Who does not eat back exercise calories???

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Replies

  • georgiag111
    georgiag111 Posts: 424
    I do and I dont if that makes sense If I am hungry I eat , If I am not I dont eat.
  • worldhurdler
    worldhurdler Posts: 153 Member
    I don't eat all of them; I try to leave around 100 or so. Mainly due to the fact that I don't 100% trust my logging and/or the amount of calories MFP says I burn. What if I really only burned 380cals on a 30min run and MFP claims I burned 450cals? Or the fact that MFP gives me 100 more cals burned in an hour of cycling than the bike at the gym does? So yeah - I leave a buffer. I've lost 5lbs in 3 weeks so...that's my progress.
  • KyleB65
    KyleB65 Posts: 1,196 Member
    I rarely eat back all my exercise calories.

    I am usually in between my MFP generated calorie suggestion and the calories added through exercise. Without checking my eating history I would say I am usually closer to the static amount.

    As for how I feel. Great! I am losing the 1 - 2 lbs per week that I want. And, I have lots of energy. (Lost over 30lbs since starting with MFP)

    I workout 5 - 6 times per week and I am feeling stronger each week.

    I am limiting my sodium to deal with high blood pressure. Which means that for the most part I am consuming "good" calories. To say no junk food and very little prepared food. In addition, my bread consumption is way down and I am slowly cutting down on the amount of meat I eat.

    Good luck
  • KyleB65
    KyleB65 Posts: 1,196 Member
    I rarely eat back all my exercise calories.

    I am usually in between my MFP generated calorie suggestion and the calories added through exercise. Without checking my eating history I would say I am usually closer to the static amount.

    As for how I feel. Great! I am losing the 1 - 2 lbs per week that I want. And, I have lots of energy. (Lost over 30lbs since starting with MFP)

    I workout 5 - 6 times per week and I am feeling stronger each week.

    I am limiting my sodium to deal with high blood pressure. Which means that for the most part I am consuming "good" calories. To say no junk food and very little prepared food. In addition, my bread consumption is way down and I am slowly cutting down on the amount of meat I eat.

    Good luck
  • DelightfullyWifed
    DelightfullyWifed Posts: 70
    I definitely do and I definitely dont. I eat to make sure that I am satisfyed and full and that's it. Sometimes all it takes is my 1200 calories that I am allowed, and sometimes I need some extra ones. Now it's more common that i don't and I have recently, well the entire month of august really plateaued. I only lost 3lbs in August and worked out like crazy and really stuck to my calories. The last pound and half came in the last week when I fell off my calories and exercise because I was out of town. It has made me wonder if I am starving myself maybe a bit.

    Septemeber I am going to make sure I always eat my 1200 calories and a small portion, maybe 1/4 or so of my exercise calories. Granted I am not going to eat to eat, so if there is a day when I just can't eat any more and Im only at 1200 then that's it.

    I'll let you know how it goes but I think for me I do need a bit more food/calories in my diet for me to continue to lose weight.
  • worldhurdler
    worldhurdler Posts: 153 Member
    Is it weird that I'm more hungry (and usually end up eating more) on days that I don't exercise (or burn as many calories). It's ok if I'm a freak, you guys can tell me. :huh:

    I don't think so! My "cheat days" are almost always on days that contain NO activity, like a lazy weekend. Also, I'm not hungry after I work out (even if I was starving before I started), so that really affects my eating habits on exercise days.
  • sunshineshica
    sunshineshica Posts: 277
    I don't eat my exercise calories. I may eventually when I start getting closer to my goal but in 2 1/2 months I've lost over 27 pounds. At first I exercised 5 days a week, now I exercise 6 days a week. Mostly cardio, some toning. I eat what I want (also a college student so limited to certain foods).

    WOOOWWW!! 27lbs in 2 and a half months..it's hard for me to lose 10 in two months. Different body types I know. Great job!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I don't eat mine unless I'm hungry. My calorie goal is 1600 and I work out at least an hour every day and I've lost 23 lbs since the end of June. I'm meeting with a nutritionist this afternoon and plan to ask about the eating back exercise calories thing - I'll post back with what she says!

    She will probably say no, as she may not be aware that MFP sets you up with a caloric deficit to begin with. Most likely she will base your caloric intake on TDEE, which should be a higher amount than your 1600.

    As an example say MFP gives you 1450 calories to lose 1 lb/week, and you plan on exercising 5x/week for an average of 400 cals per workout. well MFP will tell you to eat 1450 on the days you don't workout and 1850 on the days you do whereas a "professional" may tell you to eat 1750 everyday regardless if you workout.

    So for the week MFP will have you eat 12,150 (1450*2+1850*5) whereas doing it the other way will have you eat 12,250 (1850*7) almost the same number of cals for the week. The issue in not following MFP is if you don't workout the full 5 days or burn more or less than planned. If that is the case you may lose more or less than your goal, whereas MFP will have you lose your goal amount regardless how much you actually workout.

