Eating back exercise cals does not wok for me

onwarddownward
onwarddownward Posts: 1,683 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've read the topics here on eating back exercise cals and had some comments that said I needed to eat more. But I'm here to say that eating back the cals is making me gain. I've put on five pounds and it's NOT muscle.

I'm going back to what was working, 1200-1400 cals a day and keeping my workout cals burned to boost my fat loss.

The theory sounds good, eat more and lose, but it's not happening for me.

I also think that MFP way inflates the cals earned during exercise.
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Replies

  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    Some of the exercise calories are overstated, for sure.

    It's also not clear to me if they are "extra" calories or include what you would have burned anyway - if I walk for an hour and MFP says 400 is that 400 plus the 80 I would have burned anyway or 320 + 80 = 400. If it's the latter I wouldn't want to "eat it back" to the full 400 even if I did think exercising to eat more was a valid concept.
  • PlayerHatinDogooder
    PlayerHatinDogooder Posts: 1,018 Member
    1. Yes. For most people the calorie burns may be inaccurate. Some may be higher, some maybe lower.

    2. I'm glad you realize you didn't gain 5 pounds of muscle.

    3. You should still eat back most of your exercise calories. The fact that you 'gained 5 pounds' doesn't mean it was 5 pounds of fat. So many things contribute to your weight that using only the scale isn't an accurate way to measure progress. You should weigh yourself once a week, and at the same time every week. You should also be taking waist, hip, and thigh measurements as well.

    4. Not eating back your exercise calories will raise your cortisol levels and your body will be more likely to use muscle tissue as fuel than fat. This will eventually slow down your BMR and make losing weight even more difficult.

    5. I would suggest that you a) remain patient b) slightly lower calories by 150-250 per week c) start taking measurements.
  • emblu
    emblu Posts: 272 Member
    Whatever works for you hunni but on the exercise cals calculation bit I tend to find that they are lower than what my other gadgets say. There is usually 200cal more burnt on a long run using my gps than what mfp calculates and have found this with other activities too.
    If not eating back your cal works hun stick to it, everyone is different and deep down we all know what is needed to achieve our goals. All the best hun:smile:
  • Saliang
    Saliang Posts: 62 Member
    I have just done the same as of this week. I have been using MFP for four months whilst exercising on average 30 mins a day. I lost around 2 kilos, but I expected better improvements overall.

    Will see how it goes now with a smaller calorie intake!
  • monica2410
    monica2410 Posts: 124 Member
    Not eating mine has been working for me. I only eat the exercise calories if I am hungry.

    Even though I weigh my food, I figure I make errors here and there, so my calorie consumption is underestimated in any case.

    But, I am doing more weight training than cardio at the moment so I don't have that many extra to eat.

    Listen to your own body and good luck:flowerforyou:
  • baozytools12
    baozytools12 Posts: 26
    1. You eat more than you think
    2. You burn less calories than you think

    put 1 and 2 together and you got weight gain. stop lying to yourself when you log your food and exercise.
  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
    Get a heart rate monitor so that you'll know how many calories you're burning.
  • Broejen
    Broejen Posts: 414 Member
    How long did you try the higher calories for? There's usually an initial gain but then you go back to losing. Try it for a few weeks at least. If you didn't eat 17500 calories more than your TDEE x (whatever amt. of days), you didn't gain fat.
  • lisaabenjamin
    lisaabenjamin Posts: 665 Member
    Weight loss is about a simple mathematical formula: calories consumed - calories burnt = weight loss.
    To use this formula correctly, you need to put in accurate numbers, so for 'calories consumed' you need to be accurately tracking each and every calorie consumed by being honest about what you are consuming, and weighing out portion sizes. You probably do this already. For calories burnt, you also need to be as accurate as possible, although admittedly this is more difficult. Work out your TDEE using an online calculator and estimate calories burnt during exercise as accurately as possible – a gadget with a heart rate monitor is the best way. The exercises in the MFP database can only give an average estimate of calories burnt during different exercises - the actual amount burnt depends on your body, and how hard you are actually working out.
    The average female has a maintenance calorie allowance of 2000 cals (though check you TDEE to make sure what is more accurate for you). So, as long as your calories consumed – calories burnt = less than 2000, you should lose weight.
  • LeeWorrall88
    LeeWorrall88 Posts: 80
    Why would you eat them back after you bother to burn them off in the first place, if weight loss is what you are after, then that is just stupid
    Cardio junkies never truly succeed anyway, learn properly what you are doing and stop wasting your time, all of you

    Heres a nice little article that might help

    http://www.precisionnutrition.com/cardio-confusion
  • running_shoe
    running_shoe Posts: 180 Member
    Woks for me.
  • SoViLicious
    SoViLicious Posts: 2,633 Member
    Do what you want
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Why would you eat them back after you bother to burn them off in the first place, if weight loss is what you are after, then that is just stupid
    Cardio junkies never truly succeed anyway, learn properly what you are doing and stop wasting your time, all of you

    Heres a nice little article that might help

    http://www.precisionnutrition.com/cardio-confusion

    just wow!
  • wutaday1
    wutaday1 Posts: 45 Member
    I think it is great that you tried it to see what really works for you. Everyone is different and it is good that you found what is right for you and not someone else. :) As far as the calories burned go, I tend to agree with others, I think sometimes they are higher than what I am probably burning. One of these days I will invest in those things you wear on your arm to get an accurate portrayal of what I am actually burning. Have a great day and good luck!!!
  • jolodo
    jolodo Posts: 24
    Seems stupid and surely defeats the point if you burn off 300 cals then these are added back to your allowance to eat?!?!?:huh:
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
    1. Yes. For most people the calorie burns may be inaccurate. Some may be higher, some maybe lower.

    2. I'm glad you realize you didn't gain 5 pounds of muscle.

    3. You should still eat back most of your exercise calories. The fact that you 'gained 5 pounds' doesn't mean it was 5 pounds of fat. So many things contribute to your weight that using only the scale isn't an accurate way to measure progress. You should weigh yourself once a week, and at the same time every week. You should also be taking waist, hip, and thigh measurements as well.

    4. Not eating back your exercise calories will raise your cortisol levels and your body will be more likely to use muscle tissue as fuel than fat. This will eventually slow down your BMR and make losing weight even more difficult.

    5. I would suggest that you a) remain patient b) slightly lower calories by 150-250 per week c) start taking measurements.


    Some good advice here. Have you worked out your TDEE and BMR?
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
    1. You eat more than you think
    2. You burn less calories than you think

    put 1 and 2 together and you got weight gain. stop lying to yourself when you log your food and exercise.

    Maybe not the nicest way to put it, but nonetheless the most truthful advice.

    Weigh and measure absolutely everything you eat, don't forget to weigh even a teaspoon of oil, ketchup, dressing, that one cracker or handful of chips you grab from the pantry, etc. because those calories add up quickly.

    The calorie burn is off with a lot of the cardio listed. A good estimate if you don't want to get a HRM is 350 calories/hour for intense, 300 for moderate exercise. Obviously that is not accurate for everyone, but it's a good estimate. Calories burned from exercise are very hard to estimate because it is different for everyone based on age, weight, fitness level, hormones, etc.
  • amy1612
    amy1612 Posts: 1,356 Member
    Ive just taken a look at your diary, what exercise are you doing to burn up to 2000 calories a day?

    Food wise, days like Sun May 12th look quite good (good amount of protein, carbs and fats). Maybe add another snack into a day like that or eat a bigger portion if youre doing a lot of exercise. Much better than the day where you had chips for lunch (chips arent a meal!)
  • ehsan517
    ehsan517 Posts: 114
    this is exactly why i dont track exercise cals....
    i go by my TDEE which already incorporates my activities and just cut out whatever i want from that to get my daily goals.
    i do not complicate it and add in exercise cals and eat those back and what not. if you are going by your BMR, then perhaps you can, but i prefer not to log exercise since its all estimates and what not...i just see how my body reacts to changes and i make alterations accordingly.
  • watfordjc
    watfordjc Posts: 304 Member
    Why would you eat them back after you bother to burn them off in the first place, if weight loss is what you are after, then that is just stupid
    Cardio junkies never truly succeed anyway, learn properly what you are doing and stop wasting your time, all of you

