Non exercise calorie eaters, please explain something to me
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plus mfp tends to over estimate exercise calories so ive heard
Use a heart rate monitor.
They are not that accurate either, specially when you are mostly doing strength training.
What kind are you using? Polar Ft4 seems to be pretty close, but I don't eat back my workout calories so I am not someone you might want to take that advice from0 -
I've seen many different people lose tons of weight by not eating their exercise calories back. What works for some may not work for others. I personally feel like I'm starving if I don't eat them back, but I rarely eat all of them.
Some that use the TDEE method never eat their exercise calories back because it's already accounted for in their activity level. There are different reasons people don't eat their exercise calories.
I'm willing to bet 90% of those people needing help because they are not losing weight are either 1) eating more than they think they are, or 2) overestimating their calories burned. In either case, it doesn't matter if they eat their exercise calories or not. As long as a deficit is there, they will lose weight.
ETA: Bottom line: Not losing weight and not eating exercise calories are two mutually exclusive traits.
I've been eating my exercise calories back since I started on here and it's worked fairly well. However in the last few months I've hit a bit of a wall and I believe some of it is just brain drain from juggling what I burn for how much more I can eat each day. I'm not saying it doesn't work, I just need a break from it and want to try something new. I'm trying the TDEE method starting today, eating 200-300 less calories than my TDEE which already has my activity built in. I know there's debate on whether you should eat your TDEE or if it's OK to go a bit lower like I'm trying. It still gives me plenty of calories and my net each day should be about the same as it's been or more. If I feel like it's not working I'll up my calories to TDEE and see how that goes.
I would totally agree with the poster above and add that not everyone's brain works the same way. I can see how either approach would make sense to different people. You get to the same place just from a different angle.
Actually, in order to lose weight, you must eat less than your TDEE. I think you mean that there's debate on whether or not you should eat at or below your BMR. In that case, yes, there's tons of debate on that.
Sounds good to me! I posted that I was going to do this and some people told me I should eat my TDEE, maybe they were getting it confused with BMR...at any rate I'm confident that 15-20% below my TDEE will be fine.0 -
I fast for one whole day, every other week and that's helped me lose weight faster.0
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I know, I know. I should not concern myself with other peoples methods and should just concentrate on my own.
However, I would say 90% of the threads I read that say 'help, I'm not losing weight!' are made by people that are not eating their exercise calories back
Please could someone explain to me why you would join a website designed to help you lose weight, with many, many successful members, and trust this website to give you your daily calorie amounts, your macro targets, and to provide the nutritional information for thousands of different foods, yet when it tells you to eat your exercise calories back, said website is obviously out to sabotage your weight loss?
Please, for the love of God,
My "avoiding it being a TL;DR reply": I am fat and I am driven to be "not fat", so I'm hesitant to eat even when I exercise.
Longer reply:
A few reasons: 1) I have someone discouraging me from eating beyond 1600 calories per day and feeling fairly certain I should be lowering it even more even though I'm 6'0" and starting this at 227.6 pounds, 2) I am routinely challenged on my calorie logging despite trying to be extremely strict about it, so nevertheless I tend to try to err on the side of strictness and 3) I actually am not very hungry at all due to eating frequent small meals, taking high quality vitamins and trying to make sure I eat some food with a lot of nutrition value. So part of me says, "hey I'm happy, not feeling hungry, have plenty of energy and optimism, why eat more?"
I'm weighing in Sunday morning to see if this is all working, you may be right and I may be failing to eat back calories enough on days I exercise. We'll see.0 -
When I see ppl eating less than 1200 I want to scream. Im like eat people. Im specfically talking about ones who eat 800 or less.
But you can only do so much. Some wont listen no matter what you say.0 -
I exercise and eat back my calories so that I at least net 1200. Is there something wrong with that? I have been losing, when I stop losing I will up the net. Cuz that seems to be the trick. Right?0
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I eat back mine. Sometimes I won't if I am not hungry. Other times, I would like to have some naughty high calorie food, and I will earn it through exercise. Seems to be working for me.0
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Well, I think you're right, you should probably just concern yourself with your own routine and methods.
I would imagine there are numerous reasons people don't always eat their calories back from exercise. For those who have a higher calorie intake as it is, 1800+, I can imagine that you could feel like you're eating enough within that and trying to consume more when you're not hungry would feel pointless and uncomfortable. I also think that MFP can overestimate on calories burned for certain exercise so perhaps people are worried about that aspect. I am sure there are a multitude of other reasons.
I actually think it's so rude to suggest people who don't eat their exercise calories back are so stupid or naïve that they assume MFP is "sabotaging" their weight loss.
well said!0 -
I think this is the most popular thread I've ever posted. :laugh:0
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I think this is the most popular thread I've ever posted. :laugh:
Are you satisfied with the answers you received?0 -
I eat everyone else's exercise calories back for them0
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OK normally I dont rant or say anything but you cannot tell another person how to lose weight. I have lost 53 lbs by not eating back my calories workout,I maintain when I eat them back. Now go find something better to do with your time and stop beating this thread to death. :flowerforyou:0
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plus mfp tends to over estimate exercise calories so ive heard
It does, that's why when people ask, I say eat half. It tells me I burn nearly 500 calories in half an hour of swimming! :huh:
Which is one reason exactly why I changed my goals to not include any exercise and put in a bit slower weekly loss goal and try to eat to that level regardless of the exercise I do a day ... which is moderate and not every day. MFP was saying I burned over 400 calories by doing moderate intensity stationery biking when the machine I used said I'd only burned about 200 ... and I was showing huge deficits because of it. It just seemed too confusing to me ....0 -
The Bigger the deficit, the bigger the lose
True! ...............if you're not concerned about body FAT % this is a good strategy.
