Does anyone not log their exercise on here?

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I am thinking about not logging it. The reason being that I have noticed it has added the calories I burnt onto my calorie intake total for the day, so I can eat more if I want to. But, I dont want to eat more that my recommended intake.

To me the exercise is a bonus to help shed the pounds a little quicker, to then eat the calories seems pointless. I am thinking of just making a note in my diary of what exercise I have done to keep a bit of a track of it.

What do the rest of you do?

Replies

  • SoldierDad
    SoldierDad Posts: 1,602
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    I used to not log it.
  • PJilly
    PJilly Posts: 21,727 Member
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    I don't log mine, but I eat my exercise calories. I figure out how many calories I'll burn in a week of workouts, and then I add the average of those calories to my daily nutritional goals. I find it's easier to plan my meals when I eat the same number of calories each day rather than a bunch more on heavier workout days and no exercise calories on rest days.
  • MissKaylaDawn
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    I usually don't, for the same reason. The only times I really do is when I am running really low on calories for the day.

    -Kayla
  • Adsnwfld
    Adsnwfld Posts: 262 Member
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    I log cardio, but try to always stay under the no exercise number of calories for a day also.
    I do it to keep me motivated and accountable to myself.
  • LivingFitNC
    LivingFitNC Posts: 18 Member
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    I don't log mine for two reasons:
    1) I have a set ratio goal that I programmed into my macronutrients and adding exercise ups my intake and messes with my numbers
    2) I don't specifically eat my exercise calories, I eat the calories calculated based on my measured RMR (measured by a machine, not equation) and activity level so it is already factored in. My RMR was unfortunately about 200 calories less than it should be so it throws off the equation used on MFP

    You just want to make sure that you're not sticking to some arbitrary number and sabotaging your weight loss by exercising too much without fueling yourself enough to recover from it.
  • darlene98
    darlene98 Posts: 49 Member
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    You want to make sure that your are eating more of your exercise calories when you workout. If not your body will go in starvation mode and you won't lose weight. Now I worked out this morning and now I have and extra 900 calories. Of course I'm not going to use all of them but you will find that your body is going to require more calories because you metabolism is increasing. I try and wait till the end of the day and see how my body feels. If I'm hungry, I will eat a snack at the end of the night (healthy of course!) My trainer often tells me that I have to increase my calories in order to lose the desired weight I wanted. Hope this helps!:smile:
  • ProTFitness
    ProTFitness Posts: 1,379 Member
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    Yes I exercise at least 6 days and I log it. THose are exercise calories. It adds calories because that is what your body needs. It needs some of those back. Your body requires more calories the more acitve you are or the more you exercise. It is about the math. Read this article maybe it will help you understand better. myfitnesspal uses the Mifflin-St Jeor. So it is lower then this formula. I use this formula and most trainers do. PLEASE READ


    Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) Calculator
    By Dennis Thompson Jr.

    Medically reviewed by Cynthia Haines, MD You burn most of your daily calories with little to no conscious effort. Whether you're talking on the phone, working at a keyboard, or just watching television, your body is burning calories to keep your heart pumping, your lungs expanding and contracting, and your organs functioning. The calories used to maintain these basic bodily functions add up to your basal metabolic rate, or BMR. Basal essentially means base — think of it as the number of calories that are just enough to cover all your body’s bases.

    "These are what I call your couch-potato calories," says dietitian Sari Greaves, RD, CDN, of Step Ahead Weight Loss Center in Bedminster, N.J,. and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "It amounts to 60 to 75 percent of the total calories you use daily, and there's no physical activity required for this."

    In other words, this is what you burn without lifting a finger. That’s why BMR is also is called the resting metabolic rate, or RMR, by some.

    Knowing your BMR can help you create a more effective strategy for weight loss, allowing you to better keep your calorie count on track and better understand the effect exercise will have on your waistline.

    Calculating Your BMR

    The easiest way to measure your BMR is to use an online calculator, like the one at My Calorie Counter. This calculator factors in your height, weight, gender, and age, and activity level, then assesses how many calories you need to eat daily just to maintain your current weight.
    You can do the math yourself, using the appropriate equation:

    • If you’re a man, your BMR is equal to: 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years). For example, if you’re 170 pounds, 5’11”, and 43, your BMR is 66 + (6.23 x 170) + (12.7 x 71) – (6.8 x 43) = 1734.4 calories.
    • If you’re a woman, your BMR is equal to: 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years). For example, if you’re 130 pounds, 5’3”, and 36, your BMR is 665 + (4.35 x 130) + (4.7 x 63) – (4.7 x 36) = 1357.4 calories.
    Next figure out your total daily calorie requirement by multiplying your BMR by your level of activity:
    • If you rarely exercise, multiply your BMR by 1.2.
    • If you exercise on 1 to 3 days per week, doing light activity, multiply your BMR by 1.375.
    • If you exercise on 3 to 5 days per week, doing moderate activity, multiply your BMR by 1.55.
    • If you exercise 6 to 7 days per week, doing vigorous activity, multiply your BMR by 1.725.
    • If you exercise every day and have a physical job or if you often exercise twice a day, multiply your BMR by 1.9.

    If the man in the example exercises 3 days a week, doing moderate activity, his daily caloric requirement is 1734.4 x 1.55, or 2688.3 calories.

