Why Eating Exercise Calories is so important.
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This week I decided to test this theory and ate back all my exercise calories and did not lose a pound, not even a tenth of a pound. So I'm going back to what worked for me before - setting my net calories at slightly higher than what MFP recommends and only eating back SOME of my exercise calories if I'm still hungry. So I guess you could argue that just by setting my net calories higher than what MFP recommends, that I am, in fact, eating back exercise calories - but that's my net regardless of whether or not I exercise, and I only increase them by 100 higher than what MFP recommends. And I also agree with the fact that if you exercise a lot or burn a lot of calories, you definitely should not attempt to eat them all back. Let's be real, we're not olympic athletes, so we don't need to eat loads of calories to fuel our bodies when we exercise. And by exercise, I mean going to a gym or setting aside time to do an actual workout. I don't think anyone should be counting "cooking" or "doing housework" as exercise if you're planning to eat your exercise calories back.
I also want to point out, as I did in my earlier post to the OP, that the calories burned on both the cardio equipment and especially here on MFP are GROSSLY overstated. Best thing we can do is invest in a good HR monitor (I recommend the Polar FT7) and even then I don't assume that I burned as much as what my HRM shows, and that number is significantly lower than what the cardio equipment or MFP says I burned. So if you eat back all of what MFP or the cardio equipment says you burned, you're more than likely eating a surplus and your net is no longer a deficit. So just be conservative if you're choosing to eat back your exercise calories. Better to error on the side of caution - in my opinion.
But I guess at the end of the day, we all have to do what works best for us, and unfortunately it takes some trial and error to find the "sweet spot" for our bodies to lose weight.
To have to give any change more than a week to decide whether it is working or not - it can take a few weeks foryour body adjust. Coming to a conclusion as to whether it works of not after a week is way too early.
That being said, I do agree that equipment and MFP can grossly overestimate the calories burned which is why a buffer should be built in to how many exercise calories. I also agree that doing regular housework etc should not be counted as it should already be counted in the base calories (activity level).
True...but I do intense exercise (bootcamp and Insanity DVDs) most days of the week and when I ate all my exercise calories back, I felt bloated. So I personally don't think it's a good idea to eat them all back. I eat about half of them back when I do an intense workout and when I do a lighter workout I eat about a quarter of them back, and by doing that, I have consistently lost between 1-2 pounds each week - so I wouldn't want to lose more than that each week anyways. I should also point out that I have about 80 pounds to lose, so maybe eating back exercise calories is more effective for those who only have a little bit left to lose.0 -
This week I decided to test this theory and ate back all my exercise calories and did not lose a pound, not even a tenth of a pound. So I'm going back to what worked for me before - setting my net calories at slightly higher than what MFP recommends and only eating back SOME of my exercise calories if I'm still hungry. So I guess you could argue that just by setting my net calories higher than what MFP recommends, that I am, in fact, eating back exercise calories - but that's my net regardless of whether or not I exercise, and I only increase them by 100 higher than what MFP recommends. And I also agree with the fact that if you exercise a lot or burn a lot of calories, you definitely should not attempt to eat them all back. Let's be real, we're not olympic athletes, so we don't need to eat loads of calories to fuel our bodies when we exercise. And by exercise, I mean going to a gym or setting aside time to do an actual workout. I don't think anyone should be counting "cooking" or "doing housework" as exercise if you're planning to eat your exercise calories back.
I also want to point out, as I did in my earlier post to the OP, that the calories burned on both the cardio equipment and especially here on MFP are GROSSLY overstated. Best thing we can do is invest in a good HR monitor (I recommend the Polar FT7) and even then I don't assume that I burned as much as what my HRM shows, and that number is significantly lower than what the cardio equipment or MFP says I burned. So if you eat back all of what MFP or the cardio equipment says you burned, you're more than likely eating a surplus and your net is no longer a deficit. So just be conservative if you're choosing to eat back your exercise calories. Better to error on the side of caution - in my opinion.
But I guess at the end of the day, we all have to do what works best for us, and unfortunately it takes some trial and error to find the "sweet spot" for our bodies to lose weight.
