Eating your exercise calories

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  • V44V
    V44V Posts: 366 Member
    It's 7.30pm here, I've had dinner, snacked all day, had a glass of red wine and I'm struggling to net 700 calories. Another 300 and I'll be on the way to happy!
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
    Because it isn't cleaning you would normally do, I would log it at about 1/3 or 1/2 the time you actually did.

    When I go shopping or do something similarly nebulous in terms of logging I do a portion of the time so I can fuel myself, and not feel tired. If you clean like this regularly, change your settings up an activity level. If it's just for today, log/eat some of the cals, but don't stress about it because one day isn't going to make a difference in the long run.
  • wannabefree
    wannabefree Posts: 32 Member
    I'm new to this and had never heard of eating back your calories, but it does work! I was limiting my calories and working out hard each day and I actually gained a couple of pounds! I read about your body going into starvation mode and figured that was what was happening to me. So the next day I ate more and rested and I actually lost a pound!
  • cat3nv
    cat3nv Posts: 389 Member
    Counting cleaning is a little tricky. What do you have your settings set at? I am a SAHM and a full time student. I have my daily activity set to the lowest setting. Basically I have it set at couch potato. My classes on campus are as far from each other as they can be. I do not count that as exercise. I do count when I clean the kitchen or do the laundry because I get tired and sweaty.

    I do not count the whole time. MFP is a little off I think when it comes to the calories burned. If I clean for an hour I count it as 30-45 min. I also count it as light to moderate cleaning. I call it heavy cleaning when I am moving furniture around or cleaning out the garage.

    Good luck on your journey!
  • gtm124
    gtm124 Posts: 179
    I never eat my exercise calories. What would be the point? You're supposed to burn calories to lose weight so it wouldn't make sense to eat those calories. The point is is to lose the weight.

    The point is to keep your metabolism functioning safely. It is something you need to be aware of - its a difference between how MFP accounts for calories vs how other programs account for them. Most programs use exercise to create deficit, MFP works deficit in before you exercise. Check out the links below to better understand. MFP's goal for you is in NET calories:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    Other helpful links
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

    Great links. Thanks for posting those. Being new to the site I have not had time to cruise the sticky posts yet. Your posts answer a concern I have had lately. I ride a road bike and on some days cycle 20-40 miles. At 16-18mph average including hill climbing I am burning a ton of calories, but yet I did not replenish. I would feel faint and weak. This site has giving me some idea know of how much I should eat not to mention the fact that by recording my food I am eating healthier.
  • iverayna
    iverayna Posts: 48 Member
    I beg to differ.. There is a difference between cleaning and CLEANING.. I do cleaning all the time (like letting the dishwasher do the washing for me) but when you sweat washing walls down moving buckets around, scrub tubs/tiles floors, cleaning the blinds stuff like that.. Yes its work..
  • MelissaL582
    MelissaL582 Posts: 1,422 Member
    I would have to agree with some of the comments. I'm a SAHM of 3 kids, so I'm always doing something. I don't log in my cleaning, only actual exercise. To me, it just seems like "you" want the extra calories to eat. MFP does estimate high with the calories burnt..so you have to be careful with that. If your daily calorie intake is 1850 (or whatever the amount is), that's a lot already. I wouldn't log in the cleaning. I think I've told you this before, as long as you don't eat less than 1200..you're fine. Now when I work out, I eat maybe half of what I burn and my daily intake is at 1540 a day.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    I only log cleaning when it is intense cleaning - like scrubbing bathtubs, cleaning floors on my hands and knees, washing walls, etc. The way I see it is -- the day to day cleaning that I do is logged in under my activity level. I won't count it as extra since I feel like it's already been logged in.

    There seems to be a lot of discussion on here about eating your exercise calories vs not eating them. I see a lot of people say "Don't do it! You won't lose weight!" and I see others say "Do it or you won't lose weight". I truly think that it is probably an individual thing. *I* personally eat MOST of my exercise calories back because if I don't, my caloric intake is too low and my weight loss comes to a screeching halt. My BMR is 1453. If I eat 1750 calories AND I workout and burn 500 calories -- I'm not getting enough food. It is such a weird thing - eat to lose weight. But, if you're eating healthy foods and not eating junk you will likely lose even if you eat the exercise calories. But, I do admit it goes against everything most of us have learned about weight loss.
  • megz4987
    megz4987 Posts: 1,008 Member
    I don't eat the calories I've burned, i feel like it's defeating the purpose of burning them...
  • afleming22710
    afleming22710 Posts: 56 Member
    I would have to agree with some of the comments. I'm a SAHM of 3 kids, so I'm always doing something. I don't log in my cleaning, only actual exercise. To me, it just seems like "you" want the extra calories to eat. MFP does estimate high with the calories burnt..so you have to be careful with that. If your daily calorie intake is 1850 (or whatever the amount is), that's a lot already. I wouldn't log in the cleaning. I think I've told you this before, as long as you don't eat less than 1200..you're fine. Now when I work out, I eat maybe half of what I burn and my daily intake is at 1540 a day.

    No, I do NOT want the extra calories, and 1850 isn't a lot compared to what I WAS eating. I'm a stay-at-home mom of 2 kids, a 2 year old and a 6 month old. I clean everyday, and I'm ALWAYS doing something as well, BUT today was a different kind of cleaning. It was spring cleaning, and it kicked my butt, so YES, I am tracking it, but I'm NOT going to eat the extra 1000 calories it tells me to.
  • upmommyof5
    upmommyof5 Posts: 21 Member
    I personally don't eat the calories that i "earn" from working out. I stick to 200-300 below my original calorie goal for the day. I have been losing about 2-2.5 pounds per week. I still feel like I am eating a lot!!
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
    one thing you should know is that the MFP estimates are often VERY high, especially for things that don't happen in controlled environments (like on an elliptical or whatever).

    This actually varies from person to person. I find that MFP UNDERestimates the calories I burn (compared to HRM & BodyBugg). No two people are the same and you need to experiment a little to find the right balance for you.
  • FearAnLoathing
    FearAnLoathing Posts: 4,852 Member

    for more information, go to www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com.


    Let me save you the trouble of going to the shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com website all it says is yes,and has been beaten to death and stoped being amusing awhile ago lol
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member

    for more information, go to www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com.


    Let me save you the trouble of going to the shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com website all it says is yes,and has been beaten to death and stoped being amusing awhile ago lol

    Actually, if you click on the "Yes", it goes to a new page that still says "Yes" but also has a number of useful links.
  • FearAnLoathing
    FearAnLoathing Posts: 4,852 Member

    for more information, go to www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com.


    Let me save you the trouble of going to the shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com website all it says is yes,and has been beaten to death and stoped being amusing awhile ago lol

    Actually, if you click on the "Yes", it goes to a new page that still says "Yes" but also has a number of useful links.

    Ah yes dont let me forgett the links that lead back to mfp,and everyone already has in their signatures.
  • papastu
    papastu Posts: 737 Member
    I never eat my exercise calories. What would be the point? You're supposed to burn calories to lose weight so it wouldn't make sense to eat those calories. The point is is to lose the weight.


    exactly, may aswell not exercise
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
    I never eat my exercise calories. What would be the point? You're supposed to burn calories to lose weight so it wouldn't make sense to eat those calories. The point is is to lose the weight.


    exactly, may aswell not exercise

    Exercise does much more for your body than burning calories.

    But yes, if you're just here to lose weight... there is no need to exercise.

    If, however, you are here to get fit and healthy; there are a lot of reasons to exercise. (http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4563). And if you are here to get get fit and healthy, you'll want to fuel that exercise with the proper number of calories (energy).
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