Do we eat the calories back that we burn off
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AngieMoore1975
Posts: 69 Member
angbytymorgoli...... I'm kind of confussed....Are we really supposed to eat back all the calories we burn from exercise each day? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of working out in the first place. If I burn 300 cals and then eat back 300 cals then my workout is for nothing...right?...or wrong? Still learning... :blushing:
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yea ive been wondering the same thing, if i work out will it matter if i eat it back? but i dont want to be too far under on calories from it....i think your supposed to0
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Right, I don't like it deducted from my "to go" calories. I think it will make me think have more to eat. But i guess it is caculated in your goal lost per week so....
still do not like it.0 -
it's a matter of personal choice, honestly. i eat some of mine back, just 'cause i love food! plus, MFP has me set up so that i will lose what i'm set to lose if i eat the calories they tell me to eat. if you have extra calories left over at the end of the day, you'll just be that much closer to losing the next pound. sometimes if i'm really huingry i'll even work out a little more than usual so i can eat a little more.0
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goodness no. if you ate back those calories it might stop your body from burning muscle. and you don't want any excess muscle now do you?0
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You'll use all calories that you eat during exercise; and when you have no more calories to use then you burn fat. Not quite that simple, but basically that's what happens.
This is why, when we diet, the aim is to burn more calories than we eat. Remember that your body burns at least 1,200 calories per day (more if you're larger and more if you're male) just performing its basic functions.0 -
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I eat some of mine. If I am hungry. If not, then I don't.0
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If you use the search feature you can find 1,000,000 threads about this.
If you don't want to eat those extra calories, don't track your exercise until the end of the day.0 -
goodness no. if you ate back those calories it might stop your body from burning muscle. and you don't want any excess muscle now do you?0
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Just eat at least 1200/day, then whatever you WANT to from the calories earned from working out. I usually stick to the 1200/day and try not to eat my workout calories. It's been working good for me0
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Some will say yes some will say no. You should ask your doctor.0
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No it doesn't defeat the purpose -- your deficit to lose weight was built in when you set your goals.
To account for inaccurate foods int he database and potential calories burned errors -- I eat at least half of mine back, if not all.
I have a good HRM now so I know my calories burned is pretty accurate.
Starving yourself has the reverse effect after a couple weeks -- plus its not something you can do for life.
If you have 43lbs to lose... you should do your goals and choose to lose 1 or 1.5 lbs a week at the most. (2lbs if if yo have 75+ to lose) You should redo your goals everytime you lose 10 lbs. When you get 20lb from you goal, you should adjust it to 1/2 lb week.0 -
Third time copying this lol:
I eat my exercise calories and I still lose. I eat anywhere between 1800 to 2000 cal total and I net an average of 1490 calories a week. Here is what helped me understand "eating my exercise cals":
My activity level (excluding exercise; this is important) is sedentary because I work a desk job. MFP calculated my Total Daily Energy Expenditure to be 1760 calories. This means to maintain my current weight I must stay at 1760 calories.
Now I have set myself to lose 0.5lb per week because I'm getting pretty lean and I want to focus on reduce body fat while maintaining muscle. MFP assigned me 1490 calories per day. A deficit of 250 calories per day. Now I work out ALOT. 6 days a week for 1 to 2 hours. I can burn an additional 500 to 1000 calories on those days.
I use a Polar FT4 HRM and it has been a godsend because I can know for sure what I burn.
For example, I went to zumba today and burned 554 calories. My total calorie burn is no longer 1760...it is now 2311 (1760+551). It is very important to me to maintain my deficit. I don't want to lose more than 0.5 lb per week. So my calorie goal for a 0.5 lb loss per week is now 2061 (2311-250). So in essence, I must eat back my "exercise calories". I really don't like how it sounds because it seems like you are eating away all your hard work but if you don't fuel your body properly you run the risk of stalling your weight loss. Now I always leave a little room for error. So I always leave about 100 to 150 calories for cushion.
I've been losing about 0.5 to 0.75 lbs per week. The key to making this work is making sure your activity level reflects your normal life not including exercise. Then you can add in exercise.
You can, as an alternative, set your activity level to include exercise. For example, active or very active with exercise. MFP will give more calories to eat. In this case you don't log your exercise and you wouldnt have to eat them back.
My settings are sedentary and I add in my exercise cals. I eat a average of 1800 to 1900 cals per day and burn an average of 400 calories per day through exercise (2800 cal per week). I net between 1400 to 1500.
BUT If I change my activity level settings to very active to include my exercise....MFP will give me 2152 as my TDEE and a calorie goal of 1902 to lose 1/2 per week. IN this case I wont "eat back my exercise cals". The math turns out to be the same.0 -
angbytymorgoli...... I'm kind of confussed....Are we really supposed to eat back all the calories we burn from exercise each day? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of working out in the first place. If I burn 300 cals and then eat back 300 cals then my workout is for nothing...right?...or wrong? Still learning... :blushing:
No, it's not for nothing.
If your net cals based on your bmr is 1500 and you eat 1500 and burn off 300, then your net is 1200. too low for your body0 -
I actually asked a trainer, in person, yesterday at my gym. He said that you don't really need too unless you've stopped losing weight but one (women) should never go under 1200 calories a day. Up until MFP, I have never heard of eating back calories but you will find a lot of people who believe 100% that you should. I do eat some back, sometimes. Sometimes I don't.0
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I believe the system sets your daily calorie intake based on your long-term goal. For example, my daily goal is 1600 calories. Well, this is well below the 2500 I was eating before. So, the system is only concerned with you hitting your daily target. If you exercise you essentially earn calories or food to eat while still hitting your daily goal which I'm sure is much much lower than our calorie intake before going on the plan.
So all the system cares about is restricting your daily calorie intake because in the end, it's all up to calories!0 -
Just eat at least 1200/day, then whatever you WANT to from the calories earned from working out. I usually stick to the 1200/day and try not to eat my workout calories. It's been working good for me
I wish people would get 1200 out of their mind. This is not some magic number --- this is a VERY low number for most people and it happens to just be the lowest number MFP will ever give. If they let you choose to lose 5lbs a week and eat 500 calories people would start thinking that was the magic number. If you do your settings right and choose the right goals -- very few people would see 1200. Usually its those under 5' tall who are already very thin, or thoe with 75+ lbs to lose because they can choose 2lbs a week..0 -
in the end, i think it's up to you/personal choice, but i think it's hard to ignore the facts (in my opinion). here's what i found on MFP (see question #1)...
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions
hope that helps :-)0 -
I don't eat all of mine.
1} the HRM readings from strength training may not be accurate.
2} If you are using a chart such as MFP or the cardio equipment, they are notoriously wrong, usually overestimating..
But I do eat some, just not all. I eat to satisfied, not full. If I am not hungry, i don't fret about getting them all in.0
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