Exercise / Extra Calories

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Manelson10
Manelson10 Posts: 3 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I have a question. If I have a certain allotment of Calories per day and then I exercise, MFP then adds additional calories to my overall day allotment. How is that going to help me lose weight? Anyone have any comments or clarification?? My wife and I are both curious about this....

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  • NKF92879
    NKF92879 Posts: 601 Member
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    In a nutshell... MFP is already set up with a calorie deficit. Your NET calories is what you should focus on, going too low is not good for the body or for weight loss.
  • raisingbabyk
    raisingbabyk Posts: 442 Member
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    Yes you will still lose weight because MFP is already giving you a deficit each day. If you don't eat the extra exercise calories you will make your deficit too large and probably end up eating too little, putting your body into "starvation" mode and making it hold on to the weight
  • PuzzleGirl65
    PuzzleGirl65 Posts: 81 Member
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    There are, like, a bajillion threads on this very topic. Just do a search for "exercise calories." There's a lot of good information here.
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
  • mel_2
    mel_2 Posts: 9
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    when you initially filled out your info, it calculated what you would need to eat in order to lose the amount of weight you wanted to each week WITHOUT exercising. When you exercise, it adds those calories back into your allowed amount for the day and brings it back up to what it initially was. I hope this makes sense
  • Alibobba
    Alibobba Posts: 31
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    I have been asking myself the same question. I almost always have right around 200 calories left over every day, even when I'm close or sometimes over my other numbers. I certainly don't want to exercise less, and I'm eating plenty. I wonder if it's detrimental to NOT eat all of your calories every day.....
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    In a nutshell... MFP is already set up with a calorie deficit. Your NET calories is what you should focus on, going too low is not good for the body or for weight loss.

    agreed. Eating them is the only way to keep your dialy deficit at the pre-set amount for you to lose your weekly goal amount of weight. If you don't eat them then your deficit is larger than you set it out to be, and a deficit that is too large can lead to a loss of lean muscle, which lowers your metabolism.

    You have to remember that when you set up your account MFP ignores exercise, so the caloric intake is lower as it assumes you will not be doing any exercise, so when you exercise it adds them back to make the weight loss equation balance.
  • vettle
    vettle Posts: 621 Member
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    MFP sets it up so you need to eat your exercise calories. (1600 for me a day, plus extra when I workout)

    any other site will give you a higher calorie number because it takes exercise into count and adds it to your total. (2100 per day MAX)

    that's all you need to know.
  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
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    I think first you need to make sure that you are calculating your calories burned during exercise as accurate. I think this is where a lot of people are messing up. I always just do light exercise, something between 300-400 calorie burn, and I rarely eat my calories back. I may add an extra 2 ounces of protein.
  • EA4488
    EA4488 Posts: 16
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    From a health care/physician perspective, I understand why this site does this. They want to ensure that one is eating enough based on their activity level. It has been shown in many studies that not replenishing oneself after exercise actually ADDS an overall 3.5 lbs. on average over the course of 5 years. This is because many people overindulge at other meals. In addition, the body needs a certain amount of fuel to run effectively. Not eating, yes helps you lose weight, but also can lower your metabolism in the long run and also leaves one susceptible to infection since low fuel levels can lower the immune response.

    That being said, I agree that it is counter-intuitive. The way that I see it is that it is important to give the body what it needs after a good workout, but still aim for the calorie goal that MFP has set for you prior to exercising. There are always a certain amount of calories the body does need and I believe that is why MFP is doing this.

    Hope this somewhat helps!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    From a health care/physician perspective, I understand why this site does this. They want to ensure that one is eating enough based on their activity level. It has been shown in many studies that not replenishing oneself after exercise actually ADDS an overall 3.5 lbs. on average over the course of 5 years. This is because many people overindulge at other meals. In addition, the body needs a certain amount of fuel to run effectively. Not eating, yes helps you lose weight, but also can lower your metabolism in the long run and also leaves one susceptible to infection since low fuel levels can lower the immune response.

    That being said, I agree that it is counter-intuitive. The way that I see it is that it is important to give the body what it needs after a good workout, but still aim for the calorie goal that MFP has set for you prior to exercising. There are always a certain amount of calories the body does need and I believe that is why MFP is doing this.

    Hope this somewhat helps!

    If you don't want to eat them back, they you should set your activity level to active or very active to account for a more active lifestyle. This way you intake is the same everyday and on average should workout to the same intake as setting at sedentary and eating the exercise calories back.

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