Does anyone else eat ALL of their excersing calories?

2

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    No...no...NO!! Ignore them...they're a bonus. I've yet to find any app or device that measures exercise calories accurately anyway, so play safe...NEVER EAT THEM if you're serious about losing weight.

    Wrong, wrong, WRONG!!
    I was serious about weight loss and got to goal weight by eating them all back.

    please read this....
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html
  • majica8
    majica8 Posts: 210 Member
    Depends on what I've eaten that day, how many calories I've burned and if I'm hungry or not.
    I usually don't eat them all back, especially if I've burned quite a lot (500+) mostly because I usually don't find myself getting hungry. I'm not going to force feed myself when I'm not hungry just so I can meet my goal for the day.
    I do try to make sure I net 1200 or more (goal of 1550 at the moment) but that's about it.
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    No...no...NO!! Ignore them...they're a bonus. I've yet to find any app or device that measures exercise calories accurately anyway, so play safe...NEVER EAT THEM if you're serious about losing weight.

    Rubbish! I eat ALL my exercise caories - if not on the day I earn them then by the end of the week. The ticker tells the story!

    I go with MFP estimates and its worked just fine. I think the estimates are only inaccurate if you fool yourself how active you are - don't put "walking briskly" just because you're tired and sweaty, if in doubt move it down a level. (I used to work with a very large lady who got tired and sweaty walking from he desk to the loo - no way dd she walk briskly, poor lady!)

    Same principle with food servings - dn't kid yourself that a large serving bowl of pasta is only 75g and you'll be fine:wink:
  • tarotlou
    tarotlou Posts: 47
    I'm the same as bikinifitbyjuly I exercise to eat, I panic if by 3pm I've only got 500 calories, I then have to do a couple of miles walk to get the extra calories so I know that I can eat chocolate
  • MJ_Watson
    MJ_Watson Posts: 180 Member
    I do! To be specific, I have a HRM, so I input the burn it gives me (after subtracting 20%) and eat that, but I find it's usually pretty consistent with MFP's estimation. (My cardio is mostly walking, which I've heard is more accurate than other things in the database.) I input my strength training and eat back what MFP gives me, too. I've been told not to do this for strength, but I learned very quickly that if I don't, I end up feeling like I got hit by a bus the next day! It's only a hundred or so calories extra anyway.

    I may leave some uneaten if I'm not hungry, of course, but I look at it weekly, so those calories are definitely getting eaten later in the week! (I usually go over once a week or so - weekends or going out with friends etc.) It hasn't hurt my progress at all.
  • rbbrrmqn
    rbbrrmqn Posts: 132 Member
    No...no...NO!! Ignore them...they're a bonus. I've yet to find any app or device that measures exercise calories accurately anyway, so play safe...NEVER EAT THEM if you're serious about losing weight.
    ^^^^^^THIS^^^^^ I NEVER eat them back, esp. since an MD explained to me that you are working out to create a cal deficit, so why on earth would you turn around and eat them back??!!
    Here it is-- the magic of the weight loss world--
    1 lb = 3500 cals
    7 days/week X 500 cal deficit = 1 lb lost
    500 less of food AND 500 lost thru workout gives you your 2 lb wt loss per week
    (You're welcome!!)
  • lhourin
    lhourin Posts: 144 Member
    I do usually eat back most of them...mostly because working out makes me really hungry. But I try to eat good foods and not just crap, even when I'm starving. :) And I'm not a strictly calories in-calories out person (more about the quality of food and not eating processed or carb-rich food), but working out does make me want to eat more, so I do.
  • honkytonks85
    honkytonks85 Posts: 669 Member
    Yes, because when I log exercise, I log my very best guess as to the number of calories burned. I don't sandbag and put a high number of minutes in just to make myself feel better.

    - I don't log a walk at 4 mph because MapMyRun/Endomondo/Nike Plus said so -- I can see the line on the apps map was wiggly and I walked in straight line

    -I don't log 60 minutes of strength training when i stopped a bunch of times to get water or wait for a machine to be free

    - I don't log an hour an hour of "vigorous" activity on the exercise bike because I know, by definition, a person is not at a vigorous exertion level if they can keep it up for an hour solid

    - I don't call a 30-Shred Jillian Michaels DVD 30 minutes of circuit training -- when the first and last 5 were warm up/cool down

    - I don't pretend the "hour-long" Pilates class at the gym was actually a full hour when the first few minutes were spent lying on our back breathing

    Everyone complains about the numbers on MFP being off, but they work pretty well for me...but only 'cause I'm honest about the level/minutes of activity.

