NOT eating exercise calories
Lashawn71188
Posts: 13 Member
I'm so lost when people say they eat back the calories that they burn during exercise. My goal is to be in as much of a calorie deficit as possible ( as much that is healthy for me of course) Is this the norm? My goal is to burn even more calories through exercise not bring me back to my daily calorie goal by eating them back. Any else not eating their calories back and why?
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Replies
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When I started, I didn't eat my exercise calories back. But then I started almost fainting upon standing and my hair started falling out, so I decided that I did need those calories - at least half anyway. That is just my experience. I no longer have those problems.16
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When I started, I was on 1720 calories/day and taking a 25-minute walk was all the exercise I got some days. Almost 6 months later, there's just under 50 lbs less of me, my calories have been cut to 1450 (Well... I'm taking a maintenance break for 2 weeks and doing 1950), and my exercise is now at least 60 minutes walking (often more) or 50 minutes on a fitness glider daily, plus strength training every other day. If I don't eat back some exercise calories at this point, I get hungry!5
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Because IF the calorie deficit is too high, your body responds by LOWERING YOUR METABOLIC RATE MORE. That means you burn LESS CALORIES at rest and rest is where you burn the MOST STORED BODY FAT. It's referred to as ADAPTIVE THERMOGENISIS.
You can try to outsmart the system by making the deficit so high that your expectation is that you'll lose faster, but your body is much much smarter than you think.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I eat my exercise calories because my goal isn't "skinny" it's "fit". If I don't fuel work outs properly I risk burn out and muscle loss. I personally would be unhappy if I reached goal weight with no muscle definition.20
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Well I guess I'm not in the same boat as the people who eat their calories back. I still have a good amount of weight to lose (~40 lbs) and I have great energy, I eat over 120 grams of protein a day, and I time my meals to fuel and recover from my workouts. I'm averaging about 1-1.5 lbs lost a week so I am losing at a good pace I would say. I practice progress overload and I am definitely stronger than when I started. So I guess I'll continue to do what doing but thanks for the insight.4
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laahawn711 wrote: »I'm so lost when people say they eat back the calories that they burn during exercise. My goal is to be in as much of a calorie deficit as possible ( as much that is healthy for me of course) Is this the norm? My goal is to burn even more calories through exercise not bring me back to my daily calorie goal by eating them back. Any else not eating their calories back and why?
The bolded is why many people eat back exercise calories. Netting too low is not healthy for the body or the muscles.9 -
laahawn711 wrote: »Well I guess I'm not in the same boat as the people who eat their calories back. I still have a good amount of weight to lose (~40 lbs) and I have great energy, I eat over 120 grams of protein a day, and I time my meals to fuel and recover from my workouts. I'm averaging about 1-1.5 lbs lost a week so I am losing at a good pace I would say. I practice progress overload and I am definitely stronger than when I started. So I guess I'll continue to do what doing but thanks for the insight.
so you think that what everyone else has said wont happen to you... good luck... you're going to need it!9 -
OP has left the building.2
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tinkerbellang83 wrote: »OP has left the building.
That might be a record rage quit.5 -
VintageFeline wrote: »tinkerbellang83 wrote: »OP has left the building.
That might be a record rage quit.
OP must be hangry!6 -
Lol I wasn't angry or hungry. I'm new to the forum and didn't have the notifications on. But I totally agree with not eating too few calories as you continue to lose weight. When I started losing weight I had my calories pretty low (1400) but after doing some research I moved them up to 1800. Because I have PCOS I eat a low carb high fat diet and on my refeed day I bring my calories up to 1900-2000 which still keeps me in a deficit. I was trying to get some information to better educate myself on this journey. When I read what other said those things didn't apply to me in this moment. I totally get that the closer I get to my goal weight my calories will be lower and I'll need to eat as much as I can including those exercise calories.10
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Lashawn71188 wrote: »I'm so lost when people say they eat back the calories that they burn during exercise. My goal is to be in as much of a calorie deficit as possible ( as much that is healthy for me of course) Is this the norm? My goal is to burn even more calories through exercise not bring me back to my daily calorie goal by eating them back. Any else not eating their calories back and why?
This depends on where you're getting your calorie targets. If they are from MFP, exercise isn't included in your activity level...it's unaccounted for activity...your calorie target with MFP are based on the individual's NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogensis) and to account for exercise you log it after the fact and get additional calories to fuel that activity.
Other calculators assume exercise in the activity level...thus an estimate of the requisite calories are already included in the calorie target...if one were using this method, eating back calories would be double dipping because they are already accounted for.
It's all about understanding the methodology being used. I don't use the MFP methodology, but if I did I would be a wreck if I didn't eat back calories...To lose 1 Lb per week MFP gives me a pre exercise target of around 1900 calories...I regularly go out and ride 30 miles and can burn around 1,000 calories doing that which would leave me a mere 900 calories to fuel my existence and other daily activities and I'd essentially be starving my body of energy and nutrients.
