Why do people eat back their exercise calories?

cwolfman13

Karmyeboo wrote: »

I've never understood this, I've always worked out to burn calories in order to loose weigh.. It seems so obvious not to eat them back - what was the point in the first place?
I'm assuming it's so people can eat more food?

Can someone shed some light on this, thanks!

because you should be accounting for that activity somewhere. most calculators include an estimate of your exercise calories in your activity level and thus those calories are included in your calorie targets. MFP does not...you account for them after you log that activity...your calorie targets already include your deficit to lose weight WITHOUT any exercise.

also, the point of exercise is fitness, not burning calories to lose weight....maybe get your head wrapped around that one and it'll make more sense to properly fuel your body for recovery which is where you make your fitness gains.

Packerjohn

erickirb wrote: »

Childfree1991 wrote: »

rabbitjb wrote: »

Childfree1991 wrote: »

DeguelloTex wrote: »

Childfree1991 wrote: »

So I'm supposed to lift weights and not repair my muscle tissue after? The body needs nutrients especially post-activity. That's how I lost weight and became fit in the first place. protein after a workout

It's pretty straightforward to eat protein after a workout -- leaving aside the efficacy of meal timing -- without eating back exercise calories, though.

I do. It has done more good than bad. After resistance training I'll either eat canned tuna, cottage cheese, quinoa, canned sardines, a protein bar, or eggs.

You know that Protein timing is irrelevant, right?

Tell that to the professional bodybuilders. But who cares. Its working for me.

Talk about majoring in the minors. Nutrient timing may help, but 99.5% of your results will come from just meeting your intakes on a daily basis, the other 0.5% could be from timing. makes much more sense to focus on getting what you need.

for body builders, timing could be the difference in finishing first or second in a comp. Not worth the return on investment for the majority of people.

It is working for you as you meet your requirements, you would probably not notice any difference if you changed up when you ingest your protein.

There you go. Great post. So much of the nutrient timing thing, although backed by research, really may only make a difference when looking at an elite athlete competing against other elite athles for a small, but potentially winning edge. For the rest of us proper nutrients (regardess of the timing) and exercise gets us there

elkhunter7x6

Getting to eat is my biggest motivation to workout.

supersocks117

elkhunter7x6 wrote: »

Getting to eat is my biggest motivation to workout.

Haha! It is definitely a big one for me. I am exercising to get fit, too, but when I am feeling like giving up, thinking about how I will now have room for a scoop of ice cream in my day definitely helps.

accidentalpancake

The real reason has already been covered by many previous posts (that the intake is simply required to fuel your ongoing activity). That doesn't mean that it has to be deliberate and measured, but those calories are getting eaten at some point, whether through reasonable refueling or a binge after a crash.

For example, I had a very low calorie day last Friday (~1400kcal) due to a general lack of hunger. It happens occasionally. However, on Saturday I was eating all the way to bed. I went to the batting cage and fit in a regular workout, but eating so little the day before is what drove me for the most part. I track lots of data points so I can see the ups and downs and try to figure out what initiates certain eating patterns, and it happens without fail. If I'm on a solid streak with high activity and have a low intake day, within a day or two I will eat anything within arms' reach (and I have pretty long arms).

Long story short, you're eating back the calories whether you want to or not. It's all about whether you control how it's done.