Do you eat your exercise calories???

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  • runfatmanrun
    runfatmanrun Posts: 1,090 Member
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    Just remember, and other people need to remember this toom, exercise is not just beneficial for eating more or less one way or the other. Some crazy people believe it actually makes you feel better, it's fun, it helps alleviate stress, and you just may be healthier to go along with lighter. The extra weight loss or fudge brownie, whichever you may choose, are just added side effects.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
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    I have a 1000 calorie a day deficit running to lose 2 pounds a week. I eat back my exercise calories and lose 2 pounds a week. I've tried to speed that up by not eating them and found it counterproductive because my energy levels drop and I burn fewer calories in my daily life and during workouts, plus I feel like crap and tend to cheat. I'm happy with 2 pounds a week, so I try to follow the plan and when I do it works.

    Your mileage may vary, I'd encourage experimentation, and remember this is a long-term project and you want to learn SUSTAINABLE eating habits so you can maintain your weight loss after you've reached your goal.
  • ocylott
    ocylott Posts: 31
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    I eat back about half my exercise calories. MFP can sometimes be rather generous in their estimate of calories burned, so to keep on the safe side, I try to eat back about half. Works for me, at least so far.
  • Prefessa
    Prefessa Posts: 90
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    Honestly....from personal experience.....It depends on how you set up your calorie requirements. Your BMR doesn't change much with exercise or starvation....Its Leptin Downregulation/Adaptive Thermogenesis you want to avoid at all cost.

    So lets say you workout 5-6 day a week so you multiplied your BMR by 1.5 or 1.6 to get your TDEE....that is an ESTIMATE based on your projected activity level...so now you work out....MFP gives you an ESTIMATED energy expenditure....so now you go and eat your exercise calories back. Congradulations....you have just counted your energy contribution from Exercise into your TDEE...TWICE!

    I actually gained a pound a week doing this and wondered WTF???? Until I realized that I was eating back calories that were already accounted for. It was pretty frustrating to have a month of..."You have completed your diary and are within your calorie goals" only to gain weight!

    So two schools of thought here...

    Either Multiply your BMR with a factor appropriate for your activity level, and log your exercise, but do not eat your exercise calories back. Assess your progress weekly...if you loose more than you planned....add a calories, less subtract calories. By carefully tracking you will be determining your TDEE experimentally and take it from there to keep from creating a big deficit that can cause Leptin Downregulation.

    Or...

    Multiply your BMR by 1.2 or 1.3 and then track calorie expenditure using a reliable device like a Fitbit, HR Monitor or Bodybugg. Then you can eat back expercise calories when needed. Those estimates you get on this site for exercise are for atheletes....they are too generous for at least 1/3 of the folks here. I rode my bike 16 miles on Friday...My heart reate monitor gave me 300 calories(I had a tail wind)....MFP clocked in at 760 calories....big difference!!

    Only eat back VALID and MEASURED exercise calories needed to keep energy balance in the recomended zone....Estimates are just that, estimates.
  • PrincessMissDee
    PrincessMissDee Posts: 183 Member
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    Yes. And I search before I post.

    Thanks, but I did research but I just wanted to know the opinons of other people, which some give without any other smart remark. I thought that people could ask any question they wanted without being judged. Guess I was wrong!

    I know, right? You'd think the point of a forum was to ask questions when you're feeling a little lost, but some people seem to revel in this smug attitude. Maybe they have time to read all of everybody's other forum posts but I, for one, have only ever popped on here when I needed to shout out for help.

    And I'm very grateful to the people who help.
  • jjelizalde
    jjelizalde Posts: 377 Member
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    Eat back your exercise calories. Your body needs the fuel.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Yes. And I search before I post.

    Thanks, but I did research but I just wanted to know the opinons of other people, which some give without any other smart remark. I thought that people could ask any question they wanted without being judged. Guess I was wrong!

    I know, right? You'd think the point of a forum was to ask questions when you're feeling a little lost, but some people seem to revel in this smug attitude. Maybe they have time to read all of everybody's other forum posts but I, for one, have only ever popped on here when I needed to shout out for help.

    And I'm very grateful to the people who help.

    I'll be the first to admit that I was snarky with my response. I did it intentionally to make a point, but I also did it AFTER I answered the OP's question.

    And if you can't be bothered, er... don't have the time to spend a few minutes seaching the forums get find the answers, then at least be a little more understanding when those of use get a little irritated at seeing the same questions asked over and over and over and over and over again, and typing up the same answer to those questions over and over and over and over and over again.

    Message boards are great for asking questions and getting advice. But they are also great for educating yourself.
  • PrincessMissDee
    PrincessMissDee Posts: 183 Member
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    And if you can't be bothered, er... don't have the time to spend a few minutes seaching the forums get find the answers, then at least be a little more understanding when those of use get a little irritated at seeing the same questions asked over and over and over and over and over again, and typing up the same answer to those questions over and over and over and over and over again.

    Message boards are great for asking questions and getting advice. But they are also great for educating yourself.

    But then you should be a little more understanding when people ask. Answer it or don't, but don't answer it and take your frustration out on that same person.

    Personally I can only use MFP on my phone usually so I can't see any forums.. I can see people posting answers but can't get into the actual subject, it's quite frustrating and feels like you're only able to use half of the point of MFP!

