Psychology of "eating back calories"

After taking every prescription (and OTC) sleeping pill available for years, my doctor PROMISED me that if I exercised regularly, I would sleep better. I took her up on it and I will never, ever turn back. I quickly learned that you can't eat a burrito then go to the gym expecting to get a great workout, so my diet changed too. My friend recommended MFP and I used it to see if maybe I could lose a few lbs. One year and 30 lbs gone, I am sleeping like a giant baby and am in the best shape of my life, and this process has convinced me that I need to go back to school to be a Registered Dietitian.

I never really got sucked into the numbers and "eating back" calories. I kept in mind that what I eat is fuel for my next workout and it helped me make good decisions. I think I ate most of my calories back and my weight loss was pretty steady, and what MFP said it would be (1lb loss per week, etc). I think you run into problems when you eat more than what you're logging, you exercise less than what MFP calculates, stuff like that.

These are my answers for when I used the MFP method of logging exercise calories. I never ate back my calories and I got quite obsessive about exercise. Often doing 3-4 p90x and insanity DVDs per day to get my burn higher.

I'm intrigued - Does this work for you in terms of motivation? Yes (if you mean motivation to exercise)

Do you feel like a rodent in an exercise wheel trying to earn food ? No because I exercised to get a bigger deficit. I didn't eat more than I would have if I didn't exercise.

Do you punish yourself for overeating by racking up some exercise calories to neutralise it ? If i did 'overeat' then absolutely yes, yes, yes!

Do you resent having your exercise efforts wiped out by "eating back" ? Yep

Are you driven to regular exercise to accommodate your overeating ? I really didn't overeat because I know how hard I'd have to work to eat the calories back

Or is the extra food a reward for something you enjoy doing anyway ? No, I didn't enjoy food anymore to be honest.



Now I do the TDEE minus % method and log my exercise as 1 calorie. This way I eat more, don't feel as guilty about taking a rest day, and don't feel obsessed and like I need to burn 1000 calories per day. It doesn't work for everyone but its better for me.

Edited for typos

Rodents are awesome

I also do the TDEE so do not "eat back my calories" since they are included in my numbers. I exercise because it makes me feel good and for no other reason. I enjoy to see my muscles develop and see definition forming. Everyone one does their own thing for their own reasons.

Do you feel like a rodent in an exercise wheel trying to earn food ? not at all

Do you punish yourself for overeating by racking up some exercise calories to neutralise it ? no, if I have a day where I'm over, I just try to be a little under the next day. I never punish myself for choices I make

Do you resent having your exercise efforts wiped out by "eating back" ? Not at all, I think I have found a healthy balance that works for me

Are you driven to regular exercise to accommodate your overeating ? I try to exercie at least 5-6 times a week because it makes me feel better, not to accommodate overeating

Or is the extra food a reward for something you enjoy doing anyway ? no, I don't necessarily enjoy exercise but I love the way I feel when I'm done and to me, that is the reward

So far, the MFP method has been working for me. I've logged around 160 days and I've lost 39.6 pounds. I've had some days where I've been way over and days where I've been considerably under. For me, this journey has been a learning process for sure and it's more about balancing my life and changing my habits than "dieting". Good luck!!

Absolutely "eat them back", they are your body's fuel! Yes exercising does mean you can then eat more but there is a culture shift that is important to embrace. Once you have found an activity you enjoy (for me it is running) you see the extra calories as nutrition to fuel your amazing new life style. Don't get me wrong I still drink a few glass of wine or bottles of beer and eat curry regularly, but in much more moderation than before because I have decided respect my body.

“Make a choice. Just decide what it’s going to be, who you’re going to be, how you’re going to do it. Just DECIDE!" (Will Smith)

I've been over weight and yo-yo dieting for 25 years. I much prefer to use my earned calories and for the weight to come off slowly and stay off than going back on that very vicious and soul destroying cycle.

Julesx

Exercising is kinda like working over-time for time-and-a-half pay. Sure, I don't always enjoy working late or on the weekend, but yeah, I really like the bigger paycheck.

That's what exercise is to me, it's a bit of extra effort that pays off BIG TIME.

In the beginning, it was a big motivator to me - more more, eat more - no brainer. Never resented eating back the calories, never saw it as punishment. Over time, getting some sort of activity in every day (or most days) became just part of my lifestyle. It's a bonus if my calories come out on target or a little under target because of a good calorie burn but I also don't stress too much if it doesn't. What's important is that I'm providing good and proper fuel for my body and moving it to keep fit.

If I eat back my exercise calories, I don't lose weight; which doesn't make sense, because if I am still under the calorie goal, then I should be in deficit by the end of the week.

i dont eat back my exercise calories since i dont have a HRM and MFP likes to over estimate but i dont sweat it when i eat over my set amount during the days i work out so i am usually 200-400 over what my calories should be without working out