What's the point?

britterbrittney · July 2011

I see it ALL over here..and I personally don't do it.

I talked to my personal trainer about it, and she also told me I do not need to.

Exercise Calories. The point of exercising is to burn calories and become more physically fit. So, going with the burning calories idea. It takes eating 3500 calories to gain a good ol' lb and it takes working off 3500 to lose one. So, if I'm trying to lose weight, in my lil head, it doesn't make sense to eat them back. I eat my (try to) calories for the day. I looked at those calories as what I need to survive. I go to the gym to burn calories so I can lose some poundage, not to eat more food. However, I think if my body is telling me I need more energy (calories) I will eat some, because I think my body knows best.

Ahh. Okay, so I'm just looking for thoughts and what people think about this. Or why you choose to eat or not eat your exercise calories.

Just a friendly discussion will do.

ladyhawk00 · July 2011

Has to do with how MFP is designed.

Should help to read these:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/186814-some-mfp-basics

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/173853-an-objective-look-at-eating-exercise-calories

bry_all01 · July 2011

my trainer also says not to, as well, but then again, I'm counting protein intake, not calories.

DanaKinzer · July 2011

I try to eat back some of my exercise calories, but not all of them. If I don't eat back some of them then I will be absolutely ravenous the next day. A very long time ago, I had an issue with keeping weight on and had to learn to eat when my body said it was hungry. So now, if my body says 'feed me', I do it. If I am ravenous the day after a work out, I wind up undoing all of the hard work from the day before.

However, I don't eat them all back because I use the websites estimates for calories burned. Without a heart rate monitor, that is only an estimate. It could be accurate, could be over or could be lower. So eating back my exercise calories could set me up for failure.

I find that the way I do it is a nice compromise.

joehempel · July 2011

I see it ALL over here..and I personally don't do it.

I talked to my personal trainer about it, and she also told me I do not need to.

Exercise Calories. The point of exercising is to burn calories and become more physically fit. So, going with the burning calories idea. It takes eating 3500 calories to gain a good ol' lb and it takes working off 3500 to lose one. So, if I'm trying to lose weight, in my lil head, it doesn't make sense to eat them back. I eat my (try to) calories for the day. I looked at those calories as what I need to survive. I go to the gym to burn calories so I can lose some poundage, not to eat more food. However, I think if my body is telling me I need more energy (calories) I will eat some, because I think my body knows best.

Ahh. Okay, so I'm just looking for thoughts and what people think about this. Or why you choose to eat or not eat your exercise calories.

Just a friendly discussion will do.

Don't eat them back in my opinion....I try not to. The way it was explained to me was your body is like a gas tank.

You wake up...you eat...you fill it up....you use energy...you eat....you gain more.. The body becomes more adept and efficient at burning. You go to bed, and when you wake up at a deficit you eat again.

As long as you are eating every couple hours then you're good to go...it works for me! I'm not dead tired, crashing, exhausted, whatever, and I've been doing it for the past couple months.

papastu · July 2011

im 100% with you britterbrittney, my trainer said the same.

Just watch the response you get, love the post

Stu

Jojobeth · July 2011

I see it ALL over here..and I personally don't do it.

I talked to my personal trainer about it, and she also told me I do not need to.

Exercise Calories. The point of exercising is to burn calories and become more physically fit. So, going with the burning calories idea. It takes eating 3500 calories to gain a good ol' lb and it takes working off 3500 to lose one. So, if I'm trying to lose weight, in my lil head, it doesn't make sense to eat them back. I eat my (try to) calories for the day. I looked at those calories as what I need to survive. I go to the gym to burn calories so I can lose some poundage, not to eat more food. However, I think if my body is telling me I need more energy (calories) I will eat some, because I think my body knows best.

Ahh. Okay, so I'm just looking for thoughts and what people think about this. Or why you choose to eat or not eat your exercise calories.

Just a friendly discussion will do.

I pretty much feel the same way! I feel satisfied with the calories I am given everyday w/out exercise calories. It would be hard for me to eat my exercise calories too...I would feel like I am eating too much!

AZTrailRunner · July 2011

I suppose it comes down to how many cals you plan on eating and how many you plan on burning.

Simple scenario to ask your trainer.

I am supposed to eat 1800 cals per day. On my last hilly mountain run I burned over 1500 calories. At the end of the day I would've netted only 300 calories. Ask your trainer if that is a healthy amount of calories to support basic bodily functions.

chevy88grl · July 2011

In most cases, no.. you shouldn't eat them back. BUT, MFP is designed differently. I see someone else posted links as to how this website works. I would definitely read them.

I DO eat my exercise calories back. When I don't, my body turns into a grump and starts to gain weight. I know that I HAVE to net 2200-2500 calories a day in order to maintain my weight. If I go below that for a couple of days, I WILL see a weight gain within a week. Guaranteed.

Do what works for you - but if you stop losing -- consider eating them back for a few weeks to see what happens. Remember that you HAVE to eat to lose. You have to fuel your body.

britterbrittney · July 2011

I suppose it comes down to how many cals you plan on eating and how many you plan on burning.

