Can you eat back your calories

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  • pinkstp
    pinkstp Posts: 220 Member
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    You can eat the calories back but I agree, it's a way to lose the weight quicker; what I've heard from nutritionists, etc., is that you should eat at least HALF of the calories you burn throughout the day (total). So if you burn 1800, then 900 should be your MINIMUM consumption, if not more.
  • Kelly50054
    Kelly50054 Posts: 141
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    I do not, because for me it is defeating the purpose.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    I just started this site but eating them back makes no sense to meet and I find it so frustrating b/c I SUCK at math and I find it confusing when I am looking at my food journal. How many damn calories do I have left? Haha!
    Why do you log your exercise?
  • itsjustdawn
    itsjustdawn Posts: 1,073 Member
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    I would say no. It makes no sense to me, you are burning calories which is good! You are supposed to burn more calories than you take in each day, through a combination of exercise and natural calorie burn. My advice, don't eat them! :)

    by that logic you recommend if you eat 1200 calories, and you spent enough time working out to burn 1200 calories, which many of my friends do, you say dont eat anything else? That means you have a zero net calorie number for the day............if you burnt up all you ate, then what is left to run your vital organs, and replenish the tissues that are constantly dying and being replaced in your body?

    AMEN!
  • itsjustdawn
    itsjustdawn Posts: 1,073 Member
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    You need to see what works for you. You're getting responses based on personal experience and "logic". Try eating some back, try eating all of them back, try eating none of them back... you're going to have to try it to see how your body reacts.
  • Jenne1979
    Jenne1979 Posts: 29 Member
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    Wouldn't it depend on your goal? (ie. building muscle or losing weight) I am not an expert by any means ( which is why I have 95 lbs to lose)
  • Jenne1979
    Jenne1979 Posts: 29 Member
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    I would say no. It makes no sense to me, you are burning calories which is good! You are supposed to burn more calories than you take in each day, through a combination of exercise and natural calorie burn. My advice, don't eat them! :)

    by that logic you recommend if you eat 1200 calories, and you spent enough time working out to burn 1200 calories, which many of my friends do, you say dont eat anything else? That means you have a zero net calorie number for the day............if you burnt up all you ate, then what is left to run your vital organs, and replenish the tissues that are constantly dying and being replaced in your body?

    I mean isn't that how weight loss works? You burn more than you take in and that is how stored fat gets burned up?? I am only saying this because it has been told to me by " fitness buffs" it could be false information. But it made complete sense to me?!
  • zwinning
    zwinning Posts: 1 Member
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    I eat back some, but not all the calories. Some days after a workout (I am training for a half marathon) I am super hungry so I will eat all of my calories back. I always eat a light snack before a workout too, since it's a feels terrible if your blood sugar drops from working out too hard. The way I see it, for people who accurately and honestly record their food and exercise eating most or all of your calories back should still result in weight loss.

    Also, excercising regularly boosts your metabolism, so those calories you eat back are burned much more efficiently.
  • modgirlrachel
    modgirlrachel Posts: 44 Member
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    FUUUUUUUU-

    Read the MFP FAQ, Under 'net calories' in 'general' FAQ menu.


    "Think of your Net Calories like a daily budget of calories to spend. You spend them by eating, and you earn more calories to eat by exercising."


    "YOU EARN MORE CALORIES TO EAT BY EXERCISING"
  • athaack
    athaack Posts: 2
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    I wondered the same thing. I asked my trainer just the other day about this becuase I was confused by it as well. He told me that I could eat them back but I did't have to. He said to make sure your net calories is 1200 per day though. The reason it tells you to eat them back is because when you exercise you speed up your metabolism which burns more calories or something like that.
  • tiffloy
    tiffloy Posts: 7 Member
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    Buying myself extra calories to eat is my favorite part! If I want more I exercise more and I steadily lose weight as long as I keep track of what I eat. In fact I told my husband yesterday that a bike ride to Dairy Queen will burn 200 calories so I could ride up there and get figure out which blizzard (or portion of a blizzard) is 200 calories then eat it and its like it never happened. He thinks I'm crazy but it works and i don't deprive myself of treats.
  • albinogorilla
    albinogorilla Posts: 1,056 Member
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    I would say no. It makes no sense to me, you are burning calories which is good! You are supposed to burn more calories than you take in each day, through a combination of exercise and natural calorie burn. My advice, don't eat them! :)

    by that logic you recommend if you eat 1200 calories, and you spent enough time working out to burn 1200 calories, which many of my friends do, you say dont eat anything else? That means you have a zero net calorie number for the day............if you burnt up all you ate, then what is left to run your vital organs, and replenish the tissues that are constantly dying and being replaced in your body?

