to eat back or not to eat back

the whole issue confuses me, do i need to eat back and if so how much - im on a sedentry activity level if i dont exercise, I am classed as obese (bmi) and my body fat is at 43%.. oh and my bmr is 1722..... what do people suggest..

Replies

  • SharonNehring
    SharonNehring Posts: 535 Member
    I've seen a lot of differing answers to this here. The consensus seems to be that MFP tends to over estimate calorie burn and if you're not measuring everything, then we tend to under estimate some food times.

    Given both, the usual suggestion is to try eating half the calories burned and see what results you get. You can then adjust from there until you are getting the results you want.
  • lasombrs
    lasombrs Posts: 30
    I would think you don't want to eat back every single one or what was the point of exercising. Just I wouldn't leave yourself starving after a workout either. Eat if you feel you need to is what I have been going by
  • tonileigh820
    tonileigh820 Posts: 761 Member
    I only eat back my exercise calories if I am still hungry and all my daily cals are gone. Otherwise, I never eat them back.
  • 1skinnysouthernchick
    1skinnysouthernchick Posts: 24 Member
    I don't eat back calories unless I had a special event happening, like a birthday, anniversary, some type of celebration. I usually use the cals on a Saturday night if we go to a movie or go out to eat. But I also eat light all day so I'll have extra calories too. I always think, "do I want to lose more weight now or later"?
  • lisatrish
    lisatrish Posts: 123 Member
    I try to stick to my daily allowance of calories and if I'm still hungry or want a special treat every now and then I will eat some of my exercise calories back.
  • I've been confused on this too, having read that if you don't eat enough it'll slow down or stop weight loss.
  • zeal26
    zeal26 Posts: 602 Member
    I eat them back. To be honest the only reason I exercise a lot of days is so I can eat more. It doesn't seem to have affected my weight loss. But I eat a low amount of calories in the first place (1200) so if my exercise calories are overestimated I don't think it matters much.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    I eat back at least half. To me, there's no point to exercising if you aren't going to fuel body properly, especially since the reason for exercise is to make sure my body looks good when the weight comes off. Not eating them back would be a waste of my time and hard work.
  • sabrina19782014
    sabrina19782014 Posts: 50 Member
    thanks ladies :)
  • Kimsoontobe
    Kimsoontobe Posts: 110 Member
    Bump to read later.
  • pgray1229
    pgray1229 Posts: 4 Member
    I don't eat back my calories. IDK why, I just don't and I haven't my entire journey.
  • Cynner2007
    Cynner2007 Posts: 46 Member
    Thank you for bringing this up. I lost weight when I was not exercising but staying within my calorie guidelines. I have not lost any weight since I have begun exercising and eating those calories back. I think I am going to try not eating them back or using them for a special meal.
  • paula5077
    paula5077 Posts: 57
    I try NOT to eat back my calories unless I really over worked myself through out the day. I think it's more of a "to each it's own" type thing.
  • ALNoog
    ALNoog Posts: 413 Member
    I never eat mine back.