Simple scenario to ask your trainer.

I am supposed to eat 1800 cals per day. On my last hilly mountain run I burned over 1500 calories. At the end of the day I would've netted only 300 calories. Ask your trainer if that is a healthy amount of calories to support basic bodily functions.

Great scenerio...I would assume I would need to eat more. Shoot, I would probably want to eat more after exercising like that!

NikkisNewStart · July 2011

I just burned 300 calories beating a dead horse... and you better believe I eat them back. Works for me.

yeahfatty · July 2011

i don't eat them .. i tried that one week & didn't gain ..but didn't lose either ..eehh, kind of counter-productive in my book then.

chevy88grl · July 2011

i don't eat them .. i tried that one week & didn't gain ..but didn't lose either ..eehh, kind of counter-productive in my book then.

One week, as a rule, isn't enough time for your body to adapt to change. You have to give it more like 2-3 weeks in order for it to adjust to what you're doing.

AshDHart · July 2011

I suppose it comes down to how many cals you plan on eating and how many you plan on burning.

Simple scenario to ask your trainer.

I am supposed to eat 1800 cals per day. On my last hilly mountain run I burned over 1500 calories. At the end of the day I would've netted only 300 calories. Ask your trainer if that is a healthy amount of calories to support basic bodily functions.

^This! It's simple math.

yeahfatty · July 2011

i don't eat them .. i tried that one week & didn't gain ..but didn't lose either ..eehh, kind of counter-productive in my book then.

One week, as a rule, isn't enough time for your body to adapt to change. You have to give it more like 2-3 weeks in order for it to adjust to what you're doing.

well i'm losing all the other weeks so i don't really see the point in changing things up if it's working out just fine.

sure if i start gaining, i stop losing or something .. i'll try to change it up .. but why fix what isn't broken right? (:

jmore85 · July 2011

I dont eat mine back, defeats the purpose in my mind too. Lots of people say they do , but I figure, I am trying to push my body to use it up its STORED calories, why would i give it extra calories for the workout. Also, I think if you eat back your calories you can end up doing things like eating at the end of the day, when really, we dont need to eat before we go to sleep.

yeahfatty · July 2011

i don't eat them .. i tried that one week & didn't gain ..but didn't lose either ..eehh, kind of counter-productive in my book then.

One week, as a rule, isn't enough time for your body to adapt to change. You have to give it more like 2-3 weeks in order for it to adjust to what you're doing.

well i'm losing all the other weeks so i don't really see the point in changing things up if it's working out just fine.

sure if i start gaining, i stop losing or something .. i'll try to change it up .. but why fix what isn't broken right? (:

that being said .. i'm still kind of taking it easy on exercise .. i never burn more than 700 MAX .. which never takes me under the 1200 cal limit .. seeing as my daily intake is 2080 cals. (:

funkyspunky871 · July 2011

Elleinnz · July 2011

Great post I just read - well worth looking at - and very similar to my experience...... to start with I did not eat them.... over time weightloss slowed to less than half a kg (1lb) per week .....- started eating them - back to 1kg (2.2lbs) per week average loss...:-)

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/295140-my-hopefully-interesting-experience-with-exercise-calories

xraychick77 · July 2011

its mosty personal preference. certainly there is no medical need to eat back. Unless you are going to extremes, like burning thousands of cals a day. but then whats the point of doing that unless you just really want a cheesecake. really you are correct in saying what is the point of exercising if you are going to eat back? i know a lot of people say it keeps your metabolism going blah blah. but in reality, your RMR is what it is and exercising a few times a week will not change it. even endurance athletes RMR's dont really change. and your metabolism is what it is. there is a lot of talk about foods and such that boost your metabolism..this is untrue..all anything food can do is cause you to burn a tiny bit more calories than other foods. its called the thermonic effect of food.

you burn cals from exercise and just daily living. i know people use the whole your body is a furance thing and you need to fuel it to keep going..yes and that analogy is often misused into you need to eat to BURN calories or keep your metab going. your metabolism goes all day and night it never stops, it doesnt go into starvation mode or any of those other myths.

its phisiologically impossible to gain weight on a calorie deficit. most causes and reasons people swear they gain weight when they eat less are things like water or bloating, bowel contents which accounts for maybe 5lbs but is not representative of body fat%. or they arent being honest with the amount of cals they are eating.

omid990 · July 2011

the concept eating exercise calories is all based on the numbers game:

Lets say i need to eat 2000 calories to maintain my weight.

A pound is 3500 calories so if i want to lose a pound a week, i need to have a 500 calories deficit (500x7=3500).

so then, the number given to me to eat is 1500.

Now, if i exercise and burn 300 calories. This puts me at a deficit of 800 calories for the day. if i eat the 300 back, then i still have the original deficit of 500.

if you normally eat 1200 calories, burn 300, then you're at a 900 calorie deficit. many people cannot sustain themselves on only 900 calories a day.

now of course this is an extreme simplification and nothing is this neat or clean, but eating exercise calories is reducing weight loss to calories in vs calories out.

What's the point?

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