success not eating back exercise calories

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Replies

  • HavenIryxia
    HavenIryxia Posts: 116 Member
    I've eaten back my exercise calories back for 5 days and didn't lose an ounce. For the past year that is the only time I experimented with it and I have had more success not eating them back. I have lost a total of 52 lbs, and my mom has lost over 100 without eating her exercise calories back. Eating them back works for some people, but I have found that it doesn't work for me.
  • bethdris
    bethdris Posts: 1,090 Member
    I lost 96 pounds last year(currently miantaing since late aug of 2011) and only ate back execise cals if really still hungry. My body took what it needed, and shed the weight it didn't need, and why eat if your not hungry??
  • kaikoi47
    kaikoi47 Posts: 41 Member
    i am using my FitBit which is connected to MFP. it would be INSANE for me to try and eat the calories my fitbit is telling me i am burning throughout the day. one day it told me i burned over 1000 calories. this is because i was at work and on my feet all day. i was going up and down stairs, running here and there, and just doing random things that accumulated into calories i did not know if i was burning or not. because of this, i don't' eat anything back really. i stay within my limit from MFP, and if i'm hungry, i will and am able to have that extra snack. i can put that sugar in my tea, i can have that chocolate fudge sundae once a week and not feel guilty because in the end, during the week it is all burned off. i try to only weigh myself once a month, which is at the end/beginning of the month, however your ant to see it. i am going to get weighed tomorrow and see how this has been working for me :D wish me luck. and good luck to YOU!
  • MsMuniz
    MsMuniz Posts: 399 Member
    I don't usually eat my exercise calories back unless I'm hungy. I figure I eat them all back on my once a week cheat meal!
  • traci2612
    traci2612 Posts: 40
    I also never eat my exercise calories back. So far so good!!!
  • SummerSkier
    SummerSkier Posts: 5,187 Member
    In my opinion, it would be OK to eat back exercise cals up to your maintenance level of cals. Just as sort of a guideline. I think that even with an HRM and fitbit, we tend to OVERESTIMATE calories. I know that on a good day, where I have biked, jogged, rode my horse, and give to the gym, I might use up around 400 cals working pretty hard!

    Especially for us lighter weight, and shorter women, saying that we used up 1000-2000 exercise cals in one day is just inflated.

    Just my thoughts. I think everyone has success with different trial and error methods.
  • YcatsFursworth
    YcatsFursworth Posts: 273 Member
    I don't unless I'm hungry and then I do. It has worked for me so far.

    this is me! I try to break over my daily allowed but after that I don't worry too much if I don't eat back what I earned.... don't want to force myself to eat if I'm not hungry!!
  • sewedo1
    sewedo1 Posts: 200 Member
    I listen to my body and eat back calories if I am hungry. I have also gone over my calories. Balance is the key.
  • alyssa92982
    alyssa92982 Posts: 1,093 Member
    If I'm hungry-yes. If I'm not hungry then no. Has worked for me :happy:
  • hypersensitiveb
    hypersensitiveb Posts: 342 Member
    I have just started slashing my exercise calories it says on her in half then typing that number in. Then only eating back that amount. I'm doing this mainly because I don't believe there estaments on how many calories I'm burning. On the other hand I'm also most likely not calculating portion sizes 100% correct either. So all considered that would throw it off. I feel its better to have a cushion that do all this work for nothing.
  • louiseecroney
    louiseecroney Posts: 5 Member
    I sometimes eat back my exercise calories. For me the thought of a bit of chocolate as a treat makes me swim that little bit harder. I have lost 53lbs since September so it clearly eating them back works for me. I say each to their own and whatever works for one may not for another.
  • SigneFL
    SigneFL Posts: 2
    "that's because "eating exercise calories" is specific to MFP"

    and that's the problem right there with eating back your calories.

    First of all, it's not specific to MFP, Sparkpeople does it too - it's why I quit using the site.

