To Eat Or Not To Eat Back Your Exercise Calories.

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  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    There are tons of people who don't understand the scientific principles (the hows and whys) of healthy, long-term weight management. There are also many people who don't understand the way MFP works, how BMR rates are calculated, and how calorie deficits, activity settings and exercise calories work. This all really works, but yes, it takes a lot of patience to do it right. There are loads of people who clearly aren't content to lose the weight slowly - which is the safest and most permanent way to lose. Everyone is free to use MFP however they want. However, I feel it's best to use the program as it was intended, because it REALLY IS set up to help you do this slowly, gradually, and successfully. Good luck to everyone! :flowerforyou:
  • jkestens63
    jkestens63 Posts: 1,164 Member
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    Me too, I only eat when I'm hungry. I notice some people log in every breath they take and then eat it back.. something like 800 calories and then wonder why they're not losing any weight. :S
    I eat back most of mine... typically burn at least 1,000 a day, and I have lost a lot of weight. If I don't eat them back I end up binging after a few days, like my body is telling me I am not fueling it enough so will take what it can get.

    But that is me and what works for me.
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
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    I am new to this forum (almost a week in) and I asked a question concerning this and I got different feedback. After reading the posts I decided to at least eat half my excercise calories back. I am going to be doing my weigh in tomorrow and honestly if I saw the weightloss was not significant then I would just go back to eating within my calories and not use my excercise calories. Also I workout pretty regularly and I don't log every single workout I do so I still try to over compensate for the extra calories consumed on days that I log my excercise.

    A week really isn't enough time to notice a change, good or bad. If I were you I would give it a month. I've gained weight back because I got lazy after my wedding, but in two years time I lose 50 pounds, looked and felt great, had muscle tone and no saggy skin and I ate back 90% of my exercise calories.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    As long as your don't have more than a 500 calorie deficit, then you don't have to eat them back. The biggest thing is making sure you calculate your BMR correctly. Once you get beyond that deficit, you will slow the progress of losing weight. Also, when you eat the correct amount of calories, you will increase your metabolism which increase the calories you burn at rest. This is actually why weight training is important. Muscle burns fat and the more muscle you have the more calories you burn at rest. Heck, I eat 2600 calories and I keep body fat (and some weight). Heck, my friend eats 5000 calories a day and has 6% body fat but his BMR is 4000 calories. If you figure out what you burn and back off 500, you don't have to eat back your exercise calories. Just my 2 cents.
  • aclark6818
    aclark6818 Posts: 209 Member
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    I was eating 800 to 1,000 a day. I was stuck. Upping the calories to 1200 and eating back my exercise calories I've lost almost 6 lbs. (the ticker says six but it's more like 5 and 1/2) in two weeks. There was one day were I burned off 800 + in exercise so I didn't try to eat all of those back, but in general I eat them back otherwise I get stuck.


    That has happened to me also--I felt better when I ate some of my calories back--keeping under my goal calories
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    I agree....eating really is only supposed to refuel us right? So if we ate to eat back calories when we aren't hungry isnt that over eating? And if we are eating back exercise calories aren't' we just going backwards and maintaining? It doesn't make sense to me either. So, I am with you. I will let my body be the one to tell me.

    No, you are confused as to how MFP works. It is different than most other counters/plans. Most plans use your exercise to create your deficit for weight loss, keeping your daily cal goal static.

    MFP was designed with the idea that many people can't exercise regularly, or at all, due to physical limitations or time. They also recognized that most people set up an exercise plan, but as we all know, that's not necessarily what actually happens every day. So they built the site to allow for weight loss with or without exercise.

    MFP creates a BUILT IN CALORIE DEFICIT based on your loss per week goal, regardless of exercise. So when you log exercise, cals are added back in to keep that deficit stable. If you don't replace those cals, you've made your deficit larger than you (presumably) intended. A larger deficit does not necessarily mean faster/more weight loss; it is usually unhealthy and unsustainable. It is important to fuel the body properly, or it may begin to slow metabolism and burn muscle as fuel.

