Eat back calories burned!?

pricilla325
pricilla325 Posts: 4
in Food and Nutrition
Hey
Just a quick question. is it bad to eat back calories burned? i feel bad if i do. I eat 1200 calories a day and i burned 1000 a workout.

Replies

  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    MFP wouldn't add them in if you weren't supposed to eat them now would they? Especially if you're only eating 1200 a day - definitely eat at least some of them back. Just be careful you're calculating your calories burned correctly - I for one could never burn 1,000 in a workout - but I realize everyone is different.
  • rachrach7595
    rachrach7595 Posts: 151 Member
    Great burn!

    Yes your supposed to eat them back.
    Loads of threads about that one topic in particular :) Lots of pro and against... there is even a thread in success stories who are dedicated to people who ate them back and succeeded.

    Personally I eat some of them. If your hungry, especially at 1200 with that kind of burn, eat!

    Do a search of the forum and pick apart what everyone says.

    Good luck
  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
    Burning 1,000 calories is quite a feat so firstly you need to make sure that your burn estimates are accurate.

    If you are weighing/measuring everything you eat/drink then yes this site is designed for you to eat them back.

    Because exercise calories are easily overestimated I would start by eating 50% back for a week or two and see how that affects your weight loss. If you lose more than your goal then eat back more if you hit your goal then continue with eating 50% back
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    You'll start feeling physically bad if you don't eat at least some of them back. MFP is designed around consuming a net caloric goal and does not include exercise calories when making its calculations.

    The big questions your post generates are
    1. How did you come to the 1200 calorie intake goal?
    2. Are you measuring everything you eat to ensure your intake is as accurate as possible or are you eyeballing and estimating portions?
    3. How did you estimate your exercise burn?
    4. Exactly what did you do for your exercise?
  • kosuski
    kosuski Posts: 62 Member
    Some days I do, some days I don't. It just depends on the day--I try to leave as many as I can but sometimes I'm starving after my workouts and need a little more food. I try to have some nuts premeasured out, fruit and veggies washed and chopped up so if I do need some more to eat I can make healthy choices. I have to say kudos to you if your only eating 1200 calories and buring 1000 of them working out--I would literally pass out and die. I try to end my day with at least 200 calories left over--but I don't think I've ever left more than prob 400-450.
  • Sophie_UK
    Sophie_UK Posts: 31 Member
    I don't eat mine back. But I've calculated my calorie deficit based on the fact I do 3 work outs a week, so I add them to my diary but I don't eat back the extra calories.

    Are you positive you burned 1000 calories? I think MFP and gym machines overestimate the amount of calories burnt. Using a heart rate monitor and calculating it accurately would be the best way to know, if you wanted to eat them back.
  • Sophie_UK
    Sophie_UK Posts: 31 Member
    You'll start feeling physically bad if you don't eat at least some of them back. MFP is designed around consuming a net caloric goal and does not include exercise calories when making its calculations.

    The big questions your post generates are
    1. How did you come to the 1200 calorie intake goal?
    2. Are you measuring everything you eat to ensure your intake is as accurate as possible or are you eyeballing and estimating portions?
    3. How did you estimate your exercise burn?
    4. Exactly what did you do for your exercise?

    Number 2. is especially important - When I started using digital scales instead of my old ones/guessing I found I was grossly underestimating the weight of some foods and overestimating others.

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