Eating back exercise calories made me gain - so confused
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Sorry bro, but if people ate if they just felt hungry................well that's what's got them into the problem they are in now. If you don't think calorie counting isn't important in weight loss/gain then you don't understand how body physiology works. Kinda insulting to those of us who actually studied it.we overcomplicate EVERYTHING!! Simplicity is key here...if you are losing great! if you are feeling a bit weak and hungry eat!!
Do not follow the many false guidelines and fad diet and so called health practices on this site and other sources..just keep it simple and elegant
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
I do not follow that silly idea. Why would you eat back what you worked so hard to burn?
Because it is in addition to the already calculated deficit and could cause you to not eat enough.
only if your numbers are correct0 -
Yes there is. Especially people with hormonal issue (thyroid).also there no "starvation mode" or slow metabolism! jeeeeeez
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
It's not a silly idea. Excessive calorie deficit can cause lean muscle loss and a much lower metabolic rate.I do not follow that silly idea. Why would you eat back what you worked so hard to burn?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
If you have your numbers and macro's set up PROPERLY then you shouldn't be eating back your workouts. It is hard and confusing to try and "make up" a deficit. Especially if this is all new to you. The proper way to utilize the tool of MFP is to first use it to make sure you are ACTUALLY keeping track of all of the things you ingest. After you get a handle on that part, you should actually go a bit further, find out what your numbers are (not the arbitrary numbers MFP makes for you based on very short questionnaire) and move forward with a plan of action. To just jump in and put whatever in the answer fields is going to 1. give you flawed "result" numbers. 2. give you flawed macros 3. give you a false number of calories to eat.
Ever wonder why it generally says to eat 1200 calories??? I put the "correct" answers and it said 1200 calories. I know for a FACT that I should be consuming almost 2k to maintain. 1500 is a good deficit INCLUDING my exercise to consume for weight loss. I don't cry if I don't reach it, or go over. I'm saying that just simply consuming more calories because you exercised is a bad idea. You need to think it through. It is VERY dependent on the TYPE of calories you consume post workout as well, and you shouldn't be waiting until you do your training to figure out how much to eat then shoving a piece of pizza or a cookie in your face. This should be a planned out endeavor. I *do* know what I'm talking about mr. personal trainer0 -
Always eat my calories back. My goal is to NET 1,500 a day. I lost 23lb in 3 months. I also track everything I eat -- and it is not a "cup" or "filet" or a "patty" or even a "tbs" of something. It is down to 1gram.
So if I exercise I can really eat well. I eat it back so that I don't subject my body to even more stress.
Your body defends its fat, and it is a mistake to think that a very drastic calorie deficit will go without metabolic consequences.0 -
Let's say that you're MFP guideline is 1500 calories to lose a pound a week. So in other words with NO EXERCISE and just that calorie intake a pound would be lost.i never understood the eat back you exercise calories thing......you just worked your butt off to get those calories off then you eat them back. i feel like you would be undoing what you did. you might need to redo your calorie needs or work out harder if your not doing much. not sure how youre eating. maybe less carb more protein. i know thats my problem
Now you add exercise and say you burn 500 calories in an hour. If you deduct that from the 1500 you're set at, then your NET is 1000 calories in a day. Dangerous, probably not, but chances of malnutrition yes. Will you lose weight? Probably, but it may not be a lot of fat weight.
Point is if you at back that 500 calories you'd STILL BE ON TRACK to lose a pound a week.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
Every person reacts differently. Most usually what is seen on this site is people go with the straight MFP recommendations, they lose for a while, then when they start to lean out they get all discouraged because they quit losing.
They then realize that their body has been burning at a rate of around "1200" calories a day...they up their calorie intake (which after a while, it takes time for the body to adjust to a new standard calorie increase), and they start losing again...
Right now for me, I have about 11 more pounds to reach my "goal" weight. I do a bodyweight circuit 3x a week, and some very light cadio on off days (only like 20-30 minutes a day). I'm set on sedentary and I ensure that I reach those calorie levels every single day (meaning I force myself to eat to that level if I have to, or very very close to it). Right now I'm not eating back my exercise calories, and my loss has been pretty consistent....about 7 pounds over the last month.
