Do you eat all of your exercise calories back?

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2

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  • reach4thestar
    reach4thestar Posts: 174 Member
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    I follow TDEE-20% ...simpler than mfp method....
  • KombuchaCat
    KombuchaCat Posts: 834 Member
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    I always eat mine back, a double deficit just does not make sense to me. In my case it's impossible to maintain, as well. Being starving all the time just makes me binge.
  • sophayz
    sophayz Posts: 592 Member
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    Hi --

    I have done a lot of research about this. Some people do, some people don't. I have decided that I will. Of all the reading that I've done, this is my basic understanding of how eating back exercise calories work:

    The amount of calories (roughly) you should eat a day is your weight multiplied by 10.
    I weigh 218 lbs, so 218 x 10 = 2,180 calories a day (just to function).

    One pound is 3,500 calories. So in order to lose one pound a week you should burn / have a deficit of 500 calories a day. MFP takes that deficit into account already by subtracting 500 calories a day.
    So 2,180 - 500 = 1,680.

    So, supposedly, if I eat my 1,680 / day then I should lose 1lb / week. Thus far, I have.

    When I exercise, for example, if I burn 300 calories that day exercising, then I've earned extra calories to eat, 300 calories worth. So if I don't eat those 300 calories back, then I would be eating 1,380 calories (1680 - 300 = 1380).
    I've read a lot that if you don't eat enough calories than your body may go into starvation mode which may slow down your overall weight loss b/c your body is basically holding your fat hostage in a sense, LOL.

    I am already eating 500 calories less than my body needs a day so I decided to eat back my exercise calories to keep an even 1680 / day.

    I've also read a lot that MFP tends to over estimate calories burned, etc. So I tend to leave some calories left over, 100-200 / day, just in case, but if I am hungry, then I eat.

    It really depends on you. I've read a lot of different perspectives on it. But I figured since I am already eating 500 calories less, then for the most part I eat back my exercise calories.

    A healthy weight loss is 1-2lbs / week. There was one week where I tried to test this theory and NOT eat back my exercise calories, and I actually gained a 1lb that week. When I started eating them back I continued to lose a 1 pound / week.

    Best of luck :)
    Joanna

    wow ok so lets try this :

    i am 117 lbs x 10 ... 1170 calories

    1170 - 500 = 670 calories

    every other day i workout and burn about 700 to 800 (i use a HRM)

    i understand where you are coming from but i think its a really unhealthy way of calculating for girls that don't have much to lose ( i still have only 3-4 lbs of fat to lose)

    if i were to follow that i would be dead withing a year !
  • lynnkieu
    lynnkieu Posts: 67 Member
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    I do not eat back my exercise calories and have had success. Good luck to you!
  • flumi_f
    flumi_f Posts: 1,888 Member
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    It also depends on how you count those cals. All apps, cardio maschines and MFP severely overestimate my burned cals in comparison to my HRM. So I only go by my HRM and eat about 50% of them back in the course of a week.

    Eating out is a problem, because it is difficult to count and the meals are normally higher in sodium, then what I would cook.
  • bluefish49
    bluefish49 Posts: 102 Member
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    Almost never eat my exercise calories back.

    AVERAGE weight loss 2 pounds per week.
  • nikkiclaire123
    nikkiclaire123 Posts: 119
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    personally i dont - unless im super hungry. and i'll probably get shot down for saying it. but idk what to believe anymore.

    some people say yes - do eat them back.

    but then you get people saying 'calories in - calories out' so that makes me think i dont have to. if i burn more than i eat then i should be burning fat right?

    anyways, i burned about 1000 calories at the gym today and i dont intend on eating them back.
  • Lowland70
    Lowland70 Posts: 6 Member
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    I eat back some of mine otherwise I am eating too little the same as you. I aim for a calorie deficit of 1000 per day so I do whatever it takes to get me there, heaps of exercise means more food, less active days I might feel a bit hungry but just try to eat a carrot or something to get me through.
    My weight loss has been pretty consistent for about 6 weeks of doing this lost just under 6kg (13lb?)

