So you have decided to go all-in and track your nutrition. You want max results. You are determined to get a plan, track your diet, and hit the correct calorie totals every day. You will also hit the correct % (or come close!). Nothing will stop you!!
But …. what about tracking exercise? If you are on (for instance) a fat shredder diet at 1800 calories, how do you account for the 600 or so calories you burn in a P90X or Insanity workout? Do you put that into your MFP (or similar nutrition tracking app)? Do you eat an extra 600 cals to get back up to a net of 1800 cals? Or do you just eat 1800 total cals and then burn the 600 working out, thus leaving you with 1200 of net calories?
These are all great questions. Most nutrition tracking apps have a section to track your exercise. If you put in your cardio or lifting workout, it will assign calories to that exercise. And if you’ve got your MFP set to 1800 cals, then put in that you did a 600 cal workout, it will tell you that you have 2400 cals to eat for the day to hit your goals. Is this right?
Your Nutrition Already Figures in an Average Workout!
Here’s my approach — I DON’T TRACK EXERCISE ON MY NUTRITION TRACKING APP. Don’t get me wrong, I track my exercise religiously. I write down every rep, every weight, the amount of cals I burned, which moves I want to try and go heavier on next time, how many breaks I took (if any), etc. I track it all. …… BUT …. I track it the old fashioned way, in a 3 ring binder on workout sheets.
But I DON’T put my exercise into MFP because it messes up the nutrition goals. It’s important to remember that MFP or other nutrition tracking systems are designed with default settings. So when the average Joe goes on a walk, he burns some calories and wants the satisfaction of putting that into his MFP. We are doing a structured workout program, and our nutrition plan is already completely dialed in (or at least it should be!). If you have looked at the nutrition tips/sample diets section, and determined that you will be on an 1800 calorie fat shredder diet, that already assumes that you will be doing the workouts that are part of your program! In other words, the exercise is already factored into the nutrition plan with these workouts.
It will completely throw off your 1800 plan if you type the workouts into MFP and then by default the MFP raises your daily calorie total to 2400. In other words, you will basically be “double counting” your workouts, since your workouts are already assumed in the nutrition plan. You don’t want that! So that’s why I suggest NOT tracking your exercise on your nutrition tracking system. Keep them separate.
There are alternatives, though, if you just want to do it for the heck of it. You can put your workout in, and then remove it (so that it shows on your MFP wall that you did it, but then the calories are not counted). You can customize your workout and put in 0 or 1 calorie just so you can track it without it changing your daily goals. But however you decide to track it, don’t “add back” calories to make up for the calories burned with exercise. You will, in essence, be over-eating for your goals, and thus slowing your results.
I think the best alternative is to be in a challenge group and post after your workout! If tracking your workout is about accountability, get online and post/comment in the group that you crushed your workout!
Need a coach?
My email: coachwayne@teamripped.com
IG: @wayne_wyatt
