Eat back your exercise calories?

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Kimberly874
Kimberly874 Posts: 9
in Health and Weight Loss
Are we suppose to be eating back our exercise calories? I see it says I earned "bonus" calories when I exercise, but not sure if I should be consuming that much more in calories or leave it as a defecit. What have you all been doing and what results are you seeing if eating them back?
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Replies

  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    You're new here, aren't you?:laugh:

    That has to be THEEEE most commonly asked question on here. Try the search function if you want a whole slew of discussions.

    Short answer - some people do, some dont.
  • kymdarnell
    kymdarnell Posts: 101
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    hi there, I have just started eating back my exercise calories as I found when I first joined and didn't eat back my exercise cals I lost weight quite quickly and then - zilch - nothing!!! so now I am eating them back. it took me a while to get my 'head' around the logic of eating them back. also search your question and trust me, there are heaps of opinions on it..... search button is your friend....best of luck.....
  • Kimberly874
    Kimberly874 Posts: 9
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    Thanks! Yes, I am NEW!!! I will try search!
  • beckylawrence70
    beckylawrence70 Posts: 752 Member
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    I'm eating em back and losing!!!!!!
  • kagenw
    kagenw Posts: 260 Member
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    I asked this same question to my physician and he said that I shouldn't eat them back. It is my personal opinion that you should not eat back your exercise calories and that by doing so assures that you have an added boost in the amount of calories (and pounds) that you burn. This works for me though it may not work for others. Losing weight is a lot of trial and error: try something and if it doesn't work, try something else.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    Welcome. Have a browse through the unofficial faq
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/474-unofficial-mfp-faq
  • ImJDLookatME
    ImJDLookatME Posts: 290
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    I don't eat them back and have lost 25 pounds so far...
  • kyraslim
    kyraslim Posts: 8 Member
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    im new here and I don't understand this eat back thing? Can you explain. Thanks,
  • GemaG
    GemaG Posts: 142
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    I eat them if I feel I need some extra food or if not I leave them.. I always work out hard on a Sunday so I can enjoy my sunday roast but other days i usually leave most of them.
  • DeMarraDontStop
    DeMarraDontStop Posts: 342 Member
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    I don't eat them back
  • krissypea79
    krissypea79 Posts: 362 Member
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    I think it is going to be different for everyone. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't - it depends on the deficit. From what I've come to understand - you want your NET calories to be AT LEAST whatever your daily calorie allowance is set at (mine's 1200), otherwise you are eating too little. When MFP calculates your calories for the day, they are already factoring in a deficit, based on the activity level you gave them when you signed up. Whatever that number is, is already LESS than what you need, so you have a deficit already. If you burn calories, you create even more of a deficit. I find that if I make sure I'm at least AT 1200 at the end of the day, I am losing. I honestly haven't tried, for example, eating 1700 calories on the days I burn 500....yup, you will find ALLLLLLL kinds of differing opinions on this!!! I think the idea is that you *should* - but everyone is different. It's trial and error! Good luck!
  • jessicart77
    jessicart77 Posts: 15
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    It depends on the day for me too. If I feel hungry I use them and if I dont then I leave them. You have to listen to your body because if your hungry you have a bigger chance of binging because you feel like your starving. I just started too but my goal is 1lb a week and I've lost my 1 lb that first week and that was even with me slipping up a couple times on some food I really shouldnt have ate. :) Good luck! Take care of you!
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    Just send any "bonus" exercise calories to me and I will use them for you.
  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
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    ive always eaten mine back. the only times i would recommend against it, is if your on a strict drs diet, or you included your exercise in your daily activity level.
    i havent had any problems losing weight when i stick to my calorie goals, which includes eating my exercise calories. i already have a large deficit to lose 2 lbs per week, i dont want it to get any bigger. that said - i dont always manage to eat them all every day. last night to close out my week i still had about 1000 calories left over - so we went out to eat and i had a great fried seafood platter. with fries, and onion rings and coleslaw
  • abhiforlife
    abhiforlife Posts: 75 Member
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    I try not to eat them back. I keep them as a "buffer" in case I go over a little on a regular day or I'm going out to dinner that day. I've lost 11 lbs so far.
  • JennL418
    JennL418 Posts: 40
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    I don't typically eat all of them back. But I just keep them "on reserve" in case I feel a bit hungrier later on in the day, or if I want to maybe enjoy a dessert or something. It's all personal preference.
  • abradley114
    abradley114 Posts: 39 Member
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    Welcome to MFP :) This is just my personal opinion and feel free to take it or leave it.

    When you earn those extra points its a bonus, this does not mean you HAVE to eat them. Say you worked out so hard that you are just extra hungry that day MFP allows you to have those extra calories just in case so you have them if need be. I would not suggest using all of them every single day but listen to your body. Only you know your body and how you feel. If your body is hungry feed it! ( Healthy things only of course) But keep in mind do not just eat for the hell of it, only eat if you are hungry. The biggest thing that people do not do when they are changing their eating habits is that not many people listen to their body. So keep in mind that you need to listen to your body and if you want those extra calories then they are there :) Hope this helps Good luck with your weight loss
  • Pookylou
    Pookylou Posts: 988 Member
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    im new here and I don't understand this eat back thing? Can you explain. Thanks,

    MFP sets you calorie target at the appropriate deficit for the weight loss you have set it to (without going below 1200), if you burn calories you are in excess of this deficit (eg you burned 200 through exercise and you are set to loose 1lb a week = -700)
    I wasn't eating my calories back when I started my weight loss (I had no idea about this concept before joining MFP) and 2 months in I plateaued, now eating most, if not all, and losing again.
  • jarae876
    jarae876 Posts: 39 Member
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    Personally I dont eat them back. Now if I am having a really hungry moment that even water wont help with, then I will dip into them. I have googled the best way to lose weight and it seems that honestly there is mixed opinions out there. So my suggestion is do what you think is best. Try it one way and see how it works for you and if you are curious then try it the other way and see what way works best for you. For every link out there explaining why you should there is just as respectable site that says you shouldn't.
  • ImJDLookatME
    ImJDLookatME Posts: 290
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    im new here and I don't understand this eat back thing? Can you explain. Thanks,

    Eating back your calories, means whatever calories you burn during an exercise that you logged, you earned those extra calories and MFP says you can eat them back. It's personal preference whether you actually decide to eat them back or not.

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