Exercise calories controversy ???

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ababygrace
ababygrace Posts: 123
in Health and Weight Loss
I keep think about these exercise calories and how you are suppose to eat them. I find it very controversial because I see some people that swear by it yet I see many people that constantly lose weight from not eating them. I know many people that have lost weight by eating right and walking/exercising while not having a clue about eating calories back. Trust me, I would want nothing more than to be able to eat more calories but everyone I ask such as professionals have never heard of this. SO now, I am more confused than ever. So far I have read the articles on MFP but other than that, what are other resources non-MFP that can back up this information?
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Replies

  • kelley4123
    kelley4123 Posts: 100 Member
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    Good point! I dont understand it either!
  • tracyodum
    tracyodum Posts: 12
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    I eat my excersize calories. I've lost 84 lbs. I say others may be losing weight however how long will it stay off is the correct question! You do what you think you need to do!
  • bgeer34
    bgeer34 Posts: 135 Member
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    I am also confused by this. My doctor suggests keeping calories the same and the more exercise the more you lose and has never told me to eat more if I exercise more. Weight watcher's "allows" you to eat more if you exercise more but only up to a certain amount and also tells you that you don't have to do it.

    Top this off with I watch the Biggest Loser and I know those are extreme conditions, but they are certainly not eating all their exercise calories back.... and they lose weight...

    I will be watching this thread to see the responses too :) Thanks for bringing it up.
  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
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    I think its best to go with what works best for you. For me, I don't eat my exercise calories--and it works!
  • sara_xo
    sara_xo Posts: 195 Member
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    I agree with this, I have had numerous personal trainers and am one myself now and I have NEVER heard of eating your calories back.

    The formula is Calories In - Calories Burnt = Calorie Deficet.

    What would the point be eating back all the calories you burnt off? Then you're back at square one. I could see if you wanted to Maintaine, then it would make sense, but if you want to loose I wouldn't touch them. I don't eat mine.
  • bigmang
    bigmang Posts: 27
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    I have a friend at work, a former PT in the RAF, he says, if you're not hungry don't eat them, if you are 1000 calories under every day then you might need to modify your diet, but if you've excercised hard but feel good then don't worry.
    I know some people disagree, I have used my excercise calories for treats at times (which is not a good approach either)...
    If you get to a plateau and don't move then you'll need to look at what you do, if you keep losing and feel good then don't worry.
  • Missyrth
    Missyrth Posts: 59 Member
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    me either.. I do not eat mine. I wait till the end of the day when my calories are down to 90 or under.. and I know im done eating too add my exercise. Because to me.. then I've ate my 1200 calories..and once i add my exercise it wants me to add back 300...why would I want to eat those back?. It's silly! To me it would make you on a 1500 calorie diet then.
  • ukphd
    ukphd Posts: 24 Member
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    Ultimately it's a simple calculation - If calories out are greater than calories in you will lose weight. The size of the deficit will determine how fast you lose. You body MAY go into starvation mode at the start of a new exercise regime coupled with reduced calorie intake but it won't last long as at the end of the day if you are using more calories than you eat you will lose weight. Having said that I don't think it's a great idea to have an enormouse deficit as what you want is a sustaibable weight loss that you can maintain over the long term. I think this is why people say you should eat your exercise calories - it wouldn't be wise to be promoting not eating them as a general rule as some people burn huge amounts of calories in exercise and if they weren't eating back some of those calories it wouldn't be a safe way to lose weight. So I think as a general rule for most people eating at least some of the exercise calories is a good idea, but if you're really not hungry then don't force calories in for the sake of it.

    :)
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I keep think about these exercise calories and how you are suppose to eat them. I find it very controversial because I see some people that swear by it yet I see many people that constantly lose weight from not eating them. I know many people that have lost weight by eating right and walking/exercising while not having a clue about eating calories back. Trust me, I would want nothing more than to be able to eat more calories but everyone I ask such as professionals have never heard of this. SO now, I am more confused than ever. So far I have read the articles on MFP but other than that, what are other resources non-MFP that can back up this information?
    That is because professionals don't use the math the way MFP does. MFP tells you you need 1300 calories to lose 2 lbs/week (which is a 1000 cal/day deficit) To keep your deficit at 2 lb goal (1000) you must eat the exercise calories or your deficit will be greater than a 1000 calories. MFP sets you up to lose without exercise.

    A professional may tell you to eat 1600 and exercise 30 min/day So the 1600 calories would give you a deficit on the day of 700, using the above numbers, the half hour of exercise they tell you to do burned say 300 calories, now your deficit is 1000 (700+300) whereas MFP says to eat 1300 and you burn 300 now you get to eat 1600 (1300+300). This gets you to the same place as very few professionals will tell you to eat as little as MFP does.

