Calories Eaten vs. Calories Earned Through Exercise

patr4ck
patr4ck Posts: 4
in Food and Nutrition
I work out a lot and earn lots of extra calories a day. Should I pay attention to the food part of the calorie breakdown and try to stay within the original goal or just go for it and eat the calories I've earned from exercise? I am afraid that if I eat the calories earned through exercise that I'm going to gain weight. A FEATURE REQUEST would be the ability to see how many calories you have left in the day if you ignore the ones you earn through exercise. Help anyone?
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Replies

  • MrsCon40
    MrsCon40 Posts: 2,351 Member
    Either don't log your exercise calories, or use MFP as it was designed.
  • ChantalGG
    ChantalGG Posts: 2,404 Member
    You can test out your body to see how it adjusts. I personally wouldnt go under 800 cals net. and that is if you are burning over 1000 calories a day.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I work out a lot and earn lots of extra calories a day. Should I pay attention to the food part of the calorie breakdown and try to stay within the original goal or just go for it and eat the calories I've earned from exercise? I am afraid that if I eat the calories earned through exercise that I'm going to gain weight. A FEATURE REQUEST would be the ability to see how many calories you have left in the day if you ignore the ones you earn through exercise. Help anyone?

    not eating them is only a good idea if you increase your activity level to account for your exercise. changing your activity level will give you more calories so you will be eating enough, without the thought of "eating your exercise calories".

    Essentially you are setting your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) then creating a deficit from that to lose weight. This is what most trainer/doctors/nutritionists do. Most professionals will tell you not to eat your exercise calories back because they added it into your TDEE, whereas MFP ignores exercise and only accounts for it when you perform it. Either way should get you to the same place.

    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 (1750*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 MFPers 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.
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    Using the site in a way it wasn't intended to be used isn't a feature request. MFP creates your weight loss goal through diet alone and gives you a deficit to meet your goal in the absence of exercise. *When you actually do exercise* it increases your calorie goal to maintain your original deficit. Healthy active bodies need fuel.

    Also, as a male, 800 net calories is dangerously low and terrible advice. Most people agree that women should net 1200 calories a day, and men 1500, unless directed to do otherwise under a doctor's supervision.
  • Bellyroll
    Bellyroll Posts: 316
    I been eating my cals back and I been losing weight.
  • leahbea22
    leahbea22 Posts: 37 Member
    Good luck
  • sapphiretyger
    sapphiretyger Posts: 79 Member
    The main thing I love about MFP versus Sparkpeople, which is the other site I frequent, is that your calories ARE adjusted according to level of exercise. I can take a day off from working out and just eat less that day. Or, even better, I can overinduldge in something and know that if I work out good that day, I will make up for it!
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    That would be just as cool as a feature I can add to my car so that it doesn't burn gas when I drive it; only while it sits in the driveway.
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    The way I see it, is if you eat your calories earned, you are over eating and essentially not burning off calories you just ate.

    That's because you don't understand how the site works. Like I said earlier in the thread, MFP gives you a daily calorie deficit to meet your weight loss goal before you ever record one minute of exercise.
  • maidentl
    maidentl Posts: 3,203 Member
    Leahbea22 said:
    The way I see it, is if you eat your calories earned, you are over eating and essentially not burning off calories you just ate.

    Why not save those calories for a cheat day or when friends want to go out for dinner or save them for when the holidays come around so you can enjoy the turkey dinners or Christmas fudge. Either way good luck on your journey!! :)

    The way you see it is wrong. If you don't want to eat those calories, that's your business, but it is not overeating.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I'm a fan of eating enough healthy food so that you are never hungry, but not overeating. For me, that means eating my exercise calories most days. And on days I don't exercise it sometimes means going over. But the cumulative effect has been weight loss.
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    The way I see it, is if you eat your calories earned, you are over eating and essentially not burning off calories you just ate.

    Why not save those calories for a cheat day or when friends want to go out for dinner or save them for when the holidays come around so you can enjoy the turkey dinners or Christmas fudge. Either way good luck on your journey!! :)

    The way you see it misunderstands the purpose of the site. You are not over-eating unless you go over your calorie net goal.
  • sharonachamberlain
    sharonachamberlain Posts: 10
    So many different responses, and I am really confused. Am I supposed to be eating my deficit? I eat enough that I am full, but I never make up the calorie deficit. I tend to eat healthy foods, which are low in calories.

    Am I doing something wrong? I am eating 3 meals a day, plus snacks. I really don't know how to add any more calories.
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    The way I see it, is if you eat your calories earned, you are over eating and essentially not burning off calories you just ate.

    Why not save those calories for a cheat day or when friends want to go out for dinner or save them for when the holidays come around so you can enjoy the turkey dinners or Christmas fudge. Either way good luck on your journey!! :)

    The way you see it misunderstands the purpose of the site. You are not over-eating unless you go over your calorie net goal.

    Technically you're not even overeating unless you go 250-1000 calories over your calorie net goal, depending on what weight loss goal you told MFP when you set up your profile. Because again, your 1/2-2lb per week loss is already calculated in when it gives you a net calorie goal.
  • jskaggs1971
    jskaggs1971 Posts: 371 Member
    The way I see it, one size does NOT fit all, whether it's MFP, Weight Watchers, or anything else. Personally, if I'm under my daily net AND hungry, I eat. If I'm at my daily net calories, I don't eat, and if I'm not hungry, I don't eat. It's working for me as of right now.

    If that stops working for me, I'll change something. Then again, I've never been that much of a rule-follower.

    Edited to add: I think the reason this works for me is that I got fat on nighttime snacking and corn chips/crunchy junk food at lunch. Using MFP to log my intake and exercise makes me accountable for the three beers and two slices of cold pizza as a before-bed snack -- I don't do that so much now, since I don't want to have to log it and 'fess up.
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    The way I see it, one size does NOT fit all, whether it's MFP, Weight Watchers, or anything else. Personally, if I'm under my daily net AND hungry, I eat. If I'm at my daily net calories, I don't eat, and if I'm not hungry, I don't eat. It's working for me as of right now.

    If that stops working for me, I'll change something. Then again, I've never been that much of a rule-follower.

    And this is fine, for you. I'm a HUGE proponent of "do what works for you." What gets my goat is when people give WRONG advice to other people because they don't understand how the site works.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    So many different responses, and I am really confused. Am I supposed to be eating my deficit? I eat enough that I am full, but I never make up the calorie deficit. I tend to eat healthy foods, which are low in calories.

    Am I doing something wrong? I am eating 3 meals a day, plus snacks. I really don't know how to add any more calories.

    If you enter everything correctly and eat all the calories allotted by MFP you will be at a deficit (assuming you have set it up to lose X lb per week). If you need more calories but are not hungry try to eat more calorie dense foods.
  • Sidesteal
    Sidesteal Posts: 5,510 Member
    And this is fine, for you. I'm a HUGE proponent of "do what works for you." What gets my goat is when people give WRONG advice to other people

    ^ *applause* (srs)
  • leahbea22
    leahbea22 Posts: 37 Member
    Wow. All the attitudes. I was giving my opinion and I guess it was wrong. Im new to this site and losing weight. I thought maybe I'd get the support of "here let me help" if im wrong, not all this attitude and negativity. i'll remove my post. But no i guess i don't understand how to lose weight. even tho i've lost 7 lbs all on my own. Thanks for help people, and the rudeness. No wonder people get discouraged because others just can't stand to be nice and help. That was just how I saw it. I wasn't being snotty or anything. Good luck to you all. Apparently you're doing it right and no one else is allowed to have opinions and get support. I'm completely appalled by the reactions. I thought this was supposed to be a site to support and encourage and help people, not shoot them down when they don't realize how to do it perfectly or right, like the rest of you. Again i am sorry for the miss information I will remove my post
  • sharonachamberlain
    sharonachamberlain Posts: 10
    Thanks for the response.

    I will give you more of an idea of what my food/calorie intake is.
    I am allowed 1200 calories/day before exercise. My calories burn today was 800, and my available calories are now at 1300. I should find a way to eat 1300 calories?

    I may seem like I am repeating the same thing over again, but this was a very good topic. I am new to MFP, and am still learning how to use and understand the features.

    I also want to make sure that I am losing weight in a healthy way.

    Thanks for your help.

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