Do you use your exercise calories
barcardibird
Posts: 2 Member
looking for some help about whether people use their additional exercise calories please?
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Replies
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I do but I try not to use all of them. The risk is that with all the inherent error in the process that you may end up eating too much by giving yourself too many exercise calories. For that reason, many people on here eat back about 1/2 of their exercise calories. I don't record any burn for my weight lifting and then try to be conservative with my recorded cardio.
In the past, I've used the TDEE method but I like to extra motivation the mfp method (NEAT) provides through recording calorie burns. I bring this up because if you're using the mfp calculator then it assumes that you are, in fact, eating back your exercise calories.0 -
I did when I was losing weight. Personal choice, but I've also never felt like my body was hungry for more food as a result of the exercise. But my exercise is also quite varied in terms of burn rate as a triathlete (a swim might burn 200-300 and a run 600-900) and I set higher constant calorie rates for food and considered the exercise bonus deficit so my eating could be more consistent on a day to day basis.0
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Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of exercising ?0
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Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of exercising ?
No. The mfp calculator uses the NEAT method of calorie calculation which gives you a baseline calorie figure and adds calories for exercise not built into the baseline. The problem with it is that it is difficult to calculate the calorie burn on various exercises for each person so there is some noise in the system there. As I stated above, that's why many people on MFP tend to eat about 1/2 of their exercise calories back rather than all of them. Others use FitBits or other such calculators (which also have their own specific issues but are about as good as you can get on a practical level, at least for cardio burns).0 -
I have heard that you SHOULD eat some of the exercise calories back. My question now is, is it bad not to eat them back? Does it slow down weight lose or anything because the body needs more calories?0
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sunnybeaches105 wrote: »Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of exercising ?
No. The mfp calculator uses the NEAT method of calorie calculation which gives you a baseline calorie figure and adds calories for exercise not built into the baseline. The problem with it is that it is difficult to calculate the calorie burn on various exercises for each person so there is some noise in the system there. As I stated above, that's why many people on MFP tend to eat about 1/2 of their exercise calories back rather than all of them. Others use FitBits or other such calculators (which also have their own specific issues but are about as good as you can get on a practical level, at least for cardio burns).
I haven't been eating any different on Cardio days... I stay between 1200-1350 cals a day. I thought the added benefit of exercise is the cal deficit and the raise in metabolism0 -
sunnybeaches105 wrote: »Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of exercising ?
No. The mfp calculator uses the NEAT method of calorie calculation which gives you a baseline calorie figure and adds calories for exercise not built into the baseline. The problem with it is that it is difficult to calculate the calorie burn on various exercises for each person so there is some noise in the system there. As I stated above, that's why many people on MFP tend to eat about 1/2 of their exercise calories back rather than all of them. Others use FitBits or other such calculators (which also have their own specific issues but are about as good as you can get on a practical level, at least for cardio burns).
I haven't been eating any different on Cardio days... I stay between 1200-1350 cals a day. I thought the added benefit of exercise is the cal deficit and the raise in metabolism
Why are you eating so little? That's not even what most women should be eating to lose weight. The general guideline for males is to eat a minimum of 1500, simply to try to get all your nutrition.
The benefit of exercise is for overall health and wellness. Your deficit is built into your calorie goal already. as has already been addressed, this site is designed for you to add your exercise and eat those calories, in order to fuel your body appropriately. Additionally, if you create too large a deficit, more of the weight lost will come from lean body mass than most of us would like.0 -
sunnybeaches105 wrote: »Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of exercising ?
No. The mfp calculator uses the NEAT method of calorie calculation which gives you a baseline calorie figure and adds calories for exercise not built into the baseline. The problem with it is that it is difficult to calculate the calorie burn on various exercises for each person so there is some noise in the system there. As I stated above, that's why many people on MFP tend to eat about 1/2 of their exercise calories back rather than all of them. Others use FitBits or other such calculators (which also have their own specific issues but are about as good as you can get on a practical level, at least for cardio burns).
