Eating Back Your Exercise Calories

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  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    Please note that although exercise calories on fitness equipment are often greatly overestimated for many people, they can be reasonably close for persons of high body weight. Thus, you may want to eat back an adequate amount based on your greater potential to burn energy while tracking trends of weight loss.
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    I don't eat all mine back. For me, it's near impossible. I'm supposed to eat 1200 calories. I've already eaten 350 for bfast and lunch. With my exercise points of 432, It gives me 1282 more calories to eat! There's no way I can eat that much. But it does help when I want a second glass of wine with dinner or a real cookie that's not low fat.
    More than likely, you are not supposed to net 1200 calories based on how active you are in addition to only needing to lose 9 more lbs. I'm guessing you set your weekly weight loss goal to either 1.0, 1.5 or even 2.0 lbs. Set your weekly weight loss goal to 0.5 lbs per week because you simply do not have the fat mass to warrant a deficit larger than that.
  • BossLadyDSimp
    BossLadyDSimp Posts: 257 Member
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    If you're going to eat them back, make sure you're estimating them properly. Most people are vastly over-estimating what they burn, and as a consequence, eat right into their planned deficits.

    If you are using a FitBit or BodyBug or HRM to get your calorie burn, you are most likely over-estimating. If you are using MFP for anything like HIIT/intervals/circuit, you are most likely over-estimating.
    Absolutely. I remember back when I started, MFP had me burning 1200 calories per hour exercising moderately on a recumbent bike. :noway: In fact, it would still give me 700, while my Bodymedia gives me 300 for the same activity. Because I lose weight fairly steadily and am in line with my goals, I know that for me, my Bodymedia does not overestimate by very much.

    I agree. When I add activity from MFP it may give me 800 for my workout when my FitBit gave me 350. I would rather underestimate my calories then overestimate and not lose weight. I see a lot of people that are having an extra 600-700 calories a day because MFP said they were doing more than they actually were.

    I also agree with what she said in another post. I would rather say on track and have a beer here and there than not eat my calories, get frustrated and then just quit it all together.
  • lucan07
    lucan07 Posts: 509
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    If you are hungry eat them back.

    YES THIS!.. i do this .. some days im really hungry.. other days i could care less.. just depends on how i feal

    ^This^ I refuse to eat for the sake of eating it makes a mockery of trying to lose weight and get fit the reason I am here!

    How does using a tool as designed make a mockery of anything? That's like saying driving nails with a hammer makes a mockery of driving nails...makes zero sense. I think it's funny how all of you use this tool yet you think it's trying to sabotage you or something when it comes to exercise calories...srsly...this tool is really friggin' easy to understand and use properly and in my experience, using a tool as designed ultimately yields the best results. I mean...you could drive a screw with a hammer but a screw driver would ultimately yield better results....

    It is a guide not a gospel, I have seen diaries where people are binge eating junk late evening to supposedly eat these calories, to me its an excuse to binge you do not need 3 or 4 puddings and cake for a meal because you did a bit of work, that is a mockery you do not need it. I use the app/guide in the way it works for me, it does not take account of the amount of bowel I lost to cancer or many other variables, I also ignore the minimum 1200 nett calories on medical advice. And its nothing to do with sabotaging me, its to do with common sense, eating for the sake of eating is not sensible if you do not need or want the food.
  • gman94568
    gman94568 Posts: 12 Member
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    I think for most people, exercise is not consistent. I do a ~1000 calorie workout 2 - 5X weekly. I choose not to eat back my calories but if I did I would try to average them over the week. I don't want to be eating 1700 calories on days I don't exercise and then 2700 calories on the days I do.

    I have heard people use their exercise calories to limit their alcohol intake. No exercise, no drinks. Of course I am not sure I need 1000 calories of alcohol on the days I work out.

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