Extra calories from exercise

mrsjyhale
mrsjyhale Posts: 1 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I noticed when I add my workout the app adds that jn and I have "extra" calories in my food bank. Do I ignore thosw calories and focus on keeping my calorie goal to lose weight or can I eat those calories?

Replies

  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    If you're using MFP as intended, yes eat them. They wouldn't add them if they didn't want you to eat them. With that said a lot of people only eat half back to account for any errors...
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
    Yes, if you are hungry you can can eat some of them back. Or you can create a larger deficit and not eat any of them back.
  • cindy21771
    cindy21771 Posts: 2 Member
    My question is do you have to eat the extra calories? I have a hard enough time finishing the calories set for the goal
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    Damn right I eat them, it's how MFP is designed. If you're not eating at least some there's a good chance you are undereating. I tried not to eat them for a week as an experiment because so many people don't do it. I was so dang hungry. Never again. I earned them I'm eating them.
    cindy21771 wrote: »
    My question is do you have to eat the extra calories? I have a hard enough time finishing the calories set for the goal

    Not to be harsh @cindy21771 but you didn't get overweight by not being able to eat. Add some calorie dense items to your day, oily dressings, avocado, chocolate, chips, whatever.
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,249 Member
    I can't exercise for health reasons but from what I've read in numerous posts here, people say that they eat back only 50-75% of the extra calories because MFP would usually overestimate.
  • Afura
    Afura Posts: 2,054 Member
    edited April 2016
    Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
    If you're using MFP as intended, yes eat them. They wouldn't add them if they didn't want you to eat them. With that said a lot of people only eat half back to account for any errors...

    The reason most of us eat back 50-75% of our calories is that the exercise calories in MFP are generic, and can vary a great deal depending on the exercise, and the actual effort that is put into the exercise by the user. It's just a estimate.
    IE I can say I was at Zumba for an hour and it will tell me I burned (I don't remember the real #) 300 calories, but really I was half @ssing it, and maybe burned 120.

    Machines are often not reliable as there is no telling when they were last calculated. If you have some sort of fitness band that gives you a better idea of what you burned, you can get a better idea (though even sometimes those are off).

    Overall though what people have said is right. If you left MFP calculate your calorie deficit, it is meant to be used with eating back exercise calories.
  • cindy21771
    cindy21771 Posts: 2 Member
    I have not been eating the extra calories because I have found that I am not as hungry since I began eating the healthier foods, drinking the water and exercising. I have lost. And I have been having servings of oily dressings, chocolate and even ice cream. However, I am getting fuller faster and I am not at all hungry at the end of the day.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Afura wrote: »
    Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
    If you're using MFP as intended, yes eat them. They wouldn't add them if they didn't want you to eat them. With that said a lot of people only eat half back to account for any errors...

    The reason most of us eat back 50-75% of our calories is that the exercise calories in MFP are generic, and can vary a great deal depending on the exercise, and the actual effort that is put into the exercise by the user. It's just a estimate.
    IE I can say I was at Zumba for an hour and it will tell me I burned (I don't remember the real #) 300 calories, but really I was half @ssing it, and maybe burned 120.

    Machines are often not reliable as there is no telling when they were last calculated. If you have some sort of fitness band that gives you a better idea of what you burned, you can get a better idea (though even sometimes those are off).

    Overall though what people have said is right. If you left MFP calculate your calorie deficit, it is meant to be used with eating back exercise calories.

    That's what I meant by errors, you just explained it so much better. :)
  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    cindy21771 wrote: »
    I have not been eating the extra calories because I have found that I am not as hungry since I began eating the healthier foods, drinking the water and exercising. I have lost. And I have been having servings of oily dressings, chocolate and even ice cream. However, I am getting fuller faster and I am not at all hungry at the end of the day.

    Well, you are in better position than most people. It's very easy to lose weight if you struggle to eat enough. But be sure to eat enough for health reason anyway.

    I don't have any problem eating or not eating. Sometimes I do need to see ahead and eat so I have energy for the activities that I will engage in. I know what you mean about eating while not hungry. Or feeling that you are wasting your effort with "unwanted" calories.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories