Should I eat back calories from walking at work?

anderska1011
anderska1011 Posts: 10 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
This is maybe a dumb question, but I've been reading through the forums and I can't quite figure this out.

I'm a 29yo 5'6" woman, weigh about 180 and trying to get to 150. I set my stats to Lightly Active since I walk to and from work and am on my feet a lot during the day, but am a couch potato when I get home. I wear my Garmin all the time and have it sync to MFP, but don't log in separate workouts, since I currently don't exercise beyond going on walks during my lunch, which is already being tracked.

MFP is saying that I am burning nearly a thousand exercise calories based on what my Garmin is sending it. Since I'm not actually "exercising," I haven't been purposefully eating them back, but instead leave them as a little wiggle room. But I keep seeing people saying that people using MFP should be eating back exercise calories. Does that include passive exercise calories from just walking during work? It feels like I would be undoing a lot of work by eating nearly 1000 extra calories at the end of each day.

I do weigh my food so I am pretty sure I'm logging correctly. I've also been wearing my Garmin for weeks so it should be calibrated to my heart rate by now. I don't feel like I am losing very quickly, so that's why I'm not so sure about eating calories back.

Sorry this is so long winded! I wanted to make sure I covered the questions that often get asked in the forums.

Replies

  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    How much have you lost, and over what period of time?
  • anderska1011
    anderska1011 Posts: 10 Member
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    How much have you lost, and over what period of time?

    I've lost 11 pounds since May 29, when I was at my heaviest at 191. So 11 pounds in a little under 3 and a half months. Is that reasonable?
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    anderska1011 wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    How much have you lost, and over what period of time?

    I've lost 11 pounds since May 29, when I was at my heaviest at 191. So 11 pounds in a little under 3 and a half months. Is that reasonable?

    Your rate of loss is fine and suggests either Garmin over estimating your calories burned or logging errors (like using an incorrect entry from the database).

    You also might want to double check your Garmin settings and make sure everything is correct.
  • anderska1011
    anderska1011 Posts: 10 Member
    Your rate of loss is fine and suggests either Garmin over estimating your calories burned or logging errors (like using an incorrect entry from the database).

    You also might want to double check your Garmin settings and make sure everything is correct.

    Yeah, I've been tightening up my logging to double check that I'm doing it right. I also tried to figure out if my Garmin was messing up but the thing is beyond me. It's also an older and cheaper model so it might just be off no matter what I do. Hoping to be able to get a newer one for my birthday or Christmas. :/

    But if my rate is okay then I guess I can just keep ignoring most of the exercise calories?
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    anderska1011 wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    How much have you lost, and over what period of time?

    I've lost 11 pounds since May 29, when I was at my heaviest at 191. So 11 pounds in a little under 3 and a half months. Is that reasonable?

    Just over 3lbs/month with 30 to go, sounds pretty reasonable. I would start with reviewing your logging, there could be some inaccurate database entries working their way in there. Do you have any cheat days that you don't log, or eating out a lot? Both of those can throw your data off (not suggesting you shouldn't do these things, just that if the data is inaccurate, it's more complex).

    I'm very hesitant to trust most trackers, particularly the ones with HR monitoring. If you have some caffeine and go for a walk, your heart rate will be up, so it will tell you that you've burned more. If you are using it for exercise where your energy expenditure has some intense points, it will take a while for your heart rate to recover, which can also be overinflated. That being said, walking is fairly steady state, so theoretically it should be fairly accurate. Personally, I prefer to go off real life numbers, so using the data you have from logging and comparing that to rate of loss.
  • anderska1011
    anderska1011 Posts: 10 Member
    I think my logging is at least fairly accurate. I do eat out at least a few times a week but I compare entries to the nutritional information provided by restaurants, and overestimate calories for places that dont provide that info. I've also started making my own entries for things I eat at home instead of relying on the database.

    Yeah, I do spend a lot of my day feeling overly warm and drinking caffeine - I feel dumb for not realizing that could affect my heart rate and thus my "exercise" calories. I guess if my rate of loss is fine then I'll just keep on keeping on and kind of ignore the exercise calories MFP gives me.

    Thanks so much!
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    anderska1011 wrote: »
    I think my logging is at least fairly accurate. I do eat out at least a few times a week but I compare entries to the nutritional information provided by restaurants, and overestimate calories for places that dont provide that info. I've also started making my own entries for things I eat at home instead of relying on the database.

    Yeah, I do spend a lot of my day feeling overly warm and drinking caffeine - I feel dumb for not realizing that could affect my heart rate and thus my "exercise" calories. I guess if my rate of loss is fine then I'll just keep on keeping on and kind of ignore the exercise calories MFP gives me.

    Thanks so much!

    Absolutely, if your rate of loss was really high, then I'd be more inclined to worry about the exercise more. Sounds like you are doing just fine.

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