Do you eat back the calories you exercise off?

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  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    Depends whether I'm hungry or not.
  • SmartAlec03211988
    SmartAlec03211988 Posts: 1,896 Member
    Yup, all of them.

    I earned them, I'm not going to let them sit there.
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
    I try not to eat more than half of them back. Although I log everything I eat, I am not obsessive about weighing everything (the horror!) and I figure my exercise calories are my 'cushion'. Seems to work for me!
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    Yep.

    If I don't eat back at least some, after about a week I find that I no longer have the energy to get through my workouts. I don't use MFP estimates however. I use a hrm for all non-step based workouts and log around 80% of the reported calorie burn. I have no idea what formula my HRM uses for calorie burns. However, I do know that based on duration/avg HR calculators online, my HRM gives me a lower calorie burn (by about 10%). I use a fitbit for tracking my daily activity and any walk/run workouts. I then eat 50-100% of my logged exercise/adjustment calories. This system has worked out pretty well for me.

  • harmar21
    harmar21 Posts: 215 Member
    I don't. However if I do go over calorie budget by 100-200 I also don't feel guilty if it was an exercise day.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    I don't feel like I have to eat more just because I exercised. If I am hungry and I stay at or under the amount of calories I gained through exercise then I think it is okay to use them. I think I do usually eat a bit more if I exercise.
  • TheAbsintheFaerie
    TheAbsintheFaerie Posts: 1
    I just started on MFP, first week, and have lost 1kg. I've not been eating back the calories I exercise off, as I assume I wouldn't be losing as much if I did?
  • runnerchick69
    runnerchick69 Posts: 317 Member
    Probably about half most days although some days are less and some are more. It really depends on where you are as far as your weight loss. I've been maintaining for several years so this works for me but for someone actively losing weight it may not work so well.
  • shavon007
    shavon007 Posts: 143 Member
    No I dont
  • indianwin2001
    indianwin2001 Posts: 296 Member
    runnerchick69 wrote: »
    Probably about half most days although some days are less and some are more. It really depends on where you are as far as your weight loss. I've been maintaining for several years so this works for me but for someone actively losing weight it may not work so well.

    Same for me
  • rainbowblu
    rainbowblu Posts: 119 Member
    AestheticStar wrote: »
    Definitely have to eat 1,200, even if you aren't active, or your body goes into starvation mode. I usually eat back about 400-500 of my exercise calories, 'cause I don't tend to burn a lot.

    So, if I'm 100 pounds overweight how does my body go into "starvation mode" ..serious question. I thought that our extra fat was there to be used during the times when we don't eat enough???

  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    edited November 2014
    I've never been able to do this. I don't know why - even when I use only half, or when I underestimate my exercise, I seem to just not lose without a significant calorie restriction. It is what it is.

    I think this is probably a YMMV thing, and you'll need to see what works for you.

    By the way, I'm short too - don't know if that makes a difference. I notice people mentioning their height. I am 5'1".
  • whitewolf1200
    whitewolf1200 Posts: 31 Member
    The only reason I exercise is so that I can eat more if we're being completely honest here.
  • mmgavitt
    mmgavitt Posts: 82 Member
    I don't usually eat all mine back (a lot of the time I eat none of them) but I also don't forbid myself from doing so. For special occasions I will literally workout just so I can eat them all (hello thanksgiving morning workout). I don't really think it's a must or can't, but a what is best for you.
  • NoelFigart1
    NoelFigart1 Posts: 1,276 Member
    Lifelong yo-yo dieter, here. Middle-aged, and five foot two. NOT the great weight loss profile, boy howdy, let me tell you what.

    I am increasingly of the opinion that starvation mode is a myth. I think that unless you've had a metabolism test, you don't really know what your RMR is.

    That said, I am losing comfortably at (checks current stats) an overall average of 1672 calories a day and losing 1.4 lbs a week (overall. We all know weight loss isn't linear). So, not particularly a fan of the 1200 calorie a day thing.

    I do exercise, but it's swimming laps for between a kilometer and a mile (depending on how much time I have) for 30-50 minutes five days a week -- with the incidence of a kilometer in half an hour much more common than the mile in fifty minutes. Average calorie burn from a workout is about 479 calories. I suspect that estimate may be a bit high, tbh. Though when I plug in the numbers to calculate a lb a week loss, then add the exercise calories (which I don't eat back), that is almost exactly the rate of my current weight loss.

    MFP suggested 1680 calories a day for 1 lb a week with no exercise added, presuming a sedentary lifestyle (which I do have. Knitting and writing don't burn much :) )

    So, a hard core athlete, I am not!




  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    1600-1800 sounds about right. Try using the TDEE method instead of MFP's recommendations. That way, you don't need to log your exercise burns because those calories are worked into your goal already. 1200 is most likely way too low for you.
  • maria0elisa
    maria0elisa Posts: 199 Member
    Hm, it depends.
    If I've been within my calorie limits that week, I've earned myself a treat through exercise.
    If I've already slipped up one day that week, then the run is damage control from that day, so I haven't earned the treat today.

    When that happens, I copy/paste the activity from today to the day I went over my calorie limit, and delete it from today. It feels good to see the day I slipped up back under control, and to know I'll have a normal day today rather than having earned myself extra calories.
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