Exercise calories-- do you eat them or not?

Can you open your diary? Where are you getting your burns?

Well assuming that you've set up MFP to give you a deficit then you should be eating them back to avoid overshooting your deficit.

Some people don't eat back all, to allow for measurement error in both intake and output, but equally errors could undercompensate so that's a pretty arbitrary approach. The value of using the tool properly might vary depending on how much phys you do. I burned 1500 calories this morning, on a goal of 2100 cals per day. No way I couldn't eat back most of them.

Exercise calories aren't really accurate. For that reason I don't eat them all back.

I was on Facebook when I noticed your post Jeannette, this was on the MFP page and may be of help to you.

Nutrition Tips / January 6, 2015

Ask the Dietitian: Should I Eat Back My Exercise Calories?

Congrats! You’ve gone to the gym, put in some time on the treadmill and now have a few hundred extra calories in the bank. But what do you do with those extra exercise calories? Should you run to the kitchen and gobble them up, save them for a special weekend treat or ignore them altogether?

When faced with this decision, it’s important to consider several factors, most notably your weight goal (whether you’re wanting to lose, gain or maintain), the frequency, intensity and duration of your exercise, and your overall level of hunger.

For the average exerciser trying to lose or maintain weight (i.e. someone who burns an additional 200-500 calories a few times per week), exercise calories don’t make up a significant portion of overall calorie burn, generally in the 1500-2200 per day range. Unless you’re exercising at a moderate to high intensity for an hour or more, several times a week, or are actively trying to gain weight, you most likely don’t need to be worried about eating all of those calories back.

The main reason is this: It’s easy, and fairly common to overestimate calorie burn (both from everyday activity and from exercise) and underestimate calorie consumption. By going out of your way to eat back every calorie you expend during exercise, you may unintentionally undermine your efforts to lose or maintain your weight. Additionally, you could be overriding your body’s hunger cues if you don’t feel particularly keen for those exercise calories but eat (or drink) them back them anyway. If your body isn’t telling you it needs fuel, it’s best to save your exercise calories for when you want them–say, for an unexpected hunger pang or a weekend treat meal with friends.

Now if you’re trying to lose weight, chances are you’ll be on the hungry side even without exercising since MyFitnessPal’s weight loss calorie goals are calculated independent of exercise. The upside to this is that those exercise calories become a “bonus”–so if your workout leaves you feeling a bit hungry afterwards, by all means you should enjoy the bump in calories and eat something. (Just read the 5 tips below beforehand to make the most of them!)

The vast majority of us who are trying to shed a few pounds or maintain our weight need not be concerned about eating back all of our exercise calories, but those trying to gain weight, and/or who are training heavily several times per week should be mindful about getting in enough calories–both to fuel physical activity and promote muscle growth, repair and recovery. For those of you who fall into this category, here are some great pre- and post-workout meals and snacks.

Whether you’re exercising to lose, gain or maintain your weight, improve your fitness level, or just reduce stress, one thing to remember when eating back exercise calories is that the quality of those calories is just as important as the quantity.

To help you get the most out of those hard earned calories, here are 5 tips to healthfully handle those post-workout hunger pangs:

1. Start with a hydration check. Thirst can be misinterpreted for hunger so, if you’re on the fence about whether you need to refuel or not, make sure you’re not just dehydrated. Here are some hacks from other MyFitnessPal users for staying well hydrated.

2. Hone in on your hunger cues. Rather than running for the kitchen cabinet the moment you get home from your workout, trust your tummy to tell you if you need a post-workout snack.

3. Don’t get stuck on the number. Remember, the calories you eat and exercise off are estimations, and we’re more likely to overestimate calories burned from exercise. If hunger hits between meals, start slow–particularly if you’re trying to lose or maintain your weight. Begin by eat back a percentage of your exercise calories (say, 50%) rather than all of them, and see how you feel in 20-30 minutes.

4. Focus on high-quality protein and wholesome carbohydrates. Doing so will optimize muscle repair and recovery.

5. Spread ‘em out. Our bodies aren’t able to store protein like carbohydrates and fat so, if you have a significant number of calories to eat back (lucky you!), be sure to include protein with each meal and snack over the course of the day for optimal muscle building and repair.

Nutrition Note: Large calorie deficits over time, whether through calorie restriction, exercise or a combination of the two, can lead to nutrient deficiencies and other health problems, so it’s always a good idea to consult with a doctor or dietitian if you are unsure about how many calories (exercise or otherwise) you should be consuming.


Elle Penner, M.P.H., R.D., is the Registered Dietitian and Food & Nutrition Editor at MyFitnesssPal, as well as an active runner and food-enthusiast. For more healthy living inspiration, connect with her on Twitter and Pinterest.

No. Activity level (exercise, your job, and hobbies) is calculated in with TDEE. Since you're creating a deficit from your TDEE eating back exercise calories would put you at maintenance/in a surplus.

TDEE=/=NEAT method, which is what MFP uses.

obscuremusicreference wrote: »

TDEE=/=NEAT method, which is what MFP uses.

True, but you don't have to use that method. MFP also lets you edit calorie allowance, and your macros. You won't be able to get you exact needs (normally) but you can get them ball park...

