Do we eat or exercise calories?

weendee
weendee Posts: 6 Member
edited October 4 in Introduce Yourself
I have been lurking the boards and getting conflicting opinions. Being new, and on 1200 calories a day - my exercise calories save me! (I went on a long walk Sunday night with my heart rate monitor to make up for eating a slice of apple pie!)
I would assume we eat them? And that given that my new calorie intake is SO MUCH LOWER than my normal eating - that I should still see results?
(Sorry, the topic should say Do we eat OUR exercise calories.)

Replies

  • Sugarchef
    Sugarchef Posts: 319 Member
    When I'm being good, I eat about half of them back. It seems to be what works for me.
  • jweidner33
    jweidner33 Posts: 83 Member
    As long as your net calories are at or below your goal you should see results.(Barring medical issues)
  • KacieVick
    KacieVick Posts: 1 Member
    I am on 1200 calories a day and I usually end up eating most of mine and I still see results. Like you say, sometimes they save me!
  • lindalee0315
    lindalee0315 Posts: 527 Member
    I would be cautious about eating all of the calories back, only because as a rule we overestimate what we burn and underestimate what we eat. I agree with the other post--about 50% of them back is probably about right for most people, but it is a subject that is heatedly debated on the forums periodically.
  • KatieJane83
    KatieJane83 Posts: 2,002 Member
    You will hear many conflicting views on this, this is a much-debated topic! MFP is actually set up with a calorie deficit before you even add in exercise calories, so the idea is that you should be able to eat back all of your exercise calories and still be maintaining a deficit. Now, different people will tell you different things but really it's because everyone is different and therefore different things work for different people. For me, personally, I generally eat back at least half if not all of my exercise calories and I've lost 66 lbs since February. Other people never eat their exercise calories. You need to figure out what works for you!
  • brandenocs
    brandenocs Posts: 146 Member
    It's relative to the person. Lots do eat them back and still see results. I don't. I plateau. So I don't eat them back anymore and have been averaging 2-3lbs lost a week.
  • CarolineSuzanneSmith
    CarolineSuzanneSmith Posts: 127 Member
    When I wasn't eating my calories back, I wasn't losing any weight... The week I ate back 75-100% of my exercise calories I lost 2 pounds.

    Everybody will tell you that you need to find what works best for you....try a week eating them, a week not eating them, a week eating only half...etc... eventually you'll find what works best for you. You shouldn't be starving though...so if you're eating 1200 calories max AND exercising and you're starving..I'd say eat some more :)

    Hope this helps.
  • amysj303
    amysj303 Posts: 5,086 Member
    the short answer is yes. If you enter your exercise the calories burned will be added to you daily allowance. See this for a good explanation:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/173853-an-objective-look-at-eating-exercise-calories
  • shorty458
    shorty458 Posts: 163 Member
    It depends. If I exercise on a certain day, I would be more willing to eat more calories. I am also on a 1200 calorie diet. However, I don't eat back the calories all the time though. However, my exercise calories lately are never too much. Always under 500.
  • loombeav
    loombeav Posts: 391 Member
    When I'm at 1200 calories, yes I eat them back. Depending on how many I burn it may or may not be all of them. I try to ensure I net a minimum of 1200 a day though.
    And you are correct, as long as you maintain a deficit you should be losing weight.
  • krystalgwen
    krystalgwen Posts: 39 Member
    Just make sure you work off the recommend calories and dont eat over.
  • Mikesrobin
    Mikesrobin Posts: 44 Member
    You will probably get various answers to this question. I do eat my exercise calories and have still lost 14 pounds in 12 weeks. I did have to tweek the calorie intake a little after 4 weeks because I stopped losing. So I checked out the boards and alot of people were saying to eat more when you plateau. I went from 1200 per day (before the exercise calories) to 1350. It seemed to work because I have been losing about a pound a week from that time on.
  • Jennolli
    Jennolli Posts: 17 Member
    MFP said that I should eat something like 2,200 calories a day to lose 1 pound a week I put myself on a 1,000 "freebee" calorie diet and exercise to earn the rest. I just started it on Monday so I don't really have any results yet but I have found in the past that I quit diets because I can't have something that I am craving so this way I can have my crave as long as I "pay" for it
  • MyCoachNYLA
    MyCoachNYLA Posts: 158 Member
    There are so many posts on this subject and it is a good question.

    If you have calculated your exercise into your goal settings and eat back your calories - you will maintain your weight.

    Remember that when you put in approx. what expediture you will be expending in one day on exercise in your goal settings, the calories are already accounted for on your bottom line of intake.

    When you seperately put in your exercise on each day, it will show additional calories expended (this is in addition to what you already put into your daily goal settings) - most people don't realize this and that is why they can't lose the fat. Some people gain weight and don't know why. This is why.

    You gotta think, why are you exercising to begin with? The idea and goal is to get into the fat cell, shrink it down and lose the fat.

    As long as you are maintaining calorically what your body needs to function at just rest alone (there base here is 1200 cals.), you won't spare lean mass and will increase your chances of shrinking the fat cell AND in actuality, if you use the BMR calculator - that will actually tell you calorically what they suggest your base intake should be. For me it is actually 1,143 and not 1200 because of my height, weight, age etc.

    Hope that helps.
  • SarahBrown1979
    SarahBrown1979 Posts: 229 Member
    bump
  • docHelen
    docHelen Posts: 198
    MFP gives you a target calorie amount to allow you to loose. I exercise so I can eat more. I too was on 1200 calories....and have now lost all that i need to. now maintaining on 1370 plus what i earn from exercise, it works for me, but you must be 100 per cert honest with what goes in and how much exercise you do
  • brandenocs
    brandenocs Posts: 146 Member
    I'm going to chime in again... Try it all, eat them back, eat half back, don't eat them back, in whatever order. Just make sure you do it for 3 weeks at a time to give your body a chance to adjust to the change. If you do it a week at a time, you're not giving your body enough time to acclimate and you'll probably fluctuate all over the place.
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