I haven't been eating any different on Cardio days... I stay between 1200-1350 cals a day. I thought the added benefit of exercise is the cal deficit and the raise in metabolism
Why are you eating so little? That's not even what most women should be eating to lose weight. The general guideline for males is to eat a minimum of 1500, simply to try to get all your nutrition.
The benefit of exercise is for overall health and wellness. Your deficit is built into your calorie goal already. as has already been addressed, this site is designed for you to add your exercise and eat those calories, in order to fuel your body appropriately. Additionally, if you create too large a deficit, more of the weight lost will come from lean body mass than most of us would like.
Well I have lost 19.6 lbs in the last 6 weeks so apparently what I am doing is working for me. I had thought about doing a test week and bumping it up to 1500 but my basil metabolic rate is 2000 cals a day so keeping it low is doing the job. Its not like I am hungry during the day I am eating 3 meals a day and feel just fine. I am on a Dr. prescribed weight loss plan.
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sunnybeaches105 wrote: »Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of exercising ?
No. The mfp calculator uses the NEAT method of calorie calculation which gives you a baseline calorie figure and adds calories for exercise not built into the baseline. The problem with it is that it is difficult to calculate the calorie burn on various exercises for each person so there is some noise in the system there. As I stated above, that's why many people on MFP tend to eat about 1/2 of their exercise calories back rather than all of them. Others use FitBits or other such calculators (which also have their own specific issues but are about as good as you can get on a practical level, at least for cardio burns).
I haven't been eating any different on Cardio days... I stay between 1200-1350 cals a day. I thought the added benefit of exercise is the cal deficit and the raise in metabolism
Why are you eating so little? That's not even what most women should be eating to lose weight. The general guideline for males is to eat a minimum of 1500, simply to try to get all your nutrition.
The benefit of exercise is for overall health and wellness. Your deficit is built into your calorie goal already. as has already been addressed, this site is designed for you to add your exercise and eat those calories, in order to fuel your body appropriately. Additionally, if you create too large a deficit, more of the weight lost will come from lean body mass than most of us would like.
Well I have lost 19.6 lbs in the last 6 weeks so apparently what I am doing is working for me. I had thought about doing a test week and bumping it up to 1500 but my basil metabolic rate is 2000 cals a day so keeping it low is doing the job. Its not like I am hungry during the day I am eat 3 meals and feel just fine.
Of course eating so little will result in weight loss. The thing with eating too little is that negative effects may not be immediately apparent.
Additionally, if your BMR is estimated at 2000, you are creating quite a large deficit with eating only 1200-1300 calories a day to begin with. Your deficit comes from your TDEE, not your BMR. So your maintenance calories are higher than 2000. Adding in exercise on top of that and not fueling your body appropriately is even worse. Now, depending on how accurate your food logging is, you may be eating more than you think you are, but you're still eating very little.
Your body can only burn so much fat per day, no matter how large your deficit is. The rest of it comes from your muscles. But, you are an adult, and can choose to lose your weight however you like. Just make sure you have accurate information and make an informed decision.0 -
sunnybeaches105 wrote: »Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of exercising ?
No. The mfp calculator uses the NEAT method of calorie calculation which gives you a baseline calorie figure and adds calories for exercise not built into the baseline. The problem with it is that it is difficult to calculate the calorie burn on various exercises for each person so there is some noise in the system there. As I stated above, that's why many people on MFP tend to eat about 1/2 of their exercise calories back rather than all of them. Others use FitBits or other such calculators (which also have their own specific issues but are about as good as you can get on a practical level, at least for cardio burns).
I haven't been eating any different on Cardio days... I stay between 1200-1350 cals a day. I thought the added benefit of exercise is the cal deficit and the raise in metabolism
Why are you eating so little? That's not even what most women should be eating to lose weight. The general guideline for males is to eat a minimum of 1500, simply to try to get all your nutrition.
