Don't eat your exercise calories

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  • drsub
    drsub Posts: 6
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    Aww...so cute! Like!
  • ambermichon
    ambermichon Posts: 404 Member
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    some people can get by with netting a low amount. but, please, don't post on here in 2 weeks when your body is in starvation mode and you're not losing.

    Agreed
  • ambermichon
    ambermichon Posts: 404 Member
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    Initially not eating the exercise cals helped me lose weight, then I hit a plateau. I however work out really hard, lifting, circuits, cardio for an hour to two a day. Since the 1200 calories already includes a deficit the exercise was creating a HUGE deficit. When i started eating them back I started losing again. I am still eating them and still losing. That said I dont eat every single calorie....I leave about 200-300 at the end of the day for error. This is working for me.

    I do agree with the above posters that many may overly exaggerate how hard they work out or how many calories are burned and then when those are eaten people arent losing weight.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    I know what works for my lifestyle and my body, so, thanks for the suggestion but I don't intend to change my strategy and start depriving myself now!
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
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    are you sure you really meant to title your post like you did? are you putting it out there that we don't eat our exercise cals? if so, i honestly don't think you understand the goals of MFP and the way it's set up. not eating them may work for you and others for a while...but low and behold, there will be a plateau..... and then additional posts.

    You can tell the future?? Awesome!!
  • servilia
    servilia Posts: 3,452 Member
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    First there are many ways to lose weight and some of the "eat them back" guys like Taso are my good friends here.
    But I agree with the OP.

    My feeling is, if you're going to eat back the exercise calories what the point of exercising? To eat more or burn fat? To me I see it as a wash if you eat them back. Personally, I'm lazy I would just rather eat less and not exercise.

    Now if your goal is maintenance then I think it's a great idea to eat them back, but if the goal is to burn fat, then no way.

    Starvation mode is not understood much at all. It's not going to kick in after one, two, or even several days. The decline is gradual and is typically a problem after weeks.

    This is why I incorporate Spike Day's, if I have a day each week where I eat a calorie surplus, then my body can't go into starvation mode. How can it be starving if I store energy?

    Also the energy I store is not bodyfat, it's glycogen. Since with a surplus, glycogen is stored first! Because it's heavily depleted while I'm dieting, and short-term energy is a higher priority then long-term (bodyfat) energy storage.

    Thanks, this makes sense. I don't see the point of eating them back either. Especially since it's proven that the vast majority of people do a great job of underestimating/underreporting calories eaten to begin with.
  • jazzy020106
    jazzy020106 Posts: 485 Member
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    I never eat any of my exercise calories.. well, I RARELY eat my exercise calories. Works for me! I am not starving myself so the internet exercise calorie police can suck it! =]


    That is all..
  • Armygirl67
    Armygirl67 Posts: 177 Member
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    I only allow half of my exercise calories to be eaten since I'm at 1,200.

    Me too except that I'm at 1,640. Because we tend to overestimate the amount of calories burned & underestimate the ones we take in so its better to be safe than sorry. Bottomline here is that if you eat more than you burn, you will gain weight & if you burn more than you consume, you will lose weight regardless if you're eating back your exercise calories or no.

    I agree with this..
    I eat alot of home cooked meals, and i do`t want to underestimate the calories..
    I do`t have time to calculate every single meal im cooking, then divided by portions to get the right ammount of calories, so i just google it, but how i know for sure, if that ei: creamy potato soup or whatever meal was prepered the same way, ( same calories)
    So i rather stay within my 1200 cal -a day..
    i`ve tried both ways,,when i eat back some calories, my weight jumps up.
    When i lose another 20-lb or so, i will be a little more flexible, and i won`t be so hard on myself, but at the beginning its important for me to see the scale to show some progress, to prove that its working, or i won`t stick with it..
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
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    I'm trying to basically jumpstart my metabolism after being at a plateau for several months and unintentionally undereating (before MFP and calorie tracking). Seems to be starting up by eating more. Because I am about 20 pounds from my goal weight, I have weight loss set to .5lbs/week, so I definitely do not have a 1200 calorie goal. I have a calorie goal of 1440.

    I eat back 1/2 my exercise calories to account for inaccuracies in food or exercise calculations. Of course I don't want to gain or maintain, either, I want to get this last 20 pounds off damn it! I agree with the lovely young woman you said if you are maintaining or gaining when eating them back, then something's wrong - as in your food measuring/weighing and hence calorie calculations, or MFP may be overestimating your exercise calories. Therefore, when you eat ALL your exercise calories, your calorie deficit is lower than you think it is. One is not maintaining or gaining BECAUSE they eat their exercise calories per se, it is because their calculations are off. How to solve this? Not by undereating, but simply by adjusting the amount of exercise calories you eat back.

