Do you compensate calories you burn in exercise?

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glennagael
glennagael Posts: 84 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Say you're sticking to a calorie deficit. If you burn an extra 200, will you eat an extra 200, even if you ate your allotment otherwise? Not sure what the best practice is there. Thanks!

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  • JaiDessaT
    JaiDessaT Posts: 74 Member
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    Eat half back. That's the general consensus.
  • glennagael
    glennagael Posts: 84 Member
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    JaiDessaT wrote: »
    Eat half back. That's the general consensus.

    Oh my gosh a great rule of thumb. Thank you!
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    I keep mine as a cushion in case my estimations were off when I was out and had no access to a scale. (Also, my scale is old and occasionally gives me a different weight for the same item if I take it off and put it back on. Not a big deal if I'm weighing green beans. Pasta, on the other hand?) So far, I'm not hungry.

    I should point out that my exercise is coming from long leisurely walks when I have errands to run and, on days when I can't get out, 30 minutes on a ski machine. I'm exercising more than I was before MFP, but it's definitely not marathon training.
  • lulalacroix
    lulalacroix Posts: 1,082 Member
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    I eat back a portion, usually not all. I'm always concerned that my estimated burn is too high.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    I don't because I never do cardio, and if I do it's not intense...and it probably just compensates for any lazy day I have. No really, I don't do "exercise".
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,108 Member
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    I eat back 50-100% depending on how intense the work out was and how hungry I am. MFP is designed with the expectation you eat them back. It often over estimates the burn amount though which is why most people only eat back about half.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
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    I eat them all back - but use my FitBit's numbers not the MFP database ones.
  • Lolalikeslolagets
    Lolalikeslolagets Posts: 142 Member
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    I'm not eating any back because I'm mostly weight training and I don't trust mfp numbers on calorie burn- probably any inaccuracies in my logging will balance out exercise cal (I'm loosing slowly so figure it's ok)
  • jamierobinson12
    jamierobinson12 Posts: 29 Member
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    Don't eat exercise. Your workouts improve your deficit thus getting you to your goals faster.
  • suzesvelte
    suzesvelte Posts: 134 Member
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    Depends what you've done. MFP certainly offeres the top-end figures for any exercises I've ever looked up so I would never eat them all back. I log less than MFP suggests and eat back some of them. Never all, simply to account for any inaccuracies in the food tracking too.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,069 Member
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    I eat probably between 50-75% back, because I am not too sure how accurate the tracker I am currently using is. I am still losing week in, week out. Hoping to have more accurate readings when I get my new Garmin watch.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,472 Member
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    save it for wine.
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
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    I use most of them - generally for wine - or save a bit up for the weekend/going out. I find eating them is a great incentive to exercise - I know people say "you shouldn't exercise just to eat" but I figure its better than not exercising at all!
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,867 Member
    edited February 2017
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    jamierobinson12 wrote: »
    Don't eat exercise. Your workouts improve your deficit thus getting you to your goals faster.

    And exceeding your deficit goals is always good because?
  • glennagael
    glennagael Posts: 84 Member
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    Thanks, everyone! Even a little nuanced the general consensus is clear. (: Really I asked because after meal prepping I didn't want to go to the trouble of cooking an extra meal after workouts... Gotta get my laziness in somewhere, haha. Thank you again!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    jamierobinson12 wrote: »
    Don't eat exercise. Your workouts improve your deficit thus getting you to your goals faster.

    This is ridiculous blanket advice. A bigger deficit isn't always better. If someone has a large deficit or is doing serious exercise, eating back at least a portion of exercise calories is key for meeting nutritional needs, avoiding hunger, maintaining energy, and avoiding unnecessary muscle loss.
  • Reaverie
    Reaverie Posts: 405 Member
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    I havent been. But I havent felt hungry enough since adding more protein. I just hope it means faster weight loss..
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    jamierobinson12 wrote: »
    Don't eat exercise. Your workouts improve your deficit thus getting you to your goals faster.

    Please watch the video linked in this thread. MFP is a bit unique in it's caloric estimation tools it uses to give intake recommendations.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    jamierobinson12 wrote: »
    Don't eat exercise. Your workouts improve your deficit thus getting you to your goals faster.

    This is ridiculous blanket advice. A bigger deficit isn't always better. If someone has a large deficit or is doing serious exercise, eating back at least a portion of exercise calories is key for meeting nutritional needs, avoiding hunger, maintaining energy, and avoiding unnecessary muscle loss.

    Exactly. Some of us frequently burn more than a thousand calories while exercising. That rate alone would result in two pounds lost per week and if there were added on top of a deficit it could be four pounds. Some people are even more active. If you deplete your glycogen while exercising and don't replace it you could fall into a coma or even die. If you put in more than 90 minutes of exercise you need to have a plan for fueling your workout. If you're putting in two hours and aren't eating, you're putting yourself in danger.

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