    I used the forum a week ago, asked almost this exact question, and got some brilliant responses, tailored to my own personal situation. I did a search beforehand and the answers came thick and fast: YES / NO / I do / I never do / Always /etc

    Sometimes when a topic has been discusssed SO much, the many answers can be more confusing than helpful!!

    (Also, PS, my rage is more about someone who posted about my question, just the words "urgh" and no help whatsoever) :flowerforyou:
  • kaotik26
    kaotik26 Posts: 590 Member
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    If I dont eat them back I would technically be starving myself and shutting down my metabolism. You need the food to feed your body after the workout. My calories are set at 1280. If I burn 400 calories doing Insanity then that gives me 880...which is not healthy for anyone.
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
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    If I dont eat them back I would technically be starving myself and shutting down my metabolism. You need the food to feed your body after the workout. My calories are set at 1280. If I burn 400 calories doing Insanity then that gives me 880...which is not healthy for anyone.

    this! exactly this! you should eat at least most of those calories back. The point of being here is not to get skrawny, the point is to get HEALTHY.
  • redcut
    redcut Posts: 176
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    I eat back as many as I can without having that stuffed all day feeling. I also feel better when I eat them back not so tired.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    edited... just picking a fight now, no need for that.


    Carry on.
  • jenna_scott
    jenna_scott Posts: 56 Member
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    Yes I eat some of them back, as others on here have said I do not trust the burn rate. (I use an ARC trainer at the gym a lot, and there are times that machine will tell me that I have burned 1100 calories in 45 minutes. I feel like that is a bit extreme and have a hard time believing that I have burned that many calories.)
    That being said my BMR is 1435, my TDEE is 1722 (http://www.quickbmr.com/what-is-tdee.html#) I set my TDEE at sedentary as I have a desk job and I sit most of the day I also have a long commute and so I end up sitting during my drive too. MFP has my goal set at 1200 per day, which is a 522 daily choleric deficit. Now let’s say I exercise and burn 500 calories and I log that on MFP. The system adjusts automatically and puts me at 1700 calories that I can consume to net out at the 1200 but because the 500 calories extra I eat nets with the exercise, it is still a 522 calorie a day deficit. If I hit that deficit every day I should lose 1 lb per week based on a deficit of 500 calories x7 days per week = 3500. (You have to create a 3,500 calorie deficit to lose one pound.) On days I exercise I try to leave a couple hundred calories on the board, if I don’t exercise then I try to be really close to my allotted 1200. Which actually motivates me to work out, because I LOVE to eat, LOL if I didn’t love it I would need to be on this site in the first place…
  • jazzrose007
    jazzrose007 Posts: 51 Member
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    Thanks everyone, MFP did it again. All of your answers were very helpful:)
  • blaquepearlbeauty
    blaquepearlbeauty Posts: 10 Member
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    I am new to this form of tracking but did WW for quite some time. My thought from looking at this program is that calories already take into account how much I want to lose with no exercise, so if I do exercise and burn the calories that I have eaten my body will eventually go into starvation mode if I don't consume more. It may aid me in losing weight right now but I am looking at the long term, so while I don't believe you have to eat them all dipping into them sometimes may be better for you then avoiding them completely especially if you are doing intense workouts burning a lot of calories.
  • nielsenjc1980
    nielsenjc1980 Posts: 3 Member
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    I had your same question. I did some research and this is what I have come up with:

    - MFP give you a deficit to begin with, but it is an estimate
    - You MUST have a heart rate monitor to understand how many calories you are burning
    - You can use a heart-rate based activity calculator to get an ESTIMATE of GROSS Calories burned
    - I only log my estimate of NET calories burned, so if i burned an estimated 650 playing raquetball, I log 500 because I would have
    burned 150 doing something else if I wasn't playing raquetball (say sitting on my couch).
    - once i have made those calculations, I am happy to eat back my calories, if I am hungry and need to...

    I hope that helps...
  • holeshottdr
    holeshottdr Posts: 364 Member
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    I cant remember the last time I ate back my exercise calories, even on my off days when I do Insanity.
  • KarinM01
    KarinM01 Posts: 2
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    I eat them if I'm hungry but don't if I'm not. I have a heart rate monitor so know on average what I burn with my exercise if I don't wear it but theres no way I could eat all of those calories every day
  • thewifeybea
    thewifeybea Posts: 6
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    Yes. And I search before I post.

    I don't get what the point of your rudeness is. If you don't want to answer her question because it has already posted somewhere else then just dont respond. We are all here to be positive to one another & look for support. I doubt your answer was encouraging at all.
  • TheWinman
    TheWinman Posts: 700 Member
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    I had your same question. I did some research and this is what I have come up with:

    - MFP give you a deficit to begin with, but it is an estimate
    - You MUST have a heart rate monitor to understand how many calories you are burning
    - You can use a heart-rate based activity calculator to get an ESTIMATE of GROSS Calories burned
    - I only log my estimate of NET calories burned, so if i burned an estimated 650 playing raquetball, I log 500 because I would have
    burned 150 doing something else if I wasn't playing raquetball (say sitting on my couch).
    - once i have made those calculations, I am happy to eat back my calories, if I am hungry and need to...

    I hope that helps...


    I love this response, short sweet and simple and most of all correct!

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