Once my losses stop for 1 month (which they will as I lean out more), I will up my "baseline" calorie intake in 100 calorie increments (so for instance if I quit losing at this calorie level for 1 month, I'll up it by 100 a day for a month, etc..etc..).
I also believe I would lose weight if I ate all my calories back...the problem I have with it right now for me, is that I don't trust MFP exercise calories at all....I did 20 minutes on my elliptical yesterday and it registered 261 calories, that is way high....It was probably closer to 170-190 calories, so you can imagine how you could end up negating your deficit if you just went about and didn't question it.
It's more to me about finding "balance" in what your body is willing to accept calorie wise and still burn fat and not try to "stock" it away.
Also, if you weight train, you should really be consuming 110-120 or higher grams of protein each day to ensure that your body gets the right fuel to repair and provide your muscles with the nutrients they need.
It's perfectly fine to eat back calories, I'm not saying don't do that. I'm saying you need to find what works for you. If you are consistently "netting" well under 1200 calories a day, I would personally eat back to that level initially, let it go for a couple of months, if I saw no loss, I would up by 100 calories a day per month. The reason 1200 is the number, is that most people won't get the nutrients they need in their daily calories if they go under that number regularly, but some people can.
I normally recommend to go sedentary on MFP, eat back about 60-80% of your exercise calories (to ensure your net doesn't end up being 700 calories a day), and ensure you get 110-120 or more grams of protein each day (for exercising adults).
But again, realize that everyone isn't the same, and some people react differently. What works for me, might not work for you, etc.. It takes time to "dial" in your specific body. And you have to be pretty diligent to ensure your input of calories is accurate, your burning is accurate, and your measurements are accurate.
Another thing to understand, if you haven't eaten back calories, and you exercise alot, then you start eating those calories back. You will initially gain some weight (as your body is use to operating on a lower calorie level, and will store those extra calories back), once your body adjusts to the new calorie level, that will become your baseline, and you start losing at that level again (provided you are accurate with your input/output recording, to ensure you are actually still in a deficit).0 -
I started out not eating my exercise calories. It worked for awhile and then I plateaued beginning at my 4th month. Coincidentally, this coincided with starting to use the elliptical regularly in addition to what I was already doing. I went with the calories burned on the machine vs what MFP recommended (machine was usually a couple dozen less) but my weight yo-yo'd like crazy and ended the month about even. I did a slight change - not decreasing exercise but just eating 250 - 300 of my exercise calories instead of all of them and I have showed a good loss again. I am not a fitness zealot but try to put in a minimum of 30 minutes but most often I get up to 90 minutes a day. I walk when I can. I ride horses but usually never credit those calories unless I am trotting the entire time. There is a lot of physical activity around horses (grooming, hauling tack, lifting bales, cranking trailer jacks) but it is not everyday and hard to gauge. Now that the weather broke, I'll be riding more so may have to tweak again. Just something I will have to watch.
I'm real happy with the loss of inches and that I have become more tone in the process. I'm glad I took earlier measurements.
Measuring what you eat is very important. I know I overestimated until I started to measure. I also underestimate calories if there is no real guide. MFP is a great tool and I use the data knowing I may have to tweak it occasionally.
I have to say that using the minimum calories/earn for exercise has kept me from feeling deprived. I did cut out no-brainer calories like coffee creamer and limit alcohol to rare occasions.
Good luck & keep tweaking!0 -
Because MFP has you at a deficit already with your daily calorie goal - meaning you could eat to goal, do zero exercise, and you're at a deficit and will lose weight. Exercising and burning more calories creates an even larger deficit, which can lead to problems - that's why they add those burned calories back into your daily goal - you are supposed to eat them back.I do not follow that silly idea. Why would you eat back what you worked so hard to burn?
Now this is assuming you entered all your info correctly when you set up MFP, going for a reasonable weight loss goal (as in, not 2lbs a week unless you've got 100+ pounds to lose, etc), and that all the food consumed is measured and accounted for correctly - the system works.
OP - as for the six pound gain - how long has it been since to switched to eating back exercise cals? Do you also take measurements and progress photos? Do you lift heavy? And how often do you weight - the body can easily fluctuate 6lbs in a week due to a new or harder workout, too much sodium & water retention, hormones, time of the month, etc.
Hard to offer more advice without more info - if you could make your diary public that might help.
Hang in there - with only 17 pounds to lose, it's a pretty slow process anyway, and hard to be patient!
My current settings are to lose 1lb a week. I have myself set to 'sedentary' since I work a desk job.
I do lift, and it's pretty heavy for me. Normal weight session would be deadlifts 60lbs, squats 90lbs, power cleans 45lbs. I also do kettlebells and generally use the 25 - 35lb weights.
I run 3x a week now, since I'm training for a half. At this point it's 3.5 miles 2x a week and then a long run (6miles this week, 7. this upcoming).
I weigh in about once a week. Although now that I'm now obsessing about it, I've started weighing in every day. I thought it might be water retention, but a few weeks ago I posted about gaining 6lbs of water weight in a short period of time. Apparently, that's never gone away..:(
Maybe it's water retention? I don't really know anymore.
Good god woman, if you think that running three times a week and lifting heavy weights twice a week is "sedentary," then what category are people supposed to use if they sit on their *kitten* all day and don't move and dont EVER EXERCISE AT ALL????
YOU ARE NOT SEDENTARY and you will never get the results that you want at that setting. If you wear a BodyMedia Fit all day long, then at the end of the day, the total number is gives you is the total number that you burned that day. I bet it's close to 3000 calories some days, right? So you need to eat that, minus 10%. If you eat too big of a deficit, you will mess up the weight loss hormones and you will gain not lose.
And you can't go by your hunger. Not a reliable indicator. Remember, if you shock your poor body by giving it radically less calories that it requires, it will take drastic measures to adapt, including dialing your metabolism way back, which dials back your hunger too. And which primes you to gain like crazy with small increases in calories.
Take it from a girl who is eating an average of 2400-2600 calories a day and who lost 1 pounds last week (and who btw only exercises a small FRACTION of the amount that you do) that you need to eat MORE. Not just more in general, but the correct amount. You need to eat your total daily burn minus 10%.
According to the BodyMedia I've been averaging a calorie burn of 2500 a day - somtimes a little bit more. So, subtracting 10% of that should be about my intake goal? That's pretty simple, thank you! (I've been trying to sort through the TDEE, BMR chatter and getting nowhere).
I wonder if that's what is happening and my body is dialing my metabolism back. Even if I feel strong throughout my workout, I'm never hungry afterwards. I don't fee like I'm getting weaker though - I feel good when I run and have been able to increase my pace. I've also been able to slowly increase the weight I'm lifting and still feel pretty strong while doing so. Although I highly doubt I've put on 6lbs of muscle, my measurements are slightly smaller.
I probably am underestimating the amount of calories I'm taking in, since I just eyeball and never precisely measure my portions. I do eat a lot of sugar. But I also eat my veggies (an occasional fruits) and try to stick with whole grains for the most part.
Would changing my MFP setting to lightly active or active help? (I elected to put sedentary since I work in an office and am sitting at a computer for a good portion of the day).0 -
Looking over your diary, I would say you need to eat more! I'm seeing net calories below 1000, some days below 500. Food is fuel - eat too little for too long & you give the body a reason to store fat rather than burn it.
Speaking from my own experience - eating more calories changed everything for me. I calculated my BMR and my TDEE and eat in between those two numbers, and have lost more fat, keeping my lean body mass in the process, since eating this way over the past year. Best success I've had has been since making the switch.
Great info here, give it a read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet
OP, the above is great advice, from someone similar to you who had success in doing what you want to do. You should follow this advice! :flowerforyou:0 -
Lol if you need 2k to maintain and 1500 (which already included your exercise) then it's the same application.
It's not a silly idea. Excessive calorie deficit can cause lean muscle loss and a much lower metabolic rate.I do not follow that silly idea. Why would you eat back what you worked so hard to burn?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
If you have your numbers and macro's set up PROPERLY then you shouldn't be eating back your workouts. It is hard and confusing to try and "make up" a deficit. Especially if this is all new to you. The proper way to utilize the tool of MFP is to first use it to make sure you are ACTUALLY keeping track of all of the things you ingest. After you get a handle on that part, you should actually go a bit further, find out what your numbers are (not the arbitrary numbers MFP makes for you based on very short questionnaire) and move forward with a plan of action. To just jump in and put whatever in the answer fields is going to 1. give you flawed "result" numbers. 2. give you flawed macros 3. give you a false number of calories to eat.
Ever wonder why it generally says to eat 1200 calories??? I put the "correct" answers and it said 1200 calories. I know for a FACT that I should be consuming almost 2k to maintain. 1500 is a good deficit INCLUDING my exercise to consume for weight loss. I don't cry if I don't reach it, or go over. I'm saying that just simply consuming more calories because you exercised is a bad idea. You need to think it through. It is VERY dependent on the TYPE of calories you consume post workout as well, and you shouldn't be waiting until you do your training to figure out how much to eat then shoving a piece of pizza or a cookie in your face. This should be a planned out endeavor. I *do* know what I'm talking about mr. personal trainer
Say MFP says 1500 to lose a pound a week, then you go and burn off 500 from exercise. Now you're at 1000 calories net. Eat back the 500 and you're back at 1500. Sounds the same.
Thanks for clearing that up for us.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
You lost the point of my posts again. EATING BACK is a bad idea. Plan your food around what you need to eat. Don't wait till you enter and then EAT BACK. You do not understand what I'm saying at all do you???0
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Looking over your diary, I would say you need to eat more! I'm seeing net calories below 1000, some days below 500. Food is fuel - eat too little for too long & you give the body a reason to store fat rather than burn it.
Speaking from my own experience - eating more calories changed everything for me. I calculated my BMR and my TDEE and eat in between those two numbers, and have lost more fat, keeping my lean body mass in the process, since eating this way over the past year. Best success I've had has been since making the switch.
Great info here, give it a read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet
Thank you! I'll give that a read. Those two numbers, TDEE and BMR are what I find confusing. I've been wearing BodyMedia Fit band that I thought was pretty accurate for my TDEE. I've worn it for about a month now and it tells me I burn an average of 2400 - 2500 calories in a 24 hour period. Is that number my TDEE or my BMR?0 -
Check your water. Make sure you are getting plenty.
You eat a lot of processed foods. Try to include more 'natural' foods.
BTW, hope you find success to your goal.0 -
Slowed metabolism is a myth?
check this out: A study looking at the actual BMRs of "Biggest Loser" contestants:
http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/early/2012/04/24/jc.2012-1444.abstract?papetoc
By week SIX of Biggest loser, resting metabolism had dropped an average of 244 more calories than weight loss alone should have caused. By week 30, it was 504 more calories.
You eat at too big a deficit, you slow your metabolism. Weight loss slows or stops. You reduce intake or up exercise even more to create a bigger deficit to continue losing, slowing your metabolism more...
Or, you eat at a lower deficit, you lose the weight more slowly -- but you continue to lose it slowly and steadily, and don't wind up one of those "Oh, I just know I gain on anything more than 900 calories a day, hee hee hee!" people.
Moderate deficits are much easier to sustain, and more likely to create a "Maintenance" level you can live with. Creating an enormous deficit is a recipe for setting up a yo-yo situation, in which your new "maintenance" level is so low that you are forced to continue on far fewer calories than you previously maintained on - and if you slip up, you regain quickly.0 -
OP, you are starving yourself! First, you should not be trying to lose 1 pound per week... with 15 or less pounds to lose, you should be trying to lose a half pound per week AT MOST, which is a 250-calorie-per-day deficit. You also need to weigh and measure, since you say you don't, already. Sometimes measuring cups are off, so the food scale is your best bet.
Also, after looking at your diary, you need MORE protein if you are lifting. At least 1 gram per pound of lean body mass. You also need to make sure your fat intake is appropriate to keep your hormones in line, and the rest in carbs to fuel your runs.
You can use custom settings on MFP to set your calorie goal. And I would say you're far more than just sedentary, even if you sit at a desk all day, you exercise more than 3 times per week.
You need to fuel your body, and it's unclear as to whether or not you're doing that, because it seems like you've had quite a few days in the last month where you either stopped tracking midway through or didn't track at all. (I struggle with this myself, lately.)0 -
Looking over your diary, I would say you need to eat more! I'm seeing net calories below 1000, some days below 500. Food is fuel - eat too little for too long & you give the body a reason to store fat rather than burn it.