Don't eat back all the exercise calorie burn...try to leave at least half of what you originally had.

It depends.

If you're using the calories MFP gives you- which I do- I would eat back around half. Wait a week or two to see how your weight is. If you're unhappy with the rate of loss, you can try changing it to eating back 1/3.

If you're using TDEE, then exercise is already factored in- so if you journal your exercise on MFP, ignoring calories burnt is your best bet.

And remember- some ways of determining calories burned are more accurate than others. People often complain of the burns measured by MFP being too high. That is why I bought an activity tracker: paired with a heart rate monitor, it can fairly accurately determine calories burned during exercise. However, there are many other ways to determine calories burned.

Ultimately, it's all about experimentation, and if you're not losing weight, I'd try cutting back, at least for a little while.

Canadian_Empire wrote: »

No. Activity level (exercise, your job, and hobbies) is calculated in with TDEE. Since you're creating a deficit from your TDEE eating back exercise calories would put you at maintenance/in a surplus.

Except MFP doesn't use TDEE...it uses the NEAT method...your activity level with MFP is only supposed to be your day to day humdrum and exercise is extra...that's why you get those calories added to your GOAL when you log exercise.

You have to understand the method you are using. If you tell some noob on MFP not to eat those calories when they haven't included them in their activity level, you are giving *kitten* *kitten* advise.

I feel the same way and to be honest I am getting a little frustrated. I'm now on 21 days of this journey. I have mostly kept to 1440 or below calories and for the first time in my life I also am exercising, I do an hour Kettlebells, power bags and Insanity every week and swim once a week also. But I am not seeing big losses on the scales and this week I've maintained !! when I tried Slimming World before I lost nearly a stone in the first 4 weeks with no exercise. SW is not for me though cos I think it leads me to binge but I dont't want to be 7 stone overweight forever either!!!

meltsaway wrote: »

So… it's been about 4 weeks. I'm exercising for the first time in my life (yay me) doing zumba and some other good cardio, but I'm not losing every week. I have been eating calories to make up for the exercise, but maybe I will cut back. Would love to hear from others! Do you eat your exercise calories?

Cardio. yes. I use a heart rate monitor because it seems to provide the most accurate numbers for calorie burns.

Weight lifting and anything esle, no. That is all part of my activity setting.

I used to eat back all, then everyone started saying why it's wrong (which I don't agree with, but I can see some points), now I eat back some.

This is my philosophy about it:
- small exercise calories, such as a walk or job for 100-300 I try not eat back. I just think of it as assurance that I really in fact only ate 1400 calories today, but if I measured wrong, this will offset the inaccuracy and I can honestly think I'm under 1400.
- sometimes I eat it back, as it is a way for me to eat. For example I'm super hungry one day, or I just went over my calories because I couldn't say no to another serving of goat cheese lol, so now I go for a long walk, so at least altogether I'm under my calories. This doesn't happen a lot lately, in the beginning it was a usual occurrence because I was still getting used to eating less.
- more calories like those burned by Zumba, I think you have to eat back at least partially. As the OP, I do Zumba as well 2-3 times a week, and you really do burn at least 400 calories. MFP and other websites estimate 700, and although at times it may be true, I usually try to estimate it myself. Sometimes they feel more like a 4-500 calorie workouts, and others they're 700 for sure. You have to eat back some, because if you ate 1200 calories and worked off 500, you're looking at 700 total, and that's not enough. Even if we're overestimating Zumba,for sure they burn 400 in an hour. You need to fuel that.

So they I look at it overall is not that I have to or want to eat it back, but more like should I? If I'm hungry, yes, but I try not to eat back all of it. Some days I might, and that's not the end of the world.
Today I'm taking a yoga class (1 hour 15 minutes) and MFP says it's 180 calories or so. I won't eat it back, because who knows how much I'm really burning?

I used to eat them back but really struggled to lose much weight. So when I started MFP again on Jan 1st this year (after a break from it over Xmas), I decided to stick to 1200 cals per day and try not eat back my exercise calories. This seems to have given my weight loss a kickstart as I'm down by 10lbs already. I'm hoping to carry on losing at about 2lbs per week now that the initial big drop has motivated me.

Like a lot of people have said....it might be best to not eat all of them back but if you've exercised that day and eat some back that won't matter too much. I certainly won't fret if I've logged a good run and am extra hungry that day so eat a few cals over my 1200.

mariamathsgeek wrote: »

I used to eat them back but really struggled to lose much weight. So when I started MFP again on Jan 1st this year (after a break from it over Xmas), I decided to stick to 1200 cals per day and try not eat back my exercise calories. This seems to have given my weight loss a kickstart as I'm down by 10lbs already. I'm hoping to carry on losing at about 2lbs per week now that the initial big drop has motivated me.

Like a lot of people have said....it might be best to not eat all of them back but if you've exercised that day and eat some back that won't matter too much. I certainly won't fret if I've logged a good run and am extra hungry that day so eat a few cals over my 1200.

This is not good because you are running and only eating 1200 calories, which puts your net probably at 1,000 or lower. This does not properly fuel your body.

Ten pounds since January 1 is very quick, and most likely water weight. It will slow down.