Eating back calories burned

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bazuukajoe
bazuukajoe Posts: 49 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I saw this come up in another topic, and I'm kind of confused. When I enter in my exercise in my log, my calories are adjusted and it says I have more calories left even if I've already reached my intake maximum. Wouldn't eating back my calories burned defeat the purpose of creating a deficit in the first place? Can someone please explain this to me? And is there a way to change it so my calories remaining stays the same after I input my exercises? Thanks.

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  • bazuukajoe
    bazuukajoe Posts: 49 Member
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    I saw this come up in another topic, and I'm kind of confused. When I enter in my exercise in my log, my calories are adjusted and it says I have more calories left even if I've already reached my intake maximum. Wouldn't eating back my calories burned defeat the purpose of creating a deficit in the first place? Can someone please explain this to me? And is there a way to change it so my calories remaining stays the same after I input my exercises? Thanks.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
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    MFP has already created a 500 calorie deficit. You need to eat more to maintain the 500 calorie deficit when you exercise. Otherwise, you end up with more than a 500 calorie deficit. While you can have up to a 1000 calorie deficit in theory, it doesn't leave any room for change when you reach a plateau. You don't want to eat the same number of calories every day--you don't burn the same number every day.
  • bazuukajoe
    bazuukajoe Posts: 49 Member
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    MFP has already created a 500 calorie deficit. You need to eat more to maintain the 500 calorie deficit when you exercise. Otherwise, you end up with more than a 500 calorie deficit. While you can have up to a 1000 calorie deficit in theory, it doesn't leave any room for change when you reach a plateau. You don't want to eat the same number of calories every day--you don't burn the same number every day.
    If that's the case, then I would get the same result if I ate maintiance and then created a deficit with exercise, right? I just always though of exercise as a way to get that extra "bang for your buck" when it comes to creating a deficit. This may not be the right way of thinking, but eating back my calories burned would make me feel like I worked out for nothing...

    Right now, I'm eating 2000 calories a day and exercising. I probably burn an additional 500 to 1000 calories a day with excercise (I do two workouts a day 3 days out of the week, the other days I do 1 workout). On days I do 2 workouts I increase my intake to 2400 calories.
  • arjames82
    arjames82 Posts: 154
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    I don't because I am under the guidance of a personal trainer who has given me a set number of calories to eat per day at that's what I stick to whether I workout or not. My trainer says that the goal is to create a deficit in the number of calories that I consume and burn everyday...I shoot for a deficit of at least 500 calories. My basal metabolic rate is 2099 (based on test performed by trainer) which means that is how many calories I will burn just for existing everyday. So I eat between 1500-1599 calories per day to create to 500 calorie deficit. Since 1lb = 3500 calories, creating that deficit 7 days a week should cause me to lose 1 lb per week. When I exercise, that increases that daily deficit, which in turn increases my weight loss.

    I'm sure many will disagree, but that's what my personal trainer has advised me to do and it is working for me.
  • ticky
    ticky Posts: 38 Member
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    i agree with you. My trainer has instructed me to do the same, and I think it's working out well.
  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
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    Really, it's six of one, half-dozen of the other. It doesn't matter *how* you get to your deficit--just that you get there. No one will have a 500 calorie deficit every day. Our BMRs change every day. You can eat the same every day, or different every day, create it just with food restriction, or with a lot of exercise. Makes absolutely no difference.
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    I don't because I am under the guidance of a personal trainer who has given me a set number of calories to eat per day at that's what I stick to whether I workout or not. My trainer says that the goal is to create a deficit in the number of calories that I consume and burn everyday...I shoot for a deficit of at least 500 calories. My basal metabolic rate is 2099 (based on test performed by trainer) which means that is how many calories I will burn just for existing everyday. So I eat between 1500-1599 calories per day to create to 500 calorie deficit. Since 1lb = 3500 calories, creating that deficit 7 days a week should cause me to lose 1 lb per week. When I exercise, that increases that daily deficit, which in turn increases my weight loss.

    I'm sure many will disagree, but that's what my personal trainer has advised me to do and it is working for me.

    This is true, and assumes you WILL work off 500 cals a day. A lot of diets set it up this way. the problem is that sometimes you dont have time, are sick, dont feel like it , or just plain dont do the exercise. This is why I have failed in the past.

    With MFP I shoot for 1200-1300 cals a day. If I exercise, I get to eat those cals too. What a great motivatior. If at 5 pm I see I have 200 cals for dinner and snack, durn tootin I am going for a jog!!

    So MFP is no different than your trainer. 1200 cals a day + exercise of 200-400 a day works out the same in the numbers.
  • Mangoaddict
    Mangoaddict Posts: 1,236 Member
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    I agree with you "arewethereyet". I do the exact same and it has worked for me in the past...
  • shanwow16
    shanwow16 Posts: 203 Member
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    It is definately a motivator to exercise when you see where you are at for calories near the end of the day! Like me for example...I decided to splurge on a French Vanilla Cappucino (bad idea - but had to have it), well, that put me into the negatives - however with a good 30 minute intense cardio workout I managed to burn that off with a few to spare at the end of my day! :bigsmile:
  • ranaelynn
    ranaelynn Posts: 115 Member
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    Spikes --- way to go on the smoke free thing too!
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    Spikes --- way to go on the smoke free thing too!

    yeah, that is awesome!
  • shanwow16
    shanwow16 Posts: 203 Member
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    Thanks!! :smile:

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