To eat or not to eat calories burned?

WAW26
WAW26 Posts: 17
in Getting Started
Hi.

What do people recommend....eating back calories burned or not???



Thanks

Karen
«1

Replies

  • cupcakefairy226
    cupcakefairy226 Posts: 2
    I tend not to, if for no other reason than because I can't be 100% sure about the accuracy of the calories burned read out either on here or on the machines at the gym.

    I do recommend restructuring your intake on days you work out though. I find that I get a more effective workout if I eat a small portion of complex carbs (a banana, some almonds and an apple, fruit and nut trail mix, etc., nothing over 200 calories) about 30 minutes before, and something with protein (chocolate milk, smoothie with protein, string cheese) within an hour after I finish (this helps with muscle soreness, especially the smoothie if I add a banana).

    If you find that your workout makes you especially hungry, try doing it closer to your bedtime or before a meal.
  • SuziQGettinFit
    SuziQGettinFit Posts: 28
    I usually aim for somewhere in between. Eat back maybe 50% of the burned calories.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    Me? 50% at the very least and 100% of them very often, and I have done ok I think.

    I HIGHLY recommend at least 50% of them!
  • eileen0515
    eileen0515 Posts: 408 Member
    I have had success eating some of them, maybe half. Eating some of them is great motivation to move more, however I don't use a HRM, so I am not convinced the different calculations are accurate, eating half has been pretty safe over my 70 pound loss.
  • DeterminedFee201426
    DeterminedFee201426 Posts: 859 Member
    iam just saying if your hungry eat back them calories dont sit back and let yourself be hungry .. its better than binge you keep cutting back it might hit there... allow yourself to eat 150-250 cals over i guess... iam advize ing only
  • Linnaea27
    Linnaea27 Posts: 639 Member
    I have been eating back most or sometimes all of my exercise calories and have lost 8.5 pounds in 3 months (out of 11 or so I needed to lose, with the "lose 0.5 lbs a week" option), using MFP's calorie estimator for exercises. I do sometimes adjust the time I enter in for the duration of an exercise so it's slightly less if the calorie estimate seems high. But generally doing something close to what it tells me I should be doing has worked well. I do suspect my metabolism is slightly faster than average, but really who knows!

    Do what you're comfortable with, but avoid having your net intake go lower than 1200 calories a day.
  • ChristineOlivarri
    ChristineOlivarri Posts: 62 Member
    I personally never do and I have seen fast results.
  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
    Yes. I love food.
  • 75barbie
    75barbie Posts: 12 Member
    I eat back every single one.
  • WAW26
    WAW26 Posts: 17
    Thanks.Might aim for eating some back depending on how hungry I am that day lol
  • lane112409
    lane112409 Posts: 28 Member
    The key is to not go below 1200 calories a day including exercising. Hope this help you. You will lose weight faster but then more then likely if you go below 1200 then you will gain it back.
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
    I usually try to eat at least half back. But, I am ALWAYS hungry. I drink tons of H2O. I even eat 5-6 smaller meals daily.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Please see here:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
  • iluvmpiche
    iluvmpiche Posts: 23
    I'd say it depends on your life-style. Calories are a measurement of energy, and the energy you don't use is saved for later in fat. Burn more than you consume is what most people stick to when trying to lose weight. If you're sedentary, then I would definitely NOT eat what you burned.
  • daviddjhonna
    daviddjhonna Posts: 85
    Hi.

    What do people recommend....eating back calories burned or not???



    Thanks

    Karen
    I try not to. It just gets confusing when trying to figure out how many calories where cut from your day. The side to that is you loose more weight faster than you planned. Once I lose my initial weight I may just eat back my calories from working out so that I can maintain.
  • scubasuenc
    scubasuenc Posts: 626 Member
    It really depends on how much you have to lose. When I started MFP my doctor recommended not eating back my exercise calories. As I lost weight and MFP lowered my base calorie amount, I found I needed to start eating back some of my exercise calories in order to have enough energy to recover from my workouts.

    Now I regularly eat about half of my exercise calories. Sometimes I will eat all of them. I don't plan my day that way, but if I am in a situation where I go 'off track' I will eat the rest of my exercise calories.
  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
    It depends on if you're doing the MFP method or not. If you do the method on here, you have a deficit built in and you should eat them back. If you're working an alternate method maybe not.

    For example I don't but I am not using MFP for losing weight. I am using it to track calories and macros. I am doing Intermittent Fasting. Specifically the 5:2, so my deficit in calories comes from my fasting days.

