

    I used to log my exercise calories and eat them back, and that worked fine, but it's easier and far more liberating to just eat more every day and not track my exercise. Whatever makes this **** easier is the way to go, in my books.

    BaconMD THANK YOU!!! That breakdown actually helped me a ton to figure out what I should be doing!!:smile: You ARE A NICE HELPFUL HEART :wink: Though I think that since I've been working out pretty hard this past month or so I may have to change my caloric intake- possibly? I've only lost ten pounds but I'm HUNGRY now. Last night I was craving chocolate cake and I'm a total meat and potato lady so I wasn't sure if maybe now I should start eating them back all the time or change something else.
    Thanks again- this has helped me and I won't have to be yet another post again :tongue: But maybe I can help someone now too :bigsmile:
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    With only 10 pounds to go, it will be slower loss, as others have mentioned, half a pound a week is to be expected. You also need to start acclimating your body back to maintenance level of calories. Setting your goal to half a pound a week will increase the amount you eat. And, yes, if you are using MFP method, do eat exercise cals. But as you may know from reading here, calories burned entries in the database can be inflated.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf


    also... http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/
  • eowynmn
    eowynmn Posts: 165 Member
    1 lb a week is pretty spot on for your current weight, so keep doing what you are doing (which is what? are you eating them or not right now?)

    I'm kind of all over the place, sometimes I do- sometimes I don't. Because I'm just not sure. :ohwell:

    Well you are actually probably doing it the best way. Sometimes if you eat more one day then less then next then more, then next, you trick your metabolism to keep burning so if you are all over the place, you are probably doing this without trying - so I'd say you really have a few options.

    1. Keep it up and keep going (this is what I would recommend, or I should say do if it was me)
    2, Eat them all for a couple weeks, see what happens, make a decision based on that.
    3. Eat none of them for a couple weeks, see what happens, make a decision based on that.
    I'd vote for 1 or 2.
    In other words, experiment with your own body.
  • kelly_e_montana
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
    I have read 238923892 threads on this and let me tell you this, there really isn't a right or wrong answer (IMO).

    Everyone is different. You have to see what works for you. If you are not eating them, try to eat them and see what happens. If you are eating them, try not eating them and see what happens. See how your body responds and how you feel and then make a decision based on your experience.

    How is that for an answer? :bigsmile:

    Wow, this is probably the smartest thing I've ever heard on here. Simple but true.
  • mrs_schultz2012
    mrs_schultz2012 Posts: 395 Member
    i eat my calories back usually...I get hungry! I :heart: food
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    I have read 238923892 threads on this and let me tell you this, there really isn't a right or wrong answer (IMO).

    Everyone is different. You have to see what works for you. If you are not eating them, try to eat them and see what happens. If you are eating them, try not eating them and see what happens. See how your body responds and how you feel and then make a decision based on your experience.

    How is that for an answer? :bigsmile:

    Wow, this is probably the smartest thing I've ever heard on here. Simple but true.

    It's not really some random thing that everyone has to find by trial and error, and it's not really some complicated mystical secret. It's actually very straightforward. See the link above for explanation.
  • netski19
    netski19 Posts: 12
    If I'm not starving anyway, I wouldn't my exercise calories. I used to think of my exercise as earning calories that can add to my food allowance, but since the proteins and veggies that I'm eating is keeping me full anyway, I just think of the calorie deficit as one step closer to reaching my weight goal.

    BTW, I'm doing the paleo diet, and I'm never hungry. I'm working out at least an hour a day, five days a week and stick to 1200 calories a day.
  • jkestens63
    jkestens63 Posts: 1,164 Member
    I have read 238923892 threads on this and let me tell you this, there really isn't a right or wrong answer (IMO).

    Everyone is different. You have to see what works for you. If you are not eating them, try to eat them and see what happens. If you are eating them, try not eating them and see what happens. See how your body responds and how you feel and then make a decision based on your experience.

    How is that for an answer? :bigsmile:
    Could not have said it better. I eat them because if I don't I tend to binge after a few days... like my body is craving calories and at that point there is no control in how its going to get them. Besides, I believe slower weight loss is better. It would be nice to just get it off but I really want to keep it off and it takes time to learn new habits.
  • ifoundyouwaldo
    ifoundyouwaldo Posts: 5 Member
    you'll find out what works for you! good luck!
  • love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
    love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
    eat them. done. unless you're not burning many calories--then only eat them if you're really hungry.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    quicker ≠ smarter

    This^^^

    Safe and healthy weight loss is very gradual. The less you have to lose, the slower it should be. It looks like you only have about 10 Lbs to lose...personally, I'd dial it back to .5 Lbs per week and eat 80% (to account for error and BMR calories) or so of your exercise calories back and go really slowly. You'll preserve more lean body mass that way.

    Thank you so much! :flowerforyou: A helpful answer is a breath of fresh air on MFP!
    I was talking to a trainer momentarily today and he said that 2 pounds is always safe- that's what had me thinking if I could be doing this just a smiggen faster. Not that I want to lose 3 lbs a week or anything- but I just want to be summer ready so I'm working my tail off- literally :smile:
    Thank you again for your kind response! :flowerforyou:

    2 Lbs loss is fine so long as you aren't netting below your BMR. Netting below your BMR on a consistent basis is not safe or healthy. The less you have to lose, the closer the gap gets between BMR and TDEE. With just shy of 20 Lbs to go, I can't eat for 2 Lbs weight loss and maintain my BMR...I'd be about 100 calories or so below which is no good...I'll take the slow and steady weight loss that will be sustainable beyond summer any day over netting below my BMR. A good point of reference:

    Less than 10 Lbs: 1/2 Lb per week loss goal
    10-20 Lbs: 1 Lb per week loss goal
    20-50 Lbs: 1.5 Lbs per week loss goal
    50 + Lbs: 2 Lbs per week loss goal.

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