Exercise calories

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meiajs
meiajs Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
hi all, awhile ago when I did weight watchers they didn't encourage u to eat your exercise pts. so now I'm on MFP and I'm wondering if I should not calculate the extra cals/fats I earn? I was successful in losing weight before on WW but I did gain it back. so now I'm just trying to start fresh again. thank you all for helping
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Replies

  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    The MFP approach is to eat your exercise calories. Since exercise estimates can be inflated, probably start by eating back half or so and see how that works for you.
  • MarcyKirkton
    MarcyKirkton Posts: 507 Member
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    WW didn't teach me that at all.
  • Yi5hedr3
    Yi5hedr3 Posts: 2,696 Member
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    It's simple. ...if you exercise just so you can EAT more, then eat them back. If you exercise to lose weight. Then don't.
  • JaredEBrooks
    JaredEBrooks Posts: 5 Member
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    Hi folks - I'm working with a personal trainer to get in shape and lose 50 lbs. I post my cardio and have MFP set to add steps via my iPhone. Working with the trainer has increased my condition but I don't seems to be losing weight, matter of fact I might be gaining a little due to increase in muscle tone. With what I have read on this thread I should stick with my cal goal which is 1720 and not "eat" the additional cardio or steps cal additions. Do I have this right?
  • jdleanna
    jdleanna Posts: 141 Member
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    Yi5hedr3 wrote: »
    It's simple. ...if you exercise just so you can EAT more, then eat them back. If you exercise to lose weight. Then don't.

    Or, alternatively, if you exercise for fitness and strength and to preserve existing muscle mass while losing weight, eat them back.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    your calorie targets as per MFP are WITHOUT exercise...thus it is an unaccounted for activity...I'm pretty sure common sense would dictate that you should account for all of your activity somehow...with MFP, that somehow is by logging exercise after the fact. you should have some kind of allowance for estimation error though.
    Yi5hedr3 wrote: »
    It's simple. ...if you exercise just so you can EAT more, then eat them back. If you exercise to lose weight. Then don't.

    you actually don't know how this tool works at all...perhaps you should brush up on how the tool actually works before giving advice.
  • amswein1
    amswein1 Posts: 3 Member
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    JaredEBrooks wrote: »
    Hi folks - I'm working with a personal trainer to get in shape and lose 50 lbs. I post my cardio and have MFP set to add steps via my iPhone. Working with the trainer has increased my condition but I don't seems to be losing weight, matter of fact I might be gaining a little due to increase in muscle tone. With what I have read on this thread I should stick with my cal goal which is 1720 and not "eat" the additional cardio or steps cal additions. Do I have this right?


    Correct. you do not eat back your exercise calories to lose weight.
    If you do in fact get hungry after an intense workout and you have to eat, then a snack can help. A protein smoothie, or protein in general like Hard boiled eggs, jerky, steamed veggies will help with the feeling of fullness.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    MFP is designed to eat the exercise calories back.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    meiajs wrote: »
    hi all, awhile ago when I did weight watchers they didn't encourage u to eat your exercise pts. so now I'm on MFP and I'm wondering if I should not calculate the extra cals/fats I earn? I was successful in losing weight before on WW but I did gain it back. so now I'm just trying to start fresh again. thank you all for helping

    You can't really compare WW and MFP, because they don't use the same system (points vs. calorie counting). If you are using MFP, your calorie deficit is calculated for you prior to any exercise you would do, so when you log exercise, those calories are added to your deficit. You need to eat at least most of them back, or your deficit will be too large, and your weight loss will not be at a healthy rate for you.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    catscats222 wrote: »
    i don't count exercise here
    this site is too generous on exercise calories

    You can adjust the number of calories burned when you log the exercise completed.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
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    The people advising in a high-handed manner not to eat exercise calories back many not understand how MFP calculates everything, so it might be causing some confusion on their parts, or they may have had experience with a different sort of program in the past.

    MFP is designed so it's only calculating the calories (and a deficit) based on your daily life (work and normal daily activities like grocery shopping). Any purposeful exercise is not factored into your calorie allowance.

    The confounding factor here is that the calculations for exercise burns are often overstated. It's best to just eat half or so back. The scale will be your best indicator if this is working for you or not. Some burn calculations (running) are far more accurate than others (zumba), for example. If the scale is moving too quickly, you can eat back a bit more of your burn. Too slowly, eat back a little less.

