Ever exercise more to get in a cheat meal?

DaveyNH

I jog fairly regularly, though every so often I go a few weeks without a jog. Usually I jog 2-3 miles. I'm still new to it; have been doing it under a year. I want to get to 4+ miles on a regular basis.

I have been using MFP for six days now. Today being day six. Days 1-5 I was within my calorie limits. I was smart and spread out the meals and ate smaller portions. I had some hunger but not too much. Weekends are tough, especially ones where I have my kids. We almost always get nearby bar pizza (basically a small pizza - we each get one). Yes, I could NOT eat it but I enjoy eating it. Well, I decided this morning I really need to push for a longer run to burn some more calories and open up some room on my calorie limits. I ran five miles, which was about 630 calories burned when you add in the walking I do to warm up and warm down. With the lighter eating I'm doing during the day, it will allow me to have the small pizza and still be within my limits (and have a few hundred to spare; maybe I'll get a soda).

Obviously I really wanted that pizza, hence the five miles!!!

totaldetermination

absolutely !
I always think about treats in terms of how much exercise I have to do to earn them. I think its a good lesson to understand the implications of what you eat. Also it means I can eat anything I want providing I burn the calories first. Sometimes I realise I don't want some things so badly, after all !

Adc7225

Yes! I think that helps develop a balance in your eating and activities. Just log everything so along the way you can track trends.

Sued0nim

Yes but I think 630 calories is a big burn for only 5 miles, are you sure of that amount?

you can always save calories across the week to make it easier to splurge at the weekend if you wish

DaveyNH

630 is the lowest number I could find based on my weight and how long I ran.

Treadmill reported 630. Fitness watch reports 800 (definitely way off; known issues for their calculations) and most online calculators say 700. I think 630 is pretty safe, yeah. Either way, I'm not going to stress if there is a 50 or even 100 calorie swing in either direction. It's not exact and most days I don't use up all my calories so it shouldn't affect my goals and weight loss.

My motto is use it or loss it on the calories. If I don't eat them that day, they're no longer available. There were a few days this week where I had 200+ leftover, and even one day at 500+.

nicolejo143

I wouldn't argue that you burned what you said. But that "small" individual pizza could still have had well over 1000 calories and a ton of fat unless you know the nutritional info for sure. Some people overeat after they exercise and end up eating more than they actually burned. So just be aware of how much you are eating.

areallycoolstory

Yes. I've done a bit more to get my macros up as well. Sometimes I have lots of calories left, but I will be too near the limit on the macros to have what I want. Everything has sugar or salt in it. Last week I hoped on the treadmill for ten minutes, so I could have salad dressing. I think it is a healthy give and take.

arditarose

Yes...but that's not cheating.

4legsRbetterthan2

I agree thats not so much cheating as planning ahead, something i am never very good at so kudos to you! You can always save up extra calories a few days before too, its more about the weekly goal than every single day being spot on. Just dont overtrain yourself to bank calories, don't want you to hurt yourself. Also since it was brought up, your burns sound ballpark correct to me.

callsitlikeiseeit

ive been known to see my calories for the day and go and take a jog LOLOLOL

Sued0nim

DaveyNH wrote: »

630 is the lowest number I could find based on my weight and how long I ran.

Treadmill reported 630. Fitness watch reports 800 (definitely way off; known issues for their calculations) and most online calculators say 700. I think 630 is pretty safe, yeah. Either way, I'm not going to stress if there is a 50 or even 100 calorie swing in either direction. It's not exact and most days I don't use up all my calories so it shouldn't affect my goals and weight loss.

My motto is use it or loss it on the calories. If I don't eat them that day, they're no longer available. There were a few days this week where I had 200+ leftover, and even one day at 500+.

OK...general advice is to eat back 50-75% of MFP / machine burns but judge it by your loss

My motto is it's the weekly count that counts ...if you've been under by 500 and a couple of 200s there's your pizza right there

sheldonklein

I followed today's workout with beer, burger and fries. And then a nap. It's been a good day.

joepratt503

Um yea....There is no better reason to cardio