    And the fact is that "eating back your calories" is not a proven concept. There is absolutely no research or studies you can point to that shows that it works.

    A friend of mine, who is a *real* Registered Dietician specializing in sports nutrition, and who also happens to be a Certified Personal Trainer (she was actually a martial arts instructor in the Israeli army) and is a triathlete herself says this concept is ludicrous.

    And until I see empirical studies saying otherwise, I'm going to stick with the experts and NOT "eat back" my exercise calories.
  • scotslass
    scotslass Posts: 317
    The way I look at it is, you are given say minimum 1400 calories to eat each day, which if you dont exercise, you will lose weight anyway because you are already running at a deficit (500 built in). If you exercised and burnt 500 calories you are now running at 900 calories giving yourself a 1000 calorie deficit. Far too much.

    So because you have burned 500 and your deficit built in is already 500 there is 1000. You need to replace the 500 you burnt or close to it so that you will still lose the weight you have input into MFP. If you dont your metabolism will slow down and you wont burn as well as you had hoped and you wont lose like you want.

    Does that make sense?

    perfect sense, great response :-) yesterday I chose not to workout as I hadn't been able to get my normal calories in and it would have put me about net 700/800 cals and that's not good. But saying that on the days I do workout, if im not feeling that hungry, I try and get an extra protein shake in. I do not force myself to eat. So far i've lost 42lbs x
  • nlenz16
    nlenz16 Posts: 73
    I have lost 20 pounds since February, and I rarely eat back calories. If I do, it's maybe 100 calories back. It's been working for me so far!
  • xSophia19
    xSophia19 Posts: 1,536 Member
    When i started my weightloss journey last year i never ate any of my excercise calories back! not even 1 of them! if i was hungry i would drink water! the number on the scales were comeing down each week and i lost alot of inches and came down 2 dress sizes! last few months, i have been eating my excercise cals back and its very rare if i lose 1lb! sometimes i even gain a little aswell! soo this is going to stop!

    hope this helped :)
  • ashreynolds09
    ashreynolds09 Posts: 257 Member
    I do if I'm hungry, if I'm not I dont worry about it.

    this is the stance i'm taking! :)
  • katysmelly
    katysmelly Posts: 380 Member
    I am interest to here from people who have had good losses not eating back their exercise calories! I wonder what the point is in doing loads to eat loads back - I run every day to help me be healthy and slim me down

    For me, the point is this way I can have more appealing meals. If I tried to stick to 1300 a day, I would feel very deprived. If I exercise, I can eat bigger meals and also enjoy more calorie-dense foods.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    "that's because "eating exercise calories" is specific to MFP"

    and that's the problem right there with eating back your calories.

    First of all, it's not specific to MFP, Sparkpeople does it too - it's why I quit using the site.

    And the fact is that "eating back your calories" is not a proven concept. There is absolutely no research or studies you can point to that shows that it works.

    A friend of mine, who is a *real* Registered Dietician specializing in sports nutrition, and who also happens to be a Certified Personal Trainer (she was actually a martial arts instructor in the Israeli army) and is a triathlete herself says this concept is ludicrous.

    And until I see empirical studies saying otherwise, I'm going to stick with the experts and NOT "eat back" my exercise calories.

    BUT, if you don't eat your exercise cals then you should choose a higher activity level so you get more cals everyday that would account for average exercise in a week. So if you ahve a sedenary job and workout 5 days a week, put in active as activity level and don't eat back the cals, but if you choose sedenatary you should eat them back.

    Most sites and profecssionals include exercise in your daily caloric intak, MFP ignrores exercise and only adds it in once you do. What this means is MFP's intake is much lower then what others would suggest, and if you don't eat the cals back you are not fueling your body properly.

    As an example say MFP gives you 1450 calories to lose 1 lb/week, and you plan on exercising 5x/week for an average of 400 cals per workout. well MFP will tell you to eat 1450 on the days you don't workout and 1850 on the days you do whereas a "professional" may tell you to eat 1700 everyday regardless if you workout.