The benefit of exercise is for overall health and wellness. Your deficit is built into your calorie goal already. as has already been addressed, this site is designed for you to add your exercise and eat those calories, in order to fuel your body appropriately. Additionally, if you create too large a deficit, more of the weight lost will come from lean body mass than most of us would like.
Well I have lost 19.6 lbs in the last 6 weeks so apparently what I am doing is working for me. I had thought about doing a test week and bumping it up to 1500 but my basil metabolic rate is 2000 cals a day so keeping it low is doing the job. Its not like I am hungry during the day I am eating 3 meals a day and feel just fine. I am on a Dr. prescribed weight loss plan.
You're losing over 3 pounds a week and some of that is undoubtedly muscle. If that's what you want then yes, it's working.0 -
sunnybeaches105 wrote: »Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of exercising ?
No. The mfp calculator uses the NEAT method of calorie calculation which gives you a baseline calorie figure and adds calories for exercise not built into the baseline. The problem with it is that it is difficult to calculate the calorie burn on various exercises for each person so there is some noise in the system there. As I stated above, that's why many people on MFP tend to eat about 1/2 of their exercise calories back rather than all of them. Others use FitBits or other such calculators (which also have their own specific issues but are about as good as you can get on a practical level, at least for cardio burns).
I haven't been eating any different on Cardio days... I stay between 1200-1350 cals a day. I thought the added benefit of exercise is the cal deficit and the raise in metabolism
Why are you eating so little? That's not even what most women should be eating to lose weight. The general guideline for males is to eat a minimum of 1500, simply to try to get all your nutrition.
The benefit of exercise is for overall health and wellness. Your deficit is built into your calorie goal already. as has already been addressed, this site is designed for you to add your exercise and eat those calories, in order to fuel your body appropriately. Additionally, if you create too large a deficit, more of the weight lost will come from lean body mass than most of us would like.
Well I have lost 19.6 lbs in the last 6 weeks so apparently what I am doing is working for me. I had thought about doing a test week and bumping it up to 1500 but my basil metabolic rate is 2000 cals a day so keeping it low is doing the job. Its not like I am hungry during the day I am eat 3 meals and feel just fine.
Of course eating so little will result in weight loss. The thing with eating too little is that negative effects may not be immediately apparent.
Additionally, if your BMR is estimated at 2000, you are creating quite a large deficit with eating only 1200-1300 calories a day to begin with. Your deficit comes from your TDEE, not your BMR. So your maintenance calories are higher than 2000. Adding in exercise on top of that and not fueling your body appropriately is even worse. Now, depending on how accurate your food logging is, you may be eating more than you think you are, but you're still eating very little.
Your body can only burn so much fat per day, no matter how large your deficit is. The rest of it comes from your muscles. But, you are an adult, and can choose to lose your weight however you like. Just make sure you have accurate information and make an informed decision.
How is it worse? Our bodies have a limit on how much fat they burn per day? Never heard of that.0 -
There is no way I could sustain the loss I've sustained for 16 months without eating back calories. The hunger and sense of deprivation would have sapped my will.0
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I do not and find that i lose more weight that way0
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There is no way I could sustain the loss I've sustained for 16 months without eating back calories. The hunger and sense of deprivation would have sapped my will.
Agreed. People who have more weight to lose can withstand larger deficits for a longer period of time but it's not recommended to ever keep too great of a deficit because you will lose muscle in addition to fat. You also can suffer from hair loss, hormone issues, and a slew of other health issues. Not to mention being prone to binging after a while and regaining the weight you've lost.
