Psychology of "eating back calories"
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Lately I have been, and quite honestly I hate it especially when I give in to treats I shouldn't be having. Although I do believe it is fine if you do, as long as its a healthy and nutritious snack
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Well said.... more people on mfp need to think like this
We all have to figure out a system that works for us, and can't really compare ourselves to what works for someone else.0 -
When I really needed to lose and was super motivated to do so, I didn't eat back exercise cals. It felt like I was undoing my hard work. To be honest, I really didn't WANT to eat them back (it takes 10 minutes on the elliptical to work off 1T of ranch dressing? No thanks!), so it wasn't too hard.
2 years later, now that I'm getting closer to maintenance (and am not nearly as motivated to lose, but still need to, UGH!), I usually eat them back because in order to maintain this lifestyle, I feel like I need to indulge every once in awhile.0 -
The concept hasn't sat well with me since day one.On days when I don't exercise, I feel like I have to work quite hard to keep myself at my calorie goal. When I exercise, I can eat as I like to without very much effort and no feeling of deprivation. I don't think of it as 'eating back calories'. I think of it as giving myself space to eat happily. Exercise makes room for more calories. That's all it is.
And if my rest day falls after leg day, when my entire lower body is hosed and exhausted and I'm famished, working "quite hard to keep myself at my calorie goal" makes absolutely no sense.
I adopted a TDEE cut approach soon after joining MFP for three main reasons:
1) How are you counting calories burned? MFP calculations from the generic database are sometimes ridiculously overestimated. MFP does not know the incline or speed of the treadmill or elliptical, how fit you are, or any other information except your sex, age, weight, and height. Eat calories based on MFP estimates, and you could easily erase your deficit and end up at maintenance or higher.
So you get a heart rate monitor. Well, is that accurate either? Probably not - it's not a direct measure of calorie burn but a mathematical equation based on your heart rate and other factors. Heart rate monitors are also designed to measure calorie burn during steady-state cardio. If I do intervals, which I often do, I don't trust the calorie burn results. If I work out under physical stress (high heat, for example) or emotional stress, my heart rate will be higher for reasons unrelated to my physical exertion. When I lift weights, which is my primary work in the gym, the calorie count will not be accurate. Heart rate monitors are a training tool, in my opinion, and an excellent motivator - but not an accurate calorie counter.
2) It will never feel right to me to adopt an "I ate a row of thin mints; now I have to run 7 miles" attitude. It feels like a binge/purge model to me, and I don't care for it. It doesn't encourage a healthy relationship between my body, food, and fitness. It leaves people questioning why they should work out at all if they just replace the calories. Fitness is a part of my life to make me as healthy as I can be, not a method of earning more sustenance. I realize not everyone has this attitude toward food, but you don't become 300+ pounds, as I used to be, without some dysfunction. "Eating exercise calories" was not compatible with the lifestyle I wanted to achieve.
3) I prefer a static calorie goal, whether it makes sense to others or not. If I don't exercise for a day, I don't want to feel hungry all day and "punished" for not exercising. I like to plan my food for the day the night before or even several days out. I like having a goal that isn't dependent on what my HRM says I burned.
133 pounds down, this method worked. I'm also using it to maintain.0 -
I'm intrigued - Does this work for you in terms of motivation? YES
Do you feel like a rodent in an exercise wheel trying to earn food ? NO
Do you punish yourself for overeating by racking up some exercise calories to neutralise it? NO
Do you resent having your exercise efforts wiped out by "eating back" ? NO
Are you driven to regular exercise to accommodate your overeating ? I EAT AT THE LEVEL THAT MY EXERCISE AFFORDS ME. I DON'T OVEREAT OFTEN.
Or is the extra food a reward for something you enjoy doing anyway ? ITS FUEL FOR WHAT I AM DOING REGULARLY0 -
I don't look at as 'eating back my calories' per se.
I <know> that if I exercise and don't have a high enough caloric intake, I will be cranky, lethargic, ILL and might even go into the biological state of 'starvation mode' and won't lose at all.
On days I know I'm hitting the gym, cleaning a house, going for a long walk/jog I eat accordingly before hand so I have the nutrients and energy to complete my tasks without side effects.
This is all a huge psychological battle.. but you have to keep the physical facts in mind to keep your health in check during your journey to a new lifestyle.0 -
I have noticed that the best success stories are the people who do eat back their calories.
That depends on the pool of people you are looking in. My friend list is full of success stories from women who DON'T eat back their calories. Of course my FL is mostly 40+ yo women, who had more than 50 pounds to lose. Many of them have lost and kept off over 100 pounds, while not eating back their calories.
For the younger, more active crowd, (especially those who lift heavy), eating at a higher calorie level, whether it is the TDEE or eating back method, seems to work better for most of them.