    ^^^ this is perfect
  • HollieDollieeeex
    HollieDollieeeex Posts: 116 Member
    I have a heart rate monitor so I know all my logs are as accurate as they're going to get.

    Somedays I'm starving so I eat them all back (if I do spinnuing - average burn of 500cals) but if I'm not hungry I don't think... 'I've got calories left to eat.'

    Listen to your body and it's hunger, there's nothing wrong with eating them all back, thats the MFP method. If you don't and you still feel satisfied then that works for you x
  • HollieDollieeeex
    HollieDollieeeex Posts: 116 Member
    I'm the same as bikinifitbyjuly I exercise to eat, I panic if by 3pm I've only got 500 calories, I then have to do a couple of miles walk to get the extra calories so I know that I can eat chocolate

    I love this response... I think this speaks for the majority of chocaholics :laugh:
  • acidosaur
    acidosaur Posts: 295 Member
    No, I exercise because it raises my TDEE (and it's fun), but because of the method I am using to get a deficit, I don't eat my calories back. I used to, but I stopped losing weight when i did!
  • RaggedyPond
    RaggedyPond Posts: 1,487 Member
    I'm the same as bikinifitbyjuly I exercise to eat, I panic if by 3pm I've only got 500 calories, I then have to do a couple of miles walk to get the extra calories so I know that I can eat chocolate

    I love this response... I think this speaks for the majority of chocaholics :laugh:

    I'm the same way. I try to have at least 300 for after dinner.
  • annakow
    annakow Posts: 385 Member
    I try to eat at least 3/4 back, depending on a day and how hungry I am
  • alexomahony71
    alexomahony71 Posts: 13 Member
    Generally I would exercise to allow me to drink:drinker:

    Only using mfp a few weeks and am losing weight.

    Previously, I would exercise every , chiefly cycling, and used Mapmyride to track calories burned.. It had me at about 25k per month.. However, weight was not coming off. The calorie burn for exercise on mfp seem more accurate though and I am moving from my plateau.

    One worry I have is loss of muscle mass. Despite being lighter I am struggling more cycling up hills!!!!! Yesterday, I started on a weights programme to address this.

    I do have a question though. If I am doing weights and 800+ cals in exercise per day should I take in the above recommended amounts of protein and if so how much more?
  • Hildy_J
    Hildy_J Posts: 1,050 Member
    I did before. But someone on here mentioned eating only half of them back. Tried that yesterday and didn't go to bed hungry, so it seems OK...
  • Darcie45
    Darcie45 Posts: 52 Member
    This has been one of my questions, especially since I got my fit bit. Most days I don't eat all of the calories I have burned but I do like knowing I can eat more if I have had a very busy day and gotten lots of exercise in. I make sure I eat the 1440 MFP has me scheduled to eat and then if I am starving then I know I can eat something else.
  • Quieau
    Quieau Posts: 428 Member
    For me, the need for calories in my day is what inspires me to exercise! I'm doing 1500 a day and the extra 200 or so from exercise gives me a little extra carbs I need before bedtime (muscle cramps through the night when carbs dip too low), so I eat as many as I can without actually going over my daily.

    CAVEATS: I am only 2.5 weeks into this, but have lost 39 lbs in only those 2.5 weeks. A lot of my abdomen is water, so I know a lot of that coming out is not fat, and this will all slow down as I lose. I am quite large and just beginning so in the "honeymoon" phase so may need to adjust as I get closer to goal. But for now, it's working better than I had even dared to hope and I'm going to ride the wave by EATING my calories and trusting MFP that it built in the deficit needed already for me to maintain a steady loss. I read a lot of both perspectives, but the "eat the gain" is working for me so far.

    In previous weight losses, this is where I just kept dropping calories and ultimately failed because I let my body down by demanding that it perform without adequate nutrition and fuel. I'm being much nicer to me this time around and expecting great results! :glasses:
  • bserius2da
    bserius2da Posts: 2
    I hardly ever eat the calories that I have burned doing exercises. I think maybe two times I did but it was not planned, it just turned out that way. It is whatever works for you.
  • Turnaround2012
    Turnaround2012 Posts: 362 Member

    In previous weight losses, this is where I just kept dropping calories and ultimately failed because I let my body down by demanding that it perform without adequate nutrition and fuel. I'm being much nicer to me this time around and expecting great results! :glasses:

