New with a probably "dumb" question :)

amberjschmidt
amberjschmidt Posts: 18 Member
edited October 7 in Introduce Yourself
Hi There! I"m new and just wanted to ask... when it adds your exercise calories into what you're allowed in a day, that seems to defeat the purpose of losing weight. Isn't the ultimate goal to burn more than you eat? I know that's impossible for me to do. But it seems crazy that just because I burned 300 calories today, I should be able to eat those. Help?

Replies

  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    Your deficit is already figured in when MFP gives you a daily calorie goal, so no, adding the exercise calories back in doesn't defeat the purpose of losing weight. Doing it that way maintains your original deficit to meet your weight loss goal.
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
    Hi There! I"m new and just wanted to ask... when it adds your exercise calories into what you're allowed in a day, that seems to defeat the purpose of losing weight. Isn't the ultimate goal to burn more than you eat? I know that's impossible for me to do. But it seems crazy that just because I burned 300 calories today, I should be able to eat those. Help?
    Not at all.

    MFP has already figured out your total calories you need to eat per day to lose 1lb etc. a week. That's WITHOUT exercise. You'll notice that when you actually add exercise in, the calorie limit goes up. Why? Because it's telling you to eat your exercise calories. Large deficits aren't really good to do because while you will lose weight, what kind of weight will it be? In many cases you'll lose lean muscle tissue which LOWERS your metabolic rate even more. Then you have to eat even less to compensate for less of a calorie burn to continue to lose the same amount of weight each week.
    Be efficient. Exercise hard and eat back the calories. The hard exercise will RAISE your metabolic rate and burn more fat at rest.
  • Ashleysh22
    Ashleysh22 Posts: 204 Member
    I always eat my exercise calories. Theoretically, your daily calorie allowance should be the number of calories your body wants to function minus 500 calorie deficit - so eating back your exercise calories is just good for your body and you will still lose weight.
  • echeindl
    echeindl Posts: 320 Member
    Every single person on here views this question differently and you are going to get people saying "there is a search button" because every person asks this question.

    I tried it both ways, I did two weeks of not eating the exercise calories and then 2 weeks of eating them and i found that I lost more weight NOT eating them. So I would say that you should either try that or just do what you want
  • alyssaguirguis
    alyssaguirguis Posts: 15
    My understanding is that it tells you how many calories to eat in order to lose weight (net calories). If you don't exercise but eat that much you will still lose weight. If you do exercise you can eat as many calories as you burn ecause where you started would have had you losing weight. So you can exercise to support your eating habits...or in my case, cut your eating to support your laziness habit.
  • DakotaKeogh
    DakotaKeogh Posts: 693 Member
    This is an ongoing debate. There are those who insist on eating the exercise calories and those that don't bother. I'm in the latter group. There are probably questions of age, metabolism and whatnot that affect whether eating them or not matters. Main thing is to find what works for you.

    Bear in mind, your daily calorie goal is based on a diet level of calories. So even if you do eat your exercise calories, your intake is still running at a deficit and you will lose weight.
  • Crystal_Pistol
    Crystal_Pistol Posts: 750 Member
    Your caloric deficit is built into your calorie goal. You get to eat what you earn.
  • amberjschmidt
    amberjschmidt Posts: 18 Member
    So do I NEED to consume those calories? My goal for calories is 1620. I'm having no issues with staying under that. With my exercise on top of that, it's saying I should consume 1900 when I'm only taking in around 1300-1400. Am I harming myself by not eating the extra calories or is it possible I'll just lose more?
  • jnell82
    jnell82 Posts: 136
    Its not a dumb questions, it actually gets asked a lot. I know the answer is somewhere here in the website, but yes MFP does encourage you to eat your exercise calories. When you set your goals up in the beginning, MFP already gives you a calorie deficit that should result in a 1-2 pound loss per week. This is a healthy pace of losing weight, and should not be rushed anymore. wroking out is great, but you you still want to maintain at least a 1200 calori net per day. An analogy I heard back when I first started was comparing your body to a car. You fill it up with fuel, but as you drive it the fuel gets lower and lower. You have to fill it back up for your car (or body) to run. I'm sure I didn't say it as well as the person who originally said it, but it put it in perspective for me.

    If you are really against eating your exercise calories, it may work for you. I have seen it work for some on here. What I did was set my goal to 1 pound a week instead of 2 and then I don't log my exercise until the end of the day. This way I don't 'eat too much". I hope this helps! Feel free to add me if you like!
  • rainbobrite929
    rainbobrite929 Posts: 116
    Hi There! I"m new and just wanted to ask... when it adds your exercise calories into what you're allowed in a day, that seems to defeat the purpose of losing weight. Isn't the ultimate goal to burn more than you eat? I know that's impossible for me to do. But it seems crazy that just because I burned 300 calories today, I should be able to eat those. Help?

