Do you eat your exercise calories?

Options
tiffeh345
tiffeh345 Posts: 43 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Are you supposed to eat your exercise calories? I usually get 10000+ steps a day. So at the end of the day, I have around 600-1200 calories left (most of which are exercise calories. Do I need to eat some of them back? Will it hurt me if I do?

Replies

  • harper16
    harper16 Posts: 2,564 Member
    Options
    Mfp is designed for you to eat back your exercise calories.
  • tiffeh345
    tiffeh345 Posts: 43 Member
    Options
    Okay. Thanks for letting me know.

    What if I can’t eat all of them? 600-1200 calories at the end of the day (after eating all my meals and snacks) is hard sometimes. Will it hurt if I don’t eat them?
  • harper16
    harper16 Posts: 2,564 Member
    Options
    tiffeh345 wrote: »
    Okay. Thanks for letting me know.

    What if I can’t eat all of them? 600-1200 calories at the end of the day (after eating all my meals and snacks) is hard sometimes. Will it hurt if I don’t eat them?

    If you aren't sure if your exercise calories are accurate you can start by eating back half. 600-1200 for steps only seems really high.
  • tiffeh345
    tiffeh345 Posts: 43 Member
    Options
    I got 1218 exercise calories today, according to my Fitbit. MFP says I should eat 1540 calories. I have eaten 1842. So it says I have 960 calories left. I think I can manage eating back half. Thanks!
  • Whydahdad71
    Whydahdad71 Posts: 317 Member
    Options
    I worked out with resistance bands today and MFP said I burnt over 500 calories in an Mk little over an hour. I did no cardio at all...I am extremely skeptical of how MFP tracks calories for resistance training. I did not eat back all of my calories basically because I don't trust their calculations.
  • harper16
    harper16 Posts: 2,564 Member
    Options
    tiffeh345 wrote: »
    I got 1218 exercise calories today, according to my Fitbit. MFP says I should eat 1540 calories. I have eaten 1842. So it says I have 960 calories left. I think I can manage eating back half. Thanks!

    Besides walking how else are you getting your exercise?
  • tiffeh345
    tiffeh345 Posts: 43 Member
    Options
    I normally do one of the 30 minute programs on the Beachbody app but I had to work today so I didn’t get to do that. I went outside and jogged/walked at a brisk pace for about 45 minutes while my kids played.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Options
    No - they got a big adjustment for that "workout" and getting over 10K steps for the day.

    And yes, 400 by HR-based calorie burn is likely inflated.

    But the adjustment on MFP is NOT just exercise - it's everything in the day that made Fitbit higher than MFP assumed you'd get with no exercise, and the activity level you selected.

    If walking or running - formula-based by distance would be more accurate. Use Fitbit's database entry though - more accurate than MFP converted to weight-based.
    Create a Work Activity using the same Start/Duration time and the known distance you did - let Fitbit calculate rest of it. That will replace the stats Fitbit came up with for that chunk of time.

    OP - couple of likely issues giving higher daily burns than reality.

    Your just barely into aerobic zone walking/jogging is using HR-based calorie burn - and at that end of the aerobic range it's inflated.

    Your daily steps of just walking where it's not using HR-based burn, has the stride length off and you are getting a much greater distance for your steps than reality - hence higher calories.

    Ever walked a known 1/2 to 1 mile track at 2 mph (that's midpoint of daily walking range for most, grocery store shuffle to exercise pace) and confirmed Fitbit got the distance right for what it said?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Options
    Whydahdad71 wrote: »
    I worked out with resistance bands today and MFP said I burnt over 500 calories in an Mk little over an hour. I did no cardio at all...I am extremely skeptical of how MFP tracks calories for resistance training. I did not eat back all of my calories basically because I don't trust their calculations.

    What did you log it as?

    Because Weights is for doing 2-5 sets and 3-15 reps with rests of 2-5 min, and doing the lifts heavy for you with major muscle groups - no isolated stuff.
    And it's calculation is based on studies and is very reasonable - small compared to cardio, but reasonable.

    Bands does not fit that category at all. So that would be inflated.

    Circuit training would be even high than that.

    I doubt resistance bands are even in the METS database.
    https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/compendia

  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,234 Member
    Options
    OP-how many of your steps are from exercise vs normal everyday life stuff?

    And what is your activity level setting on mfp?

    Your adjustment from Fitbit is for everything you burn over and above whatever your activity setting is on mfp. If you’re set as sedentary on mfp, and getting over 10k steps a day (which is way above sedentary), that’s part of the reason for the large adjustments.

    Also, your weight influences calorie burn for most things, so moving more weight will have a higher calorie burn. I don’t know where you are on this spectrum so it may not be a big factor (but it could be).

    You weren’t specifically questioning the amount of your adjustment-but it has been in some of the questions. A 600-1200 adjustment may not be far fetched (although it may be).

    There’s nothing wrong with a large adjustment as long as it is reasonably “accurate”.

    I have eaten my Fitbit adjustment back consistently and lost as expected.

    Best to try eating a percentage and see how your loss stacks up against what you’re expecting and adjust as needed.
  • petethegamer29mfp
    petethegamer29mfp Posts: 15 Member
    Options
    Personally I tend to eat my daily calories or just under then log my exercise just before I complete diary (my tracker is not linked). Then I know if I want a pizza/beer night I can do it guilt free and go over that one day
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    Options
    tiffeh345 wrote: »
    Are you supposed to eat your exercise calories?

