Calories gained from exercise

donnah19882013
donnah19882013 Posts: 16
in Getting Started
Hi,

Should I eat all of the calories which I burn off during exercise each day?

For example, I am on the 1200 calorie diet plan. If I was to burn off 600 calories in the gym should I eat 1800 calories or can I still stick to the 1200?

Thanks!

Replies

  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    You should eat most if not all of them back. Someone will come explain the intricacies of exactly why - it has to do with not creating too large a deficit (1200 being already a very large deficit, then if you take away 600 more your "net" or what your body gets to try to survive on, is only 600 and that's severely not enough). If you're getting the 600 number out of MFP's database of exercises and the amount burned for each, you do need to be aware that MFP grossly over-estimates the number of calories burned for most everything. So if you want to be "on the safe side" you could eat back just 1/2 to 2/3 of the calories burned - in this example, 300-400 instead of eating back the whole 600. But do always try to eat back at least some!
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    If you're trying to follow MFP as it was designed to work, then yes you should eat those extra calories back. MFP gives you a calorie target based on the information you give it. The goal is based on your declared activity level that includes your normal daily movements, but does not include planned workouts. That goal has a calorie deficit already built into it. So, it gives you that goal based on the assumption that you will add any additional calories burned and eat those back. Otherwise your calorie deficit might be too aggressive, too large to be sustainable or healthy. Adding those exercise calories brings it back to the original deficit recommended by MFP.

    One thing to be aware of is that estimations of calories burned can be inaccurate, so a lot of people prefer to eat, say, 2/3 of those calories back, to leave room for error.

    Also, take a look at this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf

    Editing to add: if your ticker is accurate and you only have 20 lbs to lose, losing 2 lbs a week would be very aggressive and you would risk losing too much lean mass. That is more for people who are obese. Hopefully you didn't choose the "2 lbs a week" option which is usually what people do when they end up with 1200 calories a day to eat. Or, maybe you have more to lose and that's a mini goal on your ticker?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    That's the way myfitnesspal works - the deficit you have ignores any exercise you do so if you exercise on top of that deficit you will be netting very low calorie amounts.

    As you don't have a lot of weight to lose you really should be eating them back. It makes dieting much easier and will also make the transition to maintenance much easier once you hit your goal weight.

    Have a read of this if you want a fuller explanation:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
  • donnah19882013
    donnah19882013 Posts: 16
    Thank you that has been a great help and the post on the link that you sent explains it a lot more.

    I do have 20 pounds to lose.... I think I will take your advice and lower the weekly weight loss to 1 pound a week and then also eat back most of the calories burned during exercise.

    I use the calorie counts on the machines at the gym and not sure how accurate they are.. Surely the amount of calories that you actually burn would be affected by how much you weigh?!
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    I use the calorie counts on the machines at the gym and not sure how accurate they are.. Surely the amount of calories that you actually burn would be affected by how much you weigh?!

    Weight does make a huge difference to calorie burns. People get a bit hung up on accuracy which in truth is very hard to achieve for either calories in or calories out. Would recommend using a digital food scale and weighing everything to address the accuracy of intake.

    For calories burned consistency and adjusting your calories based on actual weight loss results works well. There are loads of online calculators if you want to compare estimates (pretty accurate for walking and running). Heart rate monitors can help with consistency of estimates for cardio but aren't required by any means.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I use the calorie counts on the machines at the gym and not sure how accurate they are.. Surely the amount of calories that you actually burn would be affected by how much you weigh?!

    Weight does make a huge difference to calorie burns. People get a bit hung up on accuracy which in truth is very hard to achieve for either calories in or calories out. Would recommend using a digital food scale and weighing everything to address the accuracy of intake.

    For calories burned consistency and adjusting your calories based on actual weight loss results works well. There are loads of online calculators if you want to compare estimates (pretty accurate for walking and running). Heart rate monitors can help with consistency of estimates for cardio but aren't required by any means.
    I agree with this advice. I would go what the machines say, be as accurate as you can about your intake, eat most of your calories back. Evaluate your progress over a few weeks and if you aren't losing about 1lb a week, you can adjust your intake accordingly.

    You can also use the MFP exercise database to estimate your burn, as that does take your weight into account. Just be warned that many people find the database overestimates their burn (I found it tends to underestimate mine on some things) but it gives you another estimation to compare to the gym machines.
  • Anonycatgirl
    Anonycatgirl Posts: 502 Member
    Wish I'd seen this earlier. Had a couple of days this week when I was feeling a bit woozy and I think it was because I was gamely NOT eating back my exercise calories. I mean it was a kick to lose two pounds in my first week when I was aiming for .5, but probably not a good idea in the long run.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    I use the calorie counts on the machines at the gym and not sure how accurate they are.. Surely the amount of calories that you actually burn would be affected by how much you weigh?!

    Cut them in half, as a starting point. The scale - and your ability to exercise vigorously - will quickly tell you if that isn't enough.

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