I don't feel right eating exercise calories....
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Most can't even figure out how to log their food correctly; taking into account exercise calories just adds another layer of potential confusion.
I use MFP to track intake, not as a source of dietary philosophy. I didn't "eat back" my exercise calories, and I lost my weight just fine (even more quickly, in fact).0 -
Most people shouldn't because they underestimate their food intake anyway. Just do what works for you.3
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LiminalAscendance wrote: »I didn't "eat back" my exercise calories, and I lost my weight just fine (even more quickly, in fact).
That's the whole problem, though. For health and sustainability, faster is not better.15 -
LiminalAscendance wrote: »Most can't even figure out how to log their food correctly; taking into account exercise calories just adds another layer of potential confusion.
I use MFP to track intake, not as a source of dietary philosophy. I didn't "eat back" my exercise calories, and I lost my weight just fine (even more quickly, in fact).
Not sure why it's confusing, it increases your goal to keep you at the weight loss rate you set. You lost it quicker because you were in a larger deficit than it expected you to be.
Many new MFP users choose the most agressive weight loss rate which normally puts them at 1200-1300 per day, by not eating their exercise calories they would be undernourishing themselves, which can cause short term and long term health problems. That is not a better way to lose weight.2 -
MFP is designed to provide you a deficit without exercise built in such that you would lose weight even with no exercise at all. Exercising, and eating none of them back, is not using the system as designed.7
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sunsweet77 wrote: »I don't eat any exercise calories back but I am trying to lose. I go to bed most nights with 1,000 calorie deficit after logging all food and exercise.
Do you not feel.... starving?
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We're all different and we all have different ways of what we THINK works for us...
I'll admit I'll have good days, and then BAD DAYS I think taking a personal trainers advice would be best, do you go to a gym? Maybe ask one there? I know that for me loosing weight quickly had it's cons! I now log my smart watch calories burned from the step counter and TRY to eat all of them back.0 -
ShareeEmma wrote: »We're all different and we all have different ways of what we THINK works for us...
I'll admit I'll have good days, and then BAD DAYS I think taking a personal trainers advice would be best, do you go to a gym? Maybe ask one there? I know that for me loosing weight quickly had it's cons! I now log my smart watch calories burned from the step counter and TRY to eat all of them back.
Given some of the terrible advice I've seen received from Personal Trainers across these forums (that's not to say that all PTs are terrible btw), I don't think I'd ever advocate asking some random PT at the gym, any man and his dog can pick up a PT qualification online. That doesn't necessarily mean they will understand how the MFP system is set up to work as different programs work in different ways.
Whilst we all have different ways and means of seeing what works for us, MFP is set up based on the science of CI/CO and the best way I've heard it explained is thisladyreva78 wrote: »The number MFP gives you already includes your deficit to lose weight. So if you do exercise, then you get extra calories.
For example, a conversation between me and MFP:
Me: Hi MFP, I'm sedentary and want to lose 1lbs per week. Here are my stats!
MFP: Great! You need to eat 1500 cals per day to lose those 1lbs per week.
Me: Hi MFP. Guess what! I exercised today? Isn't that just amazing????
MFP: Great! eat more cause I didn't plan that into that number I gave you!
The general advice is to eat back a part (50-75%) of those calories until you know how accurate they are for you. If you lose faster than planned, eat more. If you lose slower than planned, eat less.6 -
ShareeEmma wrote: »sunsweet77 wrote: »I don't eat any exercise calories back but I am trying to lose. I go to bed most nights with 1,000 calorie deficit after logging all food and exercise.
Do you not feel.... starving?
Probably not if they have a lot of body fat. When I was overweight, I was able to eat a portion of my Fitbit calories back and feel fine. Now that I'm pretty lean, I need to eat my Fitbit calories back and then some. I always know when I didn't eat enough because I have crappy sleep.
For people with a lot of body fat, they can only sustain the "I don't eat any exercise calories" badge of honor for so long. They'll soon see that they need food for fuel as they grow leaner. The exceptions are overstated MFP calories and poor logging.4 -
sunsweet77 wrote: »I don't eat any exercise calories back but I am trying to lose. I go to bed most nights with 1,000 calorie deficit after logging all food and exercise.
Have you also got mfp set to have you lose x pounds by a certain date? If so, then what you are doing is very likely dangerous to your overall health and you'll end up paying for it in ways you do not want to.
The trick isn't to get thin as fast as possible. That's neither healthy, nor sustainable. The goal should be to learn how to adjust your lifestyle, so that as the pounds drop, you are also developing healthy habits.