    What many MFP do is take the low 1450 and not eat back exercise calories which is wrong, if you are not eating them back then your daily activity level should reflect the higher burn with would be covered in the 1750/day above.
  • bjean0
    bjean0 Posts: 23 Member
    It depends if there is something I want to spluge on and may not have enough cals left then I will
  • 27strange
    27strange Posts: 837 Member
    Is it weird that I'm more hungry (and usually end up eating more) on days that I don't exercise (or burn as many calories). It's ok if I'm a freak, you guys can tell me. :huh:

    NOPE. I hate rest days for this very reason.
  • joeygirl84
    joeygirl84 Posts: 224 Member
    That would be great! For sure tell us what the nutritionist says on this subject.

    I had one tell me that everyone's really different and you just have to listen to your body... but for me it seems to work well not to eat them back.
  • sunshineshica
    sunshineshica Posts: 277
    well i end up putting my dinner in at the end of the night after i've exercised and eaten for the day so by that time I can't eat anymore anyway. so whatever calories is still out there is just there cuz I'm already done for the day.
  • leilani♥
    leilani♥ Posts: 579
    my mother's brother's cousins' ex-wife's brother in law does not

    LOL>...
  • joeygirl84
    joeygirl84 Posts: 224 Member
    I don't. I normally burn 800-1000 calories a day, and I just could never eat that many additional calories! I eat 1200... ya ya I only net a few hundred, bad me. But it's working I've lost 11 lbs. in the past 45 days. 157 down to 146, so I'm gonna stick with it and if I plateau I'll re-evaluate.




    Thanks for your reply!
  • 27strange
    27strange Posts: 837 Member
    When I started out I didn't eat exercise calories back and I worked out a ton...I lost weight quick. Since then I have been more of a yo-yo'er on my calorie intake and because of this sometimes I am eating calories back and sometimes not. Sometimes that's on purpose and sometimes not. There is no magic answer. The MFP formula is a generalization like anything else. We are all unique individuals and our bodies react differently. My advice is always to try different routines till ya find what works for ya, then when it stops working, try something else.
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    Am I travelling backward? I thought I replied one of these threads last night...Someone just sugested "don't eat calories back". LOL.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I don't. I normally burn 800-1000 calories a day, and I just could never eat that many additional calories! I eat 1200... ya ya I only net a few hundred, bad me. But it's working I've lost 11 lbs. in the past 45 days. 157 down to 146, so I'm gonna stick with it and if I plateau I'll re-evaluate.

    Thanks for your reply! I'm also on a 1200 calorie a day... and I usually burn about 1000 a day. I feel great but get wigged out by all these people telling me I'm going into starvation mode. I'm still losing, I'm not hungry... I guess I need to just listen to my body and make changes as needed.

    This is bad, that is less nutrition for your body than a sedentary anorexic. Your TDEE is probably above 2000 cals so to lose 1 lb/week you could eat 1500+ calories.

    Most likely you are losing a large amount of lean muscle.
  • Bluestar083
    Bluestar083 Posts: 146
    I don't set mine back, but may dip into them if I need to. Can't see the point of burning calories then eating them !! If that's the case I can't see the point in burning them !!!

    Oh perhaps the fact that exercise reduces risk of some cancers, heart disease, osteoporosis, falls...I can go on? What a silly attitude to take. My parents (slim people in their 50s and 60s) cycle every day, and do weighs 2-3 times a week NOT to lose weight but to stay fit and healthy. They are my role models. Not the patients in hospital where I am a nurse who are 60 and have had hip #, heart disease etc from not exercising.

    I hope your children don't 'role model' your attitude to exercise.
  • joeygirl84
    joeygirl84 Posts: 224 Member
    Is it weird that I'm more hungry (and usually end up eating more) on days that I don't exercise (or burn as many calories). It's ok if I'm a freak, you guys can tell me. :huh:

    no I go through the same thing... the more I exercise the less inclined I feel to eat :)
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
    Is it weird that I'm more hungry (and usually end up eating more) on days that I don't exercise (or burn as many calories). It's ok if I'm a freak, you guys can tell me. :huh:

    no I go through the same thing... the more I exercise the less inclined I feel to eat :)

    Found this (among many others when I googled it)...exercise created endorphins that supress your appetite...so that explains the whole thing (ignore the advertisment portion and there's some good info there).

    http://www.natural-appetite-suppressant.co.uk/natural-hunger-suppressant.html
  • AimingHighWeighingLow
    AimingHighWeighingLow Posts: 192 Member
    I don't eat them back. But if I was hungry....I would!

    I have lost 14lb in less than 5 weeks and was only just overweight when I started. BMI was c.26, Now its 24.02.
  • mrivera713
    mrivera713 Posts: 232 Member
    My nutritionist advised that I do not eat back my exercise calories. I've lost a total of 13 lbs since May 21st. (VERY SLOW Start at first, I use to hate exercise and good food) I would dare say that I should actually count from July when I really started giving this any tiny bit of effort...
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    My nutritionist advised that I do not eat back my exercise calories. I've lost a total of 13 lbs since May 21st. (VERY SLOW Start at first, I use to hate exercise and good food) I would dare say that I should actually count from July when I really started giving this any tiny bit of effort...

