eating exercise calories

nelle0706
nelle0706 Posts: 2 Member
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
do you have to eat calories you have burned?

Replies

  • cararainey
    cararainey Posts: 1
    No. They're just le-way calories. I never eat mine!! It's if you REALLY want that beer and pizza one night, it's okay! :)
  • TabiHerbalifeCoach
    TabiHerbalifeCoach Posts: 691 Member
    This is a highly debated topic. If you search the forums you will find a wealth of information on it. The bottom line is , if you are eating the bare min, ie 1200 for femals and 1500 for males then yes you need to eat most of them back, however if you are eating higher calories its less of a need to eat them back. also when eating them back don't eat all of them because mpf doesn't subjact the calories you would have normally burned during the exercise period, so I always try to leave a some extra at the end of the day.
  • Yasmine91
    Yasmine91 Posts: 599 Member
    I personally don't like the idea of eating excersise calories because to me it's like I worked hard for nothing. Since it is said that we need to eat less and excersise more to lose weight, then I can't eat them

    I think you can maybe eat a bit of your excersise calories, it depends on how much you are eating. For example I have to eat 1350 calories, if I excersise and burn off 500, then I have to eat the amount it takes for me to get to 1200 or else I will put my body in starvation mode.
  • 4lafz
    4lafz Posts: 1,078 Member
    Depends how you feel. Don't go below 1200 and eat some of the exercise calories if you are really hungry. Listen to your body - test it different ways different weeks and see what works. I generally eat up to a couple hundred a day and it's working for me :-)
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    So the thing is, if you want to follow the plan the MFP lays out, then yes, you should eat your exercise calories. MFP already calculates in a deficit, eating your exercise calories KEEPS you at that deficit. Not eating them enlarges the deficit. In some cases, usually if you have a lot of weight to lose (I.E. if you're in the obese range), you can afford to do this without serious ill effects, but the less weight you have to lose, the smaller the margin for error is with this thinking. People who think that eating your exercise calories is "cheating" just either don't understand how MFP works, or they haven't been able to shake the old way of thinking (I.E. the bigger my deficit, the more I lose).

    Creating a large deficit for someone without a lot of weight to lose eventually tells the body to conserve calories any way it can, this means it will kick the canabalization process of low use (dormant) muscle into high gear, it will also prioritize fat storage. The big question you hear is "will I stop losing weight?" and the answer is no, you won't. But you'll probably lose less than you would otherwise, and you'll probably be burning lean tissue (muscle). And contrary to what some on here say, your body doesn't wait until you are down to a really low fat % before it begins burning muscle, it's ALWAYS attempting to discard unused muscle mass, the only variation is of degree, I.E. someone with a moderate deficit who works out, has more active muscle, which will inhibit the body's ability to burn muscle mass, thus keeping your fat free mass higher.

    Basically MFP is trying to teach you how to keep your weight loss healthy and train you for long term success. Studies prove that "crash" diets (I.E. large deficit diets) fail for a variety of reasons. The idea is to eat healthy, have a moderate deficit, slowly improving your body, and thus giving your body and your mind time to adapt to the changes. This way you can seamlessly transition into a maintenance schedule instead of the old Diet,gain,diet,gain yoyo that so many people go through.
  • TabiHerbalifeCoach
    TabiHerbalifeCoach Posts: 691 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    check out this link it has a lot of information that is good, but also just search in the forum eating exercise calories , as I said its highly debated, you have to do what works for you and what is healthy. If you eat less than 1200 calories you will loose weight cause your body will start consuming your muscle for energy, and if that goes on long enough other much worse things could happen. so just make sure at the end of the day your body is getting at least 1200 calories.
  • mzenzer
    mzenzer Posts: 503 Member
    Lol I was tracking down this post from you when I came back to see you just posted. But here it is anyway some good basic formulas in it.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits?hl=banks+calorie+deficit
  • binary_jester
    binary_jester Posts: 3,311 Member
    Type A coming through

