Eating Back Workout Calories??

Tflowers34907
Tflowers34907 Posts: 51 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok so MFP has me totally confused. I am currently doing Insanity and by the formula provided my daily calories should be 1440. However, I have noticed that on my workout days MFP says I "earned ___ calories from exercise" and my daily goal is higher. I guess where I am now confused is trying to figure out if I am supposed to eat 1440 calories a day regardless of how many I burn with exercise OR am I supposed to eating these calories back? My goal is to lose weight. Can someone clear this up for me...?

Replies

  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    MFP intends for you to eat back your exercise calories in order to meet your goals that you typed into the system. I recommend eating them back. Others will not.

    I eat mine back and have lost quite close to my expected weight loss. In doing this, I don't feel tired, constantly hungry, I don't go through strange mood swings and I feel happy about my healthy exercise, diet and weight loss.
  • doIlhands
    doIlhands Posts: 349 Member
    MFP intends for you to eat back your exercise calories in order to meet your goals that you typed into the system. I recommend eating them back. Others will not.

    I eat mine back and have lost quite close to my expected weight loss. In doing this, I don't feel tired, constantly hungry, I don't go through strange mood swings and I feel happy about my healthy exercise, diet and weight loss.

    THIS
  • BubbaKingDing
    BubbaKingDing Posts: 7
    I get 1520 calories a day and my exercise adds an additional 500 calories per day. I try to stay around the 1520 and if I go over a little I don't worry about it because of the exercise ones I've "earned". I also like to use the additional ones if I'm going out and want something that I don't normally eat. You really just have to do what works best for you !
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    that's how MFP works. youre set at a deficit even if you don't exercize. If you do, you need to eat back those calories so your deficit isn't at an unhealthy level. Hey...more food to eat, and you're still losing weight! WIN!!!!!!
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
    MFP intends for you to eat back your exercise calories in order to meet your goals that you typed into the system. I recommend eating them back. Others will not.

    I eat mine back and have lost quite close to my expected weight loss. In doing this, I don't feel tired, constantly hungry, I don't go through strange mood swings and I feel happy about my healthy exercise, diet and weight loss.

    lost 64 lbs by eating them back
  • keeponkickin
    keeponkickin Posts: 1,520 Member
    I think it varies person to person. When I was bigger, I ate back some exercise calories but I found that the closer in to goal weight I'm getting that I have to cut those calories. That gap just closes too much. I spoke with three different doctors as to why I'm stalling and each one says for me to NOT eat back exercise calories.
  • chinalavy
    chinalavy Posts: 104
    I stay with my 1200 calories that I supposed to eat everyday now if I go over another 100 is not big deal but I earn usually 500 plus for my workout that is everyday for me ; I actually do not stop working out I do Zumba, Turbo fire, biking and power walking something every day so if the occasion comes that I want to go over I wont feel as bad .
  • stargazer008
    stargazer008 Posts: 531
    Your calories are already set at a deficit, so eat back those calories burned from exercise.
  • CrazyTrackLady
    CrazyTrackLady Posts: 1,337 Member
    I just burned 1400 cals and intend to eat back all but 500 of the remaining 2000+ cals I have stockpiled for the day at a party I'm going to tonight.
  • Tflowers34907
    Tflowers34907 Posts: 51 Member
    So basically I really could have set my goal at the number they gave before I subtracted 500 for weight loss? Or should 1440 should be my net for the day including exercise?
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    So basically I really could have set my goal at the number they gave before I subtracted 500 for weight loss? Or should 1440 should be my net for the day including exercise?

    The easiest way to look at it is the section that says "Your Daily Goal"..just eat that number or as close to it as you can. Non-workout days it will be a static number. Work out days will raise it.
  • Flixie00
    Flixie00 Posts: 1,195 Member
    You are meant to eat back exercise calories if you are following MFPs recommendations, but not everyone does. If you are not confident that you actually burned what MFP says you have, then only eat back 80%.

