Why eat back calories?

Sorendain88
Sorendain88 Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
Confused on why I need to eat back the calories I just burned working out?

Replies

  • ruthejp13
    ruthejp13 Posts: 213 Member
    You don't. If you have enough fat on your body and eat enough food to get your daily nutrients, don't eat your exercise calories back. However, if you are burning 2000 extra calories a day working out hard, you need to up your protein and eat enough fat or carbs to keep you from starving. Most people will suggest only eating back half your calories (in this example 1000 calories).
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    Because your body needs fuel even when you're losing. Not enough fuel...it starts using muscle instead of fat to try to keep surviving. So, sure, under-eat. Its your body. You can treat it badly if you want to....
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    You eat your calories back to properly fuel your workouts. Exercise is for fitness and health, not weight loss. If you don't eat enough, your performance starts to suffer, you risk injury, and you are basically wasting your time working out. Most people eat back 50-75% of their exercise calories, because MFP's calorie burns are higher than they should be and that little extra wiggle room in calories makes up for logging errors and incorrect calorie estimations.
  • psych101
    psych101 Posts: 1,842 Member
    You eat your calories back to properly fuel your workouts. Exercise is for fitness and health, not weight loss. If you don't eat enough, your performance starts to suffer, you risk injury, and you are basically wasting your time working out. Most people eat back 50-75% of their exercise calories, because MFP's calorie burns are higher than they should be and that little extra wiggle room in calories makes up for logging errors and incorrect calorie estimations.

    This is a great answer
  • Sorendain88
    Sorendain88 Posts: 3
    Thank you
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    I don't. I don't even log my workouts. I eat at a calorie level that allows me to lose ~1lb/week. This calorie level takes into account my average calorie burn from exercising.

    Allan
  • alexuh
    alexuh Posts: 108 Member
    Assuming you're losing weight, because MFP has already created a big enough deficit - they're like free calories, why not eat them?! :drinker:
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    Here's the simplest way I can put it:

    If you're using MFP settings, you should eat your exercise calories back, because that's how MFP is designed.

    Let's say you need 2000 NET calories in order to reach your goal. You eat 2000 calories. Then you go exercise and burn 500 calories. Now your NET intake is 1500 calories. Since you'll reach your goal at 2000 calories, you need to bring your NET back up to your goal by eating an additional 500 calories.

    If you're using TDEE, then you don't eat your exercise calories back, because those are already factored into the number they give you. Your TDEE - 20% should be higher than MFP recommendations.

    Get it?

    [FWIW, I eat back my exercise calories on weekends so I don't have to be as strict as long as I stay under my weekly goal. Last weekend, I mentioned that to my mother-in-law. She laughed like it was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard. She said, "why work out at all if you're just going to eat those calories back?" Uh, so I can eat more calories? People really have no clue...]
  • brendawisdom9
    brendawisdom9 Posts: 1
    I have always wondered this myself
  • DrJenO
    DrJenO Posts: 404 Member
    Because food is delicious?

    I'm seriously excited about the glass of bourbon I get to have with dinner tonight because I got up at 5:30 to exercise.
  • Abi198111
    Abi198111 Posts: 76 Member
    It's already been said, but I'll say it again as simply as I can. I'll use myself as an example...

    I want to lose 1lb per week, so MFP has given me a calorie goal of 1320. If I eat 1320 calories a day and do NO exercise I will lose 1lb per week. If I workout and burn 500 calories and don't eat them back, in effect I have only eaten 820 calories for that day and that is not enough to be healthy and feel good. So I eat back my 500 calories to reach my goal of 1320.

    Quite simple really.

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