Here's why I don't eat back my exercise calories.

I'm really not attacking or being rude. But to jump right down my throat and ask me if I'm only posting to justify my own actions is wrong and rude when I clearly stated that I was asking to see what other people think. Then to ask me if the "thousands" of other posts aren't good enough either is also rude. The post clearly has a sarcastic/rude/mean/insert your choice of NOT NICE words here. Thanks.

But you said you had seen lots of threads that stated the opinions that you are asking for..so...I'm not sure what different info you were hoping to find.

I eat most of my exercise calories to rev up my metabolism. I have found that if I eat too few calories, my metabolism slows down. However, I usually will leave about 50 to 100 calories, depending on how hungry I am on those most active days. For me, if I eat too few calories, say more than 100 calories left, I am prone to late night snacking and more often, than not, I GO OVER. I like to see exercise as a REWARD to EAT (and within reason, don't go overboard). So, for me, it's all about setting myself up for success and listening to my body. I do appreciate your post as I, too, was wondering about that. Also, I do not use MFP to calculate my caloric burn, unless, of course, it is a non-machine exercise. For example, if I work out on an elliptical for 45 minutes, I use the calorie burn on the machine.

It is much better for your overall progress if you eat your exercise calories back. It is also better for hormonal balances in both men and women (think cortisol and leptin). Leptin is particularly important because it regulates energy intake and expenditure, and when you over-exert without replenishment, the hormone gets out of whack and can have a negative impact on your metabolic rate. Besides, too high a deficit, and your body uses your lean mass (muscle, etc.) as an energy source, and the results you work so hard for will not be there.

MFP operates on the assumption that you will be eating back exercise calories. If you're not eating them back then I at least hope you have a reasonable deficit to ensure you aren't overworking and undereating.

how do you do the TDEE? mine is 2610 what should i change

See if this thread helps. Let us know if you need more assistance

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

When you do the TDEE (like the thread I linked suggested) then you will be counting your burned calories "1". This way you're not really eating back your burned calories since its averaged out via TDEE and only counitng the 1 calorie for tracking your workouts

<snipped irrelevant raging>

Would anyone pretty please like to share there experience with eating back and/or not eating back exercise calories? I would very much like to know how people are doing in the weight gain/weight loss area when eating back their exercise calories and when not eating them back. Thank you very much. :flowerforyou:

<snipped irrelevant raging>

how do you do the TDEE? mine is 2610 what should i change

See if this thread helps. Let us know if you need more assistance

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

When you do the TDEE (like the thread I linked suggested) then you will be counting your burned calories "1". This way you're not really eating back your burned calories since its averaged out via TDEE and only counitng the 1 calorie for tracking your workouts

Hope this helps. Good luck

I have been reading lot of controversy on why one should or should not eat back their exercise calories. I have also been reading the entire spectrum of response, from those who believe if one does not eat back their exercise calories they will shrivel up into nothing and blow away as dust particles in the wind to those who believe that eating back your exercise calories will cause you to not lose any weight at all.


Here's my take. I MOSTLY elect not to eat mine back. *gasp* (cue the waste away to dust crowd here.) However, before that bunch starts spraying me with sealant to keep me together before the next wind comes, allow me to elaborate. If I have a particularly brutal workout, and I am ravenously hungry that day then sure, you can bet your bottom dollar that I will eat back and not feel bad about it in the least. Most days, this doesn't happen. I am actually less hungry on days I have especially trying workouts than on my rest days. Now, on days where I run/walk/use the elliptical or stationary bike for 30-45 minutes I will not eat my calories back. I tend to believe MFP overestimates caloric burn in cardiovascular exercise and I feel like eating them back at the point where the calculated burn is somewhere around 500, or less that eating them back could be counteractive to what I'm trying to do. I honestly believe that if one is hungry then one should eat. Starvation is not necessary when making a lifestyle change.

So. Do you eat back your calories that you burn while exercising? Why or why not? I am interested in opinions on this one and how well eating them back or not works for you.

So you say you've read all the controversial threads on MFP, still want to believe what you want to believe (even though that is not using the system the way it is intended) and now you want even more feedback? Were the thousands of threads ALREADY on the subject not enough responses for you?

I don't know why you're even asking the question as you've clearly made up your mind to believe what you want to believe.

Sounds to me like you just created this thread because you wanted to post your justification for not eating your exercise calories back. Way to go?

/thread

This forum has a PERFECT example of someone being rude, then claiming to not be, then everyone jumping to rally said rude person...SMH. WHY CANT PEOPLE GIVE ADVICE WITHOUT BEING RUDE? If you think the OP shouldnt bother posting then here's an idea, dont respond, and let everyone else whose sick of said topic also not respond...did you ever think NEW PEOPLE COME ON HERE DAILY AND DONT YET KNOW HOW TO USE FORUM ETC ETC.


Now, in direct answer to the OP. I eat back about HALF because I dont yet know which side of the fence Im on, on the subject. It sounds like you know whats working for you and if its working,. dont fix what isnt broken. I too get more hungry on rest days but I have a suspicion that its my bidy trying to make up for not eating enough the day before. Scientific proof for that theory? nope. I think there is something to be said for Listening to your body. But thats ME. Thanks for posting. I like NEW THREADS ON OLD SUBJECTS.

I still have over 150 pounds to lose before I reach the goal I've set. I expect my food and my caloric requirements to change as I get closer to goal, depending on how fit I am, how active I am, and how much muscle I have. Having never been at said goal weight in my adult life, I suspect even that will change. MFP tells me that I need almost 2000 calories per day. I stick as close to that as possible. I weigh and measure my food every day and eat some pre-packaged food. Still, I don't prepare everything ahead of time and I don't carry my food scale and measuring cup and spoons with me at all times. When not at home and not carrying something pre-made, I will guestimate quantities. I've lost 26.4 pounds in almost 7 weeks doing this. When I exercise, I generally do not make up those calories unless I'm hungry. Even if I do eat, I don't eat every calorie required to make up the deficit. I will eat those some of those additional calories if they exceed 400-500 calories. I don't want to go nuts with the deficit. I don't want to lose muscle or slow down my metabolism. So far, this has worked for me. I feel lighter and stronger and have more energy. If I were exercising more frequently, I'd likely make up those calories. Building or maintaining muscle takes calories. I expect I will have to stick closer to the recommended intake the closer I get to goal. I also recognize it is an estimate. I will have to experiment with balancing exercise and intake to develop the fitness and body composition I desire.

Regarding the whole back-and-forth on rude/not-rude: I hope someone drops it. It doesn't matter who thinks who is being rude or who thinks who started it. It's not constructive.

Regards,
John
jmyluck

P.S., Everyone's welcome to "friend" me.

At the current moment, I am trying (it is kind of hard) to eat back the cal's I burn. I am not trying to lose weight though.
When I was trying to go down in weight I did not always eat back calories. My reason was that I figured I was under calculating things and weights so I was probably eating back anyway, AND I had my goals set to be 500 cal's under anyway. If I make any sense...