Do you eat back the calories you burn?

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Replies

  • mndamon
    mndamon Posts: 549 Member
    I don't worry about making sure to eat them back. I just make sure my macros are in line and leave it at that.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    It works differently for everyone. Not everyone gets the same results :smile:

    Actually we are all remarkably similar, and it comes down to cals in cals out for everyone. The cals out will differ from person to person, but that is accounted for in MFP caloric recommendations. If you don't eat them back you risk a large % of your loss coming from lean muscle, not the fat you are trying to lose.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    only if I am hungry

    What does hunger have to do with it? Does your stomach know when your body is using existing muscle mass for fuel? Some people choose to eat lots of high volume, high fiber foods ..... so they are full all the time. The problem is that many times these foods are low in nutrition content and do nothing to help maintain muscle mass. Rant over........:grumble:
  • andreaheileman
    andreaheileman Posts: 48 Member
    It works differently for everyone. Not everyone gets the same results :smile:

    Actually we are all remarkably similar, and it comes down to cals in cals out for everyone. The cals out will differ from person to person, but that is accounted for in MFP caloric recommendations. If you don't eat them back you risk a large % of your loss coming from lean muscle, not the fat you are trying to lose.

    I know that cals in, cals out is giong to be the same for everyone but sometimes with people's lifestyles they are more hungry at the end of their day than others and most the time I'm not even hungry so I don't eat back those calories :tongue:
  • onedayatatime12
    onedayatatime12 Posts: 577 Member
    Sometimes, if I feel like it (even if I don't think the workout burn is as accurate as MFP tells me). Sometimes, I don't. I really just have to be hungry enough.
  • gaidinsgir1
    gaidinsgir1 Posts: 3 Member
    I eat back enough to bring my net back up to 1200. I only eat all of them back if I am really hungry.
  • Gee45
    Gee45 Posts: 171
    For now, I'm eating at maintenance and using exercise to create the deficit to lose weight.
  • cingle87
    cingle87 Posts: 717 Member
    *Smacks head of the table, when will people realise they are not snowflakes?
  • Libertysfate
    Libertysfate Posts: 452 Member
    I did for the first month on MFP, but then I got hooked on working out and it became a chore to eat so much. I felt like I was having to snack all the time just to keep up. Now I just try to eat at least 1200.

    That's kind of how I feel now-- that it's a chore to eat so much. Because I'm making healthier choices, I feel like I have to eat SOOO much just to hit my goal, much less my exercise calories.

    You don't have to eat more food to ingest more calories, make different choices or drink some cals (juice, protein shake, etc). As a snack have a handful of nuts, seeds, trail mix. add peanut butter to things you already eat, add olive oil to soups, sauces, and salads, etc.

    I came to that conclusion soon after I stop trying to eat back my calories burned. :) It's still a pain since I already have issues with remembering to eat in the first place (job thing). If nothing else, I try to eat a large amount of calories towards the end of my day just to make sure I get my min. in.
  • VeganGypsie
    VeganGypsie Posts: 10
    I am eating them back, because I am trying to gain muscle while losing fat simultaneously, not he easiest thing to do, but possible if like me you are just starting out on weight training. My MFP goal is set at loosing .75 lb/week (1375). Even if the calories for exercise are overestimated, I will still be happy with slower weight loss, I am more focused on getting stronger, and my main goals are things like doing a pullup, or 25 pushups without stopping, stuff like that. I don't necessarily eat them back the same day, I try to hit my weekly net goal, so I can eat when I am hungry and not when I am not. I have more struggles with hitting the protein goal, since I am vegan. I have to have either beans, lentils, tofu, tempeh, or protein powder in just about every meal. I don't think 15% is actually that important for sedentary people, but I want to build muscle now, I am trying to meet or exceed it.
  • dunnodunno
    dunnodunno Posts: 2,290 Member
    I follow TDEE approach so no I don't eat mine back.
  • amitchell0918
    amitchell0918 Posts: 5
    I either eat half of it back or enough of it back so I don't go under 1200 calories per day

    That's great never thought of it that way!
  • willdob3
    willdob3 Posts: 640 Member
    No. I don't use MFP calorie recommendations. They are both low & high for me.

    I use a couple different, but similar formulas that include my activity level to determine calories. I eat in that range every day. I log my cardio to have a record that I did it but I change the calories burned count to 1. I get more calories to eat every day & get better results.

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