Exercise = earned calories?

haleybrnjilovic · July 2017

I've noticed each day when I log my exercise, MyFitnessPal updates and says "You've earned X amount of calories" and it automatically adds the extra calories to my daily diary. If my goal is to lose weight, is it going to negatively impact me if I end up "using" the extra calories I've earned?

Common sense tells me yes- that I should just ignore the calories I've earned and go about my day, but I figured I'd ask!!

Carlos_421 · July 2017

Weight is lost due to NET calorie balance. If you move more, you get to eat more.

malibu927 · July 2017

MFP has you set to lose without exercise. That is why when you do exercise, it gives you the calories back to eat and fuel your body.

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

TeaBea · July 2017

Don't "just ignore" the exercise calories. MFP gave them to you for a reason.

MFP as designed gave you a calorie deficit BEFORE exercise. That way people who do zero exercise, eat the calories allotted and lose weight. Those who choose to exercise "earn" more calories.

Now here's the tricky part - calorie burns are "guesstimates" some guesses are better than others. Walking - simple straight forward - not too bad - strength training? - many variables.

So what most MFP users do is start by eating back 50% of exercise calories. Then after a few weeks increase or decrease this % based on actual results.

Eating too little can negatively impact your health.

jordandills · July 2017

You don't have to eat them back if you don't want to, it will just increase your deficit and rate of loss. If you're hungry after a workout or want to replenish some, I'd recommend eating 1/3-1/2 of the calories back. MFP tends to overestimate calories burned in exercise.

haleybrnjilovic · July 2017

Thanks for the quick responses, all! This is good news. I will gladly eat those extra calories! I've mostly been doing a brisk walk/slow jog as my exercise for the past week, so I'm hopeful that the calories burned are fairly accurate.

Thanks again!

malibu927 · July 2017

Increasing your deficit isn't necessarily a good thing, as it means a greater risk of muscle loss.

cwolfman13 · July 2017

True...but often, that is not a good thing, particularly if you're actually interested in fitness and improving fitness.

middlehaitch · July 2017

True, one doesn't have to eat them back.

One could chose to lose 1 lbs a week by-

Eating 250 cals less a day and exercising to burn 250 cals.

One could also eat at maintenance and exercise to burn an extra 500 cals a day.

And of course one could eat 500 cals less a day and not exercise.

If one's goal is to lose 1 lbs a week, and that is the appropriate goal, eating back exercise calories so one is still losing 1lbs a week is the reasonable thing to do. It ensures the body is being fueled for one's activity level, exercise and day to day.

What is the use of exercising, and not eating back those calories, if you are so tired the rest of the day you are just slumped on the couch?

Cheers, h.

Oops, edit I missed a 'less'

joeboland · July 2017

I ignore it for two reasons:

a) I'm not a dog. I don't "earn" calories like treats.
b) MFP's calculations are frequently inaccurate at best. I can guarantee a 30-minute 5K does not burn 400 calories.

janejellyroll · July 2017

You'd guarantee nobody, regardless of weight, would burn 400 calories running a 5K in 30 minutes?

whitpauly · July 2017

It takes me a full hour to burn 200-350 calories, I'm eating them

Iheartrunning36 · July 2017

I don't eat back my extra exercise calories because I'm really over weight and have a lot to lose. I've lost 14 pounds in 6 weeks so far on 1200 calories and light/moderate daily exercise.

kgirlhart · July 2017

Mfp figures out how many calories you will burn each day based on your height, weight and activity level. It then figures out what your deficit should be based on your activity level, not on your exercise and it gives you a goal. The calorie goal mfp gives you already has your deficit built in so if you eat that level and do no exercise you will lose weight. If you do exercise then the amount of calories you will burn in a day is increased so mfp then adds that to your goal. So if mfp thinks you will burn 2000 calories per day and you want to lose 1 pound per week it will subtract 500 from your 2000 and give you a goal of 1500. If you burn 300 calories in exercise and don't eat them then your deficit will be 800. That may be too large of a deficit and it isn't always healthier to have a larger deficit. So mfp adds the 300 calories. Now mfp think you will burn 2300 calories today so it subtracts the 500 deficit and you have a goal of 1800. Your 500 calorie deficit is still the same. Some people will only eat back half of the exercise calories because they may be inaccurate. If you start by eating half the exercise calories and you lose faster than 1 pound per week then you know you can eat more. If you lose slower than 1 pound per week then you would eat less of them.