    If the woman in the example exercises 6 days a week, her daily caloric requirement is 1357.4 x 1.725, or 2342.5 calories.

    This calculation gives you the number of calories you burn in one day at your current level of activity; in other words, this is the number of calories it takes to stay at the weight you are if you don’t change anything.

    Applying Your BMR Calculation to Weight Loss


    Once you know your BMR and the number of calories you burn for your activity level, you can improve your weight-loss efforts by setting a lower daily calorie-intake limit and crafting a plan for increasing your physical activity:

    Set your daily calorie limit. To lose weight, you need to reduce your caloric intake below your total daily calorie requirement indicated by your BMR + activity level. Putting yourself in a 500-calorie deficit every day should result in the loss of one pound per week (since there are 3,500 calories in a pound), Greaves says.

    Adjust your exercise output. Our BMR calculator asks you for your level of physical activity for a very good reason. You can influence your BMR through exercise, spurring your body to burn more calories even after you’ve finished and are just lounging about.

    • Aerobic exercise provides a temporary boost to your BMR, an effect sometimes referred to as after-burn or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, says Noelle Lusardi, a certified personal fitness trainer who also works at the Step Ahead Weight Loss Center in Bedminster, N.J. Your BMR will return back to its normal level anywhere between 15 minutes and 48 hours.

    • Strength training provides a more-lasting boost to BMR by altering your body's composition. Muscle at rest burns more calories than fat at rest. That's why men enjoy a naturally higher BMR than women, as they tend to have more muscle mass, Greaves explains.

    • If you cut calories and increase your BMR by exercising, you’ll see results even faster. Increase the amount of calories you burn by 250 each day, and you’ll lose a half-pound more on top of the calorie cuts made in your diet. You could exercise longer or you could increase the intensity of your workouts to burn more calories — either way will increase the calorie deficit.

    The advantage of knowing your BMR is that you can learn the number of calories you need to consume and expend to meet your personal goal for weight loss.
  • rokikio
    rokikio Posts: 92
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    I always log my exercises because I like to see my activity when I run the reports. I already have it memorized in my mind what I can eat for the day without the extra exercise calories or you can always go to the goal tab if you forget.

    Plus when I submit my food diary I like the result calculation to show me an accurate possible weight loss for the next 5 weeks. It keeps me motivated.

    But everyone does MFP differently and that is why it works for so many people.
  • racharla
    racharla Posts: 92 Member
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    I am allowed to take 1950 cal without excercise... I log my excercise too... but see that I dont go over my regular 1950.... and above all logging the excercise details helps me when it says " if everyday were like today then you would weigh **** pounds in five weeks " when I complete my food diary everyday... It motivates me to work out more :)
  • melizerd
    melizerd Posts: 870 Member
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    I log my exercise at the end of the day and don't eat my calories back hardly ever, if I do I never eat more than half of them back. I also don't feel hungry or deprived of anything though so that's important too.
  • leslielove
    leslielove Posts: 251 Member
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    When you log exercise it adds calories on to your limit to get you back up to your lowest recommended net calorie intake. Not logging exercise or not eating some/all of those calories back can actually impede weight loss by putting you into too much of a deficit. Keep an eye on what you're taking in and if your weight loss slows down you'll want to start logging your workouts and eating some, if not all, of those calories back.
  • thomasvision
    thomasvision Posts: 129 Member
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    Hey,

    The reason why it adds additional calories is because you worked out and your body now needs the additional energy. I am not sure if you ever watched the biggest loser but the trainers always get on the contestants for "not" eating enough. When you work out you have to eat more or your body will think its starving and retain fat!

    Plain and simple you have to eat to lose weight. So my suggestion is to yes, keep adding your work outs and if it tell you to eat more Definitely EAT. The Harder I work out the more I eat (good foods of course).

    P.S. when every I hit a wall and have a week where I don't lose weight I actually add more calories to my diet the next week and that actually speeds up my metabolism. A lot of books and magazines I have read definitely back this up. I lost 50 lbs last year and I did that by exercising and eating enough to fuel my body.

    Hope this helps!
  • Ready2lose4ever
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    I log it but I don't eat the exercise calories b/c I am working with my doctor to lose weight and she told me not to eat the exercise calories even though there is already a calorie deficet set by MFP. I also don't go by the calories that MFP has set for me. I eat 1600 a day also recommended by my doctor.
  • jacj46
    jacj46 Posts: 46
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    I created a food / meal called self padding - 1 serving equals 100 cals. .... if I burn 200 cals exercising ... now I can use my created meal / food to use some of it or let it slide ...
  • jimmydeanbakker
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    It would be better if you learned about how MFP comes up with all its calculations, and you will see why it's a good idea to consume those exercise calories. Remember, the weight-loss comes from a calorie restrictive diet, not the exercises.
  • WTFitness
    WTFitness Posts: 77 Member
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    I don't log the calories I burn from my P90X workouts, partly because I don't know what they are. I'm aware of ballpark figures, but I don't wear a HRM. I was going to buy one before, but then I realized it won't make a difference to me if I know exactly how many calories I'm burning, because I feel as though I always "bring it" during my workouts.
    Besides, I obsess enough already over logging food, so it's probably better that I don't become a slave to the exercise cals, too. I'll eat if I'm hungry :)
  • tashie76
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    Thank you guys, some really helpful information there. x