Eating back exercise calories?
pbandz
Posts: 128 Member
Hello
I'm just wondering if you guys eat your exercise calories back.
I have a Fitbit that I have synced with this app that calculates my burned calories. I don't do intense workouts too often but I walk ~9 miles daily. That always adds some extra calories to my daily allotted amount.
Today I ended up divulging into them because I binge ate but normally I don't.
Since I'm only walking should I avoid ever eating them back?
I'm just wondering if you guys eat your exercise calories back.
I have a Fitbit that I have synced with this app that calculates my burned calories. I don't do intense workouts too often but I walk ~9 miles daily. That always adds some extra calories to my daily allotted amount.
Today I ended up divulging into them because I binge ate but normally I don't.
Since I'm only walking should I avoid ever eating them back?
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Replies
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I would only eat part of them back for a month or so and see how it affects your rate of weight loss. If you are losing less than projected, then eat less of the exercise calories. If you are losing too much too quickly then eat more of the exercise calories.0
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I can never decide either! What's the sense in burning the calories to replace them? But on the other hand, I don't want to eat too little!0
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If the calculation of exercise calories was perfect, you would eat all of them back. Your goal is to lose at a certain rate, and exercising without eating back means you are going faster than your goal. Just as you should eat close to your goal calories each day, you should eat back exercise calories, too.
I don't have a fitbit so I can't personally comment on how accurate the burns there are, but I have heard their cardio calculations (walking counts) are pretty good.0 -
Eat 50% back for a few weeks and compare predicted results to actual.
And if you lose to fast or too slow adjust up or down.
Exercise is likely to be over estimated.
For me I only eat exercise calories back if I have like 250-300 or I'm hungry.
I'm not concerned about eating back 100 calories or less.0 -
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Eat some of them back (about 50%), and see how it goes. Adjust depending on results. I feel that FitBit has been pretty accurate for me, so far.0
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My goal is 1450 a day which has had me losing 2+ pounds a week. If I ate any back it will slow it down but for someone already at 112 it probably wouldn't hurt to eat a few back if I'm hungry. But myfitnesspal a goal for me 250 over my initial calculated bmr because I put "active" as my status. Then walking 10 miles gives me +700. So I'm thinking the 700 is a little much because the 1450 already includes 250 active burned calories. Either way I have no intention of eating 2100 a day I'm just curious to know if I could eat around 1700 and maintain weight loss.
I just find it confusing because I'm only walking, not anything intensive.0 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »Eat some of them back (about 50%), and see how it goes. Adjust depending on results. I feel that FitBit has been pretty accurate for me, so far.
Well it's relieving to know the Fitbit is calculating pretty accurately. I may change my activity to sedentary and that way the calories calculated are on top of my bmr0 -
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The only exercise I do is walking. I aim for a minimum of 20,000 steps a day, which is roughly 15kms.
I eat at least 50% of my exercise calories back, sometimes more.0 -
I don't even think of it as "eating back" the exercise calories any more, though I suppose that's what I do. I generally eat to fill my hunger (including snacks) but it generally works out to about 50% of my exercise calories each day. I set MFP to "sedentary".
So far this has worked for the last year. I've lost 60 lbs in the last 11 months.0 -
My goal is 1450 a day which has had me losing 2+ pounds a week. If I ate any back it will slow it down but for someone already at 112 it probably wouldn't hurt to eat a few back if I'm hungry. But myfitnesspal a goal for me 250 over my initial calculated bmr because I put "active" as my status. Then walking 10 miles gives me +700. So I'm thinking the 700 is a little much because the 1450 already includes 250 active burned calories. Either way I have no intention of eating 2100 a day I'm just curious to know if I could eat around 1700 and maintain weight loss.
I just find it confusing because I'm only walking, not anything intensive.
Your activity level should be based on your activity excluding excercise. Do you walk 10 miles as exercise or as incidental walking through out the day?
Maybe you are sedentary and should be logging you walking as exercise or maybe your lightly active and shouldn't be logging your walking.
Sounds a little like your double counting your walking.
