Don't add eat exercise calories

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Replies

  • lauracups
    lauracups Posts: 533 Member
    It is important to fuel your body according to your energy expenditure. It is common to overestimate a burn amount, machines are generous with the calories burned read out, it becomes a little trial and error finding that right refuel number. If you flippantly say don't refuel that's not sound advice. For example, if I've shoveled my driveway (800 feet long) mfp gives me a calorie burn of 900 calories, I cut it by half add that amount to my total. If I've hiked more than 5miles I might take the whole 600 if I'm feeling very hungry. Balance is important. 60lbs lost.
  • ukhobnob1
    ukhobnob1 Posts: 21 Member
    I would also add.. if you have not done so already get your Active Metabolic Test done if you are the member of a decent gym along with talking to a nutritionist. The two combined with a good app to track zones can also make a big difference. The nutritionist will give you a breakdown of fat/protein/carb which really helped me.
  • sperouty
    sperouty Posts: 23 Member
    I don't log my exercise or add back the calories. I try to eat 1,200 calories per day plus exercise to try to lose weight. Its fine if you want to remain the same weight, but if you want to lose you need to decrease calories and exercise to burn calories.
    gofaster01 wrote: »
    I wasn't loosing weight at first then I stopped adding my exercise calories to my goal calories. I still exercise but I don't add the extra calories to my intake and I lost 9 pounds.

  • Geocitiesuser
    Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
    gofaster01 wrote: »
    I wasn't loosing weight at first then I stopped adding my exercise calories to my goal calories. I still exercise but I don't add the extra calories to my intake and I lost 9 pounds.

    If I did this I might die, or get some sort of health issue. I'm 6' and MFP has me at a base of 1500 calories. I exercise roughly 2.5 hours per day between my hobbies.

    The trick I've found for myself is that the calorie burns on MFP's calculator are usually over estimated, so I don't eat back all of the calories. Depends on the activity but I try to estimate what my "real" calorie burn was, and this seems to work for me.
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
    Would this advice apply if I just let my Fitbit count steps only as a calorie burn and ate only 50 to 75% ofthat? Or should I log my actual exercise plus steps? I kinda view it as double dipping.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
    Would this advice apply if I just let my Fitbit count steps only as a calorie burn and ate only 50 to 75% ofthat? Or should I log my actual exercise plus steps? I kinda view it as double dipping.

    It's not double-dipping. If you log exercise in MFP, it will ask for the time you exercised so it can overwrite the same time frame on Fitbit. But it's actually best to let Fitbit handle your exercise, especially if you have a HR-based one.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited May 2017
    sperouty wrote: »
    I don't log my exercise or add back the calories. I try to eat 1,200 calories per day plus exercise to try to lose weight. Its fine if you want to remain the same weight, but if you want to lose you need to decrease calories and exercise to burn calories.
    gofaster01 wrote: »
    I wasn't loosing weight at first then I stopped adding my exercise calories to my goal calories. I still exercise but I don't add the extra calories to my intake and I lost 9 pounds.

    1200 + exercise is not your maintenance calories......no where near it unless you are elderly AND very petite. 1200 and zero exercise is the deficit. Adding exercise means increasing the deficit.

    Exercise isn't a requirement for weight loss (after all some people aren't physically able). Exercise & weight loss are great if you can manage that.....but not fueling workouts means it's more likely your body is going to use existing lean muscle mass for fuel.

    If you're interested an estimate for your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) or maintenance is here: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,122 Member
    Would this advice apply if I just let my Fitbit count steps only as a calorie burn and ate only 50 to 75% ofthat? Or should I log my actual exercise plus steps? I kinda view it as double dipping.

    Your Fitbit should theoretically give you a calorie adjustment based on your activity level in MFP if you have it synced, for example I have my MFP account set to Lightly Active and my tracker gives me a negative or postive adjustment based on my total steps for the day. So if I only did 5000 steps it might not give me any additional calories, if I did 10000 it will give me a positive calorie adjustment for the extra 5000 steps I did, if I did 3000 steps I would get a negative calorie adjustment and my calorie goal would be reduced for that day. So it's not really double dipping. It would be double dipping if you don't have it synced and already accounted for your steps in your activity level in MFP.

  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    Would this advice apply if I just let my Fitbit count steps only as a calorie burn and ate only 50 to 75% ofthat? Or should I log my actual exercise plus steps? I kinda view it as double dipping.

    It's not double-dipping. If you log exercise in MFP, it will ask for the time you exercised so it can overwrite the same time frame on Fitbit. But it's actually best to let Fitbit handle your exercise, especially if you have a HR-based one.

    Yes I am using the HR model, so I feel that's pretty reliable. Thanks for the response!
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
    Would this advice apply if I just let my Fitbit count steps only as a calorie burn and ate only 50 to 75% ofthat? Or should I log my actual exercise plus steps? I kinda view it as double dipping.

    Your Fitbit should theoretically give you a calorie adjustment based on your activity level in MFP if you have it synced, for example I have my MFP account set to Lightly Active and my tracker gives me a negative or postive adjustment based on my total steps for the day. So if I only did 5000 steps it might not give me any additional calories, if I did 10000 it will give me a positive calorie adjustment for the extra 5000 steps I did, if I did 3000 steps I would get a negative calorie adjustment and my calorie goal would be reduced for that day. So it's not really double dipping. It would be double dipping if you don't have it synced and already accounted for your steps in your activity level in MFP.

    I sync it throughout the day to keep the calories correct and the step count current. Thank you!
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    Would this advice apply if I just let my Fitbit count steps only as a calorie burn and ate only 50 to 75% ofthat? Or should I log my actual exercise plus steps? I kinda view it as double dipping.