I set myself to sedentary and eat back most to all of my exercise calories based on my Fitbit. If I didn't, I'd be exhausted, as I need the food to fuel my workouts. I'm bulking right now, but I'm 5'3" and 115 pounds and I was able to eat 1900 to 2300 calories per day to get down to 109 pounds.0 -
I usually eat part of mine but not always. I set my goal at 1 lb a week even though I have enough to lose to warrant a 2 lb rate. So I can eat them if I'm hungry or leave them and I will just have a larger but still safe deficit for the day/week. It just motivates me to earn more calories by exercising so it works for me. Faster isn't always better.0
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Sometimes, depends on whether I'm hungry or not after a workout. I remember last year I always left 500 calories left whether I worked out or not and it just wasn't healthy. I mean for someone of my weight I shouldn't lose 5 pounds in a week, but I did. Then again I was sick that week and barely ate. And now I'm rambling lol0
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Depends on the day.. if I'm starving and I have extra calories I eat.. however, if I feel fine then I don't. But then again I go for a weekly deficit instead of daily. And I monitor how much I'm losing, if it's too much.. I eat more. I do not want to lose muscle (well as little as I can).0
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I log my exercise calories in case I want to eat them back but most days I'm not hungry enough to use them0
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I consume some of my exercise calories.
If I'm exercising relatively lightly, I might only consume 50% of them ... if I exercise a lot one day, I'll try to consume closer to the whole 100%. Most days are somewhere in between.0 -
How do you get your weekly deficit? Is there somewhere on this app that shows or i need to bring out a calculator and calculate each day?0
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Aliciaposada wrote: »How do you get your weekly deficit? Is there somewhere on this app that shows or i need to bring out a calculator and calculate each day?
I got mine by signing up with MFP, entering my details, and selecting that I wanted to lose a certain amount of weight each week.
When I hit Submit, MFP gave me my maximum calories ... that's the most I can eat (without exercise) and still lose the amount of weight I selected.
Assuming that 1 lb = 3500 calories, and assuming that a person selects to lose 1 lb/week, their deficit would be 500 calories per day. Using the details you provided to MFP, MFP will calculate your maintenance calories, and then subtract the 500 cal/day to give you the required deficit.
Exercising gives you more calories to work with.
When you enter your food and exercise, MFP tells you whether you've got over your max calories or not.
Look at the information under the various tabs ...
MyHome > check Goals, Check-In, and Settings in particular
Food
Exercise
Reports
Apps
Or did I misunderstand your question ... evidently, in the MFP app(??) there is a "Weekly" selection, but it is not available on the desktop version.0 -
Thanks all, I'm going to go with eating at least half back as recommended by most. Thank you0
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I don't use them, mostly because I set my base calorie intake pretty high already - 2000 (trying to lose weight slowly) with the assumption that I will get lots of exercise within that base calorie rate. I have found in the past that when I give myself permission to eat more when I exercise more, I tend to over-value exercise to the detriment of my health (I'm rehabbing some injuries and tend to push myself when I shouldn't). I love to exercise, so I know I will do it without needing the extra motivation of being able to eat extra calories. Also, I'm on the keto diet, and it can already be difficult for me to eat the 2000 calories I already have within my macros (5% carbs, 75% fats, 20% protein, with no more than 30g protein at each meal), so I definitely don't need more calories to bother with.0
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I've gone with eating back 35% of my calories (I just did some calculations this morning).
By eating them back, for me that means that I have a pre- and post-workout snack.
I might raise it to 50% after I meeting my Phase 1 goal, but by then I want to lose weight more slowly. I've been able so far to lose fat and not muscle, but I try to watch of all this stuff very carefully. Thankfully, with MFP and other tools, I have no shortage of data to look at.0 -
Day 50 yesterday was the second time I dipped into my exercise calories. If my body says eat, I eat if it doesn't then I don't. My mental play now with food is I see it as fuel not as something I desire but it is something I need so if I am empty I cannot move. Something is working I am down 35 plus pounds since I started CICO with MFP.0
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No I use them for toning and weight loss.0
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I generally eat at least half of them back - sometimes more, sometimes less. This past week I made an effort to eat back less than half of the calories, and had a tremendous loss for the week. So I think I'm going to stick with eat no more than a 1/3rd back for another week and see if it could be a trend or a fluke.0
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I ate the calories back when I was losing and eat them back now that I'm maintaining as well. I use a FitBit so the adjustment is calculated when the two systems sync.
I'm a 5'2 female and I lost 30 lbs eating 1600-1900 cals with the adjustments, for what it's worth...0
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