MFP and Eating Back Calories Question

qtoreh
qtoreh Posts: 5
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Quick Question;

Does MFP include the calories I burned from weight training?

In my profile I included that i'm ACTIVE and work out 5 days a week about an hour a day. All weight training. My goal is to gain weight. .5 a week.

MFP set my goal for 3090 calories. So If I weight train, and burn let says 200-400 calories in that hour; Does that mean I need to regain those calories to achieve my 3090 calorie goal or does MFP already counts for that and I don't worry about it?

I searched up this topic and there were mix responses and I became a bit confused Alot of the threads were about people who wanted a deficit in calories intake and were suggested to eat back the calories from workouts since MFP already include the deficit from not working out.

For me, I need the surplus since I have the opposite goal, which is to gain. So does MFP include my surplus after my work outs?

Here is what I used in my profile:

Weight: 160
Goal Weight: 170
Height: 6'0
Age: 20
ACTIVE (Most of my physical activity come from weight training and walking around casually.ex;chors,walking dog,walking to stores and etc. )
Weight train 5 days a week, 1 hour a day give or take.
Goal: Gain 0.5 pounds per week.

MFP Calorie intake goal: 3090

Thank you !

Replies

  • qtoreh
    qtoreh Posts: 5
    My TDEE is around 2700- 2800 and with a surplus of 250-300 that 3000-3100; which I got from MFP since I put myself as active. So it's safe to assume that I my calories I burn from lifting is included into my 3090 that MFP gave me? Since that what TDEE includes.
  • cwoyto123
    cwoyto123 Posts: 308
    Yes, it includes it.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    No it does not.
    But I would go back and re-do your numbers.

    MFP's activity modifiers are based on daily life, like your job, but do not factor in exercise. You need to keep that in mind when choosing which one.
    Then you log your exercise and it adds those calories in.

    You can run the numbers and see if they are close anyway, but MFP itself is designed to be a NEAT calculator - non exercise activity thermogenesis.
  • cwoyto123
    cwoyto123 Posts: 308
    No it does not.
    This is of course, not true.

    iifym.com uses the same formula to calculate calories as MFP.

    http://iifym.com/do-i-add-back-calories-i-burn-during-exercise/
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    No it does not.
    This is of course, not true.

    iifym.com uses the same formula to calculate calories as MFP.

    http://iifym.com/do-i-add-back-calories-i-burn-during-exercise/

    My TDEE calculations have always been higher than MFP before exercise.


    MFP's activity table

    How would you describe your normal daily activities?
    Sedentary: Spend most of the day sitting (e.g. bank teller, desk job)
    Lightly Active: Spend a good part of the day on your feet (e.g. teacher, salesman)
    Active: Spend a good part of the day doing some physical activity (e.g. waitress, mailman)
    Very Active: Spend most of the day doing heavy physical activity (e.g. bike messenger, carpenter)


    Plus the numerous responses by MFP staff in questions from people asking to turn off the added calorie feature makes me believe otherwise.


    If MFP calculates TDEE, why does it add back your exercise calories?

    I believe IIFYM figures TDEE. I do not get the same numbers on the two different calculators.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Hello,

    The net calorie system cannot be disabled and we caution our users to not use work arounds. If you are accurately recording food entries and caloric expenditure when exercising then the deficit built into your goal will allow you to lose up to two pounds a week which is what is considered a safe rate of weight loss. Additionally users are more likely to build better habits and not stray from their plan if the program is not overly severe(such as having an additional thousand calorie a day deficit in some instances).

    We set your nutritional target in Net Calories which we define as:

    Calories Consumed (Food) - Calories Burned (Exercise) = Net Calories

    What that means is that if you exercise, you will be able to eat more for that day. For example, if your Net Calorie goal is 2000 calories, one way to meet that goal is to eat 2,500 calories of food, but then burn 500 calories through exercise.

    Think of your Net Calories like a daily budget of calories to spend. You spend them by eating, and you earn more calories to eat by exercising.

    Through repetition you will get an idea for how many calories you will probably burn at the gym and most likely start planning your day and meals around those extra calories that your workout will garner.

    This system promotes slow and steady and is very successful when used.

    Regards,
    Scott
    MyFitnessPal Staff

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1024334-net-calories

    Also
    http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1026720-how-does-myfitnesspal-work-

    http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/410332-how-does-myfitnesspal-calculate-my-initial-goals-
  • qtoreh
    qtoreh Posts: 5
    Since my TDEE+ surplus (which is what im looking to have) is about equal to what my MFP has at the moment, should I just keep it as is?

    Even though I misunderstood the actively categories on MFP, it's luckly equaling to what my TDEE+ surplus is telling me what I should intake at the moment. So is it worth to change MFP and do the extra work of tracking my burnt calories and consuming them back? Sorry if i am being ignorant. Just trying to understand everything and know better.

    Also If it redo my MFP and keep track of my burnt calories from exercising , does that mean I do in fact have to eat back my used calories from weight training? Since my goal is to gain.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Since my TDEE+ surplus (which is what im looking to have) is about equal to what my MFP has at the moment, should I just keep it as is?

    Even though I misunderstood the actively categories on MFP, it's luckly equaling to what my TDEE+ surplus is telling me what I should intake at the moment. So is it worth to change MFP and do the extra work of tracking my burnt calories and consuming them back? Sorry if i am being ignorant. Just trying to understand everything and know better.

    Also If it redo my MFP and keep track of my burnt calories from exercising , does that mean I do in fact have to eat back my used calories from weight training? Since my goal is to gain.

    If it is the same, it doesn't make a difference. It is personal preference.

    For losing weight, I might switch. For gaining, I'd keep it the same. Personally.
  • qtoreh
    qtoreh Posts: 5
    Thanks for the help. Really appreciate it.

    Off topic;another question =P ;

    Sometimes even after reaching my calorie goal for the day and getting near/reaching my macros for the day, I still feel hungry tours around bedtime sometimes. Should I have a small snack even if it goes past my calorie count for the day? Or do I need to look at diet and see if im not reaching a proper amount of a nutrient? If so, what would that be?
  • mrschains
    mrschains Posts: 12
    Eat a healthy, protein packed snack at night. For gaining, eating is not a bad thing, but you want to gain muscle, not fat. Are you getting enough protein during the day? A peanut butter sandwich on whole grain bread is a great late night snack for anyone looking to gain weight. My roommate does weight training daily. He consumes an average of 4,000 calories a day just to maintain. He's not super intense with his workouts either. If you want to gain, you have to eat. You can't drink mass.

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