It all comes down to creating a calorie deficit. Whatever way you do that, will result in weight loss.
The "psychology" of all this is finding what works for you.0 -
I'm intrigued - Does this work for you in terms of motivation? not particularly, I've exercised for almost 9 years
Do you feel like a rodent in an exercise wheel trying to earn food ? - never, i enjoy all my training
Do you punish yourself for overeating by racking up some exercise calories to neutralise it ? - nope some food makes me feel ill, so will stick with a higher deficient one day and just increase calories the next day to negate it.
Do you resent having your exercise efforts wiped out by "eating back" ? - not all benefits of exercise cant be counted by calories burnt, i do it for other problems and benefits too
Are you driven to regular exercise to accommodate your overeating ? - no, see point #2 I am driven because I want to improve myself in terms of endurance, strength and my asthma
Or is the extra food a reward for something you enjoy doing anyway ? food is fuel, not a reward, i am not a dog that needs treats to stay 'good'0 -
For me this isn't just a quick fix to getting smaller, it's forever. I could not exist on 1,200 calories forever. That's completely unrealistic. Life happens, parties happen, eating out with friends happen. I eat back my exercise calories for fuel firstly because I'm darn hungry after a good workout and secondly, I earn my treats. If I want to go out on Friday night and have fish and chips and a beer how am I supposed to do that on 1,200 calories? I need to earn it. Depriving yourself and living like a rabbit will backfire. You won't stick to you long term.0
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As a research scientist by profession, I am very data-driven. I understand how the MFP BMRx[Activity Level Modifier] is supposed to work to help you set your calorie goal, but I totally get why it is confusing to so many people.
My strategy is pretty simple. I tell MFP that I am sedentary (even though I am far from it), and then I log *all* my exercise to get an accurate assessment of my calorie burn for each day. Hence, I always "eat back" my exercise calories, because if I don't, I would be at a *huge* calorie deficit, and I simply don't have that much weight to lose. I look at it as work-out fuel. I'm happy to stay at a gradual weight loss pace to help maintain my lean muscle mass. It's working really well for me!
(I've actually have a spreadsheet where I track a lot of additional "fitness parameters" in parallel with MFP. I've found MFP's sedentary burn rate is a little low for me. The K-M model, that calculates BMR based on lean body mass, appears to be more accurate in my case, FWIW.)0 -
To me it's math, energy consumption, and thermodynamics. As long as I'm making progress by eating my calories back that's what I'll do.0
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I always eat back most of my excersize calories. I love seeing that once I put my excersize in I have some extra room to eat more. It's motivating.0
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I had never heard of the concept of 'eating back' your exercise cals before I joined MFP, and have always thought it was a flawed and even potentially dangerous concept. More often than not, I see people who get frustrated because they are 'eating back' their cals and not losing weight. For many people, the exercise database gives then way too many calories, and wipes out their deficit.
The most widely used diet program on the planet (weight watchers) uses this concept in earning and eating Activity Points.0 -
I had never heard of the concept of 'eating back' your exercise cals before I joined MFP, and have always thought it was a flawed and even potentially dangerous concept. More often than not, I see people who get frustrated because they are 'eating back' their cals and not losing weight. For many people, the exercise database gives then way too many calories, and wipes out their deficit.
The most widely used diet program on the planet (weight watchers) uses this concept in earning and eating Activity Points.
That is a fairly new added part to the WW program, and it is a way to earn some bonus calories that you can use thruout the week, but they never tell you that you HAVE to eat them.
Perhaps I should have said that I have never seen a program that REQUIRED you to eat your exercise calories back. Most programs have a certain amount of exercise built into the program.0 -
I had never heard of the concept of 'eating back' your exercise cals before I joined MFP, and have always thought it was a flawed and even potentially dangerous concept. More often than not, I see people who get frustrated because they are 'eating back' their cals and not losing weight. For many people, the exercise database gives then way too many calories, and wipes out their deficit.
It is extremely dangerous if you're going to follow it as a rote method and be unwilling to make adjustments, and blame the scale. Then some members suggest that people having difficulty losing eat more.0 -
I think that eating back exercise calories is ridiculous!!! Why would I burn All of those calories then eat them back...Makes NO sense whatsoever ...BUT...I would eat some of those calories back if I were truly hungry or for the occasional naughty meal.0
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I find my body gets extremely hungry anyways after a big workout and I naturally want to eat a lot more and it usually balances out. I do have a problem with more intense mountain hiking sessions when I burn 2k+ calories: I really cant eat back all those calories without forcing myself on 'good' foods, so I usually do something like eat high protein/fat meal that I crave like a burger/pizza and I get the craving out and eat back most of the calories at the same time. Its a good excuse to eat the "bad" foods
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I understand the math(s) and that MFP set a deficit without exercise and expect you to log exercise and eat the equivalent number of calories.
