Why you shouldn't eat back excercise calories.

Options
24567…10

Replies

  • Beth720
    Beth720 Posts: 661 Member
    Options
    Except it asks you both activity level AND how often you plan on excerising, meaning it wants to know how active you are just in your dailty life. And it's also BUILT INTO MyFitnessPal to eat back your exercise calories.

    :drinker: Bingo!

    (and FWIW, those pounds lost in my ticker? all lost while eating my exercise calories back. BAM! on flawed logic!)
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    Options
    OP got burned.
  • nixirain
    nixirain Posts: 448 Member
    Options
    This is completely false. You explained it correctly, but your conclusion is wrong.

    MFP says I need to eat 1500 calories a day to lose 1lb. That is my "TDEE-500" for lightly active. If I work out and burn 500 calories. That means after all is said and done by body is getting 1000 calories to live on for the day. My body needs atleast 1300 for my BMR. That is NOT healthy to have 1000 calorie deficit for most people. now if I eat back those 500 calories I am consuming 2000 calories, but my body burn 2500 that day, If my math is correct (and it is) I would still lose 1lb in a week.

    Thanks.
  • _stephanie0
    _stephanie0 Posts: 708 Member
    Options
    If you did it that way, you set up MFP wrong. It clearly states to select your activity level NOT INCLUDING EXERCISE. Just your daily activity level with normal activities.

    If you did include exercise, then you're right you should not eat them back. But most people did not include exercise when setting up their goals. Therefore, most should be eating them back.


    THIS! :)
  • rose313
    rose313 Posts: 1,146 Member
    Options
    If you did it that way, you set up MFP wrong. It clearly states to select your activity level NOT INCLUDING EXERCISE. Just your daily activity level with normal activities.

    If you did include exercise, then you're right you should not eat them back. But most people did not include exercise when setting up their goals. Therefore, most should be eating them back.

    Exactly!
  • wisebadger53
    wisebadger53 Posts: 382 Member
    Options
    I respectfully disagree with the OP. MFP does not include your exercise goal in the calculation of your daily calorie goal. It is purely based on the lifestyle you plug into the goal calculator. You can see this by setting your goals, and then adding or deleting exercise days while leaving your lifestyle alone. Your calorie goal will not change. It only will change when you change your lifestyle choice.

    Of course if you sit at a desk all day and plan to exercise 5 days a week, setting your lifestyle to active will surely account for all of your exercise calories. A desk jockey should choose a sedentary lifestyle, and eat back some exercise calories.
  • myfitnessnmhoy
    myfitnessnmhoy Posts: 2,105 Member
    Options
    So at this point the amount of calories that you consume already takes into account your activity level because you would have had to choose it when setting up your profile. So if you are now consuming an extra 700 calories that you "earned" from excercise you are in fact just consuming an extra 700 calories, and are consuming 200 calories above your goal so you will very slowly gain weight instead of losing weight.

    While correct, this is neither the "recommended" way (as per MFP's configuration guidance) nor the actual way that many of us do it.

    If you chose an "active" lifestyle because you intended for it to include, say, 500 calories a day for your workout, you are absolutely right - adding an ADDITIONAL 500 calories in for your actual workout would be "double-dipping" and your net result would be that you are actually now eating at maintenance if your goal was to lose 1 pound/week with a 500 calorie daily deficit.

    If you chose your actual lifestyle not including your daily workout (for me that is sedentary), then you DO want to add in and eat back those burned calories to maintain the 500 calorie deficit.

    The hard part is - neither answer is incorrect.

    Made up examples:

    Your way.


    Goal for "active" lifestyle: 2000 calories.
    Exercise logged: 0 calories (already included in "lifestyle").
    Daily goal: 2000 calories.
    Calories eaten: 2000 calories.
    Actual TDEE: 2500 calories.
    Deficit: 500 calories.


    My way.

    Goal for "sedentary" lifestyle: 1500 calories.
    Exercise logged: 500 calories
    Calories eaten: 2000 calories.
    Actual TDEE: 2500 calories.
    Deficit: 500 calories.


    The math works out exactly the same - it's just how we came up with "2000 calories" as the daily intake goal.

    And since my workouts tend to be varied, and I like the additional incentive of being able to eat more, I choose "sedentary plus logged exercise", but I recognize that "active plus no logged exercise" accomplishes the same results, and if that's what works for you then that's what you should do.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    Options
    Except it asks you both activity level AND how often you plan on excerising

    If you input a goal for calories burned per week, please note that this is NOT factored into your daily calorie allocation. It's just a personal benchmark.
  • Hendrix7
    Hendrix7 Posts: 1,903 Member
    Options
    "Why you should research your TDEE/BMR and do whatever makes sense for you personally"

    lol this.
  • aplusgeek
    aplusgeek Posts: 49
    Options
    And to answer the "sedentary" questions, change it from sedentary to what closer resembles your workout routine. If you choose sedentary and then eat extra only on days you workout, you would still be priming your body for fat storage mode.