    Also, keep in mind the MFP WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY over exaggerates the number of cals you burn at any/all exercises. Get a Polar Heart Rate Monitor or a Body Bugg. Way more accurate.
  • Puffins1958
    Puffins1958 Posts: 614 Member
    I hardly ever eat my exercise calories, I just don't. I'm happy losing the weight that I lose, at my own pace.
  • 38Gigi38
    38Gigi38 Posts: 115 Member
    I try to consume half of them, but I never consume them all, because I was eating so little before I started mfp its hard for me to meet the goal every day without adding the exercise calories into play. I think you need to play around with it and see what works best for you. Every person is different, you metabolism and fitness levels are different so you need to try a few weeks of eating them and a few weeks of not eating them and a few weeks of eating half and see which one works best for you.
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    So do I NEED to consume those calories? My goal for calories is 1620. I'm having no issues with staying under that. With my exercise on top of that, it's saying I should consume 1900 when I'm only taking in around 1300-1400. Am I harming myself by not eating the extra calories or is it possible I'll just lose more?
    Since your ticker says that you have over 100 lbs to lose and you're only burning an extra 300 calories, you probably don't NEED to eat them right now. When you have a bigger goal, you have more wiggle room for larger deficits. The closer you get to your goal weight and/or the larger your calorie burns are, the more likely is that you will need to eat back at least some to avoid stalling out.

    I am a firm believer of "do what works for you" - but I'm also a firm believer of having correct information. Don't listen to anyone who tells you that eating your exercise calories means you're "overeating". As long as you're at or under your net target, you still have a deficit.
  • Elzecat
    Elzecat Posts: 2,916 Member
    Your deficit is already figured in when MFP gives you a daily calorie goal, so no, adding the exercise calories back in doesn't defeat the purpose of losing weight. Doing it that way maintains your original deficit to meet your weight loss goal.

    This. :)
  • amberjschmidt
    amberjschmidt Posts: 18 Member
    Wow thanks for all the fast replies! You've all help a lot! Good luck to everyone in their journey.
  • basschick
    basschick Posts: 3,502 Member
    So you can exercise to support your eating habits...or in my case, cut your eating to support your laziness habit.

    :laugh: Love this!
  • cheshirequeen
    cheshirequeen Posts: 1,324 Member
    this is not a dumb question. question has been answered, but i just wanted to let you know, nobody on here will ever/has ever asked a dumb question. everybody is new at one time and doesnt know what to do, what they arent doing, thats why we have the message boards, so ask away.
  • garzatwin
    garzatwin Posts: 6
    it goes along w/ your "goal" (the first thing u feeled out when u signed up). u don't have to eat the calories that u burned. if u choose to not do that, then you will reach your goal even faster.
  • MaximalLife
    MaximalLife Posts: 2,447 Member
    Hi There! I"m new and just wanted to ask... when it adds your exercise calories into what you're allowed in a day, that seems to defeat the purpose of losing weight. Isn't the ultimate goal to burn more than you eat? I know that's impossible for me to do. But it seems crazy that just because I burned 300 calories today, I should be able to eat those. Help?

    Also, keep in mind the MFP WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY over exaggerates the number of cals you burn at any/all exercises. Get a Polar Heart Rate Monitor or a Body Bugg. Way more accurate.
    This is true for me as well. I have had to tweak the numbers to find my zone.
  • lenny776
    lenny776 Posts: 22
    remember that it also matters when you eat as well as how much. It is good to eat some carbs and protein within 30-60 min after a workout to help your body recover.
  • garzatwin
    garzatwin Posts: 6
    you're not harming yourself. Less than 1200 calories/ day is harmful on anyone's body. It sounds like you have nothing to worry about.
  • agthorn
    agthorn Posts: 1,844 Member
    Also, keep in mind the MFP WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY over exaggerates the number of cals you burn at any/all exercises. Get a Polar Heart Rate Monitor or a Body Bugg. Way more accurate.
    Agree on getting a Polar HRM or a Body Bugg. Don't agree that MFP way overestimates on everything. I just got a Polar (had a cheaper HRM before) and found so far that my runs are pretty spot on with what MFP gives me, and my yoga classes had been grossly underestimated by MFP. Point being, more accurate is better but don't assume everything will skew hugely in one direction.
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