Do you have to eat all the burned calories back?

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  • Wilhellmina
    Wilhellmina Posts: 757 Member
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    If you're not overestimating your burns then I'd say definitely eat them all back. You are training your body to respond to extra need rather than want that way. I can't see the point messing about with TDEE when MFP calcs already work everything out for you. All it's doing is spreading your exercise calories across the week - something you can do anyway with the MFP method if you don't mind showing in the red on non-exercise days.

    I think they are more like very underastimated. After all we don't count the house hold, shopping, walking up and down the stairs etc. So the burn will be higher, since I only add real exercise to it. MFP tells me to eat only 1300 calories, that is way too low to my opinion, besides I don't get it either + they keep on changing my settings. Filled in manually and hands off now!.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Every TDEE calculator I've used gives me a different number ranging from 2000 to 2600 I mean seriously which one is correct?

    The correct one is the one you follow accurately for a few weeks and get the results you expect. Remember that although they "calculate" they only provide an estimate which gives you a starting point.

    I think I'd rather stick to what I'm doing now as I'm loosing weight every week, rather than test loads of different calculators, which all may be incorrect.

    That was my point - if you are getting the right results from either a TDEE calculator (which includes exercise by the way...), MFP method and eating back calories, picking a number by trial and error, not feeling excessively hungry or restricted, are full of energy then you have the number that is right for you.
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
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  • TruckersWifeTruckersLife
    TruckersWifeTruckersLife Posts: 408 Member
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    I personally can not eat all my exercise calories let alone all my daily calories so I eat until I am comfortable and not feel like a bloated goldfish
  • loulou_1979
    loulou_1979 Posts: 22 Member
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    Until last week I wasn't eating back all my workout calories. My weight loss has been quite slow, but steady (averaging a lb a week), so after months of reading about 'eat more to weigh less', last week I ate back practically all my workout calories apart from Thursday where I was so full I really couldn't eat anymore and finished the week 'in the red' (1210 calories averaged, all other weeks have been well under that).

    Since my last weigh a week ago today in I have lost 2.4lbs!

    Will try this approach this again week and if it works, I'm sticking with it!

    As all our bodies are so different, I'd just say give it a go and see what happens!
  • Wilhellmina
    Wilhellmina Posts: 757 Member
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    Aw well, even if it feels like I am fine (now) and I loose weight every week (now)! It doesn't always have to mean you're doing well. I thought the same a few years ago and suddenly I hit rockbottom, became ill, gained weight back on and didn't know why. Reason: I was stressing my body too much for too long, like with undereating. I calculated in the keto and the TDEE now (I forget to set keto to training, oops :blushing: ) and both give about the same results. I increased my intake to 1800...
  • LeanneGoingThin
    LeanneGoingThin Posts: 215 Member
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    I wouldn't, unless you're absolutely sure how much you burned. You could eat 60-70% back. When I ate 100% back I actually gained weight. I think because my burn estimates were off. It's hard without a heart monitor.
  • Wilhellmina
    Wilhellmina Posts: 757 Member
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    That's exactly what I am afraid of Leanne. So I stay somewhat below it...
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,370 Member
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    If you're not overestimating your burns then I'd say definitely eat them all back. You are training your body to respond to extra need rather than want that way. I can't see the point messing about with TDEE when MFP calcs already work everything out for you. All it's doing is spreading your exercise calories across the week - something you can do anyway with the MFP method if you don't mind showing in the red on non-exercise days.

    I think they are more like very underastimated. After all we don't count the house hold, shopping, walking up and down the stairs etc. So the burn will be higher, since I only add real exercise to it. MFP tells me to eat only 1300 calories, that is way too low to my opinion, besides I don't get it either + they keep on changing my settings. Filled in manually and hands off now!.


    The kind of day-to-day activities you list there are already factored into Sedentary. They will change your settings automatically when you enter exercise (upwards) or weight loss (downwards) so that you are eating correctly for your size and exertion.
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,370 Member
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    I personally can not eat all my exercise calories let alone all my daily calories so I eat until I am comfortable and not feel like a bloated goldfish

    If that's really the case how did you get overweight to start with? Nuts are calorie dense or you could up your oil intake in cooking to subtly raise your calories without the bulk.
  • Wilhellmina
    Wilhellmina Posts: 757 Member
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    I personally can not eat all my exercise calories let alone all my daily calories so I eat until I am comfortable and not feel like a bloated goldfish

    If that's really the case how did you get overweight to start with? Nuts are calorie dense or you could up your oil intake in cooking to subtly raise your calories without the bulk.

    I think that is the main problem for many of us. We eat too much, move too little and our system doesn't give us the right signals anymore when we really had enough. But with that being said: after weeks of dieting and eat the right amount of calories, I also got a hard time getting the food diary to 1800 now, the stomach shrinks, my solution: a spoon of coconut oil!
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
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    I personally can not eat all my exercise calories let alone all my daily calories so I eat until I am comfortable and not feel like a bloated goldfish

    If that's really the case how did you get overweight to start with? Nuts are calorie dense or you could up your oil intake in cooking to subtly raise your calories without the bulk.

    I'm so sick of seeing this 'logic' splashed over the boards. I ate less when I was big than I do now. I just ate different, more calorific food. When people say they are struggling to get to calories it's often because they are genuine about doing this and they have restricted themselves to lean meat, veges, and not much else, all really low fat and low cal, because that is what they heard for years and they don't know that there is another, more effective way.

    People being sanctimonious and throwing about the 'you must know how to eat because you're fat' line is ridiculous. Everyones scenario is a little bit different and while the same solution (in variations) will work for everyone, NOT everyone is fat because they ate too much bulk of food, their balance was simply off. Or, like me, they had an accident and that, coupled with a thyroid problem and (at the time) ignorance of BMR led me to put on weight.

    Sheesh.
  • VpinkLotus
    VpinkLotus Posts: 849 Member
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    It all depends. I know a lot of people don't. I personally do eat them back because MFP has me set at 1,240 to start. That is usually not enough for me especially after working out. If I burn 400 cals, then I figure my body needs that much more fuel.
  • samcat2000
    samcat2000 Posts: 106 Member
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    If you're not overestimating your burns then I'd say definitely eat them all back. You are training your body to respond to extra need rather than want that way. I can't see the point messing about with TDEE when MFP calcs already work everything out for you. All it's doing is spreading your exercise calories across the week - something you can do anyway with the MFP method if you don't mind showing in the red on non-exercise days.

    I think they are more like very underastimated. After all we don't count the house hold, shopping, walking up and down the stairs etc. So the burn will be higher, since I only add real exercise to it. MFP tells me to eat only 1300 calories, that is way too low to my opinion, besides I don't get it either + they keep on changing my settings. Filled in manually and hands off now!.

    MFP had me first at 1,370 then at 1270 cal/day. It was WAY TOO LOW. I am not the kind of person that can go hungry. I eat when I'm hungry because if I don't then I won't have a good workout. I upped my cal intake to 1,600 day and manually entered that into MFP. I probably need to up it to about 1,800 because I find that I consistently go over 1,600 by 100-400 cals on non-workout days. On days I exercise, I probably eat anywhere between 2,100- 3,300 cals depending on how much I think I burned (I use a HRM but I know it's not 100% accurate). I'm sort of in maintenance mode right now but have lost .5 lb here and there. Once I hit my goal of 135 I will be in true maintenance mode. I'm no expert on any of this and I know my #s aren't exactly accurate...as long as I'm not gaining any or losing too much, I'm happy.

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