Burned Calories - do you eat them?

This is, sadly, my first time to incorporate any exercise in my life, especially during a time when I'm choosing to eat better.
Is it best to not eat your burned calories? Or does your body need more calories if you're working out and I should be eating then (or some)?
Just curious on what works best for healthy weight loss. Thanks!
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Replies

  • deniseamerson05
    deniseamerson05 Posts: 13 Member
    Thank you for replying, that was exactly what I was looking for. I appreciate your help.
  • JustRobby1
    JustRobby1 Posts: 674 Member
    Some people here do, some people don't. It really depends a great deal on who you ask as we all have different rationale. As for me personally? I normally only do this on the weekends and even then only half to account for the inherent inaccuracies in fitness trackers.
  • jacobsl221
    jacobsl221 Posts: 75 Member
    You can use the exercise to erase indulgences. Yesterday I ate 1/2 a donut 155 calories. I walked 31 minutes 158 calories. I'm not sure it was worth the effort!
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,122 Member
    edited July 2017
    I eat every single last one, unless I have been on some mad crazy uphill hiking and it would be a struggle to eat them back, then I just bank them for weekend wine, I monitored my tracker for a while and found it was actually underestimating my output. Depending on your method of tracking your calories, you may want to be a little conservative with how many you eat back but whatever you choose to do stick at it for a month or so and you will be able to tell from your weight loss results how accurate they are.
  • x_stephisaur_x
    x_stephisaur_x Posts: 146 Member
    I try not to eat them all, just because that figure might be wrong. That said, yesterday I burnt more than my entire daily allowance. I was so hungry and, yeah, I ate those calories back :lol:
  • Silentpadna
    Silentpadna Posts: 1,306 Member
    This is, sadly, my first time to incorporate any exercise in my life, especially during a time when I'm choosing to eat better.
    Is it best to not eat your burned calories? Or does your body need more calories if you're working out and I should be eating then (or some)?
    Just curious on what works best for healthy weight loss. Thanks!

    Yes, assuming you mean exercise calories added to your total when you say "burned calories" (we burn calories constantly).

    It's how MFP is setup. Incidentally, if you were using the TDEE less deficit method while estimating activity up front, you would be already doing that. If you get your activity estimate right in either case, both should give you roughly the same calories to eat.

    Ultimately, you'll end doing what's best for you, but you'll need significant time to monitor progress and tell whether you are eating too much or not enough back. The reason you'll need significant time is because fluid loss or retention will make the scale fluctuate at a greater magnitude than fat loss.

    If you are losing more than 2 pounds per week (over 4-6 weeks, not individual weeks), you should probably eat a little more, especially if you experience other factors such as lethargy, light-headedness, etc. If you are not losing, then you should eat a smaller percentage of exercise calories "earned". Everyone is different.
  • scarlett_k
    scarlett_k Posts: 812 Member
    I eat all of mine.
  • Wotan48
    Wotan48 Posts: 36 Member
    It depends on my exercise. When I lift weights I usually end up eating the calories, the protein is needed for a good recovery.
  • Genesyxx
    Genesyxx Posts: 13 Member
    It depends on how well I'm doing mentally. If I'm in a "eat everything mood" I'll go for it, but most of the time, I try not to.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    Or does your body need more calories if you're working out and I should be eating then (or some)?

    Does your car need more fuel putting in it when you drive further than expected?
    Your exercise calories aren't accounted for in your calorie goal.

    There's issues around accuracy but in reality the accuracy of your food intake is far more significant in achieving the right balance.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited July 2017
    LinserSE wrote: »
    I never do and I do not track them on here because the higher deficit I can achieve for a day the more weight I'll ultimately lose. However, I do keep it in mind and give myself permission to have a treat every now and again when I know I've done this for a while.

    If you feel weak, tired, or hungry, you can always have an extra snack or whatever you may need to feel whole, but for the most 'effective weight loss', you would try not eat the/all calories back.

    "Weight loss" is fat+existing lean muscle mass. My preference is a larger % of fat loss, so I eat exercise calories back. When people have quite a bit of weight to lose, this is not as much of an issue.
  • scarlett_k
    scarlett_k Posts: 812 Member
    LinserSE wrote: »
    I never do and I do not track them on here because the higher deficit I can achieve for a day the more weight I'll ultimately lose. However, I do keep it in mind and give myself permission to have a treat every now and again when I know I've done this for a while.

    If you feel weak, tired, or hungry, you can always have an extra snack or whatever you may need to feel whole, but for the most 'effective weight loss', you would try not eat the/all calories back.

    This is bad advice. You can absolutely lose weight effectively by eating back your exercise calories. Not doing so may lead you to burn out and give in. I've been losing a steady 1 kg (2 lb) a week eating back mine.
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,122 Member
    LinserSE wrote: »
    I never do and I do not track them on here because the higher deficit I can achieve for a day the more weight I'll ultimately lose. However, I do keep it in mind and give myself permission to have a treat every now and again when I know I've done this for a while.

    If you feel weak, tired, or hungry, you can always have an extra snack or whatever you may need to feel whole, but for the most 'effective weight loss', you would try not eat the/all calories back.

    But the deficit you're aiming for, for your weight loss is already accounted for in your calorie allowance. So a higher deficit is not necessarily a good thing. Effective weight loss is achieved by being sustainable long term not faster.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
    Everybody eats their burned calories. Except dead people. You don't only burn calories through exercise, and the interest you do burn this way aren't any different from the ones you burn posting here.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    I eat every single last one, unless I have been on some mad crazy uphill hiking and it would be a struggle to eat them back, then I just bank them for weekend wine, I monitored my tracker for a while and found it was actually underestimating my output. Depending on your method of tracking your calories, you may want to be a little conservative with how many you eat back but whatever you choose to do stick at it for a month or so and you will be able to tell from your weight loss results how accurate they are.

    This. I sync my Garmin Vivoactive with MFP and find the burn for my actual exercise is spot on, while my calories for steps are high. So, I try to eat the exercise calories back, but only a part of the steps. Working fine for me.

    It can take some trial and error to figure out what works best for you. Be sure your logging is spot on: weigh all solid foods on a food scale including eggs, bread and pre-packages foods like frozen dinners and use measuring cups and spoons for all liquids. It'll be easier to figure out your activity/exercise calorie piece if you truly know what your calorie intake is.
  • MiViVe
    MiViVe Posts: 13 Member
    I do not. But then again, I'm not tired, I don't feel weak, and I use them as 'cheat insurance'. For example, I work out four times a week, and probably burn close to 2500 calories total. I just use those as a cushion for if I go over 200 calories one day, or on the weekend I go out with friends and go 800 over my goal.