    People with a lot to lose (50+ lbs) can often get away with eating only some or none of their exercise cals. Those who have less to lose risk more by not eating them. It's up to the individual whether they are ok with those risks.
  • CallejaFairey
    CallejaFairey Posts: 391 Member
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    well..i would say, one thing to consider to all those who don't eat them back....this place is about setting yourself up to easily maintain a healthy lifestyle once you have reached your goal, as well as getting to that goal in a healthy way. you can't really compare the people on Biggest Loser to most people on here. those people on the show have constant doctor supervision...can you say the same about you? 1/2lb loss a week is a good loss. specially as it depends on what size you are to start with...larger people, like me, can stand to lose a bit more each week because we just have so much more to lose. a smaller person looking to lose a total of 20lbs should not be aiming for 2lbs a week loss. that is just too darn stressful on the body ya know?

    in the end though, to each their own.

    my personal belief, eat all those cals back, but it comes from personal experience.
    i started a new job 2 months ago. and with this job, i went from being pretty much sedentary, to active, which meant my cals went up. as i have lots to lose, i figured it was no big deal if i didn't eat my full amount of cals alloted to me. big mistake, i have yo-yo'd back and forth, gaining, or not losing anything, to losing a bit, and then gaining it back. the only time i lose consistantly, and at a number i am trying for, is when i eat as close as possible to my cals limit, including whatever extras i get from the exercise i do occasionally.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    is it good to only eat when ur hungry ?

    Not for most people just starting out. Hunger cues in someone who is overweight or who has had poor eating habits are NOT reliable. It takes time for the hormones that regulate appetite to balance out.

    Might help to read this:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/231636-the-eating-when-you-re-not-hungry-dilemma
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    I always eat back ALL of my exercise calories. If I don't eat them back -- I will be way below my daily calorie needs and after a few days this causes me to start to gain weight. I actually LOSE weight by EATING. Now, this doesn't mean I go out and eat a Big Mac meal. I try and eat foods that are good for me.

    I am currently eating 2200 calories a day and lost 4lbs in one week!
  • stariera
    stariera Posts: 224
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    I eat lots, I mean I literally eat 6 times a day... I eat more veggies though then carbs or proteins. I am always over on my proteins because they are spread through out the day. I am a very active person I am honest about the amount of activity I have every day. I don't think I could add more calories without adding more carbs which honestly I don't lose when I'm eating tons of them. I get the main source of my carbs in my breakfast that way I have plenty of time to burn them. I am never hungry did I mention the 6 meals in a day... I never make up my calories , I always have energy and have even spoken with my doctor about it. He told me as long as I make up some of them its ok... that he knows my struggle and as long as I am healthy my blood pressure, blood sugars, and my energy are all good then keep up the good work... when any of those go off... then change it up. He knows I'm getting all of my vitamins and he knows I am getting a ton of veggies... I mean heck probably 6-8 cups of veggies or more a day. I get at least 10 oz of protein a day not to mention protein shakes... I just get lean protein like fish or chicken usually. I wish all good luck on their journey.
  • teremenmar
    teremenmar Posts: 37 Member
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    So....you didn't answer the question....Yes...or No???
  • rocklion
    rocklion Posts: 69 Member
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    "Listen to your body. If you are hungry, eat. If you aren't hungry, don't eat. It's as simple as that."

    It's not that simple. If that we're the case, when you get that 10 o'clock food craving, it would be perfectly okay to eat it, but the problem is when you go to sleep an hour later it's not burning off because you're sleeping and your metabolism is lowered. Another poster talked about how if you don't eat after awhile and you're not hungry then does that mean you're not hungry and shouldn't eat.

    Food is fuel. Everything you do or not doing makes it react differently. Some of the points here are not made to be judgmental. Some people can take them that way, I'm sure. But for the most part everyone here is trying to encourage each other for the same goal. But if you don't learn everything about how it works, you can risk gaining it all back. It's just not about eating less and working out more. That works for awhile, but its not good for the long term. It's also about knowing what to eat, how to exercise and more importantly doing it in a way that feels right for you and you can see yourself doing for a lifetime.
  • ladyhawk00
    ladyhawk00 Posts: 2,457 Member
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    So....you didn't answer the question....Yes...or No???

