Do you log your exercise?

MSmith74
MSmith74 Posts: 24 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Do you log your exercise when you are trying to lose weight?
Do you use your exercise calories?
«13

Replies

  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
    No and no.
  • BiancaMarie819
    BiancaMarie819 Posts: 67 Member
    I definitely log my exercise everyday! Not to eat back the calories, but to know that I have a remainder in calories, and it helps to know what works best when I switch it up and notice a weight gain/loss!
  • glin23
    glin23 Posts: 460 Member
    I loosely log it. And no I don't necessarily eat back all of the exercise calories.
  • RobP1192
    RobP1192 Posts: 310 Member
    I don't log exercise, because i don't like how MFP adds calories to my base budget. If you don't want it affecting your daily calorie requirements, you could always add the exercise and just record 1 calorie burned. But i just don't bother. Some people like recording their exercise though, i guess keeping track of what you do helps. Oh, and i never try to eat back exercise calories on a cut.
  • sorcha1977
    sorcha1977 Posts: 133 Member
    Yes, and yes, but to a point.

    I use a heart rate monitor since MFP's numbers are usually pretty high. But even then, I subtract 10% from my HRM, since those can be off too.

    I don't eat all of my exercise calories back, but I do eat some. I don't want to eat too few calories because then my weight loss stalls. But I don't want to eat all of them since I might be underestimating my food calories.

    So, it's like this:

    Food calories: 2000
    Exercise (HRM reading minus 10%): 480
    Net calories: 1520
    What I eat back: 300 - 350, putting me pretty close to 2000 but with enough wiggle room to make up for any errors

    Also, I don't really eat them "back" so much as eat them throughout the day. I'm always hungry during the day and not so much late at night, so I eat more during lunch and the afternoon, especially on workout days, to make up for working out later. I pre-log all of my food to make sure I have enough left over for dinner and an evening snack.
  • sorcha1977
    sorcha1977 Posts: 133 Member
    I don't log exercise, because i don't like how MFP adds calories to my base budget. If you don't want it affecting your daily calorie requirements, you could always add the exercise and just record 1 calorie burned. But i just don't bother. Some people like recording their exercise though, i guess keeping track of what you do helps. Oh, and i never try to eat back exercise calories on a cut.

    I've done that with TDEE since calories aren't eaten back. I like to keep track of my minutes, though, so I'd just log 1 calorie.
  • smmorri
    smmorri Posts: 44 Member
    I log my exercise everyday! It motivates me to reach my goal of "Weekly Total Calories Burned!!"
  • knityoupants
    knityoupants Posts: 76 Member
    I log so-called "intentional" exercise... jogging, a zumba class, etc.

    For instance, I went on a day trip with friends out of town and we walked around a historic, hilly city ALL DAY. My feet killed me and I slept well that night, but I didn't log it because that's pretty difficult to gauge. I also bike to work and occasionally take the stairs to my 20th story apartment... that doesn't get logged either. It all falls into trying to be more active in general, for me.

    I also don't log strength/weight training, just because it's a hassle and I don't think it affects my food diary....
  • SRB8710
    SRB8710 Posts: 90
    I log my exercise and I do eat back my calories. However, MFP inflates workout calories so I do adjust it down to be more realistic of what I burned.
  • knityoupants
    knityoupants Posts: 76 Member
    Oh and I only eat back exercise calories to if I really need to avoid starvation zone... which rarely happens, haha.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Depends on what my daily calorie goal is. Or more accurately, how I calculated it.

    Currently: No and no.
  • Phythisisa
    Phythisisa Posts: 7 Member
    Yes, I log exercise. No I don't eat it back, unless I have already gone over.
  • harphy
    harphy Posts: 290 Member
    Yes and some.
    MFP is way to generous with calories, but until I get a decent HRM this is the only way. I use some of them or else I would drop.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Yes, because you're supposed to when using the NEAT method (MFP method). Just look it up...I'm tired of explaining it...or don't and just be hungry. You also do realize your calorie GOAL already has a weight loss deficit built in right? It's not maintenance or anything...you're not needing to create a deficit with exercise, it's built in. Seriously...doesn't anyone read the directions on how to use a tool anymore.

    I always ate back roughly 70% of my exercise calories (per my HRM to account for estimation error) when I did MFP per my NET calorie GOAL and have lost nearly 40 Lbs at roughly 1 Lb per week just as I put in my goal.
  • Notsowobblynow
    Notsowobblynow Posts: 28 Member
    bump lol
  • karenertl
    karenertl Posts: 271 Member
    I don't log what I walk at work since I'm a nurse's aide and walk 3-5 miles a shift. Outside of that, yes I log what I do. Unless I'm really hungry, I try not to eat back my exercise calories.
  • smmorri
    smmorri Posts: 44 Member
    I think this has been stated in multiple posts above but to summarize.

    1) You exercise to not only allow yourself to eat more calories, but to be fit and healthy. Also exercise and resistance training helps to tone and build muscle (which in turn raises your metabolism, will help your skin keep its elasticity if you are losing a large amount of weight, and to get the body composition you are probably looking for).