    It's not double-dipping. If you log exercise in MFP, it will ask for the time you exercised so it can overwrite the same time frame on Fitbit. But it's actually best to let Fitbit handle your exercise, especially if you have a HR-based one.

    Yes I am using the HR model, so I feel that's pretty reliable. Thanks for the response!

    If it's for walking, your heart rate doesn't increase reliability of calorie estimates.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,122 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    Would this advice apply if I just let my Fitbit count steps only as a calorie burn and ate only 50 to 75% ofthat? Or should I log my actual exercise plus steps? I kinda view it as double dipping.

    It's not double-dipping. If you log exercise in MFP, it will ask for the time you exercised so it can overwrite the same time frame on Fitbit. But it's actually best to let Fitbit handle your exercise, especially if you have a HR-based one.

    Yes I am using the HR model, so I feel that's pretty reliable. Thanks for the response!

    If it's for walking, your heart rate doesn't increase reliability of calorie estimates.

    Likely more reliable than the MFP database though.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
    ritzvin wrote: »
    This is bad advice. :disappointed:

    It's not bad advice. I have a target of 1450. I get an extra 300 a day on average for exercise. If I eat 1750 I don't lose weight. If I eat 1450 I do lose weight. It's quite ok NOT to eat your exercise calories unless you are working out really hard and eating very little and have a massive deficit.

    A 300 calorie burn generally means I was working out pretty hard (that's ~ a 3.5-4 mile run for a non-obese female). I'm with Blitzia on this: I think the problem is with people over-estimating their burns (the 'intense yoga session' or 'I waddled around the grocery store for some extra minutes and my Fitbit says I burned a kazillion calories extra today' folks).


    It's a 2.5-3 mile run. for "a non-obese female" And 25-40 minutes isn't "working out pretty hard"
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    ritzvin wrote: »
    This is bad advice. :disappointed:

    It's not bad advice. I have a target of 1450. I get an extra 300 a day on average for exercise. If I eat 1750 I don't lose weight. If I eat 1450 I do lose weight. It's quite ok NOT to eat your exercise calories unless you are working out really hard and eating very little and have a massive deficit.

    A 300 calorie burn generally means I was working out pretty hard (that's ~ a 3.5-4 mile run for a non-obese female). I'm with Blitzia on this: I think the problem is with people over-estimating their burns (the 'intense yoga session' or 'I waddled around the grocery store for some extra minutes and my Fitbit says I burned a kazillion calories extra today' folks).


    It's a 2.5-3 mile run. for "a non-obese female" And 25-40 minutes isn't "working out pretty hard"

    how do you know it's not...I can do a 3mile run fairly easy yes...but I couldn't 3 years ago...and I wasn't obese then I weighed the same I do now...
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
    SezxyStef wrote: »
    ritzvin wrote: »
    This is bad advice. :disappointed:

    It's not bad advice. I have a target of 1450. I get an extra 300 a day on average for exercise. If I eat 1750 I don't lose weight. If I eat 1450 I do lose weight. It's quite ok NOT to eat your exercise calories unless you are working out really hard and eating very little and have a massive deficit.

    A 300 calorie burn generally means I was working out pretty hard (that's ~ a 3.5-4 mile run for a non-obese female). I'm with Blitzia on this: I think the problem is with people over-estimating their burns (the 'intense yoga session' or 'I waddled around the grocery store for some extra minutes and my Fitbit says I burned a kazillion calories extra today' folks).


    It's a 2.5-3 mile run. for "a non-obese female" And 25-40 minutes isn't "working out pretty hard"

    how do you know it's not...I can do a 3mile run fairly easy yes...but I couldn't 3 years ago...and I wasn't obese then I weighed the same I do now...

    If running 3 miles is working out pretty hard, then that's even more reason to eat those 300 calories.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,843 Member
    DietPrada wrote: »
    This is bad advice. :disappointed:

    It's not bad advice. I have a target of 1450. I get an extra 300 a day on average for exercise. If I eat 1750 I don't lose weight. If I eat 1450 I do lose weight. It's quite ok NOT to eat your exercise calories unless you are working out really hard and eating very little and have a massive deficit.

    When someone uses MFP and doesn't lose weight (over time) when eating back exercise calories, that means they are either underestimating Calories In and/or overestimating Calories Out.

    MFP uses the NEAT method (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), and as such this system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back.

    My FitBit One is far less generous with calories than the MFP database and I comfortably eat 100% of the calories I earn from it back.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
  • heiliskrimsli
    heiliskrimsli Posts: 735 Member
    ritzvin wrote: »
    This is bad advice. :disappointed:

    It's not bad advice. I have a target of 1450. I get an extra 300 a day on average for exercise. If I eat 1750 I don't lose weight. If I eat 1450 I do lose weight. It's quite ok NOT to eat your exercise calories unless you are working out really hard and eating very little and have a massive deficit.

    A 300 calorie burn generally means I was working out pretty hard (that's ~ a 3.5-4 mile run for a non-obese female). I'm with Blitzia on this: I think the problem is with people over-estimating their burns (the 'intense yoga session' or 'I waddled around the grocery store for some extra minutes and my Fitbit says I burned a kazillion calories extra today' folks).


    It's a 2.5-3 mile run. for "a non-obese female" And 25-40 minutes isn't "working out pretty hard"

    I call that a short, easy run, and no reason to eat more. At eight miles running, I eat a little more that day. Between 200-300 calories more. This has not hurt my performance at all. Distance and pace have both been steadily increasing.