    MFP is designed for you to eat them.
  • goldenbutterfly
    goldenbutterfly Posts: 64
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    1. Eating back your exercise calories DOES NOT make you maintain your weight, and you're not "just eating back what you burned off". MFP already sets you up with a calorie deficit, meaning you're already eating less than you were before, you're already eating the right amount to make you lose weight, so if you don't eat them back, your depriving your body of even more fuel, thus you may not end up netting enough.

    2. Not being hungry is not always a sign to go by. Sometimes we don't feel hungry when our body is actually lacking enough fuel. If you feel hungry and you ignore it long enough it goes away for a while right? Does that mean you don't still need food?

    3. Telling people to eat their exercise calories isn't being judgmental, it's providing education. We're all here because we weren't doing something right and needed to learn the right way. Educating people on what they should be doing is not being judgmental, it's helping them. I agree that not eating back say, 50 calories is not going to kill you. I don't ALWAYS eat back every last EC, but eating 1200 calories and then burning off 500 and not eating them back is NOT healthy.

    I completely agree with you, i think in order to be able to mainatin this as a life long goal we need to take this into account. One thing however i would keep and eye on is the exercise calories as they arnt allways right they give you to many and some of the foods in the data base are logged in as the kj amount rather than the calorie value wich makes them wrong and way more than they should be.
  • chantel14
    chantel14 Posts: 128
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    haha, this conversation always gets so heated!!! :)-
  • lallaloolly
    lallaloolly Posts: 228 Member
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    yes, eat back your exercise calories. if 1200 is your number, you aren't supposed to just eat 1200 calories per day, you are supposed to *NET* 1200 calories per day, which means you always need a minimum of 1200 over what you burn off. this helps your body do it's job, process foods, raise your metablolism, burn fat, build muscle.

    you can either starve your way to losing weight, or you can do it in a way that builds a lifetime of healthy habits. MFP helps you do the latter, but you need to trust the system. if you are worried about eating back your exercise calories, then eat healthier foods to make up the difference.

    and also remember that getting fit isn't always about the number on the scale. truly working your body builds muscle and that will stall the scale for a while until the new muscle helps boost your metabolism and burn fat even more, as muscle weighs more than fat.

    just stick with the system - stick with exercising, stick to your calorie goals, and you will lose weight over time. it takes patience, perseverence, and trusting that each day you have done something to help you reach your goal.
  • christine24t
    christine24t Posts: 6,063 Member
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    Sometimes I eat them back and sometimes I don't - it depends on how I'm feeling that day.
  • realme56
    realme56 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    Sometimes I eat them back and sometimes I don't - it depends on how I'm feeling that day.

    I am with you. Most days that I workout I hover around 1200 but somedays I just can' t imagine eating anything more. Under once in a while won't kill ya.
  • cahira
    cahira Posts: 163
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    I try to not eat quite all of my exercise calories back - I might leave anywhere from 100-300 "uneaten". The reason I try to do this, is I seem to be hungry enough on my few days off that I like to have the buffer. But I try hard to net at least 1200.
  • joclougherty
    joclougherty Posts: 59 Member
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    I sometimes eat some of them but try not to eat all because at the weekend I might drink wine and eat a nicer meal than during the week so I end up usually averaging 1400 per day for the week looking at the iphone app with the weekly summary. Not sure if this is a good way to do it but it works for me as I don't feel like I'm totally on a diet forever! I am also trying to weigh myself and record it only once a week on a Friday morning (before the unhealthy food and wine at the weekend kicks in!). I have lost 11lbs so far and it's been 4 weeks so I'm pleased. I have been running more than usual and I think that's down to MFP and trying to make up for the bad things I eat now I can see them all so clearly in my diary! Jo

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