    Good luck
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
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    I have been doing fairly well for the past 4 weeks (translated, better than I usually do.)
    Been sticking to my calories and eating exercise calories back (MFP set to sedentary so I track any activity)
    But for the last 2 weeks I've shown .1 lb loss each week.
    I am trying to not get discouraged, but I don't know what i'm doing wrong.

    So, I'm wondering if I shouldn't be eating all/most of my exercise calories back. I know I shouldn't go below 1200 on any give day..but I spent a lot of time trying to recover from starvation mode and not being able to lose, period. So I am apprehensive about NOT eating all my calories back.

    My diary is public.
    I spent the weekend eating at maintenance levels, hoping to trick my body.
    Any thoughts?

    (And I KNOW that I don't always eat perfectly healthy food. but I have to live in the real world.)

    1. You are doing the right thing in eating your exercise calories back. However, if you are using MFP calculations, I would eat half, as it tends to over estimate. Grab a HRM, they are far better.

    2. You eat out a lot, so your sodium levels are high. This can disguise weight loss due to water retention. Try eating out less, or drink more water to combat it.

    3. 1 lb a week is a healthy, sustainable loss. Be patient.
  • AndyRogan
    AndyRogan Posts: 195 Member
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    Under Settings > Your Fitness Goals, its has:

    Your diet Profile Target

    Calories Burned
    From Normal Daily Activity 2,550 cal/day


    Net Calories Consumed*
    Your Daily Goal 1,560 cal/day
    Daily Calorie Deficit 990 calories
    Projected Weight Loss 2 lbs/week

    * Net Calories Consumed = Total Calories Consumed - Exercise Calories Burned

    The site takes into account how many calories you should eat, knocks off around 500cals per lb a week you want to lose.

    You should be eating back some if not all the exercise as you body needs the fuel, whilst trying to keep your net calories above 1200 as a minimum.
    This will give some margin to allow you to eat properly and still lose.
    Hope that makes sense
  • silencioesoro
    silencioesoro Posts: 318 Member
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    I personally don't, but then again, I usually never eat all my calories. However, there are days where I absolutely need a peanut butter sandwich after a really good cardio workout. Just listen to your body is what I can tell you.
  • KBoddu
    KBoddu Posts: 237 Member
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    Make sure to get a HRM to get a better calorie burn estimate. I eat out all of the time so, you doing that shouldn't matter. It hasn't hindered my weight loss yet.

    I do not eat back my calories from exercise because I am heavy enough to be able to take a higher deficit right now, but once I get to a certain point I think you start having to eat some back. I have seen a lot of people that only eat half of their calories back and have great success with that.

    Good luck! Don't get discouraged... It hasn't been that long and you won't lose like crazy every single week. You are on the right path just keep it up. =)
  • sassy1grl
    sassy1grl Posts: 28 Member
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    i try to eat all my exercise calories back. it has been working for me. good luck to you
  • shopwithkoupons
    shopwithkoupons Posts: 2
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    No I do not eat my calories back. The first thing I did when going on a "diet", which I do not call it a diet, I call eat eating healthier. Go to healthyweightforum.org. It will give you the amount of calories to eat based off how active you are. I am very active so instead of me putting in moderate or heavy. I chose light to give me enough instead of to much.

    If you look at how much of each category (fruit, vegetable, grains, dairy, and protein) you should be fine. Cick here it will show you how your plate should be set up for eat meal.

    http://www.healthytimesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Your-Daily-MyPlate.jpg

    If you go out to eat on the regular, try drinking water instead of tea. Try a salad without ranch, french, or honey mustard dress (use balsamic vinegar or italian dressing). Do not get cheese, bacon bits, etc.. You just want the all the vegetables.

    Try grilled chicken instead of fried. Etc.

    I hope this helps. Try to burn at least 300-400 calories a day with various activities.
  • xyz68x
    xyz68x Posts: 30
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    As a rule ... no. It does make me feel better though if I go over my calorie goal.
  • bmqbonnie
    bmqbonnie Posts: 836 Member
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    I don't eat all of mine back. I figure chances are that I underestimated some calories, and I don't have a HRM so the calories burnt are probably pretty optimistic too. Plus I want to have a little wiggle room- I work at a restaurant and frequently have a fry here or wing there when it's available and I don't want to worry about logging every single little thing.

