Eating back exercise calories!??
bbrand975
Posts: 12 Member
I was just told that if you already created a calorie deficit and are working out a decent amount that you should eat back at least 75% of your "workout calories burned" to keep your usual deficit...can someone please explain??
Some info about my diet/workout just in case anyone is kind enough to help:
Female, 23, 158lbs
BMR- 1,441
Deficit calorie plan- 1,200
Normally I ride my bike every single day for 30-45min while pulling my toddler and 5month old in a baby trailer...up hills and down. MFP- 425 calories burned
Running/walk interval training in morning- 15-20min- 125 calories usually
Weight training 3x week -no amount
Help! I'm stuck at 158lbs. Can I stop eating back any calories burned?? I'm breastfeeding the five month old as well.
Some info about my diet/workout just in case anyone is kind enough to help:
Female, 23, 158lbs
BMR- 1,441
Deficit calorie plan- 1,200
Normally I ride my bike every single day for 30-45min while pulling my toddler and 5month old in a baby trailer...up hills and down. MFP- 425 calories burned
Running/walk interval training in morning- 15-20min- 125 calories usually
Weight training 3x week -no amount
Help! I'm stuck at 158lbs. Can I stop eating back any calories burned?? I'm breastfeeding the five month old as well.
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Replies
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MFP gives you a calorie goal that has a deficit built in. If you increase this deficit with exercise, it may be a good idea to eat some of those calories back to ensure you're fueling your body properly.
But if you are eating back your calories and not losing weight, it's a sign that something is probably off. Either you're eating more than you think you are or your exercise isn't burning as much as you think it is.
How long have you been stuck? Are you eating back 100% of the estimated calories burned through exercise? How are you determining how much to eat back?0 -
If you are using the calories provided when you plugged your stats into MFP, then yes, the deficit is already built into that amount. Theoretically, if you ate all your exercise calories back, you would still lose weight at around the same rate as if you didn't do any exercising and just hit your calorie goal.
That said, calorie burns are notoriously difficult to calculate and many burns using the exercises listed in MFP will be higher than what you actually burn. I use an HRM (heart rate monitor) to measure the calorie burns from my cardio and I try to eat 50%-75% of those calories to make up for any inaccuracies in the the HRM burn.
If you are breastfeeding and doing cardio, I would encourage you to continue eating at least a portion of your exercise calories, especially if your calorie goal is set to 1200. How did you get to such a low calorie goal, anyway? Are you really short?0 -
Yeah 5' 3"
I use a Fitbit flex but still learning how the heck it's supposed to track anything 0 -
I have been stuck at 158-156 for a month. I'm down from 185 after my 5month olds birth0
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I usually eat back what MFP tells me but the last couple weeks I have been making sure 150-200 is left0
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Yeah 5' 3" I use a Fitbit flex but still learning how the heck it's supposed to track anything
Even with that height, you should be eating more. When I said really short, I meant 5'0" or below. With your age, weight, height, breastfeeding, and considering the work that goes into being a new mother, you should be eating more than 1200 and still losing.
I have a feeling that your lack of progress is more likely due to food logging than it is to eating back exercise calories. Are you weighing your food?0 -
No I don't usually have time to weigh it0
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I suppose I'll have to start.0
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So far today, breakfast was 377 calories. 2/4 cup of disgusting Oatmeal, coffee with 1/4 cup milk and 2tsps sugar. Glass of orange juice, 8oz0
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There are a couple of greats video showing the difference in calories between similar looking serving sizes of the same foods. It's quite easy to be several hundred calories off when you're eyeballing versus weighing in grams. I would start with that (you can get a cheap digital scale that tares) and see what happens.0
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3/4 not 2/4 MFP is stuck in offline mode and sticking when I type. Sorry0
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So far today, breakfast was 377 calories. 2/4 cup of disgusting Oatmeal, coffee with 1/4 cup milk and 2tsps sugar. Glass of orange juice, 8oz
I have found huge variances between weighing oatmeal and measuring it with a cup -- things like this can add up to eating more than you think you are. Before blaming the exercise calories, I would focus on understanding how many calories you're actually taking in and adjusting from there.
