To eat back exercise calories, or not to? What works for you?

oneallmama
oneallmama Posts: 108 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Right now I'm debating eating back my exercise calories, but I'm afraid I won't lose any weight if I don't keep some sort of deficit... What's everyone's take on this?

Here's what MFP says for me: 1210 calories is my base.. basically what I need to thrive. I've been burning on average 700-800 calories Mon-Fri. Add that together and thats 1910-2010 calories that I have that I can eat that day by MFP. Usually I leave a deficit of around 400-500 calories at the end of the day... Is that enough to lose weight?

Replies

  • CoachJen71
    CoachJen71 Posts: 1,200 Member
    MFP seems to over-credit exercise burns. If I eat back cals, I try to keep it to half or less.
  • focused4health
    focused4health Posts: 154 Member
    Depends how hungry I am. Sometime zi do. Sometimes I don't.
  • Cortneyrenee04
    Cortneyrenee04 Posts: 1,117 Member
    Search "exercise calories" in the forum search and you'll find a million threads about it with good advice.

    I don't use my exercise calories and it works for me. Many people say eat back half at most to account for logging inaccuracies and over inflated estimates of calories burned.

    It looks like you're not quite understanding your numbers. Your 1210 isn't going to be what makes you thrive, but more likely survive. I would definitely recommend finding a good calculator to see what numbers it gives you. You want to eat as much as you can while losing so that you can lower calories later. (You can't really go down from 1210.)

    You can also look into tdee if your exercise is very consistent.

    Good luck :)

  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
    If you are using MFP's calculations you should have as close to zero calories left by the end of the day and still be able to lose weight. MFP assumes you would be eating back your exercise calories. Of course this also assumes that the calculations, calories consumed and burned, are correct for you. Start by eating 50-75% of your exercises calories back. Monitor for 2-4 weeks and adjust up or down accordingly.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    I try to eat back all but about 50-100, with my burns being from Fitbit.

    If you're in a deficit, you'll lose. You may want to eat a bit more, however, to bring your net close, if not right to 1200.
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
    Cortneyrenee04 wrote: »
    You want to eat as much as you can while losing so that you can lower calories later. (You can't really go down from 1210.)

    ^^This^^ +1
    Your goal should be how many calories (maximum number) can I eat and still lose weight.
  • oneallmama
    oneallmama Posts: 108 Member
    Hmm, so based on mostly everyones advice I can maybe have a brownie tonight? :smiley:
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
    Only if you have milk with it.
    :)
  • oneallmama
    oneallmama Posts: 108 Member
    loulamb7 wrote: »
    Only if you have milk with it.
    :)
    I can't eat brownies without milk, it's almost like it's a crime!
  • indianwin2001
    indianwin2001 Posts: 296 Member
    what about the nuts on top of the brownie. Nuts are a "healthy" fat
  • oneallmama
    oneallmama Posts: 108 Member
    indianwin2001 wrote: »
    what about the nuts on top of the brownie. Nuts are a "healthy" fat
    Sounds like a plan! They are definitely healthy and high in protein.
  • jmaidan
    jmaidan Posts: 93 Member
    I don't lose any weight if I eat them back... Sucks!
  • cw106
    cw106 Posts: 952 Member
    Cortneyrenee04 wrote: »
    Search "exercise calories" in the forum search and you'll find a million threads about it with good advice.

    I don't use my exercise calories and it works for me. Many people say eat back half at most to account for logging inaccuracies and over inflated estimates of calories burned.

    It looks like you're not quite understanding your numbers. Your 1210 isn't going to be what makes you thrive, but more likely survive. I would definitely recommend finding a good calculator to see what numbers it gives you. You want to eat as much as you can while losing so that you can lower calories later. (You can't really go down from 1210.)

    You can also look into tdee if your exercise is very consistent.

    Good luck :)
    +1.

    i eat back 25% max and monitor my weekly net calorie intake via reports.
    this exactly mirrors my weight loss.50 lbs down so far using mfp calculations.

  • terixi
    terixi Posts: 1
    edited November 2014
    The thing is that 1200 is the least amount of calories your body needs to survive and still be healthy.. These calories are used for digestion, keeping your temperature up and so on.

    Now if you exercise and burn off 700 - your body just has 500 calories to survive on! That is NOT healthy and it is a big risk that your body goes into starvation mode.
    A normal woman should eat 2000 a day, so by eating 1200 you have a deficit of 800 kcal per day.. which means that you will lose almost 1 kilo / 2 Pounds per week. (Which by the way is a good pace for permanent weight loss!) If you lose more each week the risk is that you will gain it back later..

    So eat like 1900 and then if you burn 700 your body will have 1200 to use for its functions. :) I know it can be scary to eat bigger numbers but a lot of people don't lose weight due to eating too Little. Good luck! :)
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,371 Member
    If you are calculating your exercise calories realistically then there is no reason why you can't eat all of them back because your deficit is already deducted from your base calories meaning you are still at your set deficit if you're showing zero at the end of the day. Training your body to eat more when you've used more is a good way to ensure you eat to your needs once you've got to goal - e.g. more on active days or else you'd carry on losing. If you went hiking all day for example you would take a decent lunch to give you energy. If you don't eat more on active days you'll soon burn out and not have the energy to exercise to your full potential.
  • TheTiagooo
    TheTiagooo Posts: 53 Member
    That is a lot of calories burned. I won't assume you're overestimating, because you might not be, but it's very possible.

    Eat under a deficit and you'll lose weight. You shouldn't eat more if you don't need to, but you can if you are hungry. It'll only affect your progress if you consistently go above your target.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    How are you calculating your calories burned?

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