Is it safe to eat back calories burned from walking?
Replies
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kshama2001 wrote: »tzimmer10211 wrote: »Sure it's safe. If you want to stay in a calorie deficit for weight loss, don't do it.
If you use MFP to set your calorie goal, exercise, but don't eat back any exercise calories, you are not using MFP the way it was designed.
Unlike other sites which use TDEE calculators, 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.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
Depends on how the goals were setup.
If you set your activity level to slightly active because you walk every day and then eat back the calories from those walks you are double dipping.
At most I only eat back 1/2 my exercise calories because:
1) I realize it's challenging to to be perfectly exact in entering intake calories and I also assume I'm overstating.
2) I also assume MFP is overstating calories burned.
3) I know I'll be over my daily goals on the weekend ( pizza & beer ) so I want to be under my goals during the week.
There is no requirement to eat back your exercise calories... you will just be at a higher deficit.
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Serious question I always have to people who advise to eat back their calories (specifically indicating the reason for exercise is weight loss) from exercise. Why not instead of exercise you just eat less to create the same deficit? I understand there are benefits to exercise, but creating a caloric deficit for weight loss it's not necessary and more times than not works against building a caloric deficit as exercise generally increases hunger and cortisol levels, both to which inhibit weight loss.
You could indeed just eat less - that's exactly the point in either scenario.
And in either scenario a reasonable rate of loss will have positive effects, rather than negative adaptations making it unreasonable.
The problem with saying don't eat them back is creating that too big a deficit.
And then the negatives impact the ability of the exercise to transform the body.
If someone is doing the exercise purely for the calorie burn, then likely they'll be on this weight loss roller coaster ride again and at some point in the future will realize exercise for the heart/body and keeping it up, eating less than you burn for the fat loss, is really the way to go.
Now - someone could be doing no deficit to average non-exercise daily burn - and let exercise create the deficit (could still get unreasonable there, though harder probably) - but usually that is mentioned if it's the case.3 -
kshama2001 wrote: »tzimmer10211 wrote: »Sure it's safe. If you want to stay in a calorie deficit for weight loss, don't do it.
If you use MFP to set your calorie goal, exercise, but don't eat back any exercise calories, you are not using MFP the way it was designed.
Unlike other sites which use TDEE calculators, 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.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
Depends on how the goals were setup.
If you set your activity level to slightly active because you walk every day and then eat back the calories from those walks you are double dipping.
At most I only eat back 1/2 my exercise calories because:
1) I realize it's challenging to to be perfectly exact in entering intake calories and I also assume I'm overstating.
2) I also assume MFP is overstating calories burned.
3) I know I'll be over my daily goals on the weekend ( pizza & beer ) so I want to be under my goals during the week.
There is no requirement to eat back your exercise calories... you will just be at a higher deficit.
Your reasoning makes sense, as you said, based on how your goals are set up. The problem being a higher deficit isn't necessarily better. If someone has already chosen an aggressive rate of loss, a higher deficit through uneaten exercise calories can be disastrous.
OP does have a backstory from other threads of eating far less calories than he should be, looking for drastic results. Increasing his exercise and not eating those calories back is a bad idea, for him at least.3 -
adamlai2000 wrote: »nutmegoreo wrote: »Have you started eating more than 1000 calories per day yet?
I have been on days where I burn off a lot of calories by walking
So you are continuing to seriously under eat despite all the support and suggestions to change that. The answer to your OP, is to eat your exercise calories. All of them.5 -
Serious question I always have to people who advise to eat back their calories (specifically indicating the reason for exercise is weight loss) from exercise. Why not instead of exercise you just eat less to create the same deficit? I understand there are benefits to exercise, but creating a caloric deficit for weight loss it's not necessary and more times than not works against building a caloric deficit as exercise generally increases hunger and cortisol levels, both to which inhibit weight loss.
I don't use exercise to create a deficit. That's WHY I eat back all my exercise cals.3 -
ok thxnutmegoreo wrote: »adamlai2000 wrote: »nutmegoreo wrote: »Have you started eating more than 1000 calories per day yet?
I have been on days where I burn off a lot of calories by walking
So you are continuing to seriously under eat despite all the support and suggestions to change that. The answer to your OP, is to eat your exercise calories. All of them.
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kshama2001 wrote: »tzimmer10211 wrote: »Sure it's safe. If you want to stay in a calorie deficit for weight loss, don't do it.
If you use MFP to set your calorie goal, exercise, but don't eat back any exercise calories, you are not using MFP the way it was designed.
Unlike other sites which use TDEE calculators, 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.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/818082/exercise-calories-again-wtf/p1
Depends on how the goals were setup.
If you set your activity level to slightly active because you walk every day and then eat back the calories from those walks you are double dipping.
At most I only eat back 1/2 my exercise calories because:
1) I realize it's challenging to to be perfectly exact in entering intake calories and I also assume I'm overstating.
2) I also assume MFP is overstating calories burned.
3) I know I'll be over my daily goals on the weekend ( pizza & beer ) so I want to be under my goals during the week.
There is no requirement to eat back your exercise calories... you will just be at a higher deficit.
I suppose it is important to point out that one should not double dip.
However, activity level is supposed to be based on one's job.
1 -
Serious question I always have to people who advise to eat back their calories (specifically indicating the reason for exercise is weight loss) from exercise. Why not instead of exercise you just eat less to create the same deficit? I understand there are benefits to exercise, but creating a caloric deficit for weight loss it's not necessary and more times than not works against building a caloric deficit as exercise generally increases hunger and cortisol levels, both to which inhibit weight loss.
In addition to its many additional health benefits, exercise is the healthiest way for me to manage stress. While vigorous exercise like swimming for an hour or snowshoeing does increase my appetite, the moderate exercise I normally do does not.
Also, when I'm 80 I want to be like my mom - hiking in the White Mountains for her 80th and 81st birthdays.3 -
Serious question I always have to people who advise to eat back their calories (specifically indicating the reason for exercise is weight loss) from exercise. Why not instead of exercise you just eat less to create the same deficit? I understand there are benefits to exercise, but creating a caloric deficit for weight loss it's not necessary and more times than not works against building a caloric deficit as exercise generally increases hunger and cortisol levels, both to which inhibit weight loss.
Because exercise relaxes me so I stress eat less, I find I'm less hungry, and my mood improves so there goes the emotional component of my eating. Plus at 5'3" and 10lbs away from a healthy BMI, without exercise I'm on 1360 calories to lose 1/2lb per week. I'd be miserable if I didn't get some extra calories to play with.1 -
TavistockToad wrote: »adamlai2000 wrote: »I’ve gotten into the habit of going on walks (10km+) fairly regularly and I burn off enough calories to fit in a large snack/small meal. Would using these burned off calories on food jeopardize my weight loss in any way?
Safe?
Safe, as in "won't risk accomplishing the goal."
Happy to be of service.2
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