why eat back calories???

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  • ambervaldez79
    ambervaldez79 Posts: 210 Member
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    I was eating my calories back. I recently decided to stop. My activity level factors in that I work out around 5 days a week. My calorie intake is above my bmr but below my TDEE. I log my exercise burn as 1 calorie so it doesn't get added back in again. So far, so good!
  • barb1241
    barb1241 Posts: 324 Member
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    Talk to your car mechanic and ask him/her why you have to continue to put gas in the car when you just filled it up last week and you only drove 400 miles but it just won't run. If you go a couple hundred, top off the tank and then drive a couple hundred more, repeat as necessary, you will get a whole lot further than if you only fill it once a year and expect it to continue to carry you.
  • amandaanderson2786
    amandaanderson2786 Posts: 95 Member
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    she knows what mfp is and she is going to advise others to not eat them back as well i dont feel that i am starving myself and i lose weight consistentlyi just think its silly to eat back so many calories whats the point of even burning them if your just going to eat them again ...
  • ambervaldez79
    ambervaldez79 Posts: 210 Member
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    I just got a UP by Jawbone to see my normal burn throughout the day. I'm hoping it will help see how accurate my calorie expenditure really is. :D
  • Mr_Bad_Example
    Mr_Bad_Example Posts: 2,403 Member
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    i am sure the biggest losers did not eat back their calories

    Do you have any idea how unhealthy and unsafe the weight loss regimens are for people who appear on that show? I wouldn't emulate a single thing that they do.

    To the OP's question - if you're hungry after a workout, why not eat something that fits into your goals? You don't have to eat every single calorie back that you burned (and if your calorie goal is set to lose weight and not maintain, staying at that number will ensure that you keep a caloric deficit).
  • hungrypotato
    hungrypotato Posts: 1,642 Member
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    I always eat mine backkkk. Food is good people, don't you like to eat?? I've lost 100 lbs. It works
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,583 Member
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    Whether you feel full or not is not a good indicator of whether you are eating the appropriate amount. Hunger is regulated by hormones. Hormones can be off balance by eating too little, or eating too much, or eating too much of certain things.

    yup. Listen to this.
  • amandaanderson2786
    amandaanderson2786 Posts: 95 Member
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    judging from my diary does it seem like i should be eating more because i thought it seemed ok i just think eating calories back makes it more complicated and unpredictable because i workout different everyday...:smile:
  • ambervaldez79
    ambervaldez79 Posts: 210 Member
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    she knows what mfp is and she is going to advise others to not eat them back as well i dont feel that i am starving myself and i lose weight consistentlyi just think its silly to eat back so many calories whats the point of even burning them if your just going to eat them again ...

    My personal trainer(not a nutritionist) thought the idea was silly. I kinda took it with a grain of salt until I talked to a very knowledgeable fitness expert that also dismissed the idea of eating back calories. I have a sedentary job. I might exercise strenuously for up to 1.5 hours a day. The other time is spent walking, sitting at a computer, sleeping, or doing light activity. Nothing that is creating exertion. I'm pretty sure I don't burn many calories throughout the day. I'm not going to eat back the calories I just burned. :/
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,583 Member
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    I'm pretty sure I don't burn many calories throughout the day. I'm not going to eat back the calories I just burned. :/
    You do realize that your body burns calories just by, well, existing... right?

    you know, whether you're active or not..


    ...right?
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    she knows what mfp is and she is going to advise others to not eat them back as well i dont feel that i am starving myself and i lose weight consistentlyi just think its silly to eat back so many calories whats the point of even burning them if your just going to eat them again ...

    Because if you are exercising you may be creating too much of a calorie deficit and that is not good. Initially you will likely lose, but you will slow your metabolism and your body will match what you are feeding it, making it more difficult. It also causes too much stress on your body. Stress causes an excess of cortisol. Cortisol makes it so you do not lose fat.

    Example: Say your calorie needs are 2,000 a day. You tell MFP you want to lose 2 pounds a week. It sets you to 1200 calories a day. Then you exercise and burn 300. Now your net calories to run your organs and everything else is 900. It's not enough. Most likely your body needs more than 1200 just to properly run your basic functions. Will it run for awhile? Yes, but it's not good for you.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
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    I ate back all my exercise calories and it worked.
  • Swehl
    Swehl Posts: 138 Member
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    I always eat back my calories, and I'm still losing 1-2 pounds a week. However, I have MFP set to 1200 calories a day. I've heard it could slow down weight loss if you eat less than 1200 calories a day, so I always make sure I'm around that number.
  • amandaanderson2786
    amandaanderson2786 Posts: 95 Member
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    and this is what confuses me half the posters say eat back calories and the other half no i dont eat mine back which is why i posted my original post i get so much conflicted and contradicting information about this subject...
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,583 Member
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    and this is what confuses me half the posters say eat back calories and the other half no i dont eat mine back which is why i posted my original post i get so much conflicted and contradicting information about this subject...
    do you have to eat them back?

    no. that's the short answer. Will you lose weight? probably.


    Will it eventually stop if the deficit you're creating by NOT eating them back is too large? absolutely so.... THEN you have a whole other arena of issues to deal with.

    MFP is DESIGNED for you to eat them back. Just because some folks have half-starved themselves into thinking it's awesome to not eat them back doesn't mean that it's gonna work for everyone, or be healthy.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    If you read the FAQ for this site, it tells you to. The math on the food journal is set up that way, it is how they designed it.

    Many people do not follow it though, either because they think they will lose more weight by not eating them, not understanding that it is not healthy, OR they set up their own custom calorie goals that include their exercise calories in it (commonly known as TDEE -%). With that method you don't eat back the calories, but your calorie goal is higher than MFP sets.
  • kisooni
    kisooni Posts: 4
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    I totally agree. Why eat back the calories you've worked to burn? I would only eat back a few if you were feeling really hungry. (You may want to try drinking water before that.) To me eating back calories is like saying "I'm going to eat more because I can, not because I'm hungry". That is how people become overweight in the first place.

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    Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Nutrition Facts For Foods
  • amandaanderson2786
    amandaanderson2786 Posts: 95 Member
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    so then if i eat the same as i am now for the rest of my life i will start gainging weight or i will stop losing?im not sure what the consequences are...
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
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    I totally agree. Why eat back the calories you've worked to burn? I would only eat back a few if you were feeling really hungry. (You may want to try drinking water before that.) To me eating back calories is like saying "I'm going to eat more because I can, not because I'm hungry". That is how people become overweight in the first place.

    Deskgrl just explained very simply why you should. Didn't you read it?
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,583 Member
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    That is how people become overweight in the first place.
    No.

    Even though this is your first post, and I commend you for it, you're wrong.

    People become overweight by eating at a caloric surplus for long enough that they get fat. Eating enough to fuel your body to work properly and burn the fat that you've stored (based on MFP settings, eating back the calories you burn by exercising, etc) is not overeating.. or even existing in a surplus.

    So, before you post again, please understand what's going on here.

    but then again, what could I possibly know about losing weight.

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