Speaking from my own experience - eating more calories changed everything for me. I calculated my BMR and my TDEE and eat in between those two numbers, and have lost more fat, keeping my lean body mass in the process, since eating this way over the past year. Best success I've had has been since making the switch.
Great info here, give it a read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet
Thank you! I'll give that a read. Those two numbers, TDEE and BMR are what I find confusing. I've been wearing BodyMedia Fit band that I thought was pretty accurate for my TDEE. I've worn it for about a month now and it tells me I burn an average of 2400 - 2500 calories in a 24 hour period. Is that number my TDEE or my BMR?
I believe the 2400-2500 would be your TDEE since the bodymedia tracks the calories you're burning from exercise and other activities.0 -
Thank you, Betty!! Well said:) OP, I started at your original weight and dropped roughly one pound a week, until landing around 125, which I've maintained for four months. I was set at sedentary (1200 cals), work out 5-6x a week (burning roughly 400 cals per hrm) and ate back approximately half of my exercise calories. I didn't eat back all of them simply because we all know you can't accurately, to a T, record every single solitary calorie we consume. I left myself a couple hundred calories of wiggle room each day. Try upping your calories a bit and see what happens. Your body truly does need fuel in order to function properly and ultimately, to lose weight:)Honestly, the silly statements on this thread make my head hurt and are going to require a third cup of coffee.
So, eating back exercise calories is useless, counterintuitive, there is no such thing as slow metabolism or starvation mode?
Hmmm... I am sensing a lot of people on here with MAGIC bodies that don't require fuel to operate. Apparently for them, the same meal that can fuel sitting on your *kitten* watching TV can also fuel running a marathon. Well in that case, since there is no relationship between the energy your body expends and fuel you eat, then why eat at all? Just give up food altogether! After all, there is no "starvation mode," right? Why bother with silly food at all? :indifferent:
Come on people, use some common sense! If you eat exactly what you burn, you will keep your weight the same, if you eat more you will gain, if you eat less you will lose. How much you exercise affects how much you burn and THEREFORE how much you need to eat. And if there was no way to "slow" your metabolism, then you need to go and correct a bunch of scientific and scholarly research studies and scientists who have published papers because you apparently know better that all the PhDs out there *rolls eyes*0 -
Thank you! I'll give that a read. Those two numbers, TDEE and BMR are what I find confusing. I've been wearing BodyMedia Fit band that I thought was pretty accurate for my TDEE. I've worn it for about a month now and it tells me I burn an average of 2400 - 2500 calories in a 24 hour period. Is that number my TDEE or my BMR?
That's your TDEE - Total Daily Energy Expenditure.
BMR is what you'd need to stay alive in a coma, and is usually recommended to be the minimum you net (since you're not in a coma).0 -
Looking over your diary, I would say you need to eat more! I'm seeing net calories below 1000, some days below 500. Food is fuel - eat too little for too long & you give the body a reason to store fat rather than burn it.
Speaking from my own experience - eating more calories changed everything for me. I calculated my BMR and my TDEE and eat in between those two numbers, and have lost more fat, keeping my lean body mass in the process, since eating this way over the past year. Best success I've had has been since making the switch.
Great info here, give it a read: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974889-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet
Thank you! I'll give that a read. Those two numbers, TDEE and BMR are what I find confusing. I've been wearing BodyMedia Fit band that I thought was pretty accurate for my TDEE. I've worn it for about a month now and it tells me I burn an average of 2400 - 2500 calories in a 24 hour period. Is that number my TDEE or my BMR?
I believe the 2400-2500 would be your TDEE since the bodymedia tracks the calories you're burning from exercise and other activities.
Going by those numbers, if you went with a TDEE -20% setup (which alot of people do), you should lose weight, AFTER your body acclimates to the higher calorie level (so you may see some more weight gain initially, up to a month or so, until your body re-adjusts)...Please realize however, that to ensure this works, you have to ensure your activity doesn't change wildly and that you consistently burn that level each day. Sometimes that's harder to keep "consistent" than alot of people realize.0
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