    Heres a nice little article that might help

    http://www.precisionnutrition.com/cardio-confusion

    Stupid? Wasting my time? As someone who consumes 1,400 to 4,700 calories per day, and who lost 40.9 pounds between 6th December 2012 and 24th April 2013 (of which 99.56% was fat), saying I shouldn't balance exercise with hunger so I can eat more on the days I'm hungry because of your beliefs about what works for me and that I won't succeed... I have enough data to know what I'm doing is working and that hunger is not necessary.
  • fitfantasytumblr
    fitfantasytumblr Posts: 5 Member
    Eat clean to lose weight and exercise to look good.

    The concept of eating back calories doesn't make sense for normal people, unless you're working out intensely for an extended period of time (think full time athlete) I can bet that your body isn't going to miss those 'extra calories'.

    At the end of the day everyone is different and you have to do what works for you. MFP isn't a magic weightloss tool, its only a guide to help you see what your body responds too. Don't get so caught up in the numbers.

    You said yourself it isn't working so why question it further.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Seems stupid and surely defeats the point if you burn off 300 cals then these are added back to your allowance to eat?!?!?:huh:

    MFP is set up to create a deficit BEFORE exercise... that is why you should then eat back exercise calories, as too large a deficit can be detrimental.
  • onwarddownward
    onwarddownward Posts: 1,683 Member
    Ive just taken a look at your diary, what exercise are you doing to burn up to 2000 calories a day?

    Food wise, days like Sun May 12th look quite good (good amount of protein, carbs and fats). Maybe add another snack into a day like that or eat a bigger portion if youre doing a lot of exercise. Much better than the day where you had chips for lunch (chips arent a meal!)

    I swim about two miles per day. Some days more, rarely less. I've also been double digging a new garden and been at that for most of last week. Since the digging is well outside of my range of normal activities, I've added it as exercise. I've also started walking more, now that I m stronger than I was two months ago.

    And I've looked at heart rate monitors, but haven't found one that will work underwater for that length of time. I do take my own heart rate and am consistently in cardio range or my age/ weight.
  • jadethief
    jadethief Posts: 266 Member
    Do TDEE - 20% and then you don't even have to think about eating exercise calories back.
  • cabernetkitty
    cabernetkitty Posts: 8
    I don't think eating more to lose more is anything more than anecdotal. Keep doing what works for you. Less calories can only equal more weight loss (unless you're too hungry to work out- which doesn't sound like the case with you).

    I always hear people talk about how they needed to eat more to lose more, it never seems to be coming from anyone particularly fit.
  • gatorginger
    gatorginger Posts: 947 Member
    Maybe you should only eat some of the exercise calories back. Also I notice your sodium is very very high and that will make you bloat. What I would do is eat what your allowed and if your still hungry eat some of your exercise calories back. Eating all your exercise calories back I don't think is a good thing because for one the estimate may not be accurate. Don't give up just take baby steps til you figure out what works best for you.
  • kellehbeans
    kellehbeans Posts: 838 Member
    Do TDEE - 20% and then you don't even have to think about eating exercise calories back.

    Unless your activity level is sedentary.
  • jolodo
    jolodo Posts: 24
    MFP is set up to create a deficit BEFORE exercise... that is why you should then eat back exercise calories, as too large a deficit can be detrimental.
    [/quote]

    Please explain in more detail - eating back calories I've exercised off doesn't make sense to me. If MFP gives me 1200cal and I eat 1100, doing exercise could give me back say 300 cals. so wouldn't this mean I'd eat 1400 cals if I used up all the calorie allowance?
  • RunningMum2017
    RunningMum2017 Posts: 22 Member
    There is no way that you are burning 2000 calories each day, my husband does a 5 hour cycle and he burn 2000... I am more than positive you aren't burning that much energy... I would suggest a heart rate monitor ... I find swimming doesn't burn as much as a 2 mile run!
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
    I would be really suspicious of the calorie burn numbers.

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