I use the TDEE method which accounts for all of my activity including exercise and lose about 1 Lb per week eating 2500 calories...since exercise is included in that number I obviously wouldn't eat them back. Understanding the method is kind of important.5 -
Lashawn71188 wrote: »I'm so lost when people say they eat back the calories that they burn during exercise. My goal is to be in as much of a calorie deficit as possible ( as much that is healthy for me of course) Is this the norm? My goal is to burn even more calories through exercise not bring me back to my daily calorie goal by eating them back. Any else not eating their calories back and why?
I eat them back because I want fat loss - not just weight loss. But I'm over 50 and maintaining lean muscle mass is important for me because I've already lost enough.
If your initial calorie goal accounts for exercise (TDEE method) then you are technically eating them.1 -
If you don't eat your exercise calories back, isn't that the same as eating too few calories to begin with? Like if I exercise 200 calories off, and then eat 1200 calories, isn't that the same as doing no exercise and eating 1000 calories?
(This is assuming that you know the "real" amount of calories you burned off . . . I understand people being skeptical of MFP's exercise tool.)
While we're on the topic, are the calorie amounts on most exercise machines accurate? Like a treadmill or elliptical at the gym.0 -
Lashawn71188 wrote: »Lol I wasn't angry or hungry. I'm new to the forum and didn't have the notifications on. But I totally agree with not eating too few calories as you continue to lose weight. When I started losing weight I had my calories pretty low (1400) but after doing some research I moved them up to 1800. Because I have PCOS I eat a low carb high fat diet and on my refeed day I bring my calories up to 1900-2000 which still keeps me in a deficit. I was trying to get some information to better educate myself on this journey. When I read what other said those things didn't apply to me in this moment. I totally get that the closer I get to my goal weight my calories will be lower and I'll need to eat as much as I can including those exercise calories.
It sounds to me like you're using the TDEE method...see my previous post on NEAT vs TDEE...understanding the methodology is important. You're using customized calorie targets, not MFP calorie targets...thus your lack of understanding.1 -
Okay I understand. Yes I am using the TDEE method and only tracking my food in MFP. I didn't know that there was certain method used on MFP. Thanks cwolfman13!3
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I do not eat my exercise calories back. I have about 4 pounds until my goal weight, so I have set MFP to maintenance at the sedentary level (1730 calories). I do exercise, however it is usually 30 minutes weight training OR 2-3 mile run. I do not input these into MFP at all. I figure that at most my net calories for the day may end up at 1300-1400 calories (depends on calorie burn) on the days I intentionally exercise. I do not worry about it too much.3
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Even when using one's NEAT (MFP method), whether to eat back exercise calories can be an n =1 issue. Yes, MFP intends that one eat them back, and I routinely urge people to do just that.
But if the amount of exercise is relatively small, and the person is losing weight at a slow rate (say, less than 1% of body weight per week even with exercise, or even less than that when getting close to goal), then not eating back exercise calories is probably not going to cause a problem.
The problem comes in when someone sets a maximum calorie deficit (2 pounds a week), loses at that rate or higher, then starts doing several hundred or thousand calories worth of exercise daily, and doesn't eat back those calories. Net calories get too low, and risk increases - the chance one will have fatigue, loss muscle mass, lose hair, etc.
One's own weight loss rate, plus how one feels, is probably a better guide to whether one's current deficit is reasonable, regardless of whether that deficit comes from eating, exercising, or a combination of the two.6 -
Lashawn71188 wrote: »Lol I wasn't angry or hungry. I'm new to the forum and didn't have the notifications on. But I totally agree with not eating too few calories as you continue to lose weight. When I started losing weight I had my calories pretty low (1400) but after doing some research I moved them up to 1800. Because I have PCOS I eat a low carb high fat diet and on my refeed day I bring my calories up to 1900-2000 which still keeps me in a deficit. I was trying to get some information to better educate myself on this journey. When I read what other said those things didn't apply to me in this moment. I totally get that the closer I get to my goal weight my calories will be lower and I'll need to eat as much as I can including those exercise calories.
The method you are using already accounts for exercise, so eating them back would not be the best idea because it would mean double counting your exercise. You are doing fine then, keep doing what you're doing!
People who eat back exercise use a different method: say someone sets their target at 1400 calories as the amount to eat without exercise, when they exercise for 400 calories they need to eat 1800. If they don't eat them back, they would net only 1000 calories which is too low, hence the confusion.5 -
Yes I definitely learned something today!1
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cwolfman13 wrote: »Lashawn71188 wrote: »I'm so lost when people say they eat back the calories that they burn during exercise. My goal is to be in as much of a calorie deficit as possible ( as much that is healthy for me of course) Is this the norm? My goal is to burn even more calories through exercise not bring me back to my daily calorie goal by eating them back. Any else not eating their calories back and why?
This depends on where you're getting your calorie targets. If they are from MFP, exercise isn't included in your activity level...it's unaccounted for activity...your calorie target with MFP are based on the individual's NEAT (Non Exercise Activity Thermogensis) and to account for exercise you log it after the fact and get additional calories to fuel that activity.