(Why are you eating disgusting oatmeal?)0 -
Ok. I'll try it. Thanks for the help!0
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Because almost everything is too many calories and not worth it. I absolutely hate hate hate this. Lol it's come down to: eat one meal you actually like today or eat several craptastic low calorie meals. Hell even Tajik Osh (rice, shredded beef, shredded carrots, with fresh tomatoes, peppers, and onions) is too many calories unless you eat freakin 1/2 a cup.0
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Have you tried Jamie Oliver Superfoods? There are some really easy online recipes, decent portions. You have done so well losing all that weight so far, especially with two very young children. Hats off to you.0
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GuitarJerry wrote: »Actually, technically, you eat 100% of your calories burned. This 50% and 75% crap is total BS. The rule is, by the book, you eat them all back. Some people don't because they feel like they don't properly estimate their food intake, or that their exercise calories might be off a bit, so they just take a percentage of their burn. That's sloppy. Be accurate and be correct in your estimates. MFP gives you a deficit. So, if you choose to lose 1lb per week, MFP tells you how much to eat to lose 1lb per week. When you exercise, you increase that deficit. If your plan is to lose 1lb per week, then you eat back all of your exercise calories. Be accurate in weighing your food, and be accurate in your calorie burns from exercise. And, it should work. Sometimes, though, you have to play with the numbers because your body might not be average, which is what all the estimates are based upon. So, you might burn calories faster or slower than average. Over time, not 3 weeks, but over time, you should learn where you lose, and where you maintain, and then this gets much easier.
It's impossible to be 100% certain about the calorie burns. How do you calculate burns from strength training? What about interval training? That's why the recommendation is not to eat 100% of burns. You can make adjustments, as you pointed out, based on your outcome over time, but calorie burns from exercise are way too hard to pin down.0 -
Because almost everything is too many calories and not worth it. I absolutely hate hate hate this. Lol it's come down to: eat one meal you actually like today or eat several craptastic low calorie meals. Hell even Tajik Osh (rice, shredded beef, shredded carrots, with fresh tomatoes, peppers, and onions) is too many calories unless you eat freakin 1/2 a cup.
3/4 of a cup oats is about 450 calories (assuming you measured dry, the most accurate way to measure oats). The sugar is about 30 calories or so. The orange juice is about 100 more. 580 calories could be a fantastic breakfast sandwich, a big bowl of tofu/egg scramble, toast with nut butter, lots of things.
Lots of people love oatmeal. Those people *should* eat oatmeal for breakfast. People who find it disgusting have lots of other options. Weight loss doesn't have to be miserable.0 -
So far today, breakfast was 377 calories. 2/4 cup of disgusting Oatmeal, coffee with 1/4 cup milk and 2tsps sugar. Glass of orange juice, 8oz
You can eat you daily calories however you want, but I myself wouldn't care to drink them--i.e. I'd skip the OJ. I understand the need for coffee but I like mine (and luckily always have) with sweetener. And no reason to eat disgusting oatmeal.
One month is not long enough time to panic. Keep at and give it time. As others said, you should weigh your food as it is more accurate. Open your diary if you want more specific help.
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It's pretty miserable. My husband is naturally fit and eats cakes, fruits, meat as much as he wants. Our house is full of crap. I have a select few things in here I can eat...steamed veggies, sure...but I'm just going to be hungry in 2 hours if I eat 2 cups of steamed broccoli...0
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janejellyroll wrote: »Because almost everything is too many calories and not worth it. I absolutely hate hate hate this. Lol it's come down to: eat one meal you actually like today or eat several craptastic low calorie meals. Hell even Tajik Osh (rice, shredded beef, shredded carrots, with fresh tomatoes, peppers, and onions) is too many calories unless you eat freakin 1/2 a cup.
3/4 of a cup oats is about 450 calories (assuming you measured dry, the most accurate way to measure oats). The sugar is about 30 calories or so. The orange juice is about 100 more. 580 calories could be a fantastic breakfast sandwich, a big bowl of tofu/egg scramble, toast with nut butter, lots of things.
Lots of people love oatmeal. Those people *should* eat oatmeal for breakfast. People who find it disgusting have lots of other options. Weight loss doesn't have to be miserable.
+1000
OP - if you don't like the food you're eating to lose weight, eat the food you like but just less of it than you used to.0 -
It's pretty miserable. My husband is naturally fit and eats cakes, fruits, meat as much as he wants. Our house is full of crap. I have a select few things in here I can eat...steamed veggies, sure...but I'm just going to be hungry in 2 hours if I eat 2 cups of steamed broccoli...
