Exercise Calories

grumpybug2013

I am a runner (love marathons and ultramarathons) on run days it can give me 1500 extra calories, but can I trust that? Because I run a lot will I still get the same calorie burn and should I eat all my exercise calories?

TavistockToad

running is easy to calculate:

bodyweight in lbs x 0.63 x distance in miles

sijomial

I am a runner (love marathons and ultramarathons) on run days it can give me 1500 extra calories, but can I trust that?
That's entirely possible depending on how far you ran.
The trust part depends on how you came by your estimate which you haven't mentioned.

Because I run a lot will I still get the same calorie burn
Don't believe the myth that somehow you can become so efficient at exercise that calorie burns plummet - it's twaddle. You are still moving mass over distance and that requires energy.

and should I eat all my exercise calories?
Yes you should eat your actual exercise calories burned as that's how this site is designed and also how your daily goal has been worked out - exercise is on top of your base daily calorie goal.

Deviette

sijomial wrote: »

Because I run a lot will I still get the same calorie burn
Don't believe the myth that somehow you can become so efficient at exercise that calorie burns plummet - it's twaddle. You are still moving mass over distance and that requires energy.

Study link
It's not your energy burn for that exercise that becomes more efficient as you move between medium-high to high levels of activity. But instead your NEAT is what decreases. You might not become more "efficient" at day to day activities per say, but little things such as sitting as opposed to standing are things that make a difference.

Also I was reading a different study and came across this (I know it's a small sample size, but I know there are more studies to a similar vain, but I can't be bothered to find them right now): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2680474 which also supports the reduced NEAT burn associated with higher levels of activity.

And anecdotally, who hasn't had a day when they've really shredded it at the gym and been great, and then spend all evening with their feet up on the sofa when normally they might do something even slightly more active (such as housework). Personally, looking at my fitbit data, I can see that I definitely do less steps on a work day, the day after a heavy workout.


But OP:
Yes you should certainly eat most of it, you need to fuel your workouts, especially if you're working out for performance. (I don't know what your goals are, but I'm assuming you run for performance)

sijomial

Deviette wrote: »

sijomial wrote: »

Because I run a lot will I still get the same calorie burn
Don't believe the myth that somehow you can become so efficient at exercise that calorie burns plummet - it's twaddle. You are still moving mass over distance and that requires energy.

Study link
It's not your energy burn for that exercise that becomes more efficient as you move between medium-high to high levels of activity. But instead your NEAT is what decreases. You might not become more "efficient" at day to day activities per say, but little things such as sitting as opposed to standing are things that make a difference.

Also I was reading a different study and came across this (I know it's a small sample size, but I know there are more studies to a similar vain, but I can't be bothered to find them right now): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2680474 which also supports the reduced NEAT burn associated with higher levels of activity.

And anecdotally, who hasn't had a day when they've really shredded it at the gym and been great, and then spend all evening with their feet up on the sofa when normally they might do something even slightly more active (such as housework). Personally, looking at my fitbit data, I can see that I definitely do less steps on a work day, the day after a heavy workout.


But OP:
Yes you should certainly eat most of it, you need to fuel your workouts, especially if you're working out for performance. (I don't know what your goals are, but I'm assuming you run for performance)

And how many people who are fitter are also more active in their day to day routines?
They take the stairs instead of lift/elevator, walk or cycle for local journeys instead of taking the car, garden instead of sit on the sofa.....

Anecdotally my NEAT is far higher since I lost weight and attained a really high fitness level. Moving is normal for me, being inactive isn't - despite cycling on average 100+ miles a week plus gym.

Deviette

sijomial wrote: »

Deviette wrote: »

sijomial wrote: »

Because I run a lot will I still get the same calorie burn
Don't believe the myth that somehow you can become so efficient at exercise that calorie burns plummet - it's twaddle. You are still moving mass over distance and that requires energy.

Study link
It's not your energy burn for that exercise that becomes more efficient as you move between medium-high to high levels of activity. But instead your NEAT is what decreases. You might not become more "efficient" at day to day activities per say, but little things such as sitting as opposed to standing are things that make a difference.

Also I was reading a different study and came across this (I know it's a small sample size, but I know there are more studies to a similar vain, but I can't be bothered to find them right now): https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2680474 which also supports the reduced NEAT burn associated with higher levels of activity.

And anecdotally, who hasn't had a day when they've really shredded it at the gym and been great, and then spend all evening with their feet up on the sofa when normally they might do something even slightly more active (such as housework). Personally, looking at my fitbit data, I can see that I definitely do less steps on a work day, the day after a heavy workout.


But OP:
Yes you should certainly eat most of it, you need to fuel your workouts, especially if you're working out for performance. (I don't know what your goals are, but I'm assuming you run for performance)

And how many people who are fitter are also more active in their day to day routines?
They take the stairs instead of lift/elevator, walk or cycle for local journeys instead of taking the car, garden instead of sit on the sofa.....

Anecdotally my NEAT is far higher since I lost weight and attained a really high fitness level. Moving is normal for me, being inactive isn't - despite cycling on average 100+ miles a week plus gym.

I think you're missing my point. I'm talking about those who only increase their intended energy expenditure. Those who make a conscious effort to increase their NEAT are not the ones I'm talk about because that's not what these studies show. Nor am I talking about those who have increased their NEAT because of losing weight (because some activities become easier when you weigh less, so you're more likely to do them more often)
That first study is not looking at those who doesn't do much exercise to being with, it's those who are already pretty fit (well actually it is looking at all activity levels, but the conclusion related to what I'm talking about is drawn by looking at the higher activity levels). It shows that, when increasing your activity level from moderate activity levels to high activity levels, your TDEE begins to plateau and does not rise in proportion with the amount of

In a general case I would always say that exercise can be considered additive, but when you're considering those with very high activity levels, the same rules do not quite apply.


I've also found a meta analysis comparing TEEs of those in industrialised countries with those in developing countries: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21159791

TEE adjusted for weight and age or PAL did not differ significantly between developing and industrialized countries, which calls into question the role of energy expenditure in the cause of obesity at the population level.

The point being that even though the populations are being more active in developing countries, TEE is not significantly different.