To have to give any change more than a week to decide whether it is working or not - it can take a few weeks foryour body adjust. Coming to a conclusion as to whether it works of not after a week is way too early.
That being said, I do agree that equipment and MFP can grossly overestimate the calories burned which is why a buffer should be built in to how many exercise calories. I also agree that doing regular housework etc should not be counted as it should already be counted in the base calories (activity level).
True...but I do intense exercise (bootcamp and Insanity DVDs) most days of the week and when I ate all my exercise calories back, I felt bloated. So I personally don't think it's a good idea to eat them all back. I eat about half of them back when I do an intense workout and when I do a lighter workout I eat about a quarter of them back, and by doing that, I have consistently lost between 1-2 pounds each week - so I wouldn't want to lose more than that each week anyways. I should also point out that I have about 80 pounds to lose, so maybe eating back exercise calories is more effective for those who only have a little bit left to lose.
You are correct - you can be at more of a deficit the more weight you have to lose without messing with your metabolism and/or fat v muscle loss ratio. Also, there is less need to eat your calories back if you work-outs are low intensity.0 -
This is a great thread and very well explained.
I know from my personal experience the weeks I eat most, if not all my exercise calories back I lose more weight.0 -
bump0
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That is awesome advice. I have been looking everywhere trying to find out why people eat back there exercise calories and now it finally makes since. Thanks everyone! I'm going to try this cause I have been the same weight for 3 weeks now.0
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Thanks...was a little confused about this...0
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I don't have time to read this atm, but I'm commenting so I can find it in my posts later...I've often wanted to know as well! (need to be doing hw right now though) So i'll read later
thanks for putting it on here!0 -
Very well explained. Thank you OP.0
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Appreciate the explanation....time to make some adjustments!0
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Thank you for taking the time to explain this in an understandable way! !
:flowerforyou:0 -
Somebody quote a legitimate nutritionist, preferably PhD that isn't a hot over-marketed model, that supports this and HRM's that indicates eating exercise calories is so important.0
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Somebody quote a legitimate nutritionist, preferably PhD that isn't a hot over-marketed model, that supports this and HRM's that indicates eating exercise calories is so important.
Nah. You just go ahead believing what you believe, the rest of us will believe what we believe and everyone will be happy. Savvy?0 -
Bump0
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Fantastic explanation.0
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Somebody quote a legitimate nutritionist, preferably PhD that isn't a hot over-marketed model, that supports this and HRM's that indicates eating exercise calories is so important.
It's basically math - if you do not eat your calories back (and assuming that you have a deficit already baked into your base) then not eating your exercise calories back, increases you deficit. Not sure why you need a PhD for that. Where the nutritional infomation comes in is what the impact is from a 2000 calorie deficit v a 500 calorie deficit -the difference being created by exercise (and yes I know 1,500 is on the high side for exercise - its just an example)..0 -
Thanks Op I needed this!!!0
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I call BS! I want my body to burn muscle rather than fat, thank YOU very much!
Hahaha, then you'll be all wimpy and have to change your name to hitchhiker0 -
Wow - thanks, seemed conter-productive to me to eat what I lost (a lot like eating from the toilet but now I understand better how it works. Really appreciate the explanation. Big leap of faith, but digesting (no pun intended) the info I think I can see the reasoning.
Thanks again!0 -
Somebody quote a legitimate nutritionist, preferably PhD that isn't a hot over-marketed model, that supports this and HRM's that indicates eating exercise calories is so important.
It's basically math - if you do not eat your calories back (and assuming that you have a deficit already baked into your base) then not eating your exercise calories back, increases you deficit. Not sure why you need a PhD for that. Where the nutritional infomation comes in is what the impact is from a 2000 calorie deficit v a 500 calorie deficit -the difference being created by exercise (and yes I know 1,500 is on the high side for exercise - its just an example)..
How do you know what you burn? HRM's only show the initial burn, if it's even accurate, but they don't account for the increased calorie burn that extends for hours after your exercise. If it's SO important don't you need to account for that somehow?0 -
bump. very good information, will reference it again when I forget about it. Thanks0
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