It take time to lose the mental fat that goes along with physical fat. If you lose weight too quickly, your mind will be left behind as well.
TL/DR... If you've set mfp to a deficit, then YES eat them back. If you're not sure the burn is accurate, then leave a couple hundred on the table and monitor your progress.4 -
I know exactly where you are coming from in not wanting to eat them back. I have been logging exercise and food for the last 8 weeks, not long, but bear with me. Looking at my MFP goal and my net calories you can work out my total deficit (The 500 from my stats 1lb a week plus the extra by not eating the exercise back). Assuming 1lb lose is created by a 3500cal deficit then crunching the numbers, in the 8 weeks my real weight lose was 17lb, MFP gives me a figure of 16.2lb
So the number do work, if your eat the calories back then you will lose at the goal rate in MFP, if you dont eat them back you create a larger deficit and lose at that rate.
I am eating back some of them 50%ish so I lose at a sustainable rate.2 -
If your net calories end up being too low, you'll end up causing your metabolic rate to crawl. And then the stagnant weight loss epic begins. There have been lots of threads on them...................losing 10lbs-20lbs or more in less than a month then NOTHING for the next 3 months. Not an uncommon story.
You CAN'T outsmart your body. What you FEEL isn't something your body cares about. It just knows how to acclimate if you don't provide enough for it to function properly.
So help a newbie out here....
Right now it appears that I am sitting at a solid 1000 deficit based on all I can gather from my diary, fitbit, info, etc. Being only in my 4th week into the process with only about 2.5 of those weeks of tracking CICO, what would be the best indicator that I may be under-eating?
Calories In, assuming I'm measuring properly (I think I estimate high when I have to estimate) is pretty easy. Calories out seems like another matter. I can say that I've dropped about 12 pounds in about 4 weeks, which I don't suspect is sustainable. I do worry about whether my metabolism will slow down and how to tell for sure if it is. If I see the weight loss slowing down or stopping (not to say slowing down from 3 lbs/wk - I expect that), is that an indication that I should eat more? If I'm reading you correctly I think it is....
But there is so much information out here on these forums, I know it is not all correct.
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Silentpadna wrote: »If your net calories end up being too low, you'll end up causing your metabolic rate to crawl. And then the stagnant weight loss epic begins. There have been lots of threads on them...................losing 10lbs-20lbs or more in less than a month then NOTHING for the next 3 months. Not an uncommon story.
You CAN'T outsmart your body. What you FEEL isn't something your body cares about. It just knows how to acclimate if you don't provide enough for it to function properly.
So help a newbie out here....
Right now it appears that I am sitting at a solid 1000 deficit based on all I can gather from my diary, fitbit, info, etc. Being only in my 4th week into the process with only about 2.5 of those weeks of tracking CICO, what would be the best indicator that I may be under-eating?
Calories In, assuming I'm measuring properly (I think I estimate high when I have to estimate) is pretty easy. Calories out seems like another matter. I can say that I've dropped about 12 pounds in about 4 weeks, which I don't suspect is sustainable. I do worry about whether my metabolism will slow down and how to tell for sure if it is. If I see the weight loss slowing down or stopping (not to say slowing down from 3 lbs/wk - I expect that), is that an indication that I should eat more? If I'm reading you correctly I think it is....
But there is so much information out here on these forums, I know it is not all correct.
Calories out will depend on the method you're using to come to those calorie burns, the MFP database is notoriously inaccurate for some people (and I say some, because it's accurate for others), the same goes for cardio equipment burns that don't require your stats and that don't measure your Heart Rate consistently.
Most people will recommend eating 50% of your calories earned via those methods for a period of at least 4 weeks and then reviewing your weight loss. If the rate is higher than what you've set your MFP account to do, eat more of them and if it's lower than expected eat less of them and you should be on the right track.
Some of the initial weight you've dropped will be water weight and it probably won't continue at that rate.1 -
PM me your current stats (height, weight, age, gender) and what you're consuming calorie wise along with your daily regimen and exercise and I'll take a look.Silentpadna wrote: »If your net calories end up being too low, you'll end up causing your metabolic rate to crawl. And then the stagnant weight loss epic begins. There have been lots of threads on them...................losing 10lbs-20lbs or more in less than a month then NOTHING for the next 3 months. Not an uncommon story.
You CAN'T outsmart your body. What you FEEL isn't something your body cares about. It just knows how to acclimate if you don't provide enough for it to function properly.
So help a newbie out here....
