Almighty exercise cals..

betaleonis
betaleonis Posts: 176 Member
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
A friend of mine asked me about eating back exercise cals.. thought I'd post my response to make sure I have the right information myself!!


My mate asked me:
"Eating back exercise cals, as in eating to make up for what you burned off? Doesn't that completely refute the science that the way to lose weight is by burning MORE calories than you consume? "

so I responded:

Yes, it would refute the science, but its all about maintaining a calorie decifit - this system(My fitness pal) calculates your activity level and gives you a goal calorie intake for the day that INCLUDES a calorie deficit.

For example,

I sit in a classroom most of the day, thus my activity level is Sedentary.
I selected 1 lb per week loss - so MFP calculated my age, sex and weight, and then gave me a calorie goal to reach each day in order to lose weight. For me, that goal is 1240 cal per day. (This does not include exercise)

Considering how I would need to eat around 1700 calories to maintain my weight, my daily deficit is about 500 calories - thus in a week, I should lose about a pound.

The idea about eating back your exercise calories is new to me, and at first I didn't understand it. I don't even know if it will work, but it does make sense, logically.

For example,

If I eat 1200 calories of food, I am already at a decifit which is needed to lose weight (1700 cal = maintain weight)
If I exercise and burn 500 calories, I will only be NETTING 700 calories - which can put your body into starvation mode, where your body doesn't get enough calories, holds on to fat, creates fatigue -- basically ****s up your system. To lose weight heathily it is important for you to NET (or give your body) at least 1200 calories per day.

So If I burn 500 calories, I should eat another 500 calories to level out, or NET 1200.

Basically, just give your body some extra calories when you do a heavy workout - have a bigger dinner or lunch, or drink some wine, or indulge in something sweet - try eating a banana after you work out, or something with good carbs and protein.


Does that make sense? Its all about reaching a balance with your net calories, giving your body enough fuel, but still at a deficit in order to lose weight.

Replies

  • psiren28
    psiren28 Posts: 530 Member
    Yep, makes perfect sense :smile:
  • gavintri
    gavintri Posts: 70 Member
    Thanks for reading my mind Starhazer!
    I was going to ask you about this since you have this whole thing down to a science. But now i know:)
  • aewalk07
    aewalk07 Posts: 51 Member
    Thanks for breaking it down! :)
  • hanniejong
    hanniejong Posts: 556 Member
    Yes it makes perfect sense.
  • Peta22
    Peta22 Posts: 377 Member
    Yup... Thats my understanding as well :)
  • virginia65us
    virginia65us Posts: 106 Member
    Thank you! This is one of the most concise, understandable explanations I have seen of the rationale behind eating back exercise calories.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Yep!

    If only more people would take notice!
  • betaleonis
    betaleonis Posts: 176 Member
    :)
  • DianaJaneD
    DianaJaneD Posts: 157 Member
    Yes, it makes sense, but it's even better if you calculate your BMR and make sure you net over that for sure. For most people, that is more that 1200 calories that a lot of people work from on MFP and which is too low. Too many people also, underestimate their daily activity level, which puts them at too low of a calorie level and in that "unsafe" zone.
  • corrinnebrown
    corrinnebrown Posts: 345 Member
    Thought this way too. However, then I got Jillian Michaels Body Revolution and was surprised to see only 1100-1200 calories per day. THAT's it! Even with working out.
  • jonand57
    jonand57 Posts: 14 Member
    This is EXACTLY my understaning of how MFP works. You put it in the simplest and concise terminology. If you are a student you would make a great teacher or professor. Well done.
  • PhatAv8r
    PhatAv8r Posts: 150 Member
    I would tend to agree... I sit in an office chair and walk the plant two or three times a day (not strenuous at all), so I COULD be called sedentary, except that I workout two to three times each day and burn about 1000 calories a day... the good is that I CAN eat all those if I want too, the bad is that I SHOULD eat every single one of the calories alloted to me by MFP originally or risk ^$#&$ing up my body as Starhazer puts it.

    The day you start adding 30 minutes of exercise to your schedule 3-5 times a week, you are no longer SEDENTARY.. now that is a NSV
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    Good post, StarHazer. I eat back about half of my calories. I say half so I can offset any underestimating of my calories or overestimating my exercise.
  • babygurl48
    babygurl48 Posts: 1,237 Member
    yup. makes perfect sense.. just started understanding it myself not too long ago.
  • PhatAv8r
    PhatAv8r Posts: 150 Member
    I would tend to agree... I sit in an office chair and walk the plant two or three times a day (not strenuous at all), so I COULD be called sedentary, except that I workout two to three times each day and burn about 1000 calories a day... the good is that I CAN eat all those if I want too, the bad is that I SHOULD eat every single one of the calories alloted to me by MFP originally or risk ^$#&$ing up my body as Starhazer puts it.

    The day you start adding 30 minutes of exercise to your schedule 3-5 times a week, you are no longer SEDENTARY.. now that is a NSV
  • season0508
    season0508 Posts: 33
    Makes perfect sense! This was hard for me to understand at first too but as long as you eat you 1200 cals a day your good. No work out no splurdign on that extra snack or extra serving of something. Good motivation for working out is you get that extra snack for the day! I Have been working out 5 days a week and staying between 1000-1200 cals daily and on weekends I may go over my calorie mark by 100 to 150 on a saturday or something and weight loss is working great so far. Im loosing more inches than LBs but my clothing is fitting MUCH looser! Since I have ben on MFP I have dropped 6 pounds but since I have been dieting I have lost 16! Good luck to everyone!!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories