Do you eat excercise calories?

oliviachar
oliviachar Posts: 2 Member
edited November 18 in Introduce Yourself
Hi all,
I'm new and would like to know if we are supposed to eat calories earned through excercise?x

Replies

  • rlilly697
    rlilly697 Posts: 201 Member
    If you're looking to lose weight you need to have a deficit of calories used/burnt over calories eaten!? If you're in a "bulking up" phase ideally you want to be replacing those calories you burn during exercise!
  • RamboKitty87
    RamboKitty87 Posts: 272 Member
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
  • StarvingDiva
    StarvingDiva Posts: 1,107 Member
    Some days I do, but most of the time I do not.
  • glassofroses
    glassofroses Posts: 653 Member
    Eat half of whatever MFP says you burn through exercise because they overestimate. You should be eating as much as you can for as long as you can (within deficit) so you have options further down the line.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited May 2017
    rlilly697 wrote: »
    If you're looking to lose weight you need to have a deficit of calories used/burnt over calories eaten!? If you're in a "bulking up" phase ideally you want to be replacing those calories you burn during exercise!

    Um no - MFP uses NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenesis).

    MFP as designed gave you a calorie goal BEFORE exercise. So ideally you could eat back 100% and still lose at your expected rate. However it's not ideal - instead everything is an estimate (the food you log, your daily activity before exercise & your exercise).

    Start by eating back 50% of exercise calories. After several weeks - if weight loss is faster increase the 50% - if weight loss is slower decrease the 50%.

    Large deficits make it harder for your body to fuel EXISTING lean muscle mass. For a lower body fat % - moderate paced weight loss.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    I don't eat them, I drink them!
  • angelphase
    angelphase Posts: 5 Member
    Hi there!! I never eat back calories in fact I hide them from my totals and see them in my nutrition at the end of the day. No doubt it will slow losses (gains) so unless you're hangry....leave those things in the dust. Lol
  • pinkVhead
    pinkVhead Posts: 42 Member
    I think its based on how you have set your goal. The lifestyle setting and how many kg you want to lose per week goal... Mfp automatically gives a deficit calorie. So may be you can eat.. But have to watch the macro goals... Carb% protien% and fat%
  • NerdyWord33
    NerdyWord33 Posts: 52 Member
    No, because they are factored in as activity,so they're included in my daily goal.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    NerdyWord33 wrote: »
    No, because they are factored in as activity,so they're included in my daily goal.

    If you are using a TDEE calculator or have an activity tracker synced.......then this is true.

    If you are using MFP as designed (NEAT).....then this is not true.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    angelphase wrote: »
    Hi there!! I never eat back calories in fact I hide them from my totals and see them in my nutrition at the end of the day. No doubt it will slow losses (gains) so unless you're hangry....leave those things in the dust. Lol

    You would still be losing, just at the rate you chose. Quicker loss from not eating them back is generally not recommended.
  • comeonnow142857
    comeonnow142857 Posts: 310 Member
    edited May 2017
    I can afford a big deficit so no I don't bother counting the exercise calories I burnt off or think about eating them back. But I do often eat more on workout days (which practically speaking, means I'm often doing the same thing, although it's usually carb based and still would be in moderate deficit without the exercise), and always ensure that I'm already comfortably sitting on a deluge of protein/fiber/EFA's/Vits/minerals.

    So long as my lifts & stamina go up each week and I enjoy flexible & nutritious dieting I see no earthly reason to be rigorous about trying to eat my exercise calories back. There are certainly pitfalls with eating too little (psychological, physical, sustainability of lifelong habits), and people usually step in to them which is why MFP is very cautious about that stuff, but there are control measures too... if you're getting stronger and faster and you're well nourished on a protein & micro level, you're good, but you do need a sustainability plan for the long term.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited May 2017
    Yes...Watch the video...

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10503681/exercise-calories-do-i-eat-these-a-video-explanation/p1
  • theflatpick
    theflatpick Posts: 106 Member
    No, that is the deficit I use to lose weight.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
    edited May 2017
    It's different for everyone. All calorie counting is an estimate anyway. Most HRM's are far more high then reality so if you find you "eat back" and don't lose any weight over time, then it's simple, back down your calories a little until you do lose weight over time. This applies to any calories as long as you know your true maintenance needs and what a calorie deficit is. Make sure you do the research to understand those two things. You own body will give you the BEST ANSWER.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Follow the links that have been posted.

    The MFP approach, that you would follow if you are letting MFP set up your deficit (many people do many other things, as you see here), is to eat back exercise calories. As another poster said, I'd start with doing 50% and then adjust, just because sometimes the estimates of calories are off.
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