I'm intrigued - Does this work for you in terms of motivation?
Do you feel like a rodent in an exercise wheel trying to earn food ?
Do you punish yourself for overeating by racking up some exercise calories to neutralise it ?
Do you resent having your exercise efforts wiped out by "eating back" ?
Are you driven to regular exercise to accommodate your overeating ?
Or is the extra food a reward for something you enjoy doing anyway ?
1) When I started out with MFP, it was a motivating factor for me to get up and actually exercise. 2100-2200 gross calories was a lot more palatable than 1850 I was allotted without exercise.
2) Not really...I did enough exercise initially for good heart health as I was trying to clean up some bad blood work and hypertension issues. I didn't kill myself...I went out and burned 200-300 calories every day doing a lot of walking primarily. Eventually, I decided I wanted to get back into racing and running and lifting.
3) My exercise efforts aren't wiped out by eating back exercise calories. Whether you are doing the NEAT method or TDEE method, you're essentially eating back exercise calories. With TDEE, those calories are just built into your goal and part of your total activity level...so they're included in your calorie goal. With NEAT, you actively log and eat those back because they aren't included in you activity level. Either way, it comes out six of one...when I did MFP my net calorie goal was 1850 + exercise was generally 2100 - 2200 calories per day. Using TDEE - 20% my gross calories were aroiund 2150. 6 of 1 half dozen of the other. Also, I exercise for fitness and like having that activity fueled...try competing in a race with no ****ing calories for energy.
4) It isn't compensation for over eating...I use my diet for weight control and exercise for fitness.
5) I love exercise now...I love getting my fitness on...I love racing...I love lifting..I love challenging myself. Food is fuel.
Also, lost 40 Lbs doing exactly this0 -
The psychology of it for me is that my mind is conscious of the fact that I will have a hard time getting out of bed if I don't eat back what I burned so down the hatch go the carbs, even if I'm hot and tired and just want to call it a night.0
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Perhaps I should have said that I have never seen a program that REQUIRED you to eat your exercise calories back. Most programs have a certain amount of exercise built into the program.
MFP just uses a different way of getting to the same numbers.
If I used another site to calculate my TDEE, it's about 2300 calories. To lose one pound a week, I'd take 500 calories off that, and get 1800.
If I tell MFP I want to lose one pound a week, I get about 1350 calories. Once I exercise, averaging a burn of about 400 calories, I'm up to 1750, which is pretty darn close to the 1800 I'd get from another site.0 -
I had never heard of the concept of 'eating back' your exercise cals before I joined MFP, and have always thought it was a flawed and even potentially dangerous concept. More often than not, I see people who get frustrated because they are 'eating back' their cals and not losing weight. For many people, the exercise database gives then way too many calories, and wipes out their deficit.
The most widely used diet program on the planet (weight watchers) uses this concept in earning and eating Activity Points.
That is a fairly new added part to the WW program, and it is a way to earn some bonus calories that you can use thruout the week, but they never tell you that you HAVE to eat them.
Perhaps I should have said that I have never seen a program that REQUIRED you to eat your exercise calories back. Most programs have a certain amount of exercise built into the program.
Not really new. It was in the Program before Momentum and Momentum came out in 2008. Momentum changed the way they were used though. Previously to 2008 it was use them the day you earned them now it's use them over the course of a week.0 -
I use MFP because I'm not consistent enough with my exercise to make TDEE work for me. I do find that having set up MFP with lightly active and eat back most of my exercise calories I end up close to the numbers I got when I figured my TDEE with 1-3 hours of activity a week. It's just easier for me to do it this way so if I plan to work out and don't I'm not eating calories I didn't put the work in for.0
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I had never heard of the concept of 'eating back' your exercise cals before I joined MFP, and have always thought it was a flawed and even potentially dangerous concept. More often than not, I see people who get frustrated because they are 'eating back' their cals and not losing weight. For many people, the exercise database gives then way too many calories, and wipes out their deficit.
You have to understand what method of calorie counting you're doing. When you understand that, you will understand that it's not flawed at all. Two primary methods...TDEE method and NEAT method. MFP uses the NEAT method. Unlike the TDEE method, the NEAT method does not account for exercise in your activity level when you set it up. It's extra activity that should be fueled.
If you understand what you're doing (little research is pretty easy) you understand that it comes out pretty much 6 of 1. When I did MFP my net goal to lose 1 Lb per week was 1850...with my exercise, I usually grossed between 2100 - 2200. I ultimately switched to the TDEE method because I was pretty consistent in my exercise regimen and just wanted to include exercise in my activity at that point. My TDEE - 20% is 2,150 calories. See...pretty much the same. A little tiny bit of research into what you're doing goes a long way.
