To eat or not....

Do you eat the calories you burn or just eat your regular amount of calories given daily?

Replies

  • senecarr
    senecarr Posts: 5,377 Member
    Most eat back 50% of their exercise calories to start with. Then adjust as you see your rate of loss.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    BellaEmy wrote: »
    Do you eat the calories you burn...

    Yes, but I'm training for a purpose, not just to burn calories
  • quiltlovinlisa
    quiltlovinlisa Posts: 1,710 Member
    I'm exercising to increase my overall fitness, I have to fuel myself to be able to exercise. so I usually eat back a portion of my calories. Now, there have been times when I haven't been hungry and have not eaten my exercise calories but this really is a rare exception for me and it only a day or two a month.
  • mobogogo
    mobogogo Posts: 24 Member
    I am trying to loose weight so therefore i dont eat back what i have burned ( most of it anyway) .... But post workout thw body need fuel for your burnt out muscles do you should deffo eat then
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited April 2016
    Yes I eat them back. If you are calorie counting it's a bit silly not to take exercise into account.

    You do realise to keep to the rate of loss you selected MFP intends you to estimate and eat back exercise calories?

    If you prefer to eat the same amount daily then work out your goal with a TDEE calculator instead so you have an estimated average of your exercise included.
  • distinctlybeautiful
    distinctlybeautiful Posts: 1,041 Member
    I eat them all back. Because when you exercise, the calories you've burned become part of your given calories for that day. I think the reasons people don't them back or don't eat them all back are for faster weight loss and/or because they don't trust that they actually burned as many calories as MFP (or whatever app/device/calculator) says. I rely on the number from MFP, eat them all back, and it hasn't been detrimental to my goals.
  • MinimalistShoeAddict
    MinimalistShoeAddict Posts: 1,946 Member
    Your goal (caloric deficit or surplus) should depend on whether you are trying to lose our gain weight.

    The amount of that deficit or surplus depends on how much you want to lose our gain and your timetable.

    Most days my (seven day average) TDEE is my target because I am usually very close to my desired weight.
  • nyred5
    nyred5 Posts: 9 Member
    Right now I'm just playing it by ear. My app keeps saying that after factoring in my exercise I should eat almost 2000 more calories than I've taken in. But truth to tell, if I'm not hungry....I'm not hungry! My intake is usually between1200-1500 cal. When I started ramping up my exercise I'll work in a protein shake.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I eat all of them back, even those days where I rack up 1000 extra calories if I can manage it. I know from experience that if I net low for more than a few days I'm setting myself up for a monster calorie day because my body tends to react with extreme hunger to extended deprivation. I haven't had any problems losing weight. Your mileage may vary though, and you may need to eat only some of them back.