Guys are bigger and have more muscle and tend to have higher calorie needs. One of the fun things about living with a husband, to be sure. But it is what it is.
I think anyone would be full if they just ate two cups of broccoli -- things like fat and protein help us feel fuller and broccoli doesn't have much of those (although it does have fiber, which also helps us feel full). I recommend checking out the "Recipes" and "Food" sections of the forum -- you may get some tips on new dishes or foods to try that will help you feel fuller without having to eat foods that you hate.0 -
Wow! Definitely going to start weighing stuff. I used to eat 2 scrambled eggs in a tortilla every morning...then nothing for lunch and a salad plate of dinner, but that gets boring every single day. It sucks being hungry, everything tasting like a pile of crap, and watching your family eat whatever they want and be fine lol. I never binge with them ever as well so it's like being kicked for having determination.
The only way I lost weight after my first kid is after developing an eating disorder and eating almost nothing a day except 2 boiled eggs...I got down to 100lbs from 180 then too but had to quit because that wasn't healthy. Husband is picky. He doesn't like "healthy stir frys" or anything of that nature. We are too poor to make separate meals, that's where the eating disorder came from the first time. It was wear your old clothes or eat.0 -
It's pretty miserable. My husband is naturally fit and eats cakes, fruits, meat as much as he wants.
Nope. There is no black hole in his stomach. This is a common helpless victim mentality I know I use to have. He may have more lean body mass than you, so he can eat more, but there is no such thing as naturally fit.
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GuitarJerry wrote: »Actually, technically, you eat 100% of your calories burned. This 50% and 75% crap is total BS. The rule is, by the book, you eat them all back. Some people don't because they feel like they don't properly estimate their food intake, or that their exercise calories might be off a bit, so they just take a percentage of their burn. That's sloppy. Be accurate and be correct in your estimates. MFP gives you a deficit. So, if you choose to lose 1lb per week, MFP tells you how much to eat to lose 1lb per week. When you exercise, you increase that deficit. If your plan is to lose 1lb per week, then you eat back all of your exercise calories. Be accurate in weighing your food, and be accurate in your calorie burns from exercise. And, it should work. Sometimes, though, you have to play with the numbers because your body might not be average, which is what all the estimates are based upon. So, you might burn calories faster or slower than average. Over time, not 3 weeks, but over time, you should learn where you lose, and where you maintain, and then this gets much easier.
The reason the advice is not to eat back all your calories burned is that MFP and gym machines use generic stats to calculate your calories burned, and for a majority of people, it's wrong. I know they both were for me. If you have a HRM and calculate yourself, you'll get much closer and then eating back all your exercise calories should be fine. But if MFP is telling you that you burned 200 calories and you really only burned 100, you don't want eat back the 200 because then you'll be over.
@bbrand975 yes, it sucks! Weighing and logging EVERYTHING is a major pain at first. And with a little one around, time is at a premium! But the benefit to it is not just to make sure your calories are within range, but to help you relearn eating habits, such as what a proper portion is. There are ways to make it less of a chore, but those involve pre-planning and pre-measuring out things for use. You can spend an afternoon measuring out snacks and various things for dinners so you'll have them ahead of time. And if you cook your meals, you can enter them in MFP to get the calorie counts, which also means they'll be there in the future. Losing weight doesn't mean limiting yourself to foods you don't like or the microwave type meals if you don't want to. It's perfectly possible to eat good filling meals that don't ruin your calories for the day. It just requires a bit of research ahead of time.0 -
I'm not positive but maybe it's so you can create muscle and tone, so you're not losing weight and left with loose skin *although You can still eat your calories back and not the carbs (that's probably it)
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Sorry I didn't see all these better answers here before I posted I'm new at this. And yes feeding that baby better make sure to get your calories so you are not deficient in nutrition. Have you tried the 21 day fix portion control it really helps0
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Also, remember that you are nursing. My guess is that your body may be "fighting you" to retain enough fat stores for the baby. Some people lose easily while nursing, and some, like me, experienced a big "whoosh" and lost weight when nursing was over. My son quit cold turkey (ow!). You may want to ask your doc about it.
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