    So eating the recommended by professional of 1600 would yield the same results MFP does by telling you to eat 1300. As the professional already would have added an amount for exercise in the 1600 whereas MFP adds the cals to get you to 1600ish, after you actually do the exercise. The professional assumes you will do the recommended exercise whereas MFP will allow you to lose the same amount of weight whether you exercise or not.
  • jayjay121
    jayjay121 Posts: 3
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    I just see my exercise calories as an option if I want them, I don't use them a lot but they are there if I want them.
  • jenneyd
    jenneyd Posts: 308 Member
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    yeah! I wanna know, too! My weight drops faster if I don't eat them! WAY faster!
  • cahira
    cahira Posts: 163
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    I'm on Weight Watchers right now, but I'm considering switching to MFP only. They allow you to eat all your exercise points as well. So for me, my C25K training I did this past week would earn me 7 p+ on WW and MFP tells me that I've burned 401 calories. But here's the interesting part - if I eat my exercise calories on MFP it comes out the same as my normal daily points on WW. If I eat my exercise points on WW I would be way over my daily calorie goal - even if I add in the exercise calories.

    So I'm worried that WW is having me eat way too much.

    I think the reason MFP has you eat your exercise calories is this. You set things up and you say you want to lose 2 lbs. per week. So they give you the calorie number that should make you lose that much. If you exercise on top of that and *don't* eat your exercise calories, you would lose faster than that in theory. Maybe they don't want you to lose too fast or to try to overdo the exercise in order to lose weight. I don't know.
  • LosingTheInches
    LosingTheInches Posts: 47
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    im only allowed to eat 1200 cals a day, so when i exercise i just make sure i eat back enough to have my daily limit. im pretty sure thats all that matters.
  • CARNAT22
    CARNAT22 Posts: 764 Member
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    Based on a previous plan I followed (low GI) your calorie in-take did increase depending on your activity level.

    To give you an example if I was on moderate activity level I would need 1300 cals per day but on sedantry activity level I only needed 1200 cals per day.

    I certainly didn't 'earn' extra calories from doing a 40 minute walk as I do on MFP??

    I have to say I am incredibly sceptical about these extra exercise calories and I wont be eating mine. 1200 cals plus moderate exercise helped me lose 3 stone before so unless I start working out every single day (on top of my daily walking) then I don't intend to use these extra calories!
  • Aburn
    Aburn Posts: 2
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    It depends on the person also. I go by if I am hungry then I can use the exercise cals but not all of them. I also change the days in which I exercise. I do not exercise officially every day as I know my body does not respond well. I have to switch up eating exercise cals and not and then changing up the exercise days/routine. I know some don't agree but I do not eat anything after 6pm. It works for me.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    yeah! I wanna know, too! My weight drops faster if I don't eat them! WAY faster!

    But by not eating them your caloric deficit may be too large and some of what you are losing is most likely muscle. Your caloric deficit should not exceed 1000/day on average unless you have a lot of weight to lose (80ish lbs+)
  • Suedre
    Suedre Posts: 435 Member
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    You just have to experiment and find what works for your body. For me, it's much more complicated than eat them or don’t.

    For a while I tried eating around 1/2 of what I ‘earned’. I really think MFP’s estimates are high for me and I didn’t want to over-do it. It worked pretty well for about a month or so. When things leveled out, I found a good estimate of my weekly calorie burn with activity level (BMR) and took a deficit of 4000. I spread out what was left of the week with some days being as low as 1200 and some days as high as 1700. That worked miracles for about two months. When it quit being as effective, I starting eating a pie chart (30% protein, 25% fat, 45% carbs). I hit a slow point and I’ve switched it again. My new focus is around 1400 with a minimum of five fresh uncooked fruits and veggies per day. It’s only been a week so I haven’t see changes yet for that one. I’ll switch it again if I need to. :)

    Also, if I’m hungry, like really honestly genuinely hungry, I eat. I don’t care if I have the calories or not. My body talks to me from time to time and I feel like I have to listen.
  • ukgirly01
    ukgirly01 Posts: 523 Member
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    I've decided on a mid road approach a usual exercise day i burn between 700 and 800 calories. I tend to eat around half of those back (not intentionally thats just how much more hungry I am when I've been running) Its working well so far im about to go into week 6 and I've lost 18lbs. Just find the way that works for you.
    I assume that if you do eat them then you'll lose a steady 2lbs a week and this will be easy to keep off as your metabolism will not be slowed by dieting
    If you dont eat the extra calories then you'll lose quicker but it will be harder to maintain due to yoour metabolism slowing.
    Im hoping for a middle ground.
  • FearAnLoathing
    FearAnLoathing Posts: 4,852 Member
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    I dont eat mine and my trainer said I was fine,my doctor said im fine.Every one I talked to said im fine except people on here.I'll just stick to doing things the way I do them.It works for me.
  • ababygrace
    ababygrace Posts: 123
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    Thanks everyone for your input. I am understanding a lot more. I guess to me, It sounds to good to be true.

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