so confused on eating exercise calories back!

alikonner
alikonner Posts: 67
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been doing the 30 day shred pretty much every day and burn between 200 to 250 calories each time (as per my heart rate monitor). I'm confused if I should be eating those calories back. MFP has me set to net at 1200.. I am 140 and only want to lose 10ish maybe 15lbs (pre pregnancy weight.. but would be happy at 130). I am a stay at home mom, so MOST of my day is at home with baby.. but I do go for the occasional walk around the neighborhood a few times a week.. nothing strenuous, except for the 30ds.

Just wondering, if anyone in a similar situation, could shed some light on this for me! I'm confused if I should be eating calories burned back or not in order to lose.

Thanks!! :)
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Replies

  • alikonner
    alikonner Posts: 67
    Bump!
  • now_or_never12
    now_or_never12 Posts: 849 Member
    Eat them back. 1,200 is far too low as it is for most people.

    Ensure your heart rate monitor is properly set up and is calculating everything though as it seems a bit high for a 20 minute workout. Is it one with a chest strap or touch button? Did you input your height, weight, age, sex correctly?
  • alikonner
    alikonner Posts: 67
    Eat them back. 1,200 is far too low as it is for most people.

    Ensure your heart rate monitor is properly set up and is calculating everything though as it seems a bit high for a 20 minute workout. Is it one with a chest strap or touch button? Did you input your height, weight, age, sex correctly?

    Thanks for answering! I know there are a ton of people talking about this, but it seems to go over my head!

    I set everything up on my HRM according to my weight, height, age, etc. It is a polar ft4.. it has a chest strap. I thought I should eat them back because then I'd be netting under 1000 which I thought was too little. But the scale hasn't moved much and I'm confused. I tried upping my calories to 1300 but that didn't make any difference.

    Thanks again!
  • rose313
    rose313 Posts: 1,146 Member
    In your case, eat them back.
  • ladyace2078
    ladyace2078 Posts: 460 Member
    Sounds like a reasonable burn if you are working hard during the 30DS workout. If you have MFP set up to correctly then you need to eat your exercise calories back. Here's why:

    You enter your information into MFP.
    MFP does a calculation to know that if you eat say 1700 calories/day (made up number, this will be based on on your height, weight, sex, activity level) you won't gain or lose weight.
    You tell MFP you want to lose 1 lb/wk so it subtracts 500 calories/day to set your target (because 500 cal/day x 7 days = 3500 calorie deficit/week = 1 lb/week).
    Any time you exercise above your activity level you set in MFP, then you essentially earn calories to eat and are still eating at a deficit to lose weight. Or in other words if you didn't eat your exercise calories back you would have a 750 calorie/day deficit and lose 1.5 lbs/week.

    If you only have 10 lbs to lose, you may want to consider losing at a slower speed, no more than 0.5 lb/week. And know that the last 10 lb can take a long time to come off (several months).

    Make sense?
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
    I agree with everyone, 1200 calories is very low, you should definitely be eating back those exercise calories!
  • SpazzyMal
    SpazzyMal Posts: 276 Member
    Ladyace has it right. Eat it back! MFP calculates a deficit into your day, to where if you don't do any exercise at all you should still lose the goal weight you set it for for that week. Adding excise ON TOP of that built in deficit creates a larger deficit, and not necessarily a healthy one. So the best thing to do is to eat your exercise calories back and stick with the program. That said, 1,200 might even be too low, especially if you're close to your goal. Do you have it set to lose 2 pounds a week? Try lowering that loss to .5 or 1 pound. If you're near the end, you want to be moderate with your deficit so your body wont bounce back when you go off your diet. Ease out of it, so to speak.
  • alikonner
    alikonner Posts: 67
    Sounds like a reasonable burn if you are working hard during the 30DS workout. If you have MFP set up to correctly then you need to eat your exercise calories back. Here's why:

    You enter your information into MFP.
    MFP does a calculation to know that if you eat say 1700 calories/day (made up number, this will be based on on your height, weight, sex, activity level) you won't gain or lose weight.
    You tell MFP you want to lose 1 lb/wk so it subtracts 500 calories/day to set your target (because 500 cal/day x 7 days = 3500 calorie deficit/week = 1 lb/week).
    Any time you exercise above your activity level you set in MFP, then you essentially earn calories to eat and are still eating at a deficit to lose weight. Or in other words if you didn't eat your exercise calories back you would have a 750 calorie/day deficit and lose 1.5 lbs/week.

    If you only have 10 lbs to lose, you may want to consider losing at a slower speed, no more than 0.5 lb/week. And know that the last 10 lb can take a long time to come off (several months).

    Make sense?