GrumpyHeadmistress · July 2017

Lost 100lbs eating my exercise calories back, 100% of them. Would I have lost quicker if I hadn't? Possibly but I would have risked losing muscle mass and life would have been a little duller.

Jruzer · July 2017

Exercise calories taste the best.

ludds · July 2017

I don't eat them daily, generally, but I am able to justify to myself going over my calories at the weekend as I know these exercise calories will mean I'm still easily in my deficit.

Mr_Knight · July 2017

They're not even close to accurate. Walking, for example, is typically overestimated by 100% or more.

Exactly how inaccurate is highly dependent on individual and workout. To be safe, start by eating back 30% of them, and monitor what happens.

cwolfman13 · July 2017

There are ways to more accurately determine energy expenditure from a particular activity than just the MFP database...you can put your calories in manually.

Accounting for and fueling fitness activity is kind of important to performance as well as recovery. I'm an endurance cyclist and would be half dead if I just went with MFP's sedentary (I have a desk job) calories...kinda hard to live on 1900 calories when you can go burn 1,000+ on a long ride.

It doesn't have anything to do with being a dog and earning treats...it has everything to do with properly fueling your body and your activity level. I don't see why this is such a hard concept for so many people to grasp...it's not exactly rocket science.

heybales · July 2017

Not even close - if you actually did the selected pace the entire time?

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

nefudaboss · July 2017

I had 80 lbs to lose. I didn't eat anything back. It would just taken me 5 years to get slim instead of 2 years. Id say if you weighing your food and everything is accurate then eat back half the calories if your deficit is to low ( worked out to much) buttttt if you like me and you know that you ate more calories then you inputted (food inaccuracies) then dont eat anything back to balance it out

DamieBird · July 2017

I does for me; Using the Runner's World guide of Weight x distance x .66 (or .33 for walking), I get:

187 x .66 x 3.2 = 394.95 - so, damn close to 400. The time that it takes you to run the 5k is irrelevant, although I'm about 33:30 on the treadmill at a 1% incline.

You can't say that it's inaccurate without knowing all of the relevant stats.

mmapags · July 2017

I haven't see this asked. What level did you set your activity to? What is your non-exercise activity like (job, etc)? What do you do for exercise? I eat them back but not all. I give myself a little fudge factor for inaccuracies in my measuring and logging. Also, it is important to have activity level set accurately. There is a whole logarithm built in that varies how many calories you get for your base and for exercise (or for FitBit adjustment in some cases where that is used).

Bottom line is you want to get as close to your accurate net calories as possible. Not eating them back at all is not a good thing if you are using MFP's method. There are other methods, eg. the TDEE method, where you set you calculate your TDEE including exercise and eat a flat amount each day. Not better, not worse than MFP. Just a different way to arrive at the same place.

andysport1 · July 2017

Every calculator on the internet has my 5k run at over 400 calories, please do educate us all where are we going wrong ?
I'm a 50 year old male weighing 217lbs I run a 5k in 25-27 minutes depends on the amount of hills.

mmapags · July 2017

Not bad. 7 woo clicks on one post...
I agree that the calculations can vary. But do you really understand the design of this site?

PS: Are you totally sure you are not a dog. I wonder about myself some times.....

sadiepie10 · July 2017

My apple watch calculated I burned over 400 calories from my 5k run this morning.

snickerscharlie · July 2017

The things I would do for a Klondike Bar.

Christine_72 · July 2017

I will definitely work for treats

mmapags · July 2017

Do tell....

snickerscharlie · July 2017

Pretty sure my answer would come out looking like this:

*kitten*, *kitten*, *kitten* and *baby beluga*.

mmapags · July 2017

Lol!!! Perfect!

Exercise = earned calories?

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