Eating back exercise cals does not wok for me

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  • fitfantasytumblr
    fitfantasytumblr Posts: 5 Member
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    Do TDEE - 20% and then you don't even have to think about eating exercise calories back.
  • cabernetkitty
    cabernetkitty Posts: 8
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    I would be really suspicious of the calorie burn numbers.
  • watfordjc
    watfordjc Posts: 304 Member
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    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.

    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.

    It might be that calories burned from exercise is an over-estimate for you.

    If you're going to go back to not eating back exercise calories, what I would do is still log the exercise but log it as 1 calorie, and then after 4 weeks compare the number lost on the scales to (weekly goal loss * 4) + (calories remaining from the 28 days / 3,500).

    I'd then add up the hours swimming (assuming that is the only exercise), convert the difference between scale weight change and the expected loss from the previous calculation to calories, and estimate how many calories you burn from an hour of swimming. I'd then test that over a 4 week period of logging the exercise and seeing if the numbers add up - whether you eat back none, some, or all of the exercise calories back, the numbers should at least confirm your deficit is what you think it is. It probably would need recalculating again after some weight loss.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    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.

    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?

    say you tell MFP you want to lose 1lb per week, it takes 500 cals off your maintenance figure.... so say you maintain on 2000 cals. you then eat 1500 to lose weight. if you then exercise off 300 cals, you have 1200 NET cals, so you can eat those back and still have a deficit of 500 cals per day.
  • missymakayla
    missymakayla Posts: 309 Member
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    I'm the same way, I can't eat back my cals either... I will gain if I do... I think it all depends on the person...
  • HotrodsGirl0107
    HotrodsGirl0107 Posts: 243 Member
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    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.

    Lol!!!! This is hilarious. Go visit the eat more group and honestly tell me that none of them are particularly fit. Sorry I stil can't stop laughing!
  • PlayerHatinDogooder
    PlayerHatinDogooder Posts: 1,018 Member
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    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.

    Yeah. Those burns are going to be way off. Especially if it's light swimming and you're logging it as vigorous. Also the digging . . . it might be best to just bump your activity level up and not log things like 'gardening' and walking into your daily exercise.
  • HotrodsGirl0107
    HotrodsGirl0107 Posts: 243 Member
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    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

    Here is what I got out of this post.

    I have no clue how MFP works or by what method calories needed is calculated, so I am just going to call it stupid and hope noone catches on to my ignorance. I think you failed, the ignorance is detected.
  • laurasuzanne2006
    laurasuzanne2006 Posts: 103 Member
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    don't count the gardening as activity. I think i burn about 1500-1800 running a 1/2 marathon so no way you are burning more than that swimming and gardening.
  • cabernetkitty
    cabernetkitty Posts: 8
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    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.

    Lol!!!! This is hilarious. Go visit the eat more group and honestly tell me that none of them are particularly fit. Sorry I stil can't stop laughing!

    Are you talking about people who body build and lift weights or a 30s-50s aged woman who does primarily cardio and is looking to shed pounds?

    I'm not familiar with the "Eat More Group" on this forum, but the idea that you need to eat more to break plateaus is prominent on another forum I visit and 80% of the members are pretty overweight.

    What I said is a blanket statement, but 'eat more' works for a particular said of people. Unless you're doing some pretty vigorous, weight bearing exercises (not swimming and gardening, which is what the OP does), eating more is just going to make you gain weight.
  • foleyshirley
    foleyshirley Posts: 1,043 Member
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    This is what I saw in your diary. Your sodium levels were extremely high the last few days. You made a note that you were on the last day of TOM (at least that is what I think it said). Both of these will cause a temporary weight gain. Also, your calorie burns are way off. Eating back calories works for most, but it won't work if your estimates are so far off base.
  • HotrodsGirl0107
    HotrodsGirl0107 Posts: 243 Member
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    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.

    Lol!!!! This is hilarious. Go visit the eat more group and honestly tell me that none of them are particularly fit. Sorry I stil can't stop laughing!

    Are you talking about people who body build and lift weights or a 30s-50s aged woman who does primarily cardio and is looking to shed pounds?

    I'm not familiar with the "Eat More Group" on this forum, but the idea that you need to eat more to break plateaus is prominent on another forum I visit and 80% of the members are pretty overweight.

    What I said is a blanket statement, but 'eat more' works for a particular said of people. Unless you're doing some pretty vigorous, weight bearing exercises (not swimming and gardening, which is what the OP does), eating more is just going to make you gain weight.

    You don't have to be a body builder. Plus people would only gain if they ate above TDEE. Eat more simply means eating at a smaller deficit to lose weight and maintain LBM. For many people it is a more sustainable way to lose weight. I don't know what hroups you have visited but I can tell you that you should really do some more research before making such blanket statements.

    For the record: after regaining the weight I lost from under eating, I joined an eat more group because they were my inspirations. I lost 130 lbs lowered my bf% to under 20, I never stalled, I have been maintaining for 2 years and have reversed most of the damage done to my body from under eating. I am also not a body builder.

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