Eating back exercise calories?

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Jiveli85
Jiveli85 Posts: 37 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have noticed some people saying not to eat back exercise calories, is it true that you are not supposed to? I'm new to MFP, still trying to figure things out. I would appreciate clarification.

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  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    No, it isn't true, but some people do that to make up for inaccuracies in their logs.
  • laura3977
    laura3977 Posts: 191 Member
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    The numbers you get from MPF or from the machines you use are usually quite inflated. What a lot of people do is they eat back only half of the calories MPF or the machines tell them they have burned.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    MFP calculates the amount of calories you need based on if you did no exercise. When you do exercise, you need more fuel for that. However, as others have pointed out, the amount of calories it gives you is generally inflated so some people don't eat them, or they only eat a portion of them.
  • mclovingirl86
    mclovingirl86 Posts: 37 Member
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    Try using the IIFYM calculator to see how many calories you should be consuming a week based on the activity you are doing.
  • akaMrsmojo
    akaMrsmojo Posts: 764 Member
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    I always eat them back, always lose. I feel better eating them back but I do not rely solely on Mtfitnesspal exercise calories calculator.
  • Sabretooth333
    Sabretooth333 Posts: 7 Member
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    MFP can definitely overcompensate for calories in some activities.

    I use a Heart Rate Monitor for cycling. I upload the ride data to Garmin Connect and Training Peaks which have all my details in and it gives me good idea of the amount of calories burnt.

    I put exactly that number into MFP and eat them all back.

    I'm not trying to lose weight but I've been doing this for over a year and haven't gained any weight. I've actually lost weight!
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Jiveli85 wrote: »
    I have noticed some people saying not to eat back exercise calories, is it true that you are not supposed to? I'm new to MFP, still trying to figure things out. I would appreciate clarification.

    My suggestion is to eat a specific portion (e.g., 50%, 75%, etc.) for 4 weeks. At that point evaluate whether or not you are losing at an appropriate rate. If you are not losing, eat fewer exercise calories. If you are losing too much, eat more exercise calories.
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
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    The way MFP is set up, you are supposed to eat them back. Most people that do only eat back a portion of them to make up for overestimations of the calorie burns.

    This link does a great job of breaking down the formula and explaining it:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    Thanks, OP, for starting this thread. I was wondering the same thing.
    jkal1979 wrote: »
    The way MFP is set up, you are supposed to eat them back. Most people that do only eat back a portion of them to make up for overestimations of the calorie burns.

    This link does a great job of breaking down the formula and explaining it:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1

    Thanks heaps for that! Very helpful. Bookmarked.
  • Jiveli85
    Jiveli85 Posts: 37 Member
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    Thanks so much for your input everyone! This really helps.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    MFP is designed to eat them back.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
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    I rarely eat back any portion of my exercise calories. I'm still having a hard time losing. Lost my determination last month because of health and personal issues, and am trying to start over this month. So far, so good. But I still won't eat back exercise calories!
  • SailorKnightWing
    SailorKnightWing Posts: 875 Member
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    In theory yes, you eat them all back. In practice, you will never have a perfect number of calories you burned even with a heart rate monitor.

    It's good to start by eating half of them back. If you're still losing weight and feel good, keep doing that. If you're not losing weight, try eating a quarter of them back. If you're losing weight and hungry, try eating three quarters of them back.

    Weight loss is 50% theory, 50% guesswork.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    This is from myfitnesspal themselves on whether to eat back or not and definitely worth a read. Its more pragmatic than just yay or nay. MFP overestimates for some exercises, but not all. People also overestimate their own effort.

    http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/ask-the-dietitian-should-i-eat-back-my-exercise-calories/
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    I always did...all of them...but I am probably one like those used to get the values...

    I used to actually exercise just enough to eat ice cream or eat a chocolate bar...I knew which routes to take...

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