    I mean isn't that how weight loss works? You burn more than you take in and that is how stored fat gets burned up?? I am only saying this because it has been told to me by " fitness buffs" it could be false information. But it made complete sense to me?!

    your neglecting the fact that you need calories to remain alive..............if you burn more calories, through exercise, than you eat, you are forgetting about the calories you need to survive.......... this site tells you how many calories to eat to lose whatever amount per week you want, up to 2lbs.............you dont have to exercise at all for that to happen.
  • Jenne1979
    Jenne1979 Posts: 29 Member
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    Well I thank you for your knowledge...see this is why I am here :) In my defence though, I never said to burn all of your intake off of exercise alone...I said the combination of exercise combined with your natural calorie burn. Though that information could still be false...I dunno :0/
  • susannamarie
    susannamarie Posts: 2,148 Member
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    I mean isn't that how weight loss works? You burn more than you take in and that is how stored fat gets burned up?? I am only saying this because it has been told to me by " fitness buffs" it could be false information. But it made complete sense to me?!

    your neglecting the fact that you need calories to remain alive..............if you burn more calories, through exercise, than you eat, you are forgetting about the calories you need to survive.......... this site tells you how many calories to eat to lose whatever amount per week you want, up to 2lbs.............you dont have to exercise at all for that to happen.

    In addition to what bigbear said:
    If your calories are THAT low, eventually your body is going to decide it's never going to get properly fed again. That means that when you DO put some extra food into it (which most people do at some point), it's going to do its best to store the food however and wherever it can. It's also going to do its best to cling to whatever fat reserves there are, because it doesn't know when the famine's going to lift.

    Does this matter to someone who's, say, eating 1300 calories and burning 200? Probably not that much, although I'd still prefer to net 1200. But does it matter to someone who's eating 1300 and burning 800? Yes.
  • 10_M
    10_M Posts: 22
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    I agree that this tool on the site is difficult to understand. I actually don't use it because I feel like you do. If to loose weight I need to eat 1200 calories a day, then if I burn 200 more by exercising that should be a bonus and a way to loose more in a smaller amount of time. I guess for someone who just wants to focus on the 1.3 pounds a week they can loose from eating correctly this helps them see what they are burning from working out and gives them the chance to add it back in.

    I say, what is the point in working your butt off if you are just going to turn around and put that energy back in your body. I think the site should give us a way to record our exercise without having to add it to our daily calorie goal.

    You eat back the calories to feed your muscles, and burn the fat :P Not to mention 1200 is the amount of calories your body needs to live!
  • Papa_Swearingen
    Papa_Swearingen Posts: 139 Member
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    I have a goal of 1670 cals a day, but thats really not a lot of food for me to eat... I will in turn burn anywhere from 400-500+ cals in a single workout. I eat a lot of those back, so yes its really a 2000 cal diet, but with exercise.
  • jdelot
    jdelot Posts: 397 Member
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    I have not been able to find a clear answer on this. When I work out, can i eat back my calories?
    When you setup your profile, you entered you weight, activity level, and weight loss goal...let's say 1 pound per week.
    MFP then gave you a goal for calories. I'm not sure what you weight is, but for example 1300 calories. That number already has a 500 calorie deficit built in. So, if you hit that number at the end of the day, you will have a 500 calorie deficit....even if you eat back your exercise calories. However, I don't think MFP will go below 1200...so if you're small already...you may need to do some math.
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    I would say no. It makes no sense to me, you are burning calories which is good! You are supposed to burn more calories than you take in each day, through a combination of exercise and natural calorie burn. My advice, don't eat them! :)
    Why"?
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    I just started this site but eating them back makes no sense to meet and I find it so frustrating b/c I SUCK at math and I find it confusing when I am looking at my food journal. How many damn calories do I have left? Haha!
    Why do you log your exercise?
    Exactly. Exercise is already factored in.
  • IvoryParchment
    IvoryParchment Posts: 651 Member
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    All that matters is the overall total calories, and how honestly/accurately you entered them.

    I definitely eat back my calories. Why they hell else would I work out, except to be able to eat more? :wink:

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