    Let's say you are eating 1200 on non workout days (as an example only), and then eating 2200 calories on workout days. The message your body is getting is that on non-workout days you are starving and should store fat and cut energy expenditure. I'm sure that you can argue that this approach has worked for 2 weeks, but your body will very quickly adapt and you will start struggling and weight will start going up.
  • LindaCWy
    LindaCWy Posts: 463 Member
    Options
    My confusion comes when exercise does become a daily activity, and part of the routine, then what? Do you change your activity level or are you still considered sedetary? Also, if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it... does it make a sound? Where does the white go when the snow melts?
  • delilah47
    delilah47 Posts: 1,658
    Options
    I guess that would work if every day was exactly the same as the day before. I don't think that would work for me.
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member
    Options
    There's alot of debate among people here as to whether you should or shoul not eat bac excercise calories. Let me offer you an explanation as to why you should not eat back excercise calories, and hopefully this will put the topic to a rest.

    When you set up your goals for myfitnesspal it asks you what your activity level is, based on your activity level it roughly calculates what your daily energy (calorie) expenditure is. From this you select what your weight loss goal is, let's say you want to lose 1 pound of fat a week. It then subtracts 500 calories (500 calories x 7 days = 3500 calories (1 pound of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories)) daily. So at this point the amount of calories that you consume already takes into account your activity level because you would have had to choose it when setting up your profile. So if you are now consuming an extra 700 calories that you "earned" from excercise you are in fact just consuming an extra 700 calories, and are consuming 200 calories above your goal so you will very slowly gain weight instead of losing weight.

    Now if you are planning on gaining weight as some do, for weightlifting, powerlifting or even body building purposes then it would be ok to eat back calories as your goals differ from simply cutting fat. For everybody else, eating back excercise calories is counter-intuitive to your weight loss efforts and should be avoided.

    You may say, I feel sapped after a workout... well plan your daily calories in such a way that you can afford a protein shake after your workout and you'll feel 100% better.

    I hope this helps people understand and clarifies the "excercise calories" fiasco.

    So a person with a desk job sets theirs to sedentary. A nurse sets theirs to active. mfp gives them their numbers according to that. However, they bot add in four days a week of 45 minute workouts. That puts their deficit back to where it's no longer a healthy deficit. They should eat those back.

    I set mine according to my lifestyle without my exercise added in. Therefore, what I exercise, I eat.... and that's why you SHOULD eat your exercise calories.


    *I even went above what mfp says to eat and set my calories to my BMR and still eat back at least some exercise calories (sometimes all... sometimes even more)
  • mommyhof3
    mommyhof3 Posts: 551 Member
    Options
    I eat back my exercise calories because when I set MFP up I set my calories to desk job with little exercise, 15% calorie reduction (using http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/) so no exercise at all is put in that calculation. Then I wear my HRM with a chest strap and I eat the calories I actually burn. It is working very well for me.
  • Sentrita
    Sentrita Posts: 26
    Options
    It is confusing I agree.

    You should only log and eat back exercise additional to that included in your MFP estimation.

    This is why most people estimate based on their daily life without workouts and then log and eat back workout calories.

    That is exactly what I do. I put my average activity level to the lowest, so that any exercise is extra and not counted in. Thus I should eat those back. I've also found it motivating for me to exercise. The fit bit helps to determine what I burn on a typical no extra exercise day... or my lazy days as I call them. ;)
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
    Options
    be258a25_Lookupfrompaper.jpeg
  • pandabear_
    pandabear_ Posts: 487 Member
    Options
    Personally I have to eat mine back, otherwise I'd probably faint every day. My daily goal is 1200 calories and then with whatever I exercise off, I'd be absolutely starving and malnourished. And it works - I've lost 24lbs so far, not put on 24!
  • tony2009
    tony2009 Posts: 201 Member
    Options
    To the OP, give it up man.

    Crash,

    funny-gifs-kart-crash-flip-burn.gif

    and burn
  • soontobesam
    soontobesam Posts: 714 Member
    Options
    This is correct only if you chose an activity level OTHER than sedentary.

    I am desk monkey so my typical day is sitting in front of a computer. I do go for a run typically every morning HOWEVER this is not guaranteed to happen so for me it makes sense to choose the lower activity level (which is guaranteed) and then factor in my workouts manually.

    ETA - I currently have 19 more lbs to lose before my first goal weight loss of 50lbs - and I've been on MFP for 85 days and I eat back my workout calories (all if not most).
  • wyomingmama
    wyomingmama Posts: 71 Member
    Options
    Question!
    My setting says 1200 cals no matter what I pick (ie seditary or active).... So If I want to lose fast do I eat back my exercise cals??? I am confused about what my body can handle w/o going into "starvation mode" and holding onto fat and/or dropping my metabolisim! I don't want to plateu!

Categories