    And she probably gave you a higher intake than if you entered your info into MFP. MFP may give you 1200, but she probably would give you 1500+, which would account for the exercise and would be similar to eating 1200 and eating your exercise calories.
  • h3h8m3
    h3h8m3 Posts: 455 Member
    I don't, well, not really. It's always nice to know that if/when I go over my calories I have those exercise calories as a buffer, but I aim to hit my pre-exercise number every day.

    I burn 500-1000 calories a day. I've lost 102 pounds in about 4.5 months.

    My expectation is that it'll slow down eventually, as I'm getting closer to my goal, and then I'll see about upping my calories if and when that happens.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    So I went through a lot of these response and a lot of people don't eat their exercise calories but most of the people that responded aren't close to their goal. Simple put if you want to look like an athlete, you need to eat like one. That means feeding your body so you aren't losing muscle. I hate to tell people, but if you don't fuel the fire, your body will search for other places to fuel the fire. Once your energy is utilized from the fat stores, your body attacks the muscles (one reason why runners have very small and lean muscles). Smaller muscle means a slower metabolism and less control over your bodily functions. I factor my exercise into my TDEE and deficit so I eat them back. I have 12% body fat (down from 18%) and eat 2700+ calories a day.


    So if you really want to know if your method is working. Do this. Get some body calipers. test your body (6 spots: chest, abs, hips, waist, back of the arm and area right below your butt). Do your normal routine for 60 days (working without eating exercise calories). After 60 days, test your body again. Also durin this time frame, use a tape measure to measure your major area's as well and weigh yourself.

    During the next 60 days, eat your exercise calories back and keep with your routine. After 60 days, re-measure.

    I bet that you will lose more body fat by using the second method. Heck, look at this thread. You will notice every women or men with low body fat eats a lot of calories. The heavier you are, the more your body can sustain a lower calorie diet. The skinnier you are, the more it retains the fat to keep your body movin.


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/282320-caloric-intake-body-fat
  • ilikejam33
    ilikejam33 Posts: 252 Member
    I tried to not eat mine back at first and I felt like CRAP. I couldn't do it. I'd literally get sick. It seems to work for a lot of people though. I'm sure it makes a difference with how much you have to lose too. I've never had that much to lose, and I usually work out pretty hard, so I think my calorie count would be severely low if I didn't. My body sends me VERY clear signals that it is not at all happy if I don't eat my calories back.

    You have to keep in mind too though that it also depends on your net goal vs. what you've ate and burned. If you have a goal of 1400 cals (like me) and you eat 2000 cals that day, but only burn off 600 cals through exercise, then you've only managed to set your net back to 1400. You'd NOT eat back any of those calories because then you'd go over your goal again. On the other hand, if you've burned 700 that day then you'd eat back 100 (which will put your net at 1400-your goal). SO, it's really not as simple as "do or don't I eat them back," ya gotta do the math to see where you are (which MFP does for you if you use it like it's intended)!

    Great reply. I see this topic over and over and the one thing people always forget is that you have to consider what your net is to begin with. My net is set to 1200cal (to loose 1 lbs a week) I burn between 300-600 cal a day. MFP and every doctor and dietician I have met with advised me to never go below 1200 net. Its dangerous for your body. So I make sure I stay above 1200.

    You may loose by dropping down to 600 net but what else are you loosing? Speaking as someone who spent a many years with an eating disorder, lots of other body functions get compromised, and many of them you cant see without a blood test and take a very long time to recover from. Be careful everyone, talk to your own doctor and do what they say is best for you :)
  • graysmom2005
    graysmom2005 Posts: 1,882 Member
    I really think it all depends on where you are in your weight loss. I didn't eat mine back for a long time and lost a lot of weight. And then I stopped. And then I gained a few back. I had to start eating more to lose once I got down closer to my goal. So those who aren't right now...probably will down the road. it is just a matter of where you are on your journey. :-)
  • greeneyed84
    greeneyed84 Posts: 427 Member
    I have to eat most of mine back b/c if i don't my body will hurt b/c it's so hungry & then i binge....
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
    When I started out I didn't eat exercise calories back and I worked out a ton...I lost weight quick. Since then I have been more of a yo-yo'er on my calorie intake and because of this sometimes I am eating calories back and sometimes not. Sometimes that's on purpose and sometimes not. There is no magic answer. The MFP formula is a generalization like anything else. We are all unique individuals and our bodies react differently. My advice is always to try different routines till ya find what works for ya, then when it stops working, try something else.
    ditto!
  • cuddlyrunner
    cuddlyrunner Posts: 116 Member
    I've weighed in at slimming world tonight so I have eaten all my calories and all my exercise calories today. Most days I don't eat them back. However, if I felt weak or hungry I would do so.
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