"Wasting" your exercised/gained calories for the day

Ruger2506
Ruger2506 Posts: 309 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I'm just curious how many of you don't like how MyFitnessPal adds your exercise "burnt" calories to your daily total that you can consume. For some reason I see eating those calories as a waste of exercise time. I prefer to stay under my pre-exercise daily allowance of calories while I'm trying to burn fat.

Replies

  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    If you don't properly fuel yourself while exercising, then you're wasting your time. This site already calculates a deficit for you to lose weight, without exercise. When you exercise, you add those calories back in to maintain a consistent calorie deficit. Otherwise you risk losing muscle and not losing fat. The human body can survive longer on fat reserves, and when you exercise hard while severely restricting calories, the body's instinctual suvival mechanism kicks in, which is to conserve fat, break down muscle for energy use, and metabolically slow down your basal metabolic rate. In extreme cases, it can even slow down, or completely shut down non-essential functions.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,043 Member
    Who doesn't want to eat more and still lose weight? No waste here!

    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Ruger2506
    Ruger2506 Posts: 309 Member
    I understand that. I know the physiology and literature. However I would think that 1700-1800 calories/day would be sufficient to avoid my body reserving the fat stores. I'd hate to "waste" my 500 calorie workout by eating an extra 500 calories.

    I could be wrong, wouldn't be the first time. However it's not like I'm limiting myself to 1000 calories/day and working extra hard.
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
    I understand that. I know the physiology and literature. However I would think that 1700-1800 calories/day would be sufficient to avoid my body reserving the fat stores. I'd hate to "waste" my 500 calorie workout by eating an extra 500 calories.

    I could be wrong, wouldn't be the first time. However it's not like I'm limiting myself to 1000 calories/day and working extra hard.

    If you're eating 1700 calories a day and then burning off 500 of those calories? You're only giving your body 1200 calories to live on. For most people (not all, but quite a few) that is simply too low. And if MFP told you that you should be eating 1700, you're creating too large of a deficit by not eating at least some of them back.

    And really it all comes down to your BMR and your TDEE. Eating below your BMR is just asking for trouble losing weight. You want to create a deficit off your TDEE, but you want to create a reasonable deficit. Too large of one = stalled or stopped weight loss.
  • Ruger2506
    Ruger2506 Posts: 309 Member
    If you're eating 1700 calories a day and then burning off 500 of those calories? You're only giving your body 1200 calories to live on. For most people (not all, but quite a few) that is simply too low. And if MFP told you that you should be eating 1700, you're creating too large of a deficit by not eating at least some of them back.

    And really it all comes down to your BMR and your TDEE. Eating below your BMR is just asking for trouble losing weight. You want to create a deficit off your TDEE, but you want to create a reasonable deficit. Too large of one = stalled or stopped weight loss.

    Fair enough, I appreciate the feedback.

    I can see how I was thinking incorrectly now. Thanks
  • Coco_Puff
    Coco_Puff Posts: 823 Member
    For years I've tried doing this my way, I don't have a weightloss site for a reason. I'm not that smart. MFP has their own site for a reason, they know what their doing. I even fought them and was eating below my calories and seeing no results, starting eating what they suggested, which includes burnt calories, and now I'm seeing a flatter tummy and numbers are down on the scale!!!! I think I'll continue to follow their advice.
  • KPainter70
    KPainter70 Posts: 152
    There are days I workout longer just so I can eat more. If you don't want to eat your exercise calories, don't work out.
  • tyoung75
    tyoung75 Posts: 51 Member
    It's not a waste if you make it count. I eat stuff that helps burn more calories or fat with my extra intake. :)
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