    I always eat back my exercise calories. Made it very easy for me to progress into maintenance.
  • wcugirl04
    wcugirl04 Posts: 26 Member
    For me, it depends on the day, time of month, etc. I have lost quite a few lbs by not eating back the majority of my workout cals, but I have noticed that lately I have been feeling tired, very sore, and a little grumpy! I am thinking that I should eat back maybe a few more of my calories and see if this helps me feel better. I try not to eat back all of my exercise calories, so if I know I'm going out to dinner or a get together, I try to exercise more and bank those calories. You just have to find what works for you, and listen to your body. It will definitely let you know if you are not consuming enough! Good luck! :):smile:
  • Tflowers34907
    Tflowers34907 Posts: 51 Member
    So basically I really could have set my goal at the number they gave before I subtracted 500 for weight loss? Or should 1440 should be my net for the day including exercise?

    The easiest way to look at it is the section that says "Your Daily Goal"..just eat that number or as close to it as you can. Non-workout days it will be a static number. Work out days will raise it.

    Oooooohhh! Ok. That makes sense. I think I will try to just make sure when I eat them back its with good stuff (fruits, veggies, etc).
  • castelluzzo99
    castelluzzo99 Posts: 313 Member
    You are doing Insanity, you really should eat back exert calories! If you burned 150 in a workout, you could probably get away with eating less, but you're probably burning upwards of 300 or 400, and month two will be even more.

    I would watch the numbers on the scale, the inches on the measuring tape, and your hunger overall. If you are constantly hungry, eat more! If you are consistently losing at least inches, then wonderful. You're on the right track. If the scale doesn't budge for a week, don't fret too much and look for the thread from yesterday where a girl lost 0 pounds but lost obvious inches (quite visible in pictures). Tweek your diet as needed.

    And congrats on choosing such an intense workout! I'm looking forward to trying it soon!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    So basically I really could have set my goal at the number they gave before I subtracted 500 for weight loss? Or should 1440 should be my net for the day including exercise?

    No, MFP gives you a number that already has a deficit included. That's why you should eat back the exercise calories.
  • gonnamakeanewaccount
    gonnamakeanewaccount Posts: 642 Member
    Do you know how often this question is asked?
  • Tflowers34907
    Tflowers34907 Posts: 51 Member
    You are doing Insanity, you really should eat back exert calories! If you burned 150 in a workout, you could probably get away with eating less, but you're probably burning upwards of 300 or 400, and month two will be even more.

    I would watch the numbers on the scale, the inches on the measuring tape, and your hunger overall. If you are constantly hungry, eat more! If you are consistently losing at least inches, then wonderful. You're on the right track. If the scale doesn't budge for a week, don't fret too much and look for the thread from yesterday where a girl lost 0 pounds but lost obvious inches (quite visible in pictures). Tweek your diet as needed.

    And congrats on choosing such an intense workout! I'm looking forward to trying it soon!

    Hey! Thank you so much for such a thorough but simple response. I don't plan to weight myself for at least 3 weeks. I want to go more by how my clothes are fitting and I am keeping a photo journal of my journey on Pinterest. It does seem that I am constantly hungry though! I ignored it thinking I was supposed to feel like that or I would just drink to make sure I wasn't just really thirsty from working out so hard.

    I definitely think you should go for it! Its hard but just the boost you get from doing the workouts is worth it. I chose the program because I feel that I am at a major turning point in my life for the better I want it to be good all the way around. I almost feel its do or die! Thanks again!
  • Tflowers34907
    Tflowers34907 Posts: 51 Member
    Do you know how often this question is asked?

    No. How often?
  • Tflowers34907
    Tflowers34907 Posts: 51 Member
    For me, it depends on the day, time of month, etc. I have lost quite a few lbs by not eating back the majority of my workout cals, but I have noticed that lately I have been feeling tired, very sore, and a little grumpy! I am thinking that I should eat back maybe a few more of my calories and see if this helps me feel better. I try not to eat back all of my exercise calories, so if I know I'm going out to dinner or a get together, I try to exercise more and bank those calories. You just have to find what works for you, and listen to your body. It will definitely let you know if you are not consuming enough! Good luck! :):smile:

    Great strategy! I guess I wouldn't have gotten so confused if it was shown differently. Maybe showing how many calories I needed to eat to get back to 1440 after exercise vs showing the total I will have eaten altogether. Lol, it freaked me out a bit.

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