I personally want to lower my body fat % .............but that's probably just me :huh:0 -
Because the exercise calorie count on here, overestimates. Why would I risk overeating? Mind your own business.0
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I eat everyone else's exercise calories back for them
hahahahahaha0 -
I think this is the most popular thread I've ever posted. :laugh:
Are you satisfied with the answers you received?
Some of them. It's mostly full of butthurt and people not understanding the point. I did get some nice PMs though.0 -
Some of them. It's mostly full of butthurt and people not understanding the point. I did get some nice PMs though.
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Well I'm a pretty big guy and I get over 2k calories a day. I also do a good bit of cardio and somedays burn almost 1000 calories of cardio no way I'm eating another 1000 calories. I'm losing steady weight so works for me.0
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I do the TDEE -15%. I understand what you saying and agree!! :bigsmile:0
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Ok, I'm new to all of this. Could someone explain what "eat all your exercise calories back" means? I consume around 1800 calories a day and am just about to start an exercise program. So since I already consume a good amount of calories, what is meant by "eating your calories back"? I guess I am just ignorant of this concept.
What they mean by eat back your exercise calories is, if you burn say 500 calories in a day, you now have 2300 calories you can consume.
Thank you for the prompt and simple answer (simple is always good). So you exercise to burn calories, but you want to eat those calories back. How interesting. It's much easier being fat.... if it wasn't for that pesky Type2 diabetes.. Again, thank you!0 -
I would hate to be thinking i lost 200 calories of exercise and then thought wow i can now eat 200 more calories, when really i only exercised off 100 calories..
that means im overeating 100 calories.
no thanks!
im sticking to not eating back exercise calories.
no way jose.
no thanks..
noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo never.. no nyet nope ono noez.
and a final NO!0 -
---> @ACDC27Well I'm a pretty big guy and I get over 2k calories a day. I also do a good bit of cardio and somedays burn almost 1000 calories of cardio no way I'm eating another 1000 calories. I'm losing steady weight so works for me.
^^^ that is what I am doing exactly - RIGHT ON!
1. Eating Over 2K calories per day
2. Burning between 600-1100 per day
3. Netting between 1600-1900
Losing about 2-3 lbs per month and enjoying every minute of it.0 -
Well, I think you're right, you should probably just concern yourself with your own routine and methods.
I would imagine there are numerous reasons people don't always eat their calories back from exercise. For those who have a higher calorie intake as it is, 1800+, I can imagine that you could feel like you're eating enough within that and trying to consume more when you're not hungry would feel pointless and uncomfortable. I also think that MFP can overestimate on calories burned for certain exercise so perhaps people are worried about that aspect. I am sure there are a multitude of other reasons.
I actually think it's so rude to suggest people who don't eat their exercise calories back are so stupid or naïve that they assume MFP is "sabotaging" their weight loss.
^^ this, because I don't eat mine back and I loose weight. I eat when I'm hungry and eat healthy while minding my calories. But I'm not going to force myself to eat.0 -
I would hate to be thinking i lost 200 calories of exercise and then thought wow i can now eat 200 more calories, when really i only exercised off 100 calories..
that means im overeating 100 calories.
no thanks!
im sticking to not eating back exercise calories.
no way jose.
no thanks..
noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo never.. no nyet nope ono noez.
and a final NO!
But you are not "overeating" by 100 calories because MFP gave you a calorie deficit BEFORE exercise. At the very worst, your deficit is merely 100 less than it was before exercise.
Why not eat 50% of your exercise calories.....and protect muscle mass. Exercise while dieting should help protect muscle....but not eating enough defeats that.....it's like exercising to "reduce" muscle mass.0 -
plus mfp tends to over estimate exercise calories so ive heard
Use a heart rate monitor.
They are not that accurate either, specially when you are mostly doing strength training.
What kind are you using? Polar Ft4 seems to be pretty close, but I don't eat back my workout calories so I am not someone you might want to take that advice from
I don't use/own a HRM; I never did. I took/take whatever the machines at the gym gave me (for the little amount of cardio that I do), and what MFP says that I burn doing Pilates, Yoga, and weight training. And I only log 1/2 the calories that MFP gives me for my Ballet class.
I read in the Forums that the heart rate monitor is not very accurate for strength training, so it justified my reluctance about getting one (I am not a gadget person), especially since I don’t eat all my exercise calories back either.0 -
I do what works for me which is not eating all of my exercise calories back.0
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I "bank" a lot of my exercise calories so that I can have an epic "cheat day" once a week0
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I get what you're getting at. Yes you can lose weight by not eating exercise calories back, but eventually you will hit a wall. If you eat 1200 calories, but burn 1800 total through exercise and and daily life, your body will eat away at your adipose tissue. That's what it's there for, extra energy storage. At some point though (likely the point where people go "what's wrong, why am I not losing?!?!?!!") your body is going to quit using adipose tissue. That's the point where eating your exercise calories back becomes important.
Any diet/exercise plan, case in point: anorexia, can cause weight loss. That doesn't make it the most healthy, sustainable option.
But how many people actually burn 1800 or the aforementioned 2000 calories a day on an almost daily basis ?
I do. On my workout days, I burn around 2700-3000 calories, sometimes more. Non-workout days are generally around 2400.0 -
The replies I read to you "question" (which wasn't really a question, and didn't want an explanation) didn't seem very "butthurt".I think this is the most popular thread I've ever posted. :laugh:
Are you satisfied with the answers you received?
Some of them. It's mostly full of butthurt and people not understanding the point. I did get some nice PMs though.
Mayhaps "butthurt" is losing its meaning here just as "bully" has. :flowerforyou:0
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