    Finally to get it though my head, I had to create a spread sheet. I put in my BMR, minutes exercised and calories from my HRM for my exercise. It calculates my calories minus my BMR. Then I put in my calories consumed for the day and it gives me my net calories. Since my number will be different than MFP, I put in my weekly goal of 8400 (because I want to net calories each day to be 1200) and it will automatically calculate my daily totals.

    http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j229/binary_jester/Misc/Calculator.jpg

    yeah...I need a life.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    Type A coming through

    Finally to get it though my head, I had to create a spread sheet. I put in my BMR, minutes exercised and calories from my HRM for my exercise. It calculates my calories minus my BMR. Then I put in my calories consumed for the day and it gives me my net calories. Since my number will be different than MFP, I put in my weekly goal of 8400 (because I want to net calories each day to be 1200) and it will automatically calculate my daily totals.

    http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j229/binary_jester/Misc/Calculator.jpg

    yeah...I need a life.

    I'm just curious, why did you choose 1200. That's the female floor for calories (generically). Did you do some specific calculation that came out to 1200 net? that's really low for most guys unless you have some specific reasoning for it.
  • binary_jester
    binary_jester Posts: 3,311 Member
    Type A coming through

    Finally to get it though my head, I had to create a spread sheet. I put in my BMR, minutes exercised and calories from my HRM for my exercise. It calculates my calories minus my BMR. Then I put in my calories consumed for the day and it gives me my net calories. Since my number will be different than MFP, I put in my weekly goal of 8400 (because I want to net calories each day to be 1200) and it will automatically calculate my daily totals.

    http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j229/binary_jester/Misc/Calculator.jpg

    yeah...I need a life.

    I'm just curious, why did you choose 1200. That's the female floor for calories (generically). Did you do some specific calculation that came out to 1200 net? that's really low for most guys unless you have some specific reasoning for it.
    Umm because I am an over-achiever? Honestly I was trying to stay between 1000-1200 calories.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    Umm because I am an over-achiever? Honestly I was trying to stay between 1000-1200 calories.

    I only mention it because it's really low for a guy (it would be like a woman eating a 700 or 800 calorie net diet). That's all, you might run into serious muscle mass loss as your weight starts to drop. Just letting you know. Best of luck to you.
  • binary_jester
    binary_jester Posts: 3,311 Member
    Umm because I am an over-achiever? Honestly I was trying to stay between 1000-1200 calories.

    I only mention it because it's really low for a guy (it would be like a woman eating a 700 or 800 calorie net diet). That's all, you might run into serious muscle mass loss as your weight starts to drop. Just letting you know. Best of luck to you.
    Actually I changed after reading your calorie deficit post...but I may have misinterpreted. What do you suggest for a chunky spam-filled hawaiian?
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    Umm because I am an over-achiever? Honestly I was trying to stay between 1000-1200 calories.

    I only mention it because it's really low for a guy (it would be like a woman eating a 700 or 800 calorie net diet). That's all, you might run into serious muscle mass loss as your weight starts to drop. Just letting you know. Best of luck to you.
    Actually I changed after reading your calorie deficit post...but I may have misinterpreted. What do you suggest for a chunky spam-filled hawaiian?

    it depends, I don't know your situation, that's why I asked originally. if you're considered obese, then you could probably get away with a larger than 2 lb a week deficit. But if you're of a normal height (I.E. between 5'5" and 6'5" ) and do a modicum of activity and don't have some kind of medical condition, then your TDEE is probably somewhere between 2500 and 3300, that would make the minimum net between 1500 and 1800, but these are just guesses, if I knew what your maintenance calories were and your Body fat % (or your BMI if you don't have BF% available) then I'd be able to give a more precise guess. In some cases, guys who are big (tall) and obese or morbidly obese can go well beyond 2 lbs a week, just because their total mass is so high that they have plenty of energy reserves to draw on, but this usually still falls around or above the 1600 calorie minimum set for guys.
  • binary_jester
    binary_jester Posts: 3,311 Member
    Umm because I am an over-achiever? Honestly I was trying to stay between 1000-1200 calories.