    Makes a lot of sense! Thank you! And thanks for taking the time to answer. I know a lot of people have posted about this, but for some reason it still confuses me. But, how you put it makes a lot of sense. After I had the baby, I lost like 20-30lbs pretty quick. Did weight watchers and lost another 10 fairly quickly (but wasn't so happy, and wasn't exercising) So, now I'm at the last 10-15lbs and it is just not coming off! But, exercising is helping with inches a bit.

    Anyways, so I will eat them back.. Thanks a lot for your input! I know people get a bit impatient when other people don't understand this topic.. lol.
  • alikonner
    alikonner Posts: 67
    Ladyace has it right. Eat it back! MFP calculates a deficit into your day, to where if you don't do any exercise at all you should still lose the goal weight you set it for for that week. Adding excise ON TOP of that built in deficit creates a larger deficit, and not necessarily a healthy one. So the best thing to do is to eat your exercise calories back and stick with the program. That said, 1,200 might even be too low, especially if you're close to your goal. Do you have it set to lose 2 pounds a week? Try lowering that loss to .5 or 1 pound. If you're near the end, you want to be moderate with your deficit so your body wont bounce back when you go off your diet. Ease out of it, so to speak.

    MAkes a lot of sense! No, I don't have it set to lose 2lbs, just 1lb per week. But maybe I'll even lower it and know that it will be slow.

    Thanks for your input!
  • jd7887
    jd7887 Posts: 59 Member
    If I am hungry, I eat them back. If I am not hungry, I will not eat them, just to eat them. Eating when I am not hungry gave me the 10 extra pounds I am now trying to rid myself of. I am learning to trust my body.
  • gsager
    gsager Posts: 977 Member
    Eat them back. 1,200 is far too low as it is for most people.

    Ensure your heart rate monitor is properly set up and is calculating everything though as it seems a bit high for a 20 minute workout. Is it one with a chest strap or touch button? Did you input your height, weight, age, sex correctly?

    Thanks for answering! I know there are a ton of people talking about this, but it seems to go over my head!

    I set everything up on my HRM according to my weight, height, age, etc. It is a polar ft4.. it has a chest strap. I thought I should eat them back because then I'd be netting under 1000 which I thought was too little. But the scale hasn't moved much and I'm confused. I tried upping my calories to 1300 but that didn't make any difference.

    Thanks again!

    Looks like you've only been doing this for a month so give it time. I use a Polar ft4 And I eat back my calories. Works great!
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/
  • SenshiV
    SenshiV Posts: 131 Member
    http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/

    Nice link lol.
  • alikonner
    alikonner Posts: 67
    http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/

    Yes, haha, thank you, I've seen this. lol. I know, it's really simple to some people.. but I'm new at this and I have read/seen so many conflicting things. I just want to make sure I'm doing this right. I want to lose weight and exercise and be strong, and it confuses me a bit.
  • eaglemama70
    eaglemama70 Posts: 23
    Wow totally clueless as to this topic and did not even focus on it. I am also around 139 and 5'. I want to lose around 15-20 more pounds. I now understand and appreciate everybody's input. I have not been eating the calories back. I have also found that I have not been that hungry since I changed my eating and logging food. Thanks guys and will try to reach the 1200 that was set by MFP not me.

    Nicole
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/

    Yes, haha, thank you, I've seen this. lol. I know, it's really simple to some people.. but I'm new at this and I have read/seen so many conflicting things. I just want to make sure I'm doing this right. I want to lose weight and exercise and be strong, and it confuses me a bit.

    Did you see the 2nd page?

    STILL YES

    followed by lots of links ?
  • MrsSherrill
    MrsSherrill Posts: 58
    yes, eat them back! thats too little calories. i know its hard to get at first but the more calories you burn the more food your body needs to keep you going through the rest of your day. eating helps! burining calories and not eating them back leaves your body holding onto anything it can to get you through the rest of the day which is not good, your going to ruin your metabolism if you do that. i dont want to get to into it, but look up forms on this topic.... there are tons here on MFP that will help you understand! =) good luck
  • alikonner
    alikonner Posts: 67
    http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/

    Yes, haha, thank you, I've seen this. lol. I know, it's really simple to some people.. but I'm new at this and I have read/seen so many conflicting things. I just want to make sure I'm doing this right. I want to lose weight and exercise and be strong, and it confuses me a bit.

    Did you see the 2nd page?

    STILL YES

    followed by lots of links ?

    oh. whoops. haha. If they all say "yes" at the end.....
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/

    Yes, haha, thank you, I've seen this. lol. I know, it's really simple to some people.. but I'm new at this and I have read/seen so many conflicting things. I just want to make sure I'm doing this right. I want to lose weight and exercise and be strong, and it confuses me a bit.

    Did you see the 2nd page?

