How do I add exercise without it giving me back calories?
Options
asbpunkin777
Posts: 7 Member
I don't know if this is a stupid question, but when I exercise I don't want to add more calories to my day, I just want to track that I exercised and burned extra! So far I just haven't logged my exercise, but it would be nice to. Any tips? Thank you!
0
Replies
-
Sorry, but why would you not want to add them?5
-
Just don't eat them if you don't want to? If you are doing strength training you can log it as strength training and it doesn't add calories afaik.1
-
You can log your exercise as 1 calorie IF you like but I'm not sure why you aren't eating some of those exercise calories back, they will fuel your body accordingly.8
-
Go to the goals section on app menu scroll to bottom switch add exercise to off0
-
asbpunkin777 wrote: »I just want to track that I exercised and burned extra! So far I just haven't logged my exercise, but it would be nice to. Any tips? Thank you!
To add to my previous answer, I would recommend being careful with that. Without knowing your deficit and goals, there can be potential large problems with this. So forgive me for answering more without the proper context - this may not really apply to you....
Most people want to lose weight as quickly as possible, usually more than the recommended 2 pounds per week when they get started. Therefore anything they can do to increase their deficit, they try to do.
There are ramifications for doing that and there are good, legitimate reasons why health professionals want to keep your weight loss rate reasonable, steady and slow. Those reasons have to do with your body receiving proper nutrients to function for daily activity. When people "crash diet", i.e. function at excessive calorie deficits, they lose lean body mass, not just fat. The long-term effects don't show up until after the damage is done.
As I said, without context, I don't know if this applies to your situation, but I would caution that when it comes to caloric deficit, a bigger deficit is not necessarily better. Further, eating enough to fuel your exercise makes your exercise more effective. Hopefully you are exercising in order to do more things better.
6 -
Go to the goals section on app menu scroll to bottom switch add exercise to off
This is only available to Premium members
OP, you can either purchase Premium, which offers the suggestion quoted, or log your exercise as 1 calorie. But if you're following MFP's calorie goals, you're expected to eat exercise calories back.3 -
Hope you have set your goal using a TDEE calculator instead of this site then.7
-
I manually adjust it down to "1 calorie" because I use the TDEE method also, but my FitBit adds them regardless... I hate how it messes up my macros!2
-
Not eating exercise cals back might not be a good idea, you don't want a too aggressive deficit.3
-
nosebag1212 wrote: »Not eating exercise cals back might not be a good idea, you don't want a too aggressive deficit.
If OP set their own calories and macros based on TDEE from another calculator then no, they do not. They'd be double dipping.2 -
I wait until the end of the day right before I complete my entry to add my exercise then I am on track for the day1
-
I use the notes section to keep track of my exercise. It's only so that I know what I did on any particular day...I don't even try to figure out how many calories my exercise burns.3
-
I adjust my calories burned on exercise to what I want to eat. I use Google Fit to log exercise automatically (counts my steps and cycling) and when it imports to MFP, it logs the cycling as a much faster pace than I did it. So I end up adjusting it to about half that for calories.
Set up MFP to do what you want to do. Do what it says. Log food, log exercise, it works out.0 -
mrsnattybulking wrote: »nosebag1212 wrote: »Not eating exercise cals back might not be a good idea, you don't want a too aggressive deficit.
If OP set their own calories and macros based on TDEE from another calculator then no, they do not. They'd be double dipping.
That's unlikely given that they specifically say they want to track that they burned "extra." I read that as creating a larger deficit, not that they are already taken into account with a different method of calculating a calorie goal.2 -
I guess I just don't understand what you want. Like you want to add exercise but you don't want it to add calories, but you want to see the calories you burned... I just don't get it lol. That seems like an oxymoron. If you want to see that you burned extra calories then you log the exercise and don't eat that number of calories extra.3
-
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. Others, however, are able to lose weight while eating 100% of their exercise calories.
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
3 -
There's really no reason to have your exercise in MFP except to credit yourself for the calories you burned. No other value at all.2
-
Just ignore the calories added back. No one is forcing you to eat more than you want to.1
-
I log my exercise and enter "1" for calories burned. I like to keep track of what days and how much I exercise but I don't give myself the calories to eat back because I'm using TDEE for my calories which already accounts for my activity.2
-
collectable99 wrote: »I wait until the end of the day right before I complete my entry to add my exercise then I am on track for the day
That is what I do also.1
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.3K Introduce Yourself
- 43.4K Getting Started
- 259.6K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 387 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.2K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 911 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.3K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions