Eating back exercise calories?

brn_deveney · June 2017

I dont get it. Do we eat back exercise calories burned or no? I've read several articles and everything sends mixed thoughts. I need a concrete answer. Thoughts?

terry1067 · June 2017

tinkerbellang83 · June 2017

MFP is set up for you to eat them back, the calorie allowance given sets you at a calorie deficit and does not factor in exercise so in theory you should.

For example:

Your approximate daily NEAT burn is 2500 calories and you have yourself set to 1lb per week loss
NEAT 2500 Calories
- 500 calories (1lb per week rate loss 3500 cals/7 days)
= 2000 calorie allowance (net)

You then go for a 30 min run and burn 300 calories

MFP adjusts your calorie allowance to 2300 (2000 net + exercise)

If you didn't eat these back you are then creating an additional 300 calories in deficit - putting yourself at 1700 net calories and increasing your deficit to 800 calories that day.

However there are some things to bear in mind:

Exercise calorie burn accuracy - MFP calorie burns from the database can be a little inflated so if you're using the database or a machine read out as opposed to an HRM tracker then take them with a pinch of salt, best practice is to eat around 50% back whilst logging accurately at your calorie allowance for around a month and adjust accordingly based on your weight loss results.
Ensure your activity level is set correctly - your MFP activity level should be set at your non-exercise related activity - don't assume you're active because you go running every night. If you're sat at a desk all day and running in the evening your activity level is sedentary and you would then log your exercise seperately
Manual calorie goals - if your exercise is consistent week in, week out you can also use the TDEE method. This would be calculating your TDEE using a calculator website such as tdeecalculator.net and manually adjusting your calorie allowance in goals. You would not log exercise in MFP if using this method as your exercise is factored into your calorie target.

mystivan · June 2017

I was confused about it at first too!

Personally you know your body best and listen to the signs it is giving you. I don't eat the calories I've earned but I also try to hit my daily intake so I have energy for my workouts. So I just follow what my body tells me. Since young I've been able to expand alot of energy and still keep going so I just used that principal and it worked for me. That's just me though

You can try both ways and see which works for you. I've come to believe that those information can guide but you need to make the final decision on what your approach is going to be.

Great info @tinkerbellang83

malibu927 · June 2017

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10503681/exercise-calories-do-i-eat-these-a-video-explanation

estherdragonbat · June 2017

If you've got a lot to lose and you aren't doing much exercise, eating them back is optional. At my SW, I had 124 lbs to get to goal and was extremely sedentary. My fitness goal was to find 25 minutes to go and take a walk. (Longer was fine; the main thing was getting up and away from the computer). The thing is, as the weight started to come off, two things happened:

My daily calories were reduced. A 254-lb woman can lose 1lb/week on 1710 calories. At 191? Try 1380
My exercise gradually increased, in time spent, method, and intensity (I've added a fitness glider, strength training, and occasional cardio-and-free weight workouts; my walks are now 1-2 hours)

At this point, if I don't eat back some of my exercise calories, I don't have the energy to fuel my workouts, and I feel a lot hungrier. Plus I like having more calories to play with. It's less "Hey, an hour on the glider means I can have a chocolate bar!" (Though, yes, I could if I wanted to). It's more "I can have a wrap for lunch AND have Szechuan sauce AND rice with my stir fry for supper". On 1380 calories, that's a little tricky to pull off. On 1800? Very doable.

DX2JX2 · June 2017

Start by not eating back the exercise calories you think you're expending and see if it impacts your workout performance or general energy level over a couple of days. If you find that you don't have the energy to complete a good workout or that you feel lethargic, shaky, light headed etc. at any point during the day then you need to eat more. Add back 50% of the exercise calories and see if that helps things. Adjust as needed from there.

Since I will only really burn 250 incremental calories or so during 30 minutes of moderate exercise, I don't generally worry about adding back exercise calories. Not enough to really make a difference for my body and I prefer the simplicity of keeping my meal plans consistent from day to day.

If you're doing really intense exercise for longer periods of time, then it may be necessary to eat those calories in order to sustain performance. Note that despite what people might think they're doing in their workouts, a workout that burns 600-700 incremental calories would require fairly intense effort for a longer duration. It would be really hard and you'd know it. Don't trust the calorie estimates on exercise machines...they lie!

There is no concrete right answer for everyone...your body will tell you how much you need to eat via energy levels and long-term weight loss results.

lemurcat12 · June 2017

If you are using the MFP method -- getting your calorie goal from MFP -- then it is assumed and expected that you will eat back exercise calories. You might want to reduce them if there is a question about how many you are actually getting.

If you are getting your calorie goal in another way, it may include an assumption that you are exercising, and therefore you would not eat back exercise.

The methods should work out to about the same number.

I also agree with estherdragon that if you have a LOT to lose and aren't exercising all that much it probably does not matter, although if it motivates you to exercise or you intend to keep ratcheting up the exercise, it's probably a good idea and may make things more sustainable. Similarly, if you don't exercise that much and don't log very carefully or don't have a very aggressive goal it can be fine not to eat them back. But for someone going for the max MFP goal and exercising hard, it's a good idea to do so.

CasperNaegle · June 2017

You always want to take into account your total calorie burn into account to know where you are, so yes exercise calories matter. The thing to understand is exercise calories usually account for very little overall. Unless you are sprinting for an hour you probably burn anywhere from 200-400 calories over an exercise routine.

Eating back exercise calories?

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