    So I usually try to be 100-200 under my calorie goal to be sure that I'm really under it. It kind of depends on how hungry I am too.

    Most of the time if you're doing a little bit of light cardio you burn like 200 cals in which case it isn't a huge deal if you don't eat them back. If you burn a ton though you absolutely should eat most of it back. Overall, this isn't an exact science and you should do what feels right and is proven to work.
  • joannadalina
    joannadalina Posts: 112 Member
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    Hi --

    I have done a lot of research about this. Some people do, some people don't. I have decided that I will. Of all the reading that I've done, this is my basic understanding of how eating back exercise calories work:

    The amount of calories (roughly) you should eat a day is your weight multiplied by 10.
    I weigh 218 lbs, so 218 x 10 = 2,180 calories a day (just to function).

    One pound is 3,500 calories. So in order to lose one pound a week you should burn / have a deficit of 500 calories a day. MFP takes that deficit into account already by subtracting 500 calories a day.
    So 2,180 - 500 = 1,680.

    So, supposedly, if I eat my 1,680 / day then I should lose 1lb / week. Thus far, I have.

    When I exercise, for example, if I burn 300 calories that day exercising, then I've earned extra calories to eat, 300 calories worth. So if I don't eat those 300 calories back, then I would be eating 1,380 calories (1680 - 300 = 1380).
    I've read a lot that if you don't eat enough calories than your body may go into starvation mode which may slow down your overall weight loss b/c your body is basically holding your fat hostage in a sense, LOL.

    I am already eating 500 calories less than my body needs a day so I decided to eat back my exercise calories to keep an even 1680 / day.

    I've also read a lot that MFP tends to over estimate calories burned, etc. So I tend to leave some calories left over, 100-200 / day, just in case, but if I am hungry, then I eat.

    It really depends on you. I've read a lot of different perspectives on it. But I figured since I am already eating 500 calories less, then for the most part I eat back my exercise calories.

    A healthy weight loss is 1-2lbs / week. There was one week where I tried to test this theory and NOT eat back my exercise calories, and I actually gained a 1lb that week. When I started eating them back I continued to lose a 1 pound / week.

    Best of luck :)
    Joanna

    wow ok so lets try this :

    i am 117 lbs x 10 ... 1170 calories

    1170 - 500 = 670 calories

    every other day i workout and burn about 700 to 800 (i use a HRM)

    i understand where you are coming from but i think its a really unhealthy way of calculating for girls that don't have much to lose ( i still have only 3-4 lbs of fat to lose)

    if i were to follow that i would be dead withing a year !

    Hi --

    Yes obviously this wouldn't work for you, you weigh 117 lbs. Eating 670 calories a day would be horrible for you.
    I was just giving my thought process and what works for me based on the research / reading that I've done.
    Please do not think that I am telling you to eat 670 calories a day. That would be incredibly ridiculous.

    Best of luck,
    Joanna
  • imhungry2012
    imhungry2012 Posts: 240 Member
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    You can't out exercise a bad diet. Your sugar intake is likely sky high.

    I suggest eating your exercise calories back. To me it just makes sense unless your overall caloric intake is really high (ex. my BF's is 3000 calories a day, he doesnt really eat much of his exercise cals back).

    4 weeks is not that long, don't get discouraged just make better choices when you can especially when eating out.
  • Happymelz
    Happymelz Posts: 536 Member
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    We dont have to eat the same food. 1500 calories is 1500 calories whether you eat homemade or fast food. What I was trying to say is that your calorie count is more than likely not accurate. So before you worry about eating back exercise calories, you should try to get a more accurate count of what you are eating.

    Btw, mfp deficits are designed to eat back the calories you exercise off. I eat mine back and have lost 30 lbs in 1.5 months.

    Thank you. :)
  • Happymelz
    Happymelz Posts: 536 Member
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    Thank you all for the help!

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