Right now it appears that I am sitting at a solid 1000 deficit based on all I can gather from my diary, fitbit, info, etc. Being only in my 4th week into the process with only about 2.5 of those weeks of tracking CICO, what would be the best indicator that I may be under-eating?
Calories In, assuming I'm measuring properly (I think I estimate high when I have to estimate) is pretty easy. Calories out seems like another matter. I can say that I've dropped about 12 pounds in about 4 weeks, which I don't suspect is sustainable. I do worry about whether my metabolism will slow down and how to tell for sure if it is. If I see the weight loss slowing down or stopping (not to say slowing down from 3 lbs/wk - I expect that), is that an indication that I should eat more? If I'm reading you correctly I think it is....
But there is so much information out here on these forums, I know it is not all correct.
PS. This is NOT an invite for people to start PMing me asking to write programs and consult them on their weight loss continuously.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I only eat mine back if I feel like I need it, which is rare as I feel my workouts are moderate and usually only 30-40 minutes max. Here is an article I found helpful on the topic.
http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/ask-the-dietitian-should-i-eat-back-my-exercise-calories/0 -
Hehehe! Gotta be careful about what you offer ninerbuff!1
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I try not to eat back my exercise earnings. However, I figure that can account for the Pam spray and such that I do not log.0
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I don't, but I'm not doing anything intense (just getting back in the swing of things). I look at the #that pops up but I think my Fitbit shows high for steps, IMO. So I appreciate them and thank them but I don't eat them
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GuessIgottalog wrote: »I don't feel right eating exercise calories. Makes me feel like a failure and that I'm wasting all of my time logging and eating a certain amount and that I won't lose any weight. Anybody feel this way? I'm I way wrong? What can I do?
It's not a logical way to think about it, so probably not helpful.
You don't have to eat exercise calories back, but can set it up differently. I set mine up based on what I expect my TDEE (with exercise) to be, as it's pretty consistent. Another option is to plan to lose half from exercise and half from calorie cutting, set it up based on the calorie cutting part and then use the exercise for the extra.
What's not smart is to aim for the max loss with calorie cutting and then exercise vigorously and refuse to eat back any. That's not valuing health and fitness or sensible longterm unless you know you aren't a good logger.
I try to think of it as about fitness/health and eating enough to fuel my activity is related to the reason I do the activity -- to get fit and train for things, not simply to lose pounds.
Feeling like a failure because you don't stick to a particular (I assume quite low) calorie goal or telling yourself that you won't lose eating at a deficit if you eat any more is really unhealthy sounding and IMO counterproductive.
I think it's a terrible shame that many women seem to see it as some kind of victory/toughness/goal to eat as little as possible -- don't get that at all. That might not apply to you, but I see it at MFP a lot and it worries me due to the message it gives.6 -
Silentpadna wrote: »If your net calories end up being too low, you'll end up causing your metabolic rate to crawl. And then the stagnant weight loss epic begins. There have been lots of threads on them...................losing 10lbs-20lbs or more in less than a month then NOTHING for the next 3 months. Not an uncommon story.
You CAN'T outsmart your body. What you FEEL isn't something your body cares about. It just knows how to acclimate if you don't provide enough for it to function properly.
So help a newbie out here....
Right now it appears that I am sitting at a solid 1000 deficit based on all I can gather from my diary, fitbit, info, etc. Being only in my 4th week into the process with only about 2.5 of those weeks of tracking CICO, what would be the best indicator that I may be under-eating?
Calories In, assuming I'm measuring properly (I think I estimate high when I have to estimate) is pretty easy. Calories out seems like another matter. I can say that I've dropped about 12 pounds in about 4 weeks, which I don't suspect is sustainable. I do worry about whether my metabolism will slow down and how to tell for sure if it is. If I see the weight loss slowing down or stopping (not to say slowing down from 3 lbs/wk - I expect that), is that an indication that I should eat more? If I'm reading you correctly I think it is....
But there is so much information out here on these forums, I know it is not all correct.
The main sign of undereating is that you lose weight faster than expected. Not slower. If you persist in this then perhaps you'll see a bit (a bit) of metabolic slowdown over the long term but you will still lose faster than the expected rate, unless a binge-restrict cycle starts up. If that happens, you may maintain your weight because the binges and the restrictions balance each other out.
Other signs are tiredness, persistent hunger, tendency to binge, obsession with food and, longer term, things like dry skin and hair loss.
Some people who undereat somehow do not feel hunger, however.
In general, if you choose a sensible rate of loss (not just 2lb a week by default), eat up to your goal, and take proper account of exercise, you will be safe from undereating. But exercising hard and failing to eat it back can easily put you in that situation.4
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