Exercise and activity level

gongol07
gongol07 Posts: 18 Member
edited November 10 in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, so, I have dipped in and out of mfp for a while. I am currently 5 ft 8 and 11st 12 which is just about the heaviest I've been since having my last baby almost 3 years ago! I am just a bit confused with the activity level and exercise calories. I am a really active person, I have a desk job but love exercise, I can easily do a 30 min cycle to work, a run at lunch and insanity workout at home. I am just wondering whether it is best to work out my calories based on a sedentary lifestyle (which is about 1300) and then eat some of the exercise calories? Or, am I active and then don't log any activities? Or (!) work out my daily calories based on the sedentary calories mfp give me, and don't eat any exercise calories, regardless of how much i work out? Sorry if this is waffly and makes no sense, I am just a bit confused with what I should be doing.

Replies

  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    Options.
    Use MFP as sedentary, as MFP is set up just to track your daily routine, then add your exercise and eat back 50-75% of those calories. You have to play with the numbers to get it right, but never eat under your basic allotment.

    The other is to count using the TDEE method ( iifym.com) which includes your exercise in the calories you are allotted. This works best if your exercise routine is consistent.
    You just enter the iifym calorie goal in MFP instead of the calories MFP has allotted.

    Cheers, h.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    It is better to log your exercise calories separately. Not all exercise is created equal, so just saying you workout X number of times per week can result in significant inaccuracy.
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
    Play it by ear. See how hungry you feel with one method (MFP +some exercise calories), then see if the TDEE - 10 or so % isn't better for preventing that hunger feeling.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    wkwebby wrote: »
    Play it by ear. See how hungry you feel with one method (MFP +some exercise calories), then see if the TDEE - 10 or so % isn't better for preventing that hunger feeling.

    If it makes a person feel less hungry, don't you think that would result in less weight loss?
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
    TimothyFish wrote: »
    wkwebby wrote: »
    Play it by ear. See how hungry you feel with one method (MFP +some exercise calories), then see if the TDEE - 10 or so % isn't better for preventing that hunger feeling.

    If it makes a person feel less hungry, don't you think that would result in less weight loss?

    Yes, but I would think more sustainable. If you go too agressively and can't sustain it, I'm thinking that it will just turn into yo-yo dieting. Anything minus TDEE will result in a weight loss provided it is accurate and honest. Right? It just may be a little slower than they would like.
  • gongol07
    gongol07 Posts: 18 Member
    Ok, so, try each for a week and see how I get on? Whst do you guys do? I am a bit worried that dropping my calories too much will mean I can't exercise properly as I'll be too tired. Clearly, the exercise Is not my problem, it is the food so need to balance the both.
  • mamacoates
    mamacoates Posts: 430 Member
    Set up your MFP account as sedentary as that reflects your desk job which is most of your day. Add your exercise activity each day after completion, since, as stated above, different exercise impacts your calorie deficit differently. Whether you eat back your exercise calories is a separate question with camps on both sides. I personally strive to eat at my caloric goal regardless of my exercise calories for the day. That way I always have a cushion if I need a treat or get carried away at a special event, etc. Gives me a margin for error. Try both ways and find out what works best for you in your long-term journey.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    Some people like the first method, some prefer the second method. There's no right or wrong answer here; it just comes down to what works best for you and what motivates you more.

    Personally I started off using MFP's method, setting my activity level to sedentary and logging my workouts separately. After a few weeks, I was finding it hard to meal plan when I didn't know ahead of time how many calories I'd have each day, and I was also distrustful of the number of calories MFP suggested I was burning.

    I switched to using TDEE-20%, and found that I was much happier. I could meal plan ahead for the week, and I no longer had to remember to log my exercise. I tracked and logged that way for a while, found I was losing weight faster than expected (my actual TDEE was higher than the calculator suggested), so I upped my calories a bit. Now I track TDEE in a spreadsheet based on actual calories consumed and daily weigh-ins, and base my numbers on that as opposed to on any online calculator.

    That works for me because it feeds my math geek tendencies and gamifies it a bit. Other people might find it tedious.

    It may take you a bit of trial and error to find the best method that works for you. I suggest starting with MFP's recommended settings, since that's how the site is set up, and try that for a while. Set your activity level to sedentary, log all your exercise, and eat back some or most of your exercise calories. If that works for you, great, keep doing that. If not, by that point you'll have been around long enough to educate yourself on other methods and to make tweaks.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Do you want to eat the same calorie allowance daily? Then use a TDEE calculator.

