Do you eat your excercise calories back?

yes, you need to be eating them back. how long did it take you to lose 2 lbs and how much weight do you have to lose? what is your height and current weight?

Everyone's body is different, you'll have to experiment with yours to see if you lose weight better eating back the exercise calories or not. Give it two weeks and see if there's significant improvement, if not then move on.

Who cares about how many pounds you've lost? What about your size: have your measurements stayed the same or are you smaller? You could have lost fat and gained muscle leaving the scale to tell you there's little progress.

I eat mine back to make sure I'm not eating below my BMR. My daily calories is set at my BMR (TDEE - 20% is lower than my BMR), so if I don't eat my calories back it's too low (my TDEE is low bc I have a desk job, no kids to chase, etc). That said, there are days I eat over my calories (yesterday 700 over...oops) and days when I am under (when I earn a lot from exercise) becuase I worked out in the evening and I'm just not hungry enough to eat them all back!

As far as your problem I would (a) make sure you are eating at least your BMR so your body doesn't start holding on to things and (b) make sure your calorie burn is accurate - if you think you're burning more than you are and eat back all of your calories, you are eating more than your calorie limit.

What is the TDEE? Thanks

... i do eat them back and LOVE every yummy calorie!

Oh, this is so me!! I eat back all my exercise calories and enjoy the fact I get to eat a bit more throughout the day.

And I'm finally getting to the point that I use those calories on healthier choices (usually).

^^Also this - I exercise so I can earn more calories to eat

i use the TDEE -20% so yes, i do eat them back and LOVE every yummy calorie!

you're not supposed to eat them back using this method. your TDEE is supposed to include your excercise. that's why the T stands for TOTAL.

when you use the TDEE method, you eat the same every day regardless of exercise, so YES technically i DO eat them back. And i know what TDEE stands for, thanks though.

did you mean that you're eating back the calories just by eating to your goal? the way you worded it, it sounded to me like you were putting your calorie burn in MFP and then eating back those calories on top of the TDEE - 20%. my mistake.

I am a little old lady with a very low BMR. On a 1200 calorie diet I was to lose .2 lbs a week. Hard to maintain motivation at that rate. So when I was wanting to lose weight, I used my exercise calories to create a bigger deficit...might have eaten back a few but not most. Now that I am on maintenance, I try to eat them all back.

Over the summer I did almost exactly what you did. I lost a little at first, then stayed the same or gained after that. When I upped my calories and ate back my exercise I did much better. Right now I am trying TDEE and it seems to be working well.

i use the TDEE -20% so yes, i do eat them back and LOVE every yummy calorie!

you're not supposed to eat them back using this method. your TDEE is supposed to include your excercise. that's why the T stands for TOTAL.

when you use the TDEE method, you eat the same every day regardless of exercise, so YES technically i DO eat them back. And i know what TDEE stands for, thanks though.

did you mean that you're eating back the calories just by eating to your goal? the way you worded it, it sounded to me like you were putting your calorie burn in MFP and then eating back those calories on top of the TDEE - 20%. my mistake.

Sorry, I prob should have worded it differently....I noticed that after i posted. I eat the same amount every day, just seems easier to me than entering my exercise and eating those calories back.

I have found that if I eat as much as MFP tells me I can, I don't lose. So, I had to play around with how much I eat. I have been averaging a little over a pound a week, but according to MFP, I would be losing more than 2 pounds per week.

Don't be surprised if you don't lose by following their guidlines...IMHO, there is way to much room for error, either in your entries or just differences in body make up.

What is the TDEE? Thanks

TDEE - Total Daily Energy Expenditure. One way to determine your calorie goal is the TDEE method. You figure out your TDEE (maintenance level of calories) estimate based on a calculator like this:

http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

...and you deduct some percentage from your TDEE...generally 5%, 10%, 15%, or 20% for weight loss. Your TDEE calculation includes all activity, including exercise. Keep in mind that nothing is set in stone...these calculators are designed to give you a starting point, they aren't the be all end all and you'll have to fiddle with your numbers a bit as you go along.

MFP uses your NEAT rather than your TDEE...otherwise known as the NEAT method (Non Exercise Activity Thermogensis). Using the NEAT method, a calculator such as MFP will calculate a calorie goal based on your activity level WITHOUT exercise. This is often an easier approach for people who are not set into a workout routine...who frequently miss workouts...who have calorie burns all over the map because they are inconsistent in their workouts, etc. The NEAT method allows you to log exercise as extra activity, thereby increasing your calorie GOAL (something to be achieved OP).

I used the MFP method for months and now use the TDEE method...it really comes out 6 of 1, half dozen of the other..here's an example for me.

MFP calorie goal for 1 Lb per week loss - 1750 calories
Avg calorie burn per day - 300 calories

Gross calories (1750 + 300) = 2050 (net is still 1750)

TDEE method...

TDEE - 2525

TDEE - 20% = 2020 calories

MFP calorie goal (added exercise) = 2050 (1 Lb per week loss)
TDEE calorie goal (exercise included in formula) = 2020 (1 Lb per week loss)

As you can see...6 of 1. Most people who have issue losing when they eat to their GOAL calories; 1. overestimate burn and underestimate intake...there are no magic, special snow flakes...this is basic science and mathematics. Exceptions would be 1.) medical condition, 2.) medication interference with metabolism, 3.) someone who's crash dieted so often that they've completely jacked their metabolism.

I ea the 15% of my tdee cut so I do not eat the exercise calories back.

Yes I do, and you're supposed to - MFP already adjusts your caloric eating to your weight loss plan, and what's safe for you. If you only eat 1200 calories a day, and exercise 300 off , 900 calories a day isn't good. I eat about 1500 calories, exercise 300 off, so that my net is 1200 to safely lose 2 lbs a week. (That's what I did do, last time when I lost 25 lbs in about 2 and a half months).

I know it feels weird like "why even exercise then, why not just eat 1200 and do no exercise?" The answer is exercising isn't just for caloric loss, it helps build your endurance, time you up a bit so your end look is better, and makes you feel better ^.^

Hope that helps!

I follow the TDEE - 20% method (though sometimes I eat at maintenance on heavy workout days if necessary). I do not log any of my exercise. Trying to eat back my guesstimated exercise cals and not eating enough on other days has failed miserably for me.