Who eats their exercise calories and what success have you h

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Givemewings
Givemewings Posts: 864 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Interested to hear different view points!

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  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
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    I eat them during the week and sometimes on the weekend. On the weekends I am much more active (I have a sedentary job) and do a lot of heavy yardwork and walking. Since I don't really log those types of exercise, only my planned walks with the dogs, I don't eat back all of the calories. I always eat them back during the week.

    I have lost 25 lbs so far, 12 of them since I joined MFP. I am not looking for a quick weight loss diet, I plan continuing this lifestyle change even after I hit my goal, so I am not rushing to take the weight really fast.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    I work a sedentary desk job but have MFP set to moderately active so it is a catch all for walking the dog and general yard work and house work I always seem to be doing. I am never sedentary outside of work. If I go above and beyond, say a long hike, strenuous labor (last weekend I shoveled gravel for 2 hours, that was tough!) I will add the calories and eat back what I can. I used to eat the bare minimum 1200 calories, no exercise calories, and I went into a two month long plateau. Eating more, for me anyway, broke the plateau.
  • 1FitMomof4Girls
    1FitMomof4Girls Posts: 202 Member
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    Bump
  • TXHunny84
    TXHunny84 Posts: 503 Member
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    I have a sedintary job so I have to exercise when I get home. If I eat back the calories....I GAIN. So I guess with everyone it is different. If you feel tired and hungry then you should eat them cuz your body needs fuel. But if you feel fine and you have energy....don't.
  • kelika71
    kelika71 Posts: 778 Member
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    I'm just a housewife. I cook, clean, run errands and such. Nothing out of the ordinary that others don't do, right?
    I just bumped up my activity level to "active," increasing my cals and yes, I eat my exercise cals.

    I stalled last week in the loss area. My official weigh in is Friday, but already I'm showing between .2-.6 loss on the scale. Can't wait till Friday.

    So, eat!!! :)
  • tammyr76
    tammyr76 Posts: 174
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    I'm a house wife as well and I go to the gym 5 days a week for 60-90 mins and I have'nt been eating them back and came to a stand still,,so this week I have started eating some of them back to see where that leads....
  • WowieGarcia
    WowieGarcia Posts: 68
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    I do it backwards. I don't exercise if I eat only my alloted calorie allowance per day which is 1200. If I overindulge, then I workout. Successfully lost the 22 lbs I wanted gone, and still losing.
  • CaraRadz
    CaraRadz Posts: 169 Member
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    I've been on MFP for 6 months and have been eating back practically all of my exercise calories (based on an HRM) all along. I've lost 52 pounds, and I should note that for about a month of my time on MFP I was actively trying to maintain my weight due to my wedding.
  • sarah_ep
    sarah_ep Posts: 580 Member
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    I eat back 50-75%, unless I am making up for a indulgence the night before :) with results. I can't imagine not eating back exercise calories, I still get hungry as it is eating them back.
  • bmw4deb
    bmw4deb Posts: 1,325 Member
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    I eat them back only if i'm hungry, and never more than 1/2
  • tuffytuffy1
    tuffytuffy1 Posts: 920 Member
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    I am similar to another poster - I eat my 1310 calories, and if I do exercise, I have an extra snack or two throughout the day. So basically I eat all of my exercise calories. I'm going to officially weigh in on Friday, but unofficially I have lost 5 pounds in the 3 weeks I've been logging in to MFP to track my calories:smile:
  • tross0924
    tross0924 Posts: 909 Member
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    I eat 95 to 100 percent of them everyday and it's worked so far. :-)
  • SimplyDeLish
    SimplyDeLish Posts: 539
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    You'll get hottly debated words on both sides of this topic. I've been told by nutritionists, trainers, and doctors, NOT to eat exercise calories back until you are headed into maintenance. I don't eat mine - so far it's worked well!
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
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    It depends on what the exercise was. I trust that running burns basically 100 calories per mile, which is what I log and I will eat it back. I don't trust MFP's estimates of other exercise, nor do I trust the machines at the gym, to give me accurate calorie burns so I eat half of those back to leave myself a margin of safety.

    It's working very well for me!
  • Angeloftheshore
    Angeloftheshore Posts: 227 Member
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    First let me tell you I started MFP with 1200 cals a day. I decided it was not realistic for me. I wanted a liveit not a diet. So I upped my cals to my desired weight caloric intake for my height/age/activity level. That brought me to 1500 cals. This in itself I thought was going to make me lose weight slower, but that was ok since I wanted a permanent lifestyle change. Well to my surprise I now lose weight at a faster pace. I have more energy for added exercise for one thing. Exercise cals range from about 350-900 depending on the day. I usually eat back most of them. Some days if I am not hungry I eat less than 1/3, and some days around 1/2. But the most important thing for me is that I no longer worry about it. I am losing and I am eating well. Even daily deserts. I know I am lacking in some vitamins because of that, but I take a supplement and I enjoy the snack/desert. Dieting no longer feels like a chore or a goal, it's a way of life. I substitute healthy alternatives but deny myself nothing (other than regular soda pop) as long as I am careful of portions.
  • CakeFit21
    CakeFit21 Posts: 2,521 Member
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    I eat my exercise cals. 33 pounds gone, maintenance for 6 months, stronger than ever.
  • LauraMarie37
    LauraMarie37 Posts: 283 Member
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    First let me tell you I started MFP with 1200 cals a day. I decided it was not realistic for me. I wanted a liveit not a diet.

    Hahahaha angeloftheshore, I love that line.

    I did not eat back my exercise calories for a long, long time and my weight basically stayed the same, which was SO frustrating. Since joining MFP a month ago I have started eating back my exercise calories (I'm almost doubling what I ate before!) and I am dropping weight so quickly - AND I am breaking through new fitness goals all the time!

    Do it! Eat back your exercise calories!
  • foreverloved
    foreverloved Posts: 220 Member
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    I started out at a low calorie intake (1100-1200)and not eating exercise cals and I hit a plateau after losing ~15 lbs. I read a lot of success stories about upping cals to lose weight so I decided to try upping my cals in general to 1500/day, zig zagging them. Also I started eating 50-65% of my exercise cals, the more I burn the more I eat back because I feel I need them more. So far I've felt much healthier and have continued to lose weight 1-1.5 lbs per week!

    I would highly recommend trying this to see if it works for you.
  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
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    Eat my exercise calories. Always.

    Eat at deficit (500/day) + exercise calories for two weeks.

    Eat at maintenance + exercise calories for two weeks.

    Lose weight for four weeks.

    WIN!
  • tammykoon
    tammykoon Posts: 303 Member
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    This is one of the MOST passionate topics on MFP. Everyone has to figure out what works and doesn't work for themselves. I keep my calories around 1200 weekdays and 1300 weekends. I try eat back to that level. Why? Because it seems to work for me. lol:laugh:

    In all fairness I am not able to exercise like some people on here yet. As my weight decreases my stamina increases.

    Good luck!

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