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Setting my activity to 0 added the 250 it initially had included into my goal, to my total burned calories. So I guess it doesn't matter
The FitBit adjustment will vary with your daily goal. Let me try to explain that better. Regardless of whether you say sedentary or active, FitBit has decided that you should be eating X number of calories based on your goal and your activity level. I have my daily set at 1600 because I would harm someone if I had to eat much lower. Okay, I probably wouldn't, but I also know that to fuel my workouts, I need to eat more. I have to be fairly busy to get calories from FitBit, but because I know that I have very lazy days, I ignore my exercise calories, so that it balances out over the week.
Additionally, at your current weight, trying to lose 2lb/week is an aggressive goal. There is nothing wrong with losing a few vanity pounds more slowly (you are at a healthy weight). In fact, it would be better for you.0 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »Eat some of them back (about 50%), and see how it goes. Adjust depending on results. I feel that FitBit has been pretty accurate for me, so far.
Well it's relieving to know the Fitbit is calculating pretty accurately. I may change my activity to sedentary and that way the calories calculated are on top of my bmr
Doesn't having a Fitbit make it so activity level in mfp irrelevant? Assuming you have negative adjustments on.
Should it adjust up or down based on your actual activity, your tdee?
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My goal is 1450 a day which has had me losing 2+ pounds a week. If I ate any back it will slow it down but for someone already at 112 it probably wouldn't hurt to eat a few back if I'm hungry. But myfitnesspal a goal for me 250 over my initial calculated bmr because I put "active" as my status. Then walking 10 miles gives me +700. So I'm thinking the 700 is a little much because the 1450 already includes 250 active burned calories. Either way I have no intention of eating 2100 a day I'm just curious to know if I could eat around 1700 and maintain weight loss.
I just find it confusing because I'm only walking, not anything intensive.
Your activity level should be based on your activity excluding excercise. Do you walk 10 miles as exercise or as incidental walking through out the day?
Maybe you are sedentary and should be logging you walking as exercise or maybe your lightly active and shouldn't be logging your walking.
Sounds a little like your double counting your walking.
My Fitbit is connected to this app. It automatically calcs and adds calories for me. I walk 10 miles a day to stay active so I walk at a moderate pace for an hour or so at a time.
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nutmegoreo wrote: »Eat some of them back (about 50%), and see how it goes. Adjust depending on results. I feel that FitBit has been pretty accurate for me, so far.
Well it's relieving to know the Fitbit is calculating pretty accurately. I may change my activity to sedentary and that way the calories calculated are on top of my bmr
Doesn't having a Fitbit make it so activity level in mfp irrelevant? Assuming you have negative adjustments on.
Should it adjust up or down based on your actual activity, your tdee?
Yes, it does. That's why:pbandz wrote: »
Setting my activity to 0 added the 250 it initially had included into my goal, to my total burned calories. So I guess it doesn't matter0 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »Eat some of them back (about 50%), and see how it goes. Adjust depending on results. I feel that FitBit has been pretty accurate for me, so far.
Well it's relieving to know the Fitbit is calculating pretty accurately. I may change my activity to sedentary and that way the calories calculated are on top of my bmr
Doesn't having a Fitbit make it so activity level in mfp irrelevant? Assuming you have negative adjustments on.
Should it adjust up or down based on your actual activity, your tdee?
It may be irrelevant. Not sure I just know I have the two connected. What are negative adjustments? I don't know whether or not it will go up or down with my tdee. My bmr is 1200 and I calculated my tdee at 1900. I don't know how half this stuff works sorry0 -
nutmegoreo wrote: »Eat some of them back (about 50%), and see how it goes. Adjust depending on results. I feel that FitBit has been pretty accurate for me, so far.
Well it's relieving to know the Fitbit is calculating pretty accurately. I may change my activity to sedentary and that way the calories calculated are on top of my bmr
Doesn't having a Fitbit make it so activity level in mfp irrelevant? Assuming you have negative adjustments on.
Should it adjust up or down based on your actual activity, your tdee?
