Eating back exercise calories?

I would definitely consider eating back some of the workout calories, but I would also be very skeptical of following the calorie burn guides on here... they are not always the most accurate way to get a reading... You may want to consider getting a heart rate monitor that also tracks your calories burned... You can personalize it and it is a much better way to get an accurate reading... But I also agree about eating more calorie dense foods... But most of all listen to your body... If you are losing weight great, if you aren't then you need to consider something else... Keep working at it and you'll find out what is right for you...

I wouldn't worry about eating back your calories until you are closer to your goal weight. If you are dieting the way you are and exercising that much, the weight should be falling off.

Except no.

MFP already calculates your deficit (Anywhere from 250-1000 calories a day) You don't need to add to that deficit by not eating back your exercise calories. A bigger cut isn't always the answer.

You shouldn't be "well under" your calorie goal. The purpose of this site is not to eat as little as possible, but rather, to stay at a moderate calorie deficit until you achieve your desired results.

I would urge you to get a heart rate monitor to get a more accurate idea of the calories you are burning, and to try to be as close to your calorie goal as possible. You need to fuel your workouts. Some calorie dense foods are nuts, full fat dairy products, avocados and peanut butter.

There are many resources available on this site, and you have kindly been provided with some links. When you have time, you should peruse those links.

It is the same old posts those kids keep posting on here. Ha ha, very funny!

I'm usually well under my calorie goal, but I've noticed that with the calories I "earn" from exercise, I am only netting about 100 calories a day. I eat a total of 1300-1500. I'm not hungry, I have great energy. Should I be forcing myself to eat back my exercise calories? I would really be having to force it down...

Yes! I don't want to hear "Can't eat" when I have to do 5000+ some days. Just do it. If you're still down and not hungry a big spoon of peanut butter is a great way to fill in calories. There's no excuse. I don't always feel like eating back all of mine either. I've already had 2565 calories today and I need 1350 more. You bet it's all getting eaten back.

Hi,

Before you begin eating more calorie dense foods, I would look into how you are calculating your calorie burn. Perhaps investing in a heart rate monitor might be an option. I burn 600 calories an hour doing very intense spin or running. I do believe one can burn 600 doing zumba if he/she is totally into it for the entire 60 minutes. However, walking 3-5 miles would be much less. for me, strength training doesn't burn many calories, although it is important for many other reasons, including longer term burn.

If you are full and satisfied, I would be inclined to reevaluate/recalculate your calorie burn. On many Saturday mornings I do a triple - run, spin and swim, for a total of about 1500 calories (usually 3 hours of straight exercising) and I am ravenous when I am done and for the day. I really want to eat those calories.

I worry about you sabotaging your weight loss by incorrect calorie burn estimations. I would start there.

Good luck!

I probably do need a heart rate monitor. I will have to see if there is one that I can afford, I am on a very tight budget. Thanks for the advice.

Yes..very good add..Do invest in an HRM..the numbers on MFP are very skewed, especially for excercises like zumba..walking is pretty much ok though.

Eat More ™

In that case, I would expect the contestants on Biggest Loser to never lose weight since they exercise all day long and they stick to low calorie diets...

Because the biggest loser is a great example of healthy sustainable weight loss.

Please listen to those of us who know how to lose weight the "wrong" way, because we've done it before and failed to keep the weight off, so we know tons of ways NOT to lose weight and keep it off, ok?

The big deficits are not sustainable and you will burn out. Your energy will plummet and you will not be able to keep up with your work, let alone your workouts. You may start to binge. You may start to think about food all the time. You may start making bad nutritional choices.

If you just stopped drinking soda and started working out and that was enough to put you in a deficit, my hat is off to you. My husband was able to do that too, but I was not blessed with such a metabolism. Please read up on nutrition, think about adding more healthy fats to your diet like snacking on nuts or cheese, and enjoying avocado and guacamole, and getting a hefty amount of protein to help prevent muscle loss. It doesn't do any good to diet and lose all kinds of weight on a low calorie diet if you're just going to regain it all because you don't have the muscle mass you used to and your caloric needs are permanently lowered.

Oh, ETA: I have a Body Media Fit too and the burn is higher than what reality reflects on the scale. As other people have said, MFP's exercise calories are too high, so if you eat back your calories, you'll probably overeat. The best bet is to figure out your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) and then use to find a reasonable deficit (about -10-20%). That's what I've been doing the last almost 80 days, and I've been losing about 2/3 to 3/4 of a pound a week, which I know is about right for my body. Any faster than that is not sustainable for me.

Hope you'll lose more slowly and sustainably. Do it right the first time and you won't have to keep doing it again and again like those of us with lots of "practice". This is a marathon, not a sprint.

I'm usually well under my calorie goal, but I've noticed that with the calories I "earn" from exercise, I am only netting about 100 calories a day. I eat a total of 1300-1500. I'm not hungry, I have great energy. Should I be forcing myself to eat back my exercise calories? I would really be having to force it down...

Yes! I don't want to hear "Can't eat" when I have to do 5000+ some days. Just do it. If you're still down and not hungry a big spoon of peanut butter is a great way to fill in calories. There's no excuse. I don't always feel like eating back all of mine either. I've already had 2565 calories today and I need 1350 more. You bet it's all getting eaten back.

This..... My daily caloric intake is 4000 calories and I have no problem hit that mark. If I am going to workout as much as I do then I am darn sure going to fuel my body... OP you either need to eat more or exercise less one way or another netting 100 calories is not going to cut it... If you are using this site as it is intended your deficit is already built in and your exercise calories are to be used to fuel your body... Weight loss will happen without exercise, you workout for fitness.... and invest in a heart rate monitor or fit bit something to get a more accurate calorie burn... I have ate back my exercise calories from the first time a was able to workout and it hasn't effect my weightloss in the least... Best of Luck...

In that case, I would expect the contestants on Biggest Loser to never lose weight since they exercise all day long and they stick to low calorie diets...

There is a reason........ it is staged for TV, the way they lose the weight is totally unhealthy, and most of the contest put the weight back on after they leave the show... anybody can lose weight if they workout 6+ hours a day and eat 800-1000 calories a day but in the long run it isn't sustainable so you might as well do it right the first time....

Not to mention the fact that the weigh-in severely dehydrated.

Thanks for all the input. Especially the advice that was not snarky or accusatory I need to research some more food choices it looks like.

Yeah, eating more calories doesn't necessarily equate to eating more food. If you can incorporate some more calorie-dense foods that give you more fuel, but aren't a ton of food, you shouldn't have trouble.

However, I would reiterate that (although you're doing a lot of exercise), you might want to compare the calories burned on some other calculators and/or use a heart rate monitor. MFP tends to run a little high on these numbers. I'm on the lookout for a HRM myself, too.

I asked my doctor (who is a weight loss specialist by the way) this exact question and the answer is "No". Unless you are burning thousands of calories a day you should not be "eating back" your exercise calories if you are trying to loose weight. We have allowed ourselves to subscribe to this "your body will go into starvation mode" and it just isn't true - unless in you in an extreme situation like eating 500 calories a day, exercising and burning 5,000 and doing this everyday.

As I have read the many threads on this subject I have expected that what my doctor told me was the situation. Especially if you feel great! Bravo to you for your efforts!

Your doctor doesn't understand MFP. Period.