I maintained for a few months until recently...works the same for that too. My MFP NEAT maintenance is 2,330 calories. With exercise, that puts me around 2650 - 2700...low and behold, my actual TDEE is around 2700. See...6 of 1. People just need to understand what method they are using and stick with that method. It's really not that complicated and I think that's what gets people all wigged out...they think it should be complicated so they over-complicate it.0 -
I used to have my calories set to 1250 - 1350 and I'd exercise to eat. It was terrible. On the days that I wouldn't exercise I'd be STARVING and MISERABLE. I'd have loads of binge days and I had days where I ate too much and I'd punish myself by doing an hours worth of cardio.
VERY UNHEALTHY, mentally. Probably even physically, for me anyway.
For the past 2 months I've been eating my TDEE (which is around 1700) and I've been exercising to LOSE WEIGHT. I find that eating the same amount of calories every day has kept me from binging, hating myself, and staarrvvviiinnggg on other days. On really high burn days I'll eat a bit more, maybe 100-200 calories if I'm a little more hungry, and on days I don't exercise I'm more than satisfied with the 1700 I have.
I went on vacation a couple of weeks ago and I didn't gain a poound, In fact I lost 1.5 lbs while I was there! I didn't binge on vacation because I was used to eating a certain amount everday and it wasn't a terribly low number.
Please note that in those past 2 or so months I haven't lost a significant amount of weight, maybe 2 pounds, but my body is changing, due to the heavy lifting I've been doing as well. I've lost inches all over, and I've even kept my boobies. 0 -
I had never heard of the concept of 'eating back' your exercise cals before I joined MFP, and have always thought it was a flawed and even potentially dangerous concept. More often than not, I see people who get frustrated because they are 'eating back' their cals and not losing weight. For many people, the exercise database gives then way too many calories, and wipes out their deficit.
You have to understand what method of calorie counting you're doing. When you understand that, you will understand that it's not flawed at all. Two primary methods...TDEE method and NEAT method. MFP uses the NEAT method. Unlike the TDEE method, the NEAT method does not account for exercise in your activity level when you set it up. It's extra activity that should be fueled.
If you understand what you're doing (little research is pretty easy) you understand that it comes out pretty much 6 of 1. When I did MFP my net goal to lose 1 Lb per week was 1850...with my exercise, I usually grossed between 2100 - 2200. I ultimately switched to the TDEE method because I was pretty consistent in my exercise regimen and just wanted to include exercise in my activity at that point. My TDEE - 20% is 2,150 calories. See...pretty much the same. A little tiny bit of research into what you're doing goes a long way.
I maintained for a few months until recently...works the same for that too. My MFP NEAT maintenance is 2,330 calories. With exercise, that puts me around 2650 - 2700...low and behold, my actual TDEE is around 2700. See...6 of 1. People just need to understand what method they are using and stick with that method. It's really not that complicated and I think that's what gets people all wigged out...they think it should be complicated so they over-complicate it.
:flowerforyou:0 -
The point of exercise is not to justify eating tons of food or unhealthy foods. That's ridiculous! The point of exercise is to use your body. To get stronger. To be healthier. To help keep things in good working order LONG TERM.
If you're only exercising to get more food you're thinking about this all wrong.0 -
The point of exercise is not to justify eating tons of food or unhealthy foods. That's ridiculous! The point of exercise is to use your body. To get stronger. To be healthier. To help keep things in good working order LONG TERM.
If you're only exercising to get more food you're thinking about this all wrong.
agreed. But I don't exercise so I can eat. But I exercise that extra ten minutes so I can have that chocolate.
Or on a day when I'm sitting on the fence about hitting the gym, and I see I went over on my calories, I'm more likely to go to have it even out. That's motivation.
Even when I ate based on TDEE, I stuck to my lifting schedule... but I found that myself, personally, I shaved work off here and there. Like I stopped doing my ten minute warm up. I'd do the bare bones. Get 'er done. But then, ya know, I put on extra weight because my TDEE was calculated on what I was doing and what I was doing changed.
I guess I just need the motivation to push myself that extra bit.
Now, I'm basically eating the same as I was when I was doing TDEE...only now I am working out a little bit more. I think that it makes sense.0 -
For me monitoring my exercise and what I am burning since I am at a maintain not loosing is my reason for using the site. I have a tendency to not think it was much and thus deficit and thus loose weight so yes eating back has helped me and saved me from a yoyo metabolism as i was being told no exercise to then being told ok now it is even and I love it and feel healthy and strong and am ok with weight not always happy eating so much but if I want to play I have to eat bottom line.0
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