    I only mention it because it's really low for a guy (it would be like a woman eating a 700 or 800 calorie net diet). That's all, you might run into serious muscle mass loss as your weight starts to drop. Just letting you know. Best of luck to you.
    Actually I changed after reading your calorie deficit post...but I may have misinterpreted. What do you suggest for a chunky spam-filled hawaiian?

    it depends, I don't know your situation, that's why I asked originally. if you're considered obese, then you could probably get away with a larger than 2 lb a week deficit. But if you're of a normal height (I.E. between 5'5" and 6'5" ) and do a modicum of activity and don't have some kind of medical condition, then your TDEE is probably somewhere between 2500 and 3300, that would make the minimum net between 1500 and 1800, but these are just guesses, if I knew what your maintenance calories were and your Body fat % (or your BMI if you don't have BF% available) then I'd be able to give a more precise guess. In some cases, guys who are big (tall) and obese or morbidly obese can go well beyond 2 lbs a week, just because their total mass is so high that they have plenty of energy reserves to draw on, but this usually still falls around or above the 1600 calorie minimum set for guys.
    BMI is 36%. Problem is I lift a lot, so that number might be skewed. I have calipers, just not practiced in using them. No medical condition and I work out usually 5 to 7 days a week.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    BMI is 36%. Problem is I lift a lot, so that number might be skewed. I have calipers, just not practiced in using them. No medical condition and I work out usually 5 to 7 days a week.

    BMI isn't a %, it's just a number (a ratio) that's just an FYI for you. First thing I would do is go have a BF% test done, maybe at a Bod Pod, or a hydrostatic test, or even call a few gyms and see if they have an experienced trainer that performs BF% testing. Bod pod and hydrostatic are usually between 50 and 75 dollars, and caliper tests are usually around 20 to 30 bucks (but are 3 or 4 % off usually). That's what I'd do, since you're right, BMI is less accurate for people with athletic builds. If your body fat % is up over 20 then you could probably go over 2 lbs a week. Anything under that, and you're gonna want to stay at or under two lbs.

    Please note, for anyone else reading this, this is only for males, women have different (higher) body fat %, generally women are perfectly fine at 20%, and can only go down to about 13% before it becomes dangerous, guys can get all the way down to about 6%.
  • binary_jester
    binary_jester Posts: 3,311 Member
    So I am good at 1200 or should I go higher? Sorry for being obtuse.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    what's your weight and height?
  • binary_jester
    binary_jester Posts: 3,311 Member
    237
    5'8"

    Yes I am a weeble wobble
  • YeaILift
    YeaILift Posts: 580 Member
    I eat all my exercise calories every single day and I have still averaged five pounds lost every month for the past four months. I see no reason not to eat them. You will still lose weight if you are honest about what you are eating and measuring (weighing) all your portions.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    237
    5'8"

    Yes I am a weeble wobble

    IMHO 1200 is to low. Your maintenance is about 2700, that means you'd have a deficit of almost 1700 a day, that's a huge deficit. I'd be ok with saying 1600 maybe, but 1200 is to low if you're asking my opinion. Obviously I'm not a dietitian so take my advice for what it's worth.
  • binary_jester
    binary_jester Posts: 3,311 Member
    237
    5'8"

    Yes I am a weeble wobble

    IMHO 1200 is to low. Your maintenance is about 2700, that means you'd have a deficit of almost 1700 a day, that's a huge deficit. I'd be ok with saying 1600 maybe, but 1200 is to low if you're asking my opinion. Obviously I'm not a dietitian so take my advice for what it's worth.
    It is all a matter of adjustment. I was having problems with 1200 net, so 1600 is equally good for me.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories