do you eat back the calories you burn?

KelleyElisa
KelleyElisa Posts: 4 Member
edited October 5 in Health and Weight Loss
this has probably been asked a million times but i'm new to MFP. i am trying to lose 20 pounds by staying under my 1,200 calorie a day goal. when i workout (cardio and a little strenght training) should i eat back the calories i burn? thanks!
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Replies

  • hottottie11
    hottottie11 Posts: 907 Member
    Yes :)
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,420 Member
    Yes.
  • Kermit1976
    Kermit1976 Posts: 120
    Yes
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    You'll probably be hungry if you don't. I usually eat mine back because I get hungrier when I workout. Actually I get hungry even on days I don't work out so I often go over on calories on those days. I don't know how anyone lives on 1200 calories.
  • FatDadSlim
    FatDadSlim Posts: 497 Member
    NO

















    I Kid... Yes
  • gainess
    gainess Posts: 80 Member
    Sometimes.. Most of the time I try to eat back at least half of them.
  • Tujitsu56
    Tujitsu56 Posts: 392 Member
    Yes... and they taste awesome:)
  • Tori_356
    Tori_356 Posts: 510 Member
    Yes! EAT THEM! You will be glad you did!
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,380 Member
    I eat back most of mine - sometimes all, always at least half. I've lost 25 lbs in 3.5 months so eating them has worked out great for me.

    Exercise calories are the most delicious kind, b/c you worked for them. ;-)
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
    Yes.
  • reynoldsjo
    reynoldsjo Posts: 9
    no....otherwise what it the point in working out! That is the way you lose more weight. I also think it gives you a bit of a cushion for the days when things don't go so well
  • nopeekiepeekie
    nopeekiepeekie Posts: 338 Member
    depends on how much i burn. If it's 300 or less, no, if it's more than 300 then I try to eat back half.
  • JediMaster_intraining
    JediMaster_intraining Posts: 903 Member
    yes you should. otherwise you'll get hungry! you don't have to eat all of them back but try it out definitely.
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    yes and this is why:

    Here is how it works, in a simplified manner:

    You tell MFP: I want to lose 1lb per week.

    MFP says: Okay, you need to eat X calories per day in order to lose 1lb/week, without exercise.

    You do what MFP says, but then you decide to exercise and you burn an additional 400 calories. MFP then says "Hey, I told you to eat X per day to lose 1lb/week without exercise. You exercised, now you're going to lose it too fast and that's not ideal. Now I want you to eat X+400".
  • mleipe
    mleipe Posts: 54
    I try not to.

    I usually fail.
  • dobarber
    dobarber Posts: 611 Member
    I usually eat half of mine if my calories burned is high, otherwise I don't
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,380 Member
    no....otherwise what it the point in working out! That is the way you lose more weight. I also think it gives you a bit of a cushion for the days when things don't go so well

    Having a calorie deficit is the way you lose weight, and MFP already calculates that for you in your daily calorie goal. Exercise is a bonus as far as weightloss is concerned - getting fit makes you more healthy (and will make you look better) but it's not actually necessary for 'weightloss'. Since MFP's goal already has you at a deficit for the rate of weightloss you told it you want to achieve, if you exercise and burn calories you actually make the 'automatic' deficit even larger. For some people, not eating exercise calories seems to work just fine (especially maybe if you have a LOT of weight to lose), but for others going too low for too long can have negative affects on weightloss and/or energy levels. It's very individual.
  • KelleyElisa
    KelleyElisa Posts: 4 Member
    thanks for the replies! i'm having a hard time because i lost about 25 pounds a few years ago by cutting my calories back to 800-1000 a day and got in the habit of only eating that much and then cheating occasionally. now that i had a baby and am trying to shed the weight plus a few more pounds, it's hard to lose even at staying under 1,200. i'm doing the 30ds for now until i can hit the gym in a few weeks. any advice or tips are greatly appreciated!
  • RAFValentina
    RAFValentina Posts: 1,231 Member
    Some of them... I'll eat a minimum of around 1650 a day regardless... any exercise I do means I can have a bit more if I am peckish! :) Normally I end up eating some back and they're worth the hard work! xx
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,380 Member
    thanks for the replies! i'm having a hard time because i lost about 25 pounds a few years ago by cutting my calories back to 800-1000 a day and got in the habit of only eating that much and then cheating occasionally. now that i had a baby and am trying to shed the weight plus a few more pounds, it's hard to lose even at staying under 1,200. i'm doing the 30ds for now until i can hit the gym in a few weeks. any advice or tips are greatly appreciated!

    Personal question, but are you breastfeeding? If so, you need more than 1200 calories before you even consider exercise.
  • sjcply
    sjcply Posts: 817 Member
    I eat when Im hungry.....whether or not I eat none of them back or some or all! My belly tells me if I should eat them back!
  • scapez
    scapez Posts: 2,018 Member
    Lots of information on that topic can be found here:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/390145-should-i-eat-my-exercise-calories
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,380 Member
    I eat when Im hungry.....whether or not I eat none of them back or some or all! My belly tells me if I should eat them back!

    Your belly looks like it knows what it's doing. :-D I hope my hungry belly can get that flat.
  • traceizbiz
    traceizbiz Posts: 28
    I was confused about that when I started as well. Read the links for Newbies in this topic at the top, has lots of good info.

    If you want to be healthy and loose weight in a sustainable way you would be best to eat some of your exercise calories back.

    But you will find everyone has a different opinion. Personally I would never try and survive on 1200 calories a day, but again that is my opinion and I have noticed lots of people on here eat even less than 1200 a day, each to their own. :happy:

    Good luck on your journey :flowerforyou:
  • haley_b_87
    haley_b_87 Posts: 45
    I do if I'm hungry and I don't if I'm not :)
  • LCFulmer
    LCFulmer Posts: 183 Member
    Nope.... I stay witin my normal set limits. I worked out today and earned xtra 363 calories.... I don't give my body a chance to get hungry; I eat every few hour. My next meal will be my snack which will be Wheat thins and hummus with low fat swiss cheese. I think eating every few hours curve the hunger. I also try to eat thing with high fiber to make me full. Example before working out my 1st snack was a Dole mixed fruit shake with flaxseed powder in it. It kept me full during my workout; I then had my lunch.
  • cppeace
    cppeace Posts: 764 Member
    I have the struggle with this right now myself. I added exercise to my dieting and bam stopped losing so have begun eating back some of my exercise calories. If my loss doesn't go to close to where it should be soon I will eat more of them back. If that doesn't work then will drop back down to eating back hardly any if any. I'm determined to lose this weight healthy and keep it off so I am experimenting to see what will work best for me :)
    It's a personal journey as we are all individual. Experiment 2-3 weeks at a time to see what is working and what isn't. Were it me I'd start wih eating back half and see how that loss works for you.
    Make sure to always drink plenty of water and measure as well. Don't just depend on the scale alone :)
    Best luck and feel free to friend me
    Kimmy
  • KelleyElisa
    KelleyElisa Posts: 4 Member
    no i'm not breastfeeding anymore
  • CMmrsfloyd
    CMmrsfloyd Posts: 2,380 Member
    no i'm not breastfeeding anymore

    Okay well that keeps things simpler for you. :-)
  • adiesilver
    adiesilver Posts: 13 Member
    this has probably been asked a million times but i'm new to MFP. i am trying to lose 20 pounds by staying under my 1,200 calorie a day goal. when i workout (cardio and a little strenght training) should i eat back the calories i burn? thanks!

    Considering you really shouldn't be eating fewer than 1200 per day (per MFP's, and others, recommendation), yes. I'd eat you exercise calories. I'd also eat all 1200 allotted regular calories.
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