    STILL YES

    followed by lots of links ?

    oh. whoops. haha. If they all say "yes" at the end.....

    no, they just point back to several threads and discussions on MFP about this very topic. believe it or not, you're not the first person to ask this question. :flowerforyou:
  • davidr730
    davidr730 Posts: 126 Member
    The first thing I learned in nutrition class. It is not safe to eat below your BMR. The goal for safe weight loss is to be above your BMR and below your TDEE. Doing so may have you lose weight fast, but if your goal is to lose fat and not lean body mass it's not a good idea. Additionally, it will make you highly susceptible to gaining weight back due to effects on hormone levels and metabolism. The Mayo Clinic recommends 1.5 to 2 lbs. a week.
  • alikonner
    alikonner Posts: 67
    http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/

    Yes, haha, thank you, I've seen this. lol. I know, it's really simple to some people.. but I'm new at this and I have read/seen so many conflicting things. I just want to make sure I'm doing this right. I want to lose weight and exercise and be strong, and it confuses me a bit.

    Did you see the 2nd page?

    STILL YES

    followed by lots of links ?

    oh. whoops. haha. If they all say "yes" at the end.....

    no, they just point back to several threads and discussions on MFP about this very topic. believe it or not, you're not the first person to ask this question. :flowerforyou:

    Yes, I imagined I wasn't haha.. but I had to ask anyway because it's going right over my head... but thank you :):drinker:
  • LeggyKettleBabe
    LeggyKettleBabe Posts: 300 Member
    eat when you are physically hungry not b/c some stranger on the internet or some website tells you too.
  • mwooderson
    mwooderson Posts: 254 Member
    I've personally been grossing 750 to 900 calories a day with a net of usually around 200 - 275. I exercise intensely (strenth and cardio) daily. To date, I have lost 68 lbs (17 lbs since January 2012...per my doctor as I just go by my shrinking clothing size). I never eat my exercise calories back. Every bite of food I put in my mouth MUST be a nutritional powerhouse or I won't touch it. To date I love the way I look. That being said, these posts have convinced me I am on the road to a bad result. I've worked way to hard to lose the fat and build great lean muscles. After reading this board, I plan to lose the last 8 lbs by increasing my daily caloric intake. Sounds like a foreign concept but I'm going to try it.
  • stargazer008
    stargazer008 Posts: 531
    To stay healthy, eat your exercise cals. You will need all that energy since babies can be a handful right? Btw your baby is very cute from the profile pic!
  • alikonner
    alikonner Posts: 67
    To stay healthy, eat your exercise cals. You will need all that energy since babies can be a handful right? Btw your baby is very cute from the profile pic!

    Aww, thank you! Yes, I've decided that's what I'm going to do. You know, it's just frustrating when the scale doesn't really move. But I have to not give up. If all else fails, I feel good about myself that I am exercising and being a bit healthier.
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,785 Member
    Why on earth would you want to eat them back if you did all that work to burn them. Save yourself some hassel and don't exercise if your going to just eat those calories back.

    UNLESS.....your hungry. I seldom eat mine back. The first 4 months of this new journey of mine I ate 1000 calories a day and no exercise. I still lost.

    In the end if it works for you then do it, but know it may not work and you will have to change it up again. Not everyone's body works the same as much as some people would like to think so.

    I didn't lose 100 lbs by eating my exercise calories back. It's up to you.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    One last note - people who are extremely overweight, like the poster above was when they started out, can apparently sustain these huge calorie deficits for a good length of time. if you are "overweight" (not obese) or "normal", then it's best to stick to a moderate deficit, like 20% of your TDEE.
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,785 Member
    One last note - people who are extremely overweight, like the poster above was when they started out, can apparently sustain these huge calorie deficits for a good length of time. if you are "overweight" (not obese) or "normal", then it's best to stick to a moderate deficit, like 20% of your TDEE.

    I agree, but I still would not eat my calories back unless I was hungry. Doesn't make sense to me. I am moving my calories up now just moving slowly, very slowly so I don't gain even a lb back
  • alikonner
    alikonner Posts: 67
    One last note - people who are extremely overweight, like the poster above was when they started out, can apparently sustain these huge calorie deficits for a good length of time. if you are "overweight" (not obese) or "normal", then it's best to stick to a moderate deficit, like 20% of your TDEE.

    I agree, but I still would not eat my calories back unless I was hungry. Doesn't make sense to me. I am moving my calories up now just moving slowly, very slowly so I don't gain even a lb back

    A lot of times I am hungry after I work out, so I like to have some extra calories to play with.
  • rlmadrid
    rlmadrid Posts: 694 Member
    Hi, in a nutshell, MFP already calculates you at a deficit if you were to NOT exercise. When you "earn" more calories through exercise, MFP is recalculating such that you still eat the original deficit and fuel you workout.

    Read the stickies please, there is a ton of debate on this and a lot of it is speculation. You can find some better info here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

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