Why should I eat the calories burned?

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bluesheeponahill
bluesheeponahill Posts: 169 Member
edited December 2018 in Health and Weight Loss
I’ve been reading along here trying not to dulpicate questions, so forgive me if this has been asked recently,

But I’m struggling to understand the whole eat the calories you’ve burned through excerise.

Is it, you have a calorie limit like 1200, you burn 300 Calories, so that means you can eat 1500 calories and still lose weight?

I’m on 12WBT which has me at 1200 calorie limit but doesn’t seem to require me to eat the calories burned. I did a 500 calorie work out, and to be honest I’m starving! I’ve been drinking water but doesn’t seem to be curbing the hunger.

What’s the best approach? Push through? Eat the calories burned? MFP knows I’m keen to lose weight!

Replies

  • bluesheeponahill
    bluesheeponahill Posts: 169 Member
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    Thank you. MFP says 1400 is best for me. I agree it’s a fad diet. I joined because I wanted a kickstarter, mostly the workouts to get me to a good place. I was hoping once I got to my goal weight I could manage the maintenance with my lifestyle. I’m pretty active, but need something to push the stubborn kilos off. Im trying to use 12wbt to remind myself I don’t NEED to indulge in sweet food because it’s there. Just need to know to limit myself and it will still be there next week.
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
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    bluesheeponahill wrote: »
    Thank you. MFP says 1400 is best for me. I agree it’s a fad diet. I joined because I wanted a kickstarter, mostly the workouts to get me to a good place. I was hoping once I got to my goal weight I could manage the maintenance with my lifestyle. I’m pretty active, but need something to push the stubborn kilos off. Im trying to use 12wbt to remind myself I don’t NEED to indulge in sweet food because it’s there. Just need to know to limit myself and it will still be there next week.

    It definitely helped me eat smaller portions to remind myself that I could eat more tomorrow! Best of luck to you. If you want to keep the workouts and eat a few more calories, that might be a good solution.
  • bluesheeponahill
    bluesheeponahill Posts: 169 Member
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    I feel so dumb! I’d seen that video but not watched it, figuring it didn’t have subtitles but did and now it makes so much more sense!

    Thank you :)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,982 Member
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    For those who prefer text explanations to video:

    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
  • alecmartin80
    alecmartin80 Posts: 3 Member
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    My big problem with eating burned calories is that I never trust the calories burned calculations for my activities. So I'd never eat them back - in full at least.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,683 Member
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    It depends on what kind of exercise you're doing. For walking and running, the math is simple so the MFP calculations are pretty accurate. For something that depends on the amount of effort involved (i.e. calisthenics, yoga, stationary bike, etc.) the numbers can be pretty subjective, so I take those with a grain of salt. Moderately hard is subjective. Moving 150 pounds for 5 miles is not.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    alecmartin80 wrote: »
    My big problem with eating burned calories is that I never trust the calories burned calculations for my activities. So I'd never eat them back - in full at least.

    Most suggestions here start with eating half back, continue this for a month and compare your actual weight loss to your expected loss.

    My running calories get all eaten back, my lifting about 2/3'rds. This is based on what my Garmin tells me.

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