    MyFitnessPal, TDEE calculators and all day trackers like your Fitbit do intend you to take your exercise calorie expenditure into account. They just do it in different ways.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,478 Member
    Options
    You are supposed to eat them back, yes. If I work out regularly then I eat a bit more on a daily base rather than more on that day as I like my workdays to be the same with regards to food intake. But I can do that because I've been logging and weighing my food since 2014, and have a good idea how many calories I'm burning. I do eat more when I do something more extreme, like hiking 20km.
  • vgentile990
    vgentile990 Posts: 50 Member
    Options
    I always eat back my exercise calories to replenish my nutrition I lost during the workout. Recovery
  • sarebearr
    sarebearr Posts: 59 Member
    Options
    I personally don't eat back "step" calories but I do eat back workout calories. So a cardio or weight lifting session. I also use my own personal judgment here and double check that I think the calories are accurate to how hard I worked during a session. They can be off, in those instances I might eat half back or whatever I feel I need. Listen to your body! I know when I'm hungry and need more than the allotted calories without the exercise calories factored in.
  • LargeEricS
    LargeEricS Posts: 109 Member
    Options
    tiffeh345 wrote: »
    Are you supposed to eat your exercise calories? I usually get 10000+ steps a day. So at the end of the day, I have around 600-1200 calories left (most of which are exercise calories. Do I need to eat some of them back? Will it hurt me if I do?

    I want to start off by saying I'm not an expert, and everybody's body is different. To answer your actual question. No, you don have to eat them. There are days when I don't eat all my calories because I'm simply not hungry. Will it hurt? Short answer, no not if the numbers are correct.
    tiffeh345 wrote: »
    I got 1218 exercise calories today, according to my Fitbit. MFP says I should eat 1540 calories. I have eaten 1842. So it says I have 960 calories left. I think I can manage eating back half. Thanks!

    As far as this post is concerned I have my doubts tho. I'm assuming you are trying to lose weight but I didn't see you directly say that unless I just missed it while reading. My concern is I'm 6'3 228lbs and 24yrs old. I work manual construction/landscaping in the summer and do 30min HIIT style workouts. I have calories set at 1900 calories which is just slightly under MFP recommendation for lightly active I believe. I eat back no exercise calories and allow those to negate my logging errors, and very minor snacking. Approximately 250 caloires per day in error. Doing all this is exactly 2lbs a week for me, no more no less. Now again I'm not an expert and everybody's bodies are different but this has been dialed in for me over the course of three summer's only dieting periods. For the record my maintenance is only about 2500ish calories too when I quit working out. I dont if this is helpful but good luck.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,583 Member
    Options
    Whydahdad71 wrote: »
    I worked out with resistance bands today and MFP said I burnt over 500 calories in an Mk little over an hour. I did no cardio at all...I am extremely skeptical of how MFP tracks calories for resistance training. I did not eat back all of my calories basically because I don't trust their calculations.

    Yeahbut: She's not logging workouts from the MFP database. She's believing her Fitbit (or at least deciding whether to believe it). The accuracy of the MFP exercise database (let alone that "Workout Routines" thing we were discussing on the other thread) is completely irrelevant. She's not using the MFP exercise database, she's not talking about resistance exercise.

    OP, I've always eaten all of my exercise calories, after estimating them carefully/conservatively (and lost fine, and now have maintained fine for 4+ years since). Others are doing a good job above of helping you figure out whether Fitbit is more vs. less trustworthy in your circumstances. Heybales is particularly knowledgeable about that sort of thing. I'd listen to him, personally.
    LargeEricS wrote: »
    tiffeh345 wrote: »
    Are you supposed to eat your exercise calories? I usually get 10000+ steps a day. So at the end of the day, I have around 600-1200 calories left (most of which are exercise calories. Do I need to eat some of them back? Will it hurt me if I do?

    I want to start off by saying I'm not an expert, and everybody's body is different. To answer your actual question. No, you don have to eat them. There are days when I don't eat all my calories because I'm simply not hungry. Will it hurt? Short answer, no not if the numbers are correct.
    tiffeh345 wrote: »
    I got 1218 exercise calories today, according to my Fitbit. MFP says I should eat 1540 calories. I have eaten 1842. So it says I have 960 calories left. I think I can manage eating back half. Thanks!

    As far as this post is concerned I have my doubts tho. I'm assuming you are trying to lose weight but I didn't see you directly say that unless I just missed it while reading. My concern is I'm 6'3 228lbs and 24yrs old. I work manual construction/landscaping in the summer and do 30min HIIT style workouts. I have calories set at 1900 calories which is just slightly under MFP recommendation for lightly active I believe. I eat back no exercise calories and allow those to negate my logging errors, and very minor snacking. Approximately 250 caloires per day in error. Doing all this is exactly 2lbs a week for me, no more no less. Now again I'm not an expert and everybody's bodies are different but this has been dialed in for me over the course of three summer's only dieting periods. For the record my maintenance is only about 2500ish calories too when I quit working out. I dont if this is helpful but good luck.

    And I'm a 5'5" 129 lbs, and 64yrs old (plus female). I have calories set at 1850, and eat back exercise on top of that. I'm for real sedentary in daily life (no job at all, retired). While I do row and lift and bike and whatnot, I eat those calories back. At the 1850 + exercise, I still lose around half a pound a week (ditto at 1850 and no exercise). Neither of our personal experience is relevant to the OP directly. She'll be better off following MFP's estimate (which is at least a statistical estimate based on similar people), or her Fitbit synched with MFP (even more personalized estimate) once others help her figure out whether that Fitbit is set up as accurately as it can be.

    It can be OK not to eat back exercise calories, as long as that doesn't result in risky-fast weight loss, and that's kind of what the question is here. It's possible to undereat to the point where bad things happen, even without going to true starvation levels. (I've done it, by accident.)

    OP, heybales is on point to your situation, with what he's asking/saying. Duck_Puddle is tracking correctly with what you're specifically asking, and responding accordingly, too.

Categories