    Simple equation: If I have 1200/day alloted, I go for a crazy mountain bike ride, I burn 1200 calories. That basically means I burned those 1200 calories I ate to fuel my body for my bike ride. So what's fueling my body for everything else - for simply functioning, living?

    If one is going to ask a doctor/nutritionist/trainer (I would go with nutritionist) about "exercise calories," I would hope that person would explain to them the way MFP works, otherwise that professional is giving you advice without the proper information. As in, MFP already gives me a deficit every single day with my food calories, so I can lose without exercising.

    We're of course are all adults here (with the expection of the few who have lied about age to get on here, and I hope they are not learning to chronically undereat) and can make our own choices. This site is simply a tool. If one has all the information at their fingertips - has read it, thought about it, experimented with it in various ways - and thinks they are using this tool to making a healthy change, then that's their choice. But to say no one should ever eat back their exercise calories goes against the way this site was purposely designed, otherwise, exercise calories wouldn't be included in the daily calorie allowance. The first nearly 40 pounds I lost came off quickly. As much as I want to be rid of these last pounds, I am not going to starve my body of the nutrition it needs to properly function even at just a basic level, even if that means I cannot lose 2 pounds or 1 pound a week, and even if that means I have to spend months adjusting to find the appropriate calorie deficit that is still within a healthy range to fuel all my basic functions as well as my daily activity as well as my workouts. Make smart choices and good luck to everyone.
  • helloburger
    helloburger Posts: 243 Member
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    I read somewhere that if you don't eat your calories back that fat turns into muscle.

    haha fat & muscle cells are two very different body masses & its impossible for the one to become another. Its like saying that an apple can become an orange.


    Trolled
  • Erica0718
    Erica0718 Posts: 469 Member
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    I drink mine. Exercise calories = wine.

    LMAO, love it. Wine is well deserved after a good workout.
  • nerdyandilikeit
    nerdyandilikeit Posts: 2,185 Member
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    i will eat your remainder. please email them to me.

    Texting would be faster...
  • eamconnor
    eamconnor Posts: 130 Member
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    I think you might be able to use this:

    sarcasm01.jpg

    Glorious!
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    I found when I added my exercise to MFP and had the extra calories "allowable" I would just eat them because I was allowed. I find now that I don't eat my exercise calories (so I don't put my exercise into the diary) I manage perfectly find on my calorie allowance.

    Just goes to show the power of the mind.

    Try it and see how you go! If you're anything like me I can "allow" myself anything and try to justify it, so I don't need MFP telling me I can have those extra calories if I exercise...

    how much weight have you lost? And over how long. your ticker says zero, suggesring perhaps a lack of experience underpinning your post.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    This is why I incorporate Spike Day's, if I have a day each week where I eat a calorie surplus, then my body can't go into starvation mode. How can it be starving if I store energy?

    Also the energy I store is not bodyfat, it's glycogen. Since with a surplus, glycogen is stored first! Because it's heavily depleted while I'm dieting, and short-term energy is a higher priority then long-term (bodyfat) energy storage.

    so put in simple terms, you do, in fact, eat them back. . . ?
    Just not every day.
    I eat when i'm hungry, within generally my basic calorie allocation. but if i'm hungry and have plenty of exercise cals i won't think twice about eating what i need. this seems to me a sane solution to the issue.
  • ilookthetype
    ilookthetype Posts: 3,021 Member
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    Seriously?

    "Allowing" yourself to eat food, and being "stronger" when you don't is an important part to weight loss. As is eating enough, and eating helathy. When you get too into restricting what you "allow" your body to eat you go too far, and then you assume your body can survive on however few calories you give it, which is not the case.

    This is also classic ED bahavior. Get off the forums, or tell people what you are about to say is a *trigger* and can cause girls like me to relapse into their ED.
  • ilookthetype
    ilookthetype Posts: 3,021 Member
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    The intent isn't to be mean, it's to inform.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    How many of people who vote for eat have been successful, I mean reached their goals? and how many of those who vote for nay? i was just curious...
    "It works for me so far" is not quite convincing, just yet.

    Well. I eat back all my exercise calories. Always have. Always will.

    I've lost 60lbs and am now maintaining.

    Pretty sure THAT is enough to convince ME I need to eat them.

    I also consume 2200-2500 NET calories a day (yep, that is NET).


    And before you ask - my current weight is between 143-145lbs.
  • nikkif87
    nikkif87 Posts: 193 Member
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    Great job chevy! :flowerforyou:
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
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    How many of people who vote for eat have been successful, I mean reached their goals? and how many of those who vote for nay? i was just curious...
    "It works for me so far" is not quite convincing, just yet.

    Well. I eat back all my exercise calories. Always have. Always will.

    I've lost 60lbs and am now maintaining.

    Pretty sure THAT is enough to convince ME I need to eat them.

    Always have, always will? So you have never tried NOT eating them back? Results could be better, you dont know! Always try both ways, just so that then you have seen the full picture, and can pick which one is right for you.

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