Have you tried GLP1 medications and found it didn't work for you? We'd like to hear about your experiences, what you tried, why it didn't work and how you're doing now. Click here to tell us your story

Do you eat back the calories you burned off from exercise??

2»

Replies

  • 77tes
    77tes Posts: 8,310 Member
    Yes, I eat back my exercise calories. I think that is the secret to my success on MFP. I never knew that was an option before, so exercise always seemed like a punishment. If I want to go out for a big dinner, I fit in a workout in the morning, so I can "afford" the splurge. I never feel deprived, so I don't get discouraged. I eat pretty clean, but I can have a candy bar or an order of fries if I budget for it.
  • xochi71
    xochi71 Posts: 33
    Thank you for asking this!!!! I had hit a plateau when I started here at MFP. I was surprised that i needed to consume nearly 300 less calories but I was determined to lose the weight so I never ate my exercise calories. For the last 6 months I have struggled and actually gain back 10 lbs. I am frustrated but now after reading this I think I just might need to play with my calorie intake. A few more calories for the amount of exercise that I do might be the trick!
  • oats4breakfast
    oats4breakfast Posts: 225
    I just setup my activity level and quota to include exercise cals and the adjust over time. So I end up eating the same each day regardless of exercise. Effectively, I'm zig-zagging my cal intake.
    I do crossfit and run different distances and swim, and sometimes just do active stuff. I also walk golf a few times a week. But I'm basically sedentary in other parts of my life. So if I were to set me at sedentary and then add back exercise, I'd have like 1800 cals to eat each day, then add anything from 200-800 cals back in exercise. One of the problems I found, asides from the inaccuracies, was that it was very hard to plan just what I was going to eat during the day. What if I planned to workout but didn't get to because something came up at work ? Then I might overeat or undereat or whatever.
    So now, I setup to eat 2200 cals a day, every day, regardless if I work out or not.
    There are some days where this is hard to make, so I may only eat 2000 but the next day, I might do a big workout and run too so I will need extra cals (you can feel it) so I'll eat 2400 cals that day. Over two days, I'm still at 2200 cals. So, as I do this, I can plan my diet easily and then after two weeks, if I only lost 1.5 pounds but was expecting 2 pounds, well then I can adjust my daily quota and reduce it be 125 cals per day.
    Why 125 ? Because the theory is 3500 cals per pound per week which is 500 a day. I was off by 1/4 pound per week so that's 125 cals.
    The same formula will be used if I loose 2.5 pounds instead of 2.

    I don't tweak it every two weeks, it was just an example.
    But I will also tweak if I find that I'm hungry all the time and are still loosing. Or if I'm always tired or whatever. It's a long game so I have time. 2200 seems to work really well for me. I'm fueled, feel good and perform well. Occasionally I will get more into me, but sometimes I don't need it too. It's certainly simpler and makes planning easier.

    EDIT: Often, what I eat post workout will make the difference between me eating 2000 or less versus 2200 or more. So I have a "eat back workout cals" function in there too. Almost all other planned meals are the same (same in cals, but variety to eat).
  • jscns
    jscns Posts: 6 Member
    Thank you everyone for answering. I am noticing that i seem to eat about half of my exercise calories back and i lost 4 lb in 2 weeks so i think i might stick with what i'm doing for now and see how it goes. Then maybe experiment with it a bit to see what works for me.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I eat every single one of them. :smile:
  • Mommsue3
    Mommsue3 Posts: 5
    ]
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    I eat most of them back...love having those calories to use!
  • gsager
    gsager Posts: 977 Member
    ALWAYS eat back your exercise calories. I have lost a steady one pound a week doing this. If you don't, your body will not get what it needs to function properly. Trust me on this.
    Thank you! I flip out every time I see people not eating their exercise calories. You're right, it's how the site is set up, at the end of the day our goal and net should be equal.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
    Well I don't and those exercise calories just go to waste sometimes... No biggie.. I've kept weight off before, its only due to pregnancy that I'm overweight. I DO zig zag my calories though which in a sense means I do sometimes eat them back.. sometimes I don't. I know that I've created a 500 cal food deficit and up to 500 cal working out everyday so that's always worked for me.

    Whatever floats your boat. No need to get up in arms

Categories