    2) The misconception is you burn more calories and eat less and you will lose the weight more quickly. While this is true, you are not going to achieve what you want. At a certain point your body is starting to not only burn fat, but also start cannibalizing your muscle mass for energy b/c you haven't eaten enough to sustain it for the amount of exercise you are doing. Food is fuel first and foremost. I personally made this same mistake and while the scale number kept dropping, I was also losing muscle mass and my BF% wasn't dropping like it should have.

    3) MFP's formula already gives you the calorie deficit for you to lose weight. When you exercise it gives you more calories to eat (that you need to eat back) because your body needs them... you are still eating at a deficit even when you eat back your exercise calories. The important thing to note is to make sure you don't overestimate your exercise calories. There might be some logic in eating back a portion of your exercise calories just b/c most of the estimates are high to begin with. If you are manually entering calories from exercise based on a HRM or other more accurate method, I would eat back your calories in whole.

    In short... Eat back your exercise calories if you are using MFP as designed. The only reason not to do this is if you are using the TDEE method.

    This is from a another thread... It explains things perfectly
  • shannashannabobana
    shannashannabobana Posts: 625 Member
    I log it. It's way more fun than logging food. I don't log stuff like 'housework', but that can be a bone of contention around here...

    I do eat back some of my exercise calories, if I'm hungry. And last night I went for a post dinner walk just to make the numbers work :)
  • scrapjen
    scrapjen Posts: 387 Member
    I wear a Fitbit and my account is connected to MFP - so while I don't "log" my exercise, I get credit for all my activity (even just the regular walking throughout the day, not necessarily exercise). I do eat back some of these, but not all of them (usually, this last weekend wasn't great).
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    I don't log exercise, because i don't like how MFP adds calories to my base budget. If you don't want it affecting your daily calorie requirements, you could always add the exercise and just record 1 calorie burned. But i just don't bother. Some people like recording their exercise though, i guess keeping track of what you do helps. Oh, and i never try to eat back exercise calories on a cut.

    I've done that with TDEE since calories aren't eaten back. I like to keep track of my minutes, though, so I'd just log 1 calorie.

    This is what I do - 1 calorie for 1 minute and I already have my calories upped to reflect my activity level. I also wear a FitBit - so I get credit for being even more active.
  • chelstakencharge
    chelstakencharge Posts: 1,021 Member
    Yes I log and no I never eat those calories back
  • kris472
    kris472 Posts: 61 Member
    I do log my exercise. I like to see what I am capable of over time. As for eating back my exercise calories, I only eat them back if I am hungry. I usually don't need them, but it is nice to know I have the extra wiggle room if needed.
  • schaapj2
    schaapj2 Posts: 320 Member
    Sorcha1977....just read recently that the average HRM is off by 28%. I too adjust down for the overestimate in my HRM.
  • luckydays27
    luckydays27 Posts: 552 Member
    Do you log your exercise when you are trying to lose weight? YES, MFP is set for my everyday lifestyle (sedentary) so if I dont log them I wont know how many I burned. I use a HRM to determine how much a burned for each workout I do.

    Do you use your exercise calories? YES, if you mean eat them. I eat almost all of them. or All of them depending on the day. I do try to leave 100 back on exercise days just in case the HRM was off or I made a mistake when entering cals for food.

    If I dont eat back the exercise cals, I will be in to much of a deficit. MFP says 1550 so if I burn 500 cals, I will net 1050 and that is entirely to far below 1550. I dont want to plateau again like I did when I was not eating the fitness cals or was eating a very low calorie diet.
  • mperrott2205
    mperrott2205 Posts: 737 Member
    This thread is full of such awful advice.
  • RobP1192
    RobP1192 Posts: 310 Member
    This thread is full of such awful advice.

    lol this guy
  • cingle87
    cingle87 Posts: 717 Member
    Yes, because you're supposed to when using the NEAT method (MFP method). Just look it up...I'm tired of explaining it...or don't and just be hungry. You also do realize your calorie GOAL already has a weight loss deficit built in right? It's not maintenance or anything...you're not needing to create a deficit with exercise, it's built in. Seriously...doesn't anyone read the directions on how to use a tool anymore.

    I always ate back roughly 70% of my exercise calories (per my HRM to account for estimation error) when I did MFP per my NET calorie GOAL and have lost nearly 40 Lbs at roughly 1 Lb per week just as I put in my goal.

    THIS X INFINITE
  • Synapze
    Synapze Posts: 499
    Simply,

    Yes,

    ...and 50/50.
  • GetSoda
    GetSoda Posts: 1,267 Member
    Yes, but I'm much more reasonable about it.
    As a 250lb male, I give myself:

    Lifting = 4.5 calories per minute
    Intense Aerobic = 6 calories per minute
    Light aerobic (like walking) = 2 calories per minute

    And so on and so on.

    ps - I came to these numbers after learning things like "Athletes doing intense training burn 8 calories per minute." If an athlete has trouble burning 500 calories an hour, I really doubt I do putzing around on my bike.
  • evon623
    evon623 Posts: 7
    I used to log exercise, but do not anymore. I developed the mindset that "oh, I burned 500 calories, I can eat an additional 500 calories if I want." So I log my food, but keep the exercise out.

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