    It all depends where you're getting the deficit from.
  • actioncomics1
    actioncomics1 Posts: 58
    believe in the force young jedi and the truth will come
  • mistiblake08
    mistiblake08 Posts: 80 Member
    I eat my meals before I do my workouts. I generally take in between 1500-1800 calories a day and I'll burn off between 1600-1700 with y workout and what I burn at work. I've only had one day where I was at a deficit, but burning most of what I take in has helped me lose a lb in five days.
  • triskaidekaphile13
    triskaidekaphile13 Posts: 92 Member
    I've always eaten back nearly all my exercise calories. I'm now in maintenance having lost nearly 154lbs and it's a lifestyle change not a diet. I love food and exercise enables me to eat more. If I don't burn the calories, I don't eat them. This morning I ran 5K and so today I've got extra calories to eat. I use a FitBit to calculate my calories and find it really helpful.

    I've never really understood the not eating back calories. I cut my target deficit as I got closer to my goal so I could get used to eating more and now I average over 2,000 calories a day I don't find it a struggle but am successfully maintaining. I didn't put this weight on overnight and lost it slowly too. I believe that losing weight slowly and allowing your body to adjust is the way that works.
  • jennbuck22
    jennbuck22 Posts: 17 Member
    I work out for an hour a few days a week. The machines at the gym say I've worked off about 500 calories.

    "eating back"
    I just have a protein smoothie afterwards that I don't count towards my daily total
    These are anywhere from 200-260 calories depending on what I put in it
    Like other posters have said, make sure at least half a banana is in there
  • lili61
    lili61 Posts: 231 Member
    I work out 4x per week and tend to eat back about 50% of my exercise calories, sometimes more if I'm still hungry. On really tough workout days or when I'm feeling really fatigued, I may eat back about 75%.

    I don't really trust the calorie burns MFP gives and do not want to get an HRM or FitBit type device (I know I would become obsessed), and I am consistently dropping weight.
  • Hell_Flower
    Hell_Flower Posts: 348 Member
    I tend not to as I'm trying to lose.

    That said, if, for whatever reason, I feel manically hungry or just want a cupcake, then I'm not going to deprive myself.

    That happens rarely - probably because that 40 minutes at the gym was damn difficult and a treat just doesnt seem worth it.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    MFP is designed with a deficit in place already.
    If you're using an HRM for steady state cardio, it's still an estimate.. but a closer one than the database on MFP.

    That said; eat a portion of them back. Losing faster isn't necessarily the goal.
  • Frood42
    Frood42 Posts: 245 Member
    Well, as I cycle commute, I eat back my exercise calories to fuel my journeys to and from work.
    Imagine being on just "1200 calories" and cycling 40 miles a day, you would probably feel pretty low and crap after a time.

    However MFP has been setup to create a deficit for you, and has been setup so that you eat back your exercise calories, this is so that you maintain a steady deficit each day.

    MFP is really very simple.

    If you don't eat your exercise calories that is up to you, and at first you may well see a good loss of weight, but if you maintain a too big a deficit for too long, either you will find it harder and harder to maintain the deficit, or you will find it harder when you move into maintenance.
    .
  • JoshD8705
    JoshD8705 Posts: 390 Member
    I eat back enough that I don't go to sleep feeling hungry. If you don't feel unbearably hungry then don't worry about eating back calories. Just be aware you can have a nice snack or small meal. Aim for a protien instead of a fat, or carb. It won't change your weight loss, but it will help you heal faster.
  • brinabj
    brinabj Posts: 28
    most of the time i don't have time to eat them back i plan my meals and i normally workout in the evening sometimes before dinner sometimes after either way if i work out and burn 500 after dinner pretty soon its bed time for me and my family ... am i supposed to stuff my face with something just so i can eat back all the calories before bedtime even if i'm not hungry? No i do tend to eat more on the weekends so maybe that evens it out idk
  • ImaWaterBender
    ImaWaterBender Posts: 516 Member
    For now, as a person with a hundred pounds to lose, I hoard all of my exercise calories like a cat lady hoards tuna.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    MFP is designed with a deficit in place already.
    If you're using an HRM for steady state cardio, it's still an estimate.. but a closer one than the database on MFP.

    That said; eat a portion of them back. Losing faster isn't necessarily the goal.
    This.

    If you are using MFP correctly, then yes, you eat them back, at least a good portion of them. Otherwise you are creating a cavernous deficit for yourself, which can do your more harm than good in the long run, and generally isn't sustainable.

    Food is fuel - don't sell yourself short by under eating in hopes for quicker weight loss.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Hi.

    What do people recommend....eating back calories burned or not???

    Thanks

    Karen

    Depends..............

    Are you using MFP as designed? .......Then yes, because you already got your deficit BEFORE exercise.

    Are you using TDEE less a percent? ....Then no, because TDEE already includes exercise.


    MFP works for people can't/won't exercise.....as well as those who do. The reason for eating calories back is this....really large calorie deficits don't support existing muscle. This mean you lose fat + muscle. If you want a lower body fat %.....then eat back a portion of calories.....the portion part is difficult to ascertain, as calorie burns are hard to "guesstimate."

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