It may be irrelevant. Not sure I just know I have the two connected. What are negative adjustments? I don't know whether or not it will go up or down with my tdee. My bmr is 1200 and I calculated my tdee at 1900. I don't know how half this stuff works sorry
With my Fitbit it gives me a negative adjustment to my calories, meaning I should eat less, if I am inactive that day.
It's just an option you turn on so mfp can be adjusted up and down based on your activity.
Say you have a lazy day, should you be eating as much as you would on a normal day?0 -
On a lazy day you shouldn't, no. I think I have that option on though because the two are linked and my calories on here change with my Fitbit calories0
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Thank you so much for the informational responses
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I think 10 miles a day would be considered very active. I only have to walk 5 in order for me to burn what MFP determines an very active amount of calories.
Also, I know this from experience, if you are cutting calories and walking you will lose weight but a lot of that will be from muscle. I lost 35 lbs that way and my body didn't look different, just smaller. Preserving your muscle mass is extremely important when it comes to your metabolism, too. Lifting weights is key.
I say, yes, eat back your exercise calories. I burn 2500 calories without exercise. On days that I do exercise, I burn 3000. So if I exercise, I will eat 500 more calories. Overall, I shoot for a 1 lb/week loss which means regardless on whether or not I exercise I maintain that deficit. I hope that makes sense.0 -
I generally eat back most of them and am losing at the expected rate. Sometimes more than expected since it doesn't take incline into effect and I'm basically walking up a giant hill every day.
I pretty much exercise as much as I do so I can eat more, health is a nice bonus
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My goal is 1450 a day which has had me losing 2+ pounds a week. If I ate any back it will slow it down but for someone already at 112 it probably wouldn't hurt to eat a few back if I'm hungry.
At 112 pounds, you probably shouldn't be losing 2 lb per week anyway. Basically, all weight loss is a mix of fat and lean mass. You really want to push that hard towards losing more fat and less lean mass.
There's basically four factors that can promote a better ratio of fat to lean mass loss:
1. Having lots of fat to lose. The morbidly obese will naturally lose a better ratio of fat to lean mass.
2. Losing slowly.
3. Eating high protein meals promotes muscle maintenance.
4. Doing resistance (strength) training.
#2 is key - each pound of body fat you have remaining can only shrink by 31 calories (about 3.4 grams) per day, and that's a theoretical maximum that nobody will actually hit. To lose 2 lb of pure fat per week even at that theoretical unattainable level, you need at least 40 lb of existing body fat. At 112 lb, that seems very unlikely unless you are extremely short.
The rough rule of thumb to estimate where you should be is not more than 1% body weight per week - so no more than 1.1 lb/week if you're 112 lb. On the lean side, you probably want to lose less than 1% per week; if you were severely obese you could go more.0 -
rankinsect wrote: »My goal is 1450 a day which has had me losing 2+ pounds a week. If I ate any back it will slow it down but for someone already at 112 it probably wouldn't hurt to eat a few back if I'm hungry.
At 112 pounds, you probably shouldn't be losing 2 lb per week anyway. Basically, all weight loss is a mix of fat and lean mass. You really want to push that hard towards losing more fat and less lean mass.
There's basically four factors that can promote a better ratio of fat to lean mass loss:
1. Having lots of fat to lose. The morbidly obese will naturally lose a better ratio of fat to lean mass.
2. Losing slowly.
3. Eating high protein meals promotes muscle maintenance.
4. Doing resistance (strength) training.
#2 is key - each pound of body fat you have remaining can only shrink by 31 calories (about 3.4 grams) per day, and that's a theoretical maximum that nobody will actually hit. To lose 2 lb of pure fat per week even at that theoretical unattainable level, you need at least 40 lb of existing body fat. At 112 lb, that seems very unlikely unless you are extremely short.
The rough rule of thumb to estimate where you should be is not more than 1% body weight per week - so no more than 1.1 lb/week if you're 112 lb. On the lean side, you probably want to lose less than 1% per week; if you were severely obese you could go more.
Thank you. Yea I will try to slow it down a bit then. Also I am quite short I'm 5'1" but not super short.
Thank you so much!!0
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