    Do you want to eat more on the days you exercise and less on the days you don't? Then use the MFP method.

    It's really no more complex than that.

    If your exercise routine is irregular or your exercise need fuelling on the day then I would say use the MFP method but it's really just down to personal preference.
  • mbcieslak87
    mbcieslak87 Posts: 206 Member
    Like others before me have said, there are basically two schools of thought - MFP and TDEE. I personally have tried both but think that if you exercise regularly, which it seems like you do, to give TDEE a try. You can get a relatively accurate assessment from the Scooby website (below) and adjust from there. You can enter this in MFP too and follow it, rather than using their numbers. In my experience this gives me enough calories to fuel my workouts and because the calories are the same everyday, it allows me to plan my weekly meals more easily, instead of guessimating my exercise calories and then having to constantly reassess.

    http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

    If you do prefer the MFP method (which at points in my life, I have too, especially when I was just getting used to logging, back in 2012) then i would suggest taking the estimated calories burned with a grain of salt because they tend to overestimate. I would typically eat back no more than 70% of the calories it estimated I burned to ensure I was still in a deficit.

    Good Luck!
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    Activity level varies from day to day. Therefore, the most accurate way to deal with it is to keep you at "Sedentary" and add significant activities. Cycling to work is a great exercise but if it is 121 in the shade during the Summer time or a hurricane outside, you most likely will not be cycling that day. Plus you have off days and so forth. The best way, in my honest opinion, is to leave it as sedentary and add significant exercise then eat back about 1/2 of the exercise calories. Remember, even sedentary burns some calories. Therefore, if you eat back ALL your exercise calories, you are still overeating. Example. If you burn 50 calories per 30 minutes for sitting down but burn 120 calories during that period for a brisk walk, you are only burning 70 EXTRA calories by doing the exercise. Hence, if you were to eat 120 calories, you are eating 50 more calories than you actually burned. The key is, of course, to choose which method you want to use. Try it and adjust based upon how your results match up with your caloric accounting.
  • szkodzt
    szkodzt Posts: 124 Member
    I agree with everyone above that it just depends on what works best for me. I have been consistently losing weight with the TDEE method and it is working well with me. My workouts are pretty consistent and it makes meal planning much easier in my mind.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    gongol07 wrote: »
    Ok, so, try each for a week and see how I get on? Whst do you guys do? I am a bit worried that dropping my calories too much will mean I can't exercise properly as I'll be too tired. Clearly, the exercise Is not my problem, it is the food so need to balance the both.

    I've done both, and think both work. The key is that if you know you are going to exercise that day you don't have to wait until you do to eat the calories. Plan your day accordingly.

    That said, I think it depends on whether you like to eat more on days that you work out more. (I usually do not.) The benefit of just being "active" or doing the TDEE approach, where you figure your calories on a TDEE calculator and put them in through the custom goal option is that you can eat the same amount every day, and not drop down to the lowest level on off days. I prefer doing this. I reserve an option to eat a bit more on a day that I do a huge workout or add a bunch of unscheduled activity if I happen to be extra hungry as a result.
  • crystalflame
    crystalflame Posts: 1,049 Member
    gongol07 wrote: »
    Ok, so, try each for a week and see how I get on? Whst do you guys do? I am a bit worried that dropping my calories too much will mean I can't exercise properly as I'll be too tired. Clearly, the exercise Is not my problem, it is the food so need to balance the both.

    A week won't really be long enough to assess any results other than your energy and hunger levels. You'd need a few weeks to see if you consistently lose weight, and how much you're averaging per week.

    I personally prefer setting MFP to sedentary, logging my exercise, and eating my exercise calories, especially these days where an injury is keeping me from consistently exercising. Those who prefer TDEE seem to have more of a routine than I do. They both work, it's just a matter of what fits your lifestyle better. With both methods, you can increase or decrease calories as needed, but you need to stick with one for a bit to figure out what adjustments you may need to make.

  • mamacoates
    mamacoates Posts: 430 Member
    edited January 2015
    What a coincidence! This month's MFP nutritional blog was written by a registered dietician and discusses the question of whether or not to eat back exercise calories. If you have not yet read it, here you go. You will have to copy and paste the whole URL into your browser, I think:

    http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/ask-the-dietitian-should-i-eat-back-my-exercise-calories/?utm_source=mfp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly20150112&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRoku6vIZKXonjHpfsX86essXaCxlMI/0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4DTMZnI+SLDwEYGJlv6SgFSrTFMblm0LgLXhM=
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