Other calculators assume exercise in the activity level...thus an estimate of the requisite calories are already included in the calorie target...if one were using this method, eating back calories would be double dipping because they are already accounted for.
It's all about understanding the methodology being used. I don't use the MFP methodology, but if I did I would be a wreck if I didn't eat back calories...To lose 1 Lb per week MFP gives me a pre exercise target of around 1900 calories...I regularly go out and ride 30 miles and can burn around 1,000 calories doing that which would leave me a mere 900 calories to fuel my existence and other daily activities and I'd essentially be starving my body of energy and nutrients.
I use the TDEE method which accounts for all of my activity including exercise and lose about 1 Lb per week eating 2500 calories...since exercise is included in that number I obviously wouldn't eat them back. Understanding the method is kind of important.
^This!
The mfp program is made for you to eat back exercise calories, that's why the goal they give you is so low in the first place.
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My plan is 1650 cals/day. If I ride a bike for 30 miles Map My Ride shows a 2500 calorie burn. To eat that all back means consuming over 4000 cals. Get real. That ain't happening.0
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Map my Ride is really overcalculating burn, unless you are doing a lot of hills or weigh a lot.
BlueSkyshoal - machines at the gym are not accurate, unless you can input your weight. My NordicTrack doesn't allow that, and it seems to assume I weigh 250 pounds, given the amount of calories it says I burn.3 -
I wonder if one of the reasons so many people consider not eating their exercise calories is because their exercise calories are so low.6
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spiriteagle99 wrote: »Map my Ride is really overcalculating burn, unless you are doing a lot of hills or weigh a lot.
BlueSkyshoal - machines at the gym are not accurate, unless you can input your weight. My NordicTrack doesn't allow that, and it seems to assume I weigh 250 pounds, given the amount of calories it says I burn.
I expect you're right. On my ride today MMR said I burned 2449 cals. I also recorded the ride with a Polar HRM and watch and it shows 1242... almost half.0 -
When I started my weight-loss journey I didn't eat my exercise calories back. Original weight was 288 pounds set a goal of losing 2 pounds per week. My current weight is 208 and I've been maintaining that for approximately eight months.
One of the things you have to figure out is your goals if you just want to lose weight then I would not recommend eating back your calories it'll help the lose the weight faster. The only negative about that is that you're going to lose muscle mass dramatically. I was fixated on losing wait more than building muscle mass or maintaining my muscle. Now that I'm in maintenance my calorie goal is approximately 2400 calories a day but I'm probably eating three to four hundred more calories a day on average but not gaining any weight.
I think it's a combination of my exercise intensity period I do work out 4 to 5 times a week. You also have to remember that NFP is General guidelines and everybody's going to have a different tdee based on their lifestyle and their genetics. A good part of the weight loss process is educating yourself Health Food affects you and some of it is a trial-and-error process0 -
I would think if you didn't eat back exercise calories and tried to keep up intense exercising you'd be unable to do the workouts eventually. I was doing that some time ago, and just ran out of energy during a rather intense step workout. It kicked in then that food was necessary fuel, not the enemy that made me feel fat. If you can keep up high intensity exercise when supposedly not eating back exercise calories, it's likely you're underestimating calories in or overestimating calories burned.6
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amusedmonkey wrote: »laahawn711 wrote: »I'm so lost when people say they eat back the calories that they burn during exercise. My goal is to be in as much of a calorie deficit as possible ( as much that is healthy for me of course) Is this the norm? My goal is to burn even more calories through exercise not bring me back to my daily calorie goal by eating them back. Any else not eating their calories back and why?
The bolded is why many people eat back exercise calories. Netting too low is not healthy for the body or the muscles.
I was doing the same thing, and I tanked my metabolism by doing it. NOT a good idea. it will end up stalling your weight loss. Once I started eating back about 1/2 of what I burned, I actually started dropping more weight, faster.4 -
My plan is 1650 cals/day. If I ride a bike for 30 miles Map My Ride shows a 2500 calorie burn. To eat that all back means consuming over 4000 cals. Get real. That ain't happening.
@don9992
I tried MMR very briefly and the calorie estimates were comically high, 2500 sounds a ludicrous number TBH!
For 30 miles I would expect somewhere around 950 - 1000 for me.
Strava seems much closer to reality.1 -
My plan is 1650 cals/day. If I ride a bike for 30 miles Map My Ride shows a 2500 calorie burn. To eat that all back means consuming over 4000 cals. Get real. That ain't happening.
@don9992
I tried MMR very briefly and the calorie estimates were comically high, 2500 sounds a ludicrous number TBH!
For 30 miles I would expect somewhere around 950 - 1000 for me.
Strava seems much closer to reality.
Going back to my original point, even after rejecting the very high calorie number from MMR and using the 1249 from Polar, that still gives me about 2900 calories to consume in a day. There's no way I can eat that much.0
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