    Give the scale test 6-8 weeks of data to get a real feel for what's working. Most people do really well with eating half back.
  • daniwilford
    daniwilford Posts: 1,030 Member
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    I have eaten at least 1/2 of my exercise calories back. As a shorter, older, female my base allowance is only 1200 calories. If I had not eaten at least a portion of the exercise calories, I would have been too hungry, and would have had a difficult time, mentally continuing to eat at a deficit while meeting my nutritional needs. As it is I have lost over 50 lbs while allowing myself an occasional treat, like eating birthday cake, a piece of pizza, or small ice cream.
  • booksandchocolate12
    booksandchocolate12 Posts: 1,741 Member
    edited October 2015
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    MarcyKirkton wrote: »
    WW didn't teach me that at all.

    Me neither.

    The rule of thumb on the WW boards was similar to what it is here; you can eat back your exercise calories ("activity points" on WW) but not all of them, since the WW activity tracker was absurdly over-generous in the amount of points they'd give.


  • ebouchie
    ebouchie Posts: 124 Member
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    I have an Apple Watch and I use the Activity app to track my excercise calories instead of MFP. And because it has a built in heart rate monitor I feel it is more accurate. For example, MFP says that 45 minutes of spin class burns about 385 calories for me but my Apple Watch had it closer to 300. But since there is such a variance I am skeptical enough that I back very little or at most 25%.
  • MarcyKirkton
    MarcyKirkton Posts: 507 Member
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    booksandchocolate12 wrote: »
    MarcyKirkton wrote: »
    WW didn't teach me that at all.

    Me neither.

    The rule of thumb on the WW boards was similar to what it is here; you can eat back your exercise calories ("activity points" on WW) but not all of them, since the WW activity tracker was absurdly over-generous in the amount of points they'd give.


    yep


  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
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    ebouchie wrote: »
    I have an Apple Watch and I use the Activity app to track my excercise calories instead of MFP. And because it has a built in heart rate monitor I feel it is more accurate. For example, MFP says that 45 minutes of spin class burns about 385 calories for me but my Apple Watch had it closer to 300. But since there is such a variance I am skeptical enough that I back very little or at most 25%.

    You need to eat back more than 'very little or 25%'. You should back at least 1/2.
  • JaredEBrooks
    JaredEBrooks Posts: 5 Member
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    amswein1 wrote: »
    JaredEBrooks wrote: »
    Hi folks - I'm working with a personal trainer to get in shape and lose 50 lbs. I post my cardio and have MFP set to add steps via my iPhone. Working with the trainer has increased my condition but I don't seems to be losing weight, matter of fact I might be gaining a little due to increase in muscle tone. With what I have read on this thread I should stick with my cal goal which is 1720 and not "eat" the additional cardio or steps cal additions. Do I have this right?


    Correct. you do not eat back your exercise calories to lose weight.
    If you do in fact get hungry after an intense workout and you have to eat, then a snack can help. A protein smoothie, or protein in general like Hard boiled eggs, jerky, steamed veggies will help with the feeling of fullness.

    Excellent, I made the change in my settings. Appreciate the confirmation and information.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I don't understand why people spend hundreds of dollars on the latest fitness trackers/gadgets, and then turn around and say they don't trust the numbers it's given them..
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    edited October 2015
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    JaredEBrooks wrote: »
    amswein1 wrote: »
    JaredEBrooks wrote: »
    Hi folks - I'm working with a personal trainer to get in shape and lose 50 lbs. I post my cardio and have MFP set to add steps via my iPhone. Working with the trainer has increased my condition but I don't seems to be losing weight, matter of fact I might be gaining a little due to increase in muscle tone. With what I have read on this thread I should stick with my cal goal which is 1720 and not "eat" the additional cardio or steps cal additions. Do I have this right?


    Correct. you do not eat back your exercise calories to lose weight.
    If you do in fact get hungry after an intense workout and you have to eat, then a snack can help. A protein smoothie, or protein in general like Hard boiled eggs, jerky, steamed veggies will help with the feeling of fullness.

    Excellent, I made the change in my settings. Appreciate the confirmation and information.

    @JaredEBrooks , Please don't take this advice, it is not correct. Using MFP's settings, you do need to eat back exercise calories, as they are not calculated into your calorie deficit.

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