Eating after working out?

jjanay100
jjanay100 Posts: 46 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am wondering about eating after exercising. I always exercise at night after dinner when the kids are in bed, usually I go for a run. I try not to eat in the evenings even after I run. Is it true that we should go to bed a little hungry? My friend always eats after she works out and promotes the idea of an after-workout snack but I hate the idea of eating all those calories i just burned!!

Replies

  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    Myth!!!! I go to bed every night with a 400-500 calories snack and it hasn't effect my weight loss... Meal frequency will have no bearing whatsoever... If you have the calories then eat them.... Best of Luck
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    Perhaps you should set a TDEE-based target to help with this. MFP's default expects you to eat back exercise calories, which is why the baseline calories are pretty low. If you're not eating back exercise, you're kinda doin it wrong.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    I might add if you are using the MFP method then your caloric deficit is already figured in so you are expected to eat back those calories burned.... again Best of Luck
  • daniellemm1
    daniellemm1 Posts: 465 Member
    I workout right after work and right before dinner. I feel sluggish if I workout after I eat. I do have a little snack an hour or so before I work out to give me the energy I need to get through my workout. On weekends I typically have a small breakfast (smoothie or oatmeal) and workout an hour or so later. I cannot workout with too much food in my belly.
  • ktsimons
    ktsimons Posts: 294 Member
    I did a lot of research on this and found that many different exercise "gurus" suggest eating after workout...I usually save about 200 to 300 calories out of my daily budget to eat after workout - I swear I sleep better with a little food in me.
  • jjanay100
    jjanay100 Posts: 46 Member
    My TDEE and my MFP calorie amount is the same. I guess my question is not about eating back exercise calories but more of the importance of eating after a workout and if we should go to bed a little hungry...ya know like Oprah told us to do ...lol.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    Unless it interferes with your sleep or something, might as well eat.

    A lot of diet advice is sort of tangentially effective - not eating late reduces snack calorie intake, for example. Doesn't have anything to do with metabolism, but helps people achieve the calorie deficit necessary for weight loss.

    The nice thing about tracking calories is you can throw out most diet advice. Because you know how much you're eating and you have a deficit planned into that.
  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
    It is really a myth.
    I eat my last meal straight before bed. I eat twice a day so that meal is always around 1000 calories and it has never cause me any issue.

    Also I workout in the morning and I normally eat only 6-7 hrs after.
    Again it has never slowed me down or caused issue :wink:

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