    So for the week MFP will have you eat 12,150 (1450*2+1850*5) whereas doing it the other way will have you eat 11,900 (1700*7) almost the same number of cals for the week (250 dif). The issue in not following MFP is if you don't workout the full 5 days or burn more or less than planned. If that is the case you may lose more or less than your goal, whereas MFP will have you lose your goal amount regardless how much you actually workout.

    What many MFPers do is take the low 1450 and not eat back exercise calories which is wrong, if you are not eating them back then your daily activity level should reflect the higher burn with would be covered in the 1700/day above.
  • garita93
    garita93 Posts: 267 Member
    The OP- 10stonemeplz has deactivated their account.
    But for those still looking for that answer, I think it is different for everyone. For me personally I wasn't seeing results with eating my calories back. Stopped doing that and weight is coming off and muscles are developing. Like I said, that is for me personally but I have also been told by several doctors that my metabolism is really low. It is what works for me.
  • Beastette
    Beastette Posts: 1,497 Member
    I eat most of mine back because I care about my body composition more than I do about my weight. I worked very hard to build strength and muscle and I don't want to lose it. So I guess it depends on how you define "success". I eat enough to maintain athletic performance, which includes eating some exercise calories.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    The OP- 10stonemeplz has deactivated their account.
    But for those still looking for that answer, I think it is different for everyone. For me personally I wasn't seeing results with eating my calories back. Stopped doing that and weight is coming off and muscles are developing. Like I said, that is for me personally but I have also been told by several doctors that my metabolism is really low. It is what works for me.

    The only way will will not lose by eating them is if:
    you over estimate how much you burn from exercise,
    under estimate how many calories you actually ate,
    retaining more water,
    have a lower BMR them MFP calculated for you (less than average amount of muscle at your weight), or
    have a thyroid or other hormonal issue.

    Otherwise you would lose your goal amount of weight eating them back
  • jpinge
    jpinge Posts: 71 Member
    I eat most of my exercise calories back....phsshhhh...that is why I exercise so much lol....I like to eat and don't want to feel deprived. It has totally been working for me. I started losing weight before MFP....80 pounds and then 20+ since starting here. I have a hrm and on the days that I have not fueled my body well I definitely see a decline in calories burned the next day. It is my body, I figured out what it needs to run efficiently and to burn efficiently so that I lose weight, slow and steady. Somedays I am really just not hungry enough to eat them all and then I don't worry...again I am listening to my body and it tells me what it needs.

    As far as the biggest loser contestants....they lose massive amounts of weight most weeks. I don't think I will ever have or even try for such a massive weight loss in that short of time. It is a shame that we don't get to really see their diets as well as their exercise. I think it would be interesting to see what they eat and if it is something they can easily sustain in the real world.

    Good luck, just listen to your body...it will tell you what it needs
  • BrettPGH
    BrettPGH Posts: 4,716 Member
    OP didn't want to eat their exercise calories back. Whoever it was didn't see the point and figured they knew better. The person joined in January, a little under 4 months ago.

    OP has since deactivated. How do you think they're doing now? I'd wager dollars to delicious donuts they've completely given up because they spent 2 months trying to workout hard and not eat.

    Eat food. Exercise. Look great.
  • kwest_4_fitness
    kwest_4_fitness Posts: 820 Member
    Well, the OP deactivated. :/ That was a waste of typing, lmao!
  • Alonnea
    Alonnea Posts: 70 Member
    I don't have as much to lose as some so I can't speak for all. I do eat most of mine back though. I plateaued and upped my calories and actually started losing more then I was losing in the first place. I don't necessarily eat all of them but everyday I try to eat some of them back. I'm working on building muscle and doing weight training so I feel like eating them works better for me. Like I said this is me, not everyone works the same or wants the same things.
  • allisonrozsa
    allisonrozsa Posts: 178 Member
    I'm pretty sure they do. I remember a season or two ago where Jillian was up in arms over one of the contestants who was not eating the excess calories back (for him, it was slowing down his metabolism and weight loss).
  • SigneFL
    SigneFL Posts: 2
    Sorry, that's just not true. MFP gave me the same number of calories that every professional has ever given me: 1200. MFP is NOT setting calories much lower. They are right on the money as far as how many calories I need to eat to lose weight.

