Why do people eat their exercise calories?

See.. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

I sorta wondered the same thing. I try to stick to my calorie goal, but it helps to keep me exercising too

I agree with you 100%. Especially when people use every movement they make throughout the day to count as 'exercise'.
Making a sandwich 100 calories! Watching tv, 50 calories! Walking from the car to the store! 500 calories!
Life isn't a video game.

because that is what people want to do, and if it is working for them, why question it? Sometimes I eat my calories, sometimes I am too full to. Either way, I am losing weight in a healthy manner.

I think it differs depending on the person. If I only ate my 1290 and still worked out...I would passsss out! For me, my body needs the calories to keep going- and my weight loss has been just fine. To be honest, if I didn't eat them I would lose TOO quickly and start a vicious cycle of gain/lose/faint!

I don't eat back my calories but I see why people do. We're all different, we all need different levels of fuel to lose weight the healthy way. They may not lose weight faster if they don't eat their calories. 1200 was MFP recommendation for me, and I didn't start losing weight consistently until I upped my calories to 1500. I was averaging a pound a week, and I now average 1.7 pounds a week. MFP has a built in deficit, and you're right, the deficit is what makes you lose weight, but if you create too much of a deficit, your body's going to hold on to everything. The only way you're cheating yourself, in my opinion, is if you're not losing weight the healthy way.

I've just spent 3 weeks eating 1200 calories religiously, exercising 4 times a week and not eating them back and stayed at a plateau at 7lbs off for the whole time, I figured out as I was only netting around 900 cals a day 4 days a week de to exercise my metabolism was slowing down. I am now eating 1350 cals a day, exercising and eating back all my calories. I am still netting 1350-1400 calories but I am able to eat more and satisfy my body more and I have started to lose weight again already in 3 days!

There's a point where your body knows you're out putting TOO much compared to intake. I'm almost a year into my journey (and 15lbs left to go!) and if I don't NET 1300 calories a day I don't lose weight, period. It's my body's line on weight loss compared to "ZOMG WE'RE STARVING". So when I exercise and put out calories I NEED to eat back at least some of them in the form of protein shakes/recovery drinks.

I've been very lucky that I haven't ever had a plateau since I started last Aug and I really think that it's knowing my body and reading about NET calories and workouts that helped me to not have that problem that so many people have.

Well its because you are fueling your body and not letting it go into starvation mode. I eat about half of my excercise calories and I'm losing weight just fine. Everyone has their own ways of losing the weight whether they eat those extra calories or not. Just worry about what works for you :flowerforyou:

I would research into how MFP calculates your calories for the day and WHY it adds on the exercise calories burned onto your calories to be consumed for the day. There's a reason for it... MFP already puts you at a deficit for calories which is why it is so important to eat them back..

I'd much rather eat them back, maintain a high metabolism and lose at a more steady pace than drop 5 pounds in a week and have a crappy metabolism.

Seriously people no need to get bent about other people's choices. The basic idea seems to be that you should net fewer than 1200 calories a day. If you do you get that annoying little message from MFP that you are eating too few calories and your body will think it's starving. Also, sometimes people use their exercise calories to treat themselves for special situations.

Here is the fact: they earned those calories, let them use them how they want, it has NOTHING to do with your weight loss success.

And just as a side note, some people with the "I'm not eating those calories back!" mentality will hit a plateau, then start eating some or all of their exercise calories, and begin to lose weight again. So sometimes eating those cheating calories is actually the best thing to do.

Bottom line: we are all on the same journey to be healthy. If that means not touching the exercise calories, fine. If it means you want to use what you have earned, fine. But whatever you decide, let's all be supportive instead of critical on here, ok?

:sad:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/264361-can-someone-check-my-math-please

When someone attempts to create a new thread with the words "eat exercise calories" the site should not allow it and instead point people in the direction of an existing thread!

"There really is no "science" behind it. The only true science in weight loss is calories in vs. calories out."

......these two statements contradict each other.

I vote for consolidating all the mindless bull**** on this topic into one thread.

I really don't understand why. There really is no "science" behind it. The only true science in weight loss is calories in vs. calories out. I feel like eating your exercise calories is an excuse to eat more. You already ate 1300 calories... why would you eat 500 more? Excuses to eat more is how we all got ourselves into this place! I bet that if people didn't eat their exercise calories, they would lose weight a lot quicker! I am sorry to sound rude, but why cheat? You are only cheating yourself!

I never used excuses to eat more (I didn't need excuses, I just ate what I wanted, portion size was an issue, as was the amount of fat in just about everything I put in my mouth, so saying "I did XXX so I can eat that ice cream" are not how I gained my weight ... and I am certainly no expert by any sense of the imagination, but what I've learned from my own personal experience is this: If your calorie goal is 1,300 for the day and you eat that, but burn 500 of those calories exercising, your body is then trying to function on only 800 calories, which, for most people, is not healthy. Doing this over an extended period of time will adjust your metabolism, which will become slower and slower. As it slows down, if you want the weight loss to continue the only way to do that is to continue to decrease your calories even more. Already at 800 ... going lower is extremely dangerous unless you are under the watchful eye of a physician. You are also more apt to lose muscle rather than fat while exercising, which is the total opposite of my own personal goals.

Even if you lose weight initially by not eating back exercise calories, it is going to be a short term "victory" for what I presume is supposed to be a long term goal.

I've lost 108 lbs over the last year and a half and I have tried various things - eating my calories back, not eating them, eating breakfast, not eating breakfast. The one thing I (personally) learned was that I have to eat (and eat sensibly) to lose. If I don't eat breakfast and I don't eat back my exercise calories, it affects my metabolism which in turn effects my weight loss results and not in a good way.