    ^^This

    This time around I actually love to exercise because I have enough fuel. I actually Enjoy the stairmaster now (I must have something wrong with me :drinker: )
  • strongmindstrongbody
    strongmindstrongbody Posts: 315 Member
    More power to you if you can eat all your exercise calories back and still lose weight. I stalled when eating only half back. Now I don't eat any back and it's been smooth sailing with the weight loss.
  • barrpc
    barrpc Posts: 96 Member
    The only time I come close to eating them all back is on Saturdays when I do 11 to 12 mile runs and then lift at the gym. I figure at that point I HAVE to put some back. But I rarely eat all of it back. And I do not trust the calorie burn on this site. It is always over what I actually burned for my weight and my effort. I go by what I have researched on the internet and by my garmin which takes heart rate/effort into account.
  • 4daluvof_candice
    4daluvof_candice Posts: 483 Member
    I do the TDEE method so its already calculated in. Its easier for me..
  • goingforthegoal125
    goingforthegoal125 Posts: 3 Member
    What is your secret I am hungry most of the time at 1200 calories. What do you eat to keep you filled up
    I try and eat salads most evenings , I am ok with that but in the morning I am starved again
  • 4daluvof_candice
    4daluvof_candice Posts: 483 Member
    No...no...NO!! Ignore them...they're a bonus. I've yet to find any app or device that measures exercise calories accurately anyway, so play safe...NEVER EAT THEM if you're serious about losing weight.

    Wrong, wrong, WRONG!!
    I was serious about weight loss and got to goal weight by eating them all back.

    please read this....
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

    exactly, why starve yourself? If your hungry thats your body telling you it needs fuel. Would you just let your gas light on your car come on telling you to fill in order for it keep going, and ignore it. Eventually it will shut down...
  • Alehmer
    Alehmer Posts: 433 Member
    I always try, an know that I should , but it can be pretty hard for me to hit that many calories without resorting to food that's not on my diet. (No grains or starches except immediately pre/post workout)

    Two days ago I went to bed with a 1146 kcal defecit (2 hours of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu logged, 2.5 hours of actual practice) because I ate a good amount when I got home and didn't feel hungry. The next day I seriously considered eating my own hand while waiting for lunch.

    We should always eat back our exercise calories with well-thought out and timed meals, and adjust our workout times for what we actually spent doing that exercise. IE don't log 30 minutes for 10 minutes of stretching and warmup cooldown and 20 minutes of work.

    I used to have a 4600 kcal daily goal when I was really exercising... man eating that much is like having a second job when it's all fresh, natural food!
  • Gianna44
    Gianna44 Posts: 124
    I eat some of them back if I'm hungry. I'm a bit hesitant to eat them all only because I'm not sure about the accuracy of my exercise calories earned - I'm doing C25K and don't have a heart rate monitor, so the calculations are pretty rough.
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    To everyone who doesn't trust the estimates on here - I've used them consistently and lost weight eating back exercise calories. You have to be realistic though - just because you're really sweaty after your walk doesn't mean you've walkd 4.5 mph:wink: Nor should you log "callisthenics, vigorous" after a couple of sit-ups.

    Just like not weighing food, you only fool yourself if you over-estimate your effort.
  • Swehl
    Swehl Posts: 138 Member
    To everyone who doesn't trust the estimates on here - I've used them consistently and lost weight eating back exercise calories. You have to be realistic though - just because you're really sweaty after your walk doesn't mean you've walkd 4.5 mph:wink: Nor should you log "callisthenics, vigorous" after a couple of sit-ups.

    Just like not weighing food, you only fool yourself if you over-estimate your effort.

    Yes! I totally agree with this :) Be realistic.

    I eat all of my exercise calories back, but I am on a 1200 cal/day diet (I'm under 5ft). I do not want to burn 500 calories and only eat 1200 for the day (net calories:700 calories = not okay). I think you just have to play with the calories a little to see what works for your body.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    I generally eat all of them back if possible. I've been at maintenance for 2.5 years, so eating back exercise calories has worked out well for me. Worked well for losing, too.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    To everyone who doesn't trust the estimates on here - I've used them consistently and lost weight eating back exercise calories. You have to be realistic though - just because you're really sweaty after your walk doesn't mean you've walkd 4.5 mph:wink: Nor should you log "callisthenics, vigorous" after a couple of sit-ups.

    Just like not weighing food, you only fool yourself if you over-estimate your effort.

    TRUTH! :drinker:

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