"Eating Back" calories Hu???

addy_rodriguez
addy_rodriguez Posts: 18 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone... I'm new to the site and have seen a lot of talk about eating back the calories you exercise off.
I'm totally confused about that. can anyone explain it to me like Im a 5 year old? and let me know your (for and against) thoughts on it I would greatly appreciate it!

Replies

  • margebouvier
    margebouvier Posts: 12 Member
    Hi there - say you have been allotted 1,250 calories that you can eat daily (per MyFitnessPal), plus your exercise that day burned 300 calories. Your allowable calories to eat then shoots up to 1,550. Some people choose to keep their calories eaten that day at 1250 instead of "eating back" the calories burned with exercise. I believe everyone is different but I do prefer to eat close to my maximum calories - I eat mine back - so that my body gets what it needs. I still lose about a half pound a day so it works for me. At least it's working for me so far. Best of luck to you!
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    To lose weight, you want to create a calorie deficit. How you do that can be by eating less, exercising more or a combination of both.

    When you set up MFP, it figured out your basic amount of calories your body needs just to survive based on sex, height, weight, etc. Then you selected an activity level. This is your daily activity, including everyday things you do but it does not include exercise. This is the number of calories you can eat per day and not gain or lose weight. To lose weight, we subtract from that. So say you need 2000 calories to maintain your weight. The general rule is around 500 calories per pound per week loss. So if you select a 1lb a week weight loss from MFP, and your maintaince is 2000, it will suggest you consume 1500 calories.

    As noted, MFP does not account for exercise. Also as noted, we can create a deficit by eating less and exercising. We want to keep it at a modest deficit for a number of reasons. So when you do exercise, MFP suggests that you consume those calories. I would recommend at least eating some of them, since the estimates for calories burned can be a little on the high side. If you don't "eat back" all or part of your calories, you are creating a much larger deficit.

    People often get confused because trainers and nutritionists tell them not to "eat back" their exercise calories. However, they also use a different formula than MFP to figure out how much to eat. If you go to a trainer or nutritionist, they will figure out your base rate, then account for everyday activity AND how much/how intense you plan to exercise. They already count it, which is why they dont' suggest eating them back. Typically you end up in the same spot, it is just two different formulas.
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