Eating back exercised calories VS not: Which worked for you?

He might be telling you that so that you would continue to need his services. Does your trainer realize that the app you use already has a deficit built in and that you should at least eat back some?

I eat them back. I can't imagine what I'd feel like if I didn't. I can guarantee no one would want to be around me.

One of my best friends is schooling to become a personal fitness, and I had the same conversation with me; mind you, he is in shape, if that matters.

The only thing I could truly come to an understand is this (and its fairly straight forward)...

If you don't eat, you wont have energy. If you don't have energy, you wont work as hard at the gym. If you don't work as hard at the gym, you wont lose weight -as fast- as you might want to.

I just think of myself as a machine, in that respect. I need fuel so that I keep trekking. Of course, you need to be feeding yourself at least 'decent' to 'ok' food. Putting dirty fuel in your machine wont let the gears run smoothly either.

Hard cash for Hard Work!

I try to only eat back 1/2 of my exercise calories, but sometimes eat all of them. If I didn't eat at least some I would be starving!

I tried that and it just backfired on me. It was ok at first then I felt like crap My weight loss wasn't so great either. I eat them back 1200 calories a day is not realistic for the rest of my life. I am also afraid if I go that route, the second I get the weight off I will go back to my old habits because it was so restrictive. That's just me though.

I tried eating 1200 and not eating my exercise calories and I couldn't function. I was cranky, my workouts were lame, etc. I started eating my exercise cals back but still only hitting 1500 calories total and eventually I was cranky and weak.

Now I eat 1800-1900 regardless of my exercise (i'm usually pretty constant so it evens out) and just follow the TDEE - 20% idea.

I've been on a weight loss effort for two months and have lost 19 pounds. Sometimes I eat my exercise calories back, but mostly I don't. I eat if I'm hungry. Try different things and see what works for you.

I do both, eat and not eat. I typically work out 6 days a week and burn 800 - 1100 calories a work out doing spinning and weights. MFP has my calorie goal at 1220 a day. My trainer has told me that I need to consume about 1400 calories a day b/c I am so active. She said that my body need the extra fuel (calories) b/c I am burning so much. I have heard that from other fitness people too.

I don't always eat more. Some days I only eat about 1100 calories and still burn that amount. I eat 5 times a day w/ 3 main meals and 2 snacks so I am typically not hungry so I can't bring myself to eat more just to eat more. On the flip side, there are times where I do eat more than my allotted calories and eat some of my work out calories but I try not to eat all of them back. I may eat 1400-1600 calories in a day if i do that. However, there have been times when I have eaten them all on major cheat days.

I have lost 121 lbs in 11 months and am still losing at 1.5 - 2.5 lbs a week average. There are going to be so many different ideas and thoughts on this but I think it comes down to what works best for you and your body. Switch things up and see what works. I have switched things up every few months to make sure my body doesn't get used to things and slow down. That is another thing my trainer told me, make sure you switch it up. I switch up my workout routine and eating. It has worked so far, so I'm going to keep doing it.

This is what has worked for me...I hope it helps! Good luck!

Hi!

What worked for me:
Moderate exercise = stick to 1200 cals per day. (If you are hungry, a bowl of veggies only contains 25-50 calories)

Many health professionals advocate that 1200 calories in a day as the lowest caloric intake to stay on a safe and healthy weight loss journey.

I was on a very restrictive diet of 1000 cals per day, but it's not for everyone, and can be quite controversial.

All the best with your journey!

Like to say thanks for asking the question and thanks for all the answers. I am new to this and I'm trying to find a balance.

The link is too complicated for a beginner.

Looks for the 'simple' steps that this poster has laid out for us to follow...

Congratulations on an amazing achievement! I'm just starting out (have a total of 140 to loose; down 29.4 after 5 weeks).

One question: when you started out, how many calories per workout were you burning (if you remember)? Right now I'm only burning between 300-500/workout. I'm working out (or getting some type of exercise) 6 days a week.

Fire the trainer and eat your calories.

Why are you listening to a fitness trainer for nutritional advice?

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

Edit: Since it's been made quite apparent that people can't be bothered to actually go to a link that is posted I'll give a simple answer here.

MFP assumes you're not going to do any exercise so it gives you a calorie goal with a deficit already built in. So you'll lose weight even without exercise. When you exercise, you further increase that deficit to a possibly unhealthy level. Fuel your body.

The link is too complicated for a beginner.

OP: There are 2 methods.

1.You eat back your calories(MFP)
2. You don't eat them back(you calculated your own TDEE and deficit)

More than likely you didn't do step 2, so stick to step 1 (eat back your calories).

The link is too complicated for a beginner or for you...? :huh:

Basic reading comprehension is all that is required to understand that link.

For a beginner, I have been doing this for a long time, that's newbie stuff to me... Below in bold are excerpts from the link... below that is possible questions that... a beginner might have.
EAT (Exercise Associated Thermogenesis): Caloric requirements of training, or training expenditure.

Whats the difference from calorie requirement of training, or training expenditure? What training expenditure, is this calories burned or exercises performed? What is being expended?

"If you are using most other online calculation tools to determine an intake estimate, that estimate is going to already include EAT as part of the suggested intake"

Wait, what is EAT again???

Why would some ask what EAT is again when they can refer back up to the top of the post where the (oh hai) list of definitions is? Also, you took sentences from a paragraph. Context. Matters.


Your blatant problem with any links other than yours (namely anything that comes from the Eat, Train, Progess group) is really appalling and quite sad.

I've done both, and both work.

The approaches are different, but the ultimate goal should be the same - a healthy, sustainable calorie and macro intake.

This. I've done both also, and have lost weight with both.

But the problem with not eating your exercise calories back is that most people who do that, based on MFP recommendations, are not eating at TDEE minus a reasonable deficit. They're eating at BMR minus whatever deficit MFP calculated, and that's not good.

I am currently eating TDEE - 15%, and I'm losing, on average, half a pound per week, which is perfect for me because I'm pretty close to goal. I like this method because I don't have to try to hit a different calorie total each day, depending on my workouts. I just try to hit the same baseline every day. But some people are more motivated to exercise when they know they're going to get to eat those calories back, and that's cool, too. But I agree that sustainability is key. Don't even bother with a "diet" that you can't keep doing forever. And when I say "can't," I mean "won't."