    I don't know why a couple of social-weight-loss-oriented web sites decided that this is the way to go. The only reason I can think of is that they 1. didn't want people to go "anorexic" on them and eat a LCD + do a lot of exercise on top of that and/or 2. they thought it was a cool concept that would somehow set them apart from other weight loss plans.

    To my way of thinking it is much more likely that people will eat badly and then think to themselves, "well, I'll just burn this off later". This concept of "eating back your calories" does nothing to help people establish healthy eating habits, it just gives them the idea that they can eat whatever they want as long as they burn it off.

    If I nourish my body at 1200 calories, and then burn 500, I AM STILL NOURISHED. Unless I am some kind of olympic athlete or body builder, then the only thing that eating those calories back will accomplish is to slow my progress.

    No disrespect to you or anyone, but again I say: until or unless I see empirical evidence showing otherwise, this is an unproven idea that will merely lead people to a slower weight loss and NOT teach them the healthy eating habits they need to learn.

    Peace out.
  • d4rkn3ss06
    d4rkn3ss06 Posts: 57
    There is SO MUCH research that shows that you are suppose to eat back all your exercise calories!!! Your body needs fuel!! On this site you are eating what you need to lose which means you are at a 500 calorie deficit!! This doesn't count exercise so if your exercise your body needs more energy to make up for the hard work you just did to not eat them is to starve your body of the fuel it needs!! Under eating is just as bad as over eating!
  • d4rkn3ss06
    d4rkn3ss06 Posts: 57
    I
    Sorry, that's just not true. MFP gave me the same number of calories that every professional has ever given me: 1200. MFP is NOT setting calories much lower. They are right on the money as far as how many calories I need to eat to lose weight.

    I don't know why a couple of social-weight-loss-oriented web sites decided that this is the way to go. The only reason I can think of is that they 1. didn't want people to go "anorexic" on them and eat a LCD + do a lot of exercise on top of that and/or 2. they thought it was a cool concept that would somehow set them apart from other weight loss plans.

    To my way of thinking it is much more likely that people will eat badly and then think to themselves, "well, I'll just burn this off later". This concept of "eating back your calories" does nothing to help people establish healthy eating habits, it just gives them the idea that they can eat whatever they want as long as they burn it off. I ALWAYS eat back my exercise calories and have lots inches and pounds and gained muscle so its really not that absurd!

    If I nourish my body at 1200 calories, and then burn 500, I AM STILL NOURISHED. Unless I am some kind of olympic athlete or body builder, then the only thing that eating those calories back will accomplish is to slow my progress.

    No disrespect to you or anyone, but again I say: until or unless I see empirical evidence showing otherwise, this is an unproven idea that will merely lead people to a slower weight loss and NOT teach them the healthy eating habits they need to learn.

    Peace out.

    1200 is the minimum about of calories a "normal" person needs to survive with our any or little activity! so yes if you do nothing your body is nourished and fine!! if you exercise and burn 500 cals than your body just used 500 of your 1200 so now your at 700 cals for your body -_- you really think that is what a adult human body needs? that just doesn't make sense!!! i agree with you that this wont make people choose healthy food but neither does just eating your normal calories. you can 1200 calories of crap and not be making healthy choices but that wasn't the question.
  • Nopedotjpeg
    Nopedotjpeg Posts: 1,805 Member
    "I want to hear success stories about people underfeeding their bodies!"
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