Eating my exercise logged calories?

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brn_deveney
brn_deveney Posts: 20 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
After my gym workout(cardio), I log my minutes and calories burned. I noticed that when I do so, that it increases my calories and macros. Do I eat those? Thanks in advance.

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  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
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    That's how the site and your calorie goal works. Have a read of the sticky threads at the top of the getting started forum.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    the calorie recommendations (IIRC) on MFP are built with the premise that you will eat at least some of your exercise calories back - personally, I have the exercise compensation calories disabled but have a slightly higher overall calorie count
  • brn_deveney
    brn_deveney Posts: 20 Member
    edited January 2017
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    My current macros have been set to 96 grams of protein, 240 grams of carbs, and 64 grams of fat. I'm 185 and am trying to just tone.
  • Commander_Keen
    Commander_Keen Posts: 1,179 Member
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    brn_deveney wrote: »
    After my gym workout(cardio), I log my minutes and calories burned. I noticed that when I do so, that it increases my calories and macros. Do I eat those? Thanks in advance.

    Try eating your calories back for a month and compare the results with a month that you don't eat them back.
    Remember the bigger deficit, the bigger weight loss you should have.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,010 Member
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    MFP uses the NEAT method, and as such the system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back.

    My FitBit One is far less generous with calories than the MFP database and I comfortably eat 100% of the calories I earn from it back.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
  • robertaosborne
    robertaosborne Posts: 1 Member
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    I find it almost impossible to stick with the plan if I don't eat the calories back, especially after something strenuous like karate, long runs or weights.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
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    Your activity level in MFP doesn't include exercise activity...so your calorie target is based on you doing no exercise whatsoever. Common sense would dictate that exercise activity should be accounted for somewhere and that additional activity beyond your base level of activity would result in increased energy expenditure and thus a need to fuel it.

    Just look at the math. Let's say I tell MFP I want to lose 1 Lb per week...MFP will give me a calorie target of 1900ish calories. This means that MFP is estimating my non exercise maintenance calories to be around 2,400...so, I have a 500 calorie deficit from that number to lose 1 Lb per week...2,400-1900=500.

    Now let's say I exercise and burn 900 calories during a 90 minute tempo ride...I would need to fuel that, otherwise my deficit would be too large and ultimately my cycling performance and recovery would suffer...so I eat back those 900 calories, but I still maintain a 500 calorie deficit at 1,900 + 900=2,800 calories because my maintenance requirements would have increased as well to 2,400 + 900=3,300 and 3,300 - 2,800 = 500 calorie deficit still.

    You just have to be careful estimating expenditure...it can be tricky and most people overestimate their energy expenditure from exercise...people are also often inaccurate in logging...the combination of inaccuracies often results in, "it doesn't work"...when in fact, it does work...it's just that people are for *kitten* when it comes to logging accurately and estimating their energy expenditure accurately.
  • joemac1988
    joemac1988 Posts: 1,021 Member
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    brn_deveney wrote: »
    After my gym workout(cardio), I log my minutes and calories burned. I noticed that when I do so, that it increases my calories and macros. Do I eat those? Thanks in advance.

    This isn't a yes or no question...that completely depends on how big a caloric deficit that puts you in. Ultimately, you want to be in a slight deficit, not TOO much (assuming you're trying to lose weight). So, if your macros are set to say a 500 calorie deficit and then you burn an additional 500 calories, you WOULD want to eat them back because 1,000 calorie deficit is probably too aggressive. Conversely, if you were at a 250 calorie deficit and then burned 250 calories, you probably don't want to eat those back.

    You can set it to not deduct calories burned BTW. That is nice to do if your calories burned daily fluctuates. For me, I have that turned off because I workout every morning for 90 minutes so it's pretty consistent.

    Happy to go into more detail if you want...
  • brn_deveney
    brn_deveney Posts: 20 Member
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    I do a 3 mile run on the treadmill before I do strength training but I also work an active job at a produce warehouse so that's why I'm confused on what to do.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    brn_deveney wrote: »
    After my gym workout(cardio), I log my minutes and calories burned. I noticed that when I do so, that it increases my calories and macros. Do I eat those? Thanks in advance.

    They suggest eating back only half, but if your goal is to lose lbs. then it isn't necessary (and could be more beneficial) if you don't eat them back at all
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
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    brn_deveney wrote: »
    I do a 3 mile run on the treadmill before I do strength training but I also work an active job at a produce warehouse so that's why I'm confused on what to do.

    The descriptors for your activity level address your job...as has been stated, you account for exercise activity separately. You will note that the activity level descriptors make no mention of exercise...Your exercise goals in MFP also have no bearing on your calorie targets..if you play around with it, you'll find that to be true.

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