Just another reason to NOT exercise...

Francl27

Maybe is just me, but I really don't get when people say they can't eat 300 calories more. Man, a spoontable of Nutella is 100 cal, give me a break. I think is all BS. I wonder how they got fat, seriously

Because they believe that they have to eat 'clean'. I get it though, I overdid it at first too, no sweets, nothing, heck I was buying plain yogurt and adding my own fruit (which isn't a bad thing really, I just can't justify it with the price of berries now). It's easy to get full with 1200-1300 calories really. After a couple months I came back to my senses and I rarely have more than 30 leftover calories now, but I'm enjoying my treats.

TeaBea

Maybe is just me, but I really don't get when people say they can't eat 300 calories more. Man, a spoontable of Nutella is 100 cal, give me a break. I think is all BS. I wonder how they got fat, seriously

I see how this can happen. I was from the "old school" ...eating fat made me fat. It took awhile to wrap my head around the fact that fat is necessary, that fat is a healthy part of my diet.

I think there are still a lot of people out there who think dieting is eating "rabbit food" with fat free salad dressing. If this was your regular diet....you'd have trouble adding 300 calories (in greens) too.

jzou91

The issue is you're thinking of food as a "reward" for your exercise!

Try to change the idea of food! Food = fuel.

Everything you eat is broken down into small particles which are then used by your body as fuel. This fuel is to help you make it through the day and your workouts.

Also, change your workouts! Running does not produce the results that weightlifting does! My hour of weightlifting burns ~600 calories not to mention the calories you burn in the next 24-48 hours while your body is rebuilding the muscle! Additionally, one pound of lean body mass burns ~50 calories a day just from your normal activity! 10 pounds of muscle (which is a very realistic goal) increases your TDEE by roughly 500 calories!

psych101

So to me it sounds like you're using having to eat back your calories as a reason not to exercise? Seriously? If you don't want to exercise then don't.

Or better yet, find an exercise that you like, something that makes you feel good, that you enjoy and do it for fun or the challenge or the sweat or whatever. Me, I hate running but I like sprinting intervals and I love to lift heavy - so that's what I do.

TeaBea

The issue is you're thinking of food as a "reward" for your exercise!

Try to change the idea of food! Food = fuel.

Everything you eat is broken down into small particles which are then used by your body as fuel. This fuel is to help you make it through the day and your workouts.

Also, change your workouts! Running does not produce the results that weightlifting does! My hour of weightlifting burns ~600 calories not to mention the calories you burn in the next 24-48 hours while your body is rebuilding the muscle! Additionally, one pound of lean body mass burns ~50 calories a day just from your normal activity! 10 pounds of muscle (which is a very realistic goal) increases your TDEE by roughly 500 calories!

Um......sorry to burst your bubble. 1 lb of muscle does NOT burn 50 calories a day.

http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/news/cals.htm

http://weightology.net/?p=192

How did you come up with a measure of 600 calories (HRMs are unreliable for this activity)?

SLLRunner

The way I see it:

Exercise if you want to. Eat back at least a portion of your exercise calories but eat them all if you are truly hungry.

I can never eat them ALL back but I do eat a good deal back. I didn't eat them Back ht first, but learned to do so by eating higher calorie foods instead of more food.

lucan07

I refuse to eat for the sake of eating, I eat whatever exercise calories I feel the need to and the rest add to my deficit.

I do not go into starvation mode as a result I just end up with a bigger deficit, probably the same as eating TDEE and not eating exercise calories.

I have looked into the diaries of several people who had their diaries open when they have started spouting how I should eat them all and no surprise many evening binges of cakes and puddings, which cannot be a good idea!

And that's all well and good, unless you're netting an extremely low amount of calories, like OP is.

I just looked at the diaries and I nett below the OP, her nett is not that low, mine is around 800-1000 but I am under medical supervision and exercising quite a bit!

jzou91

The issue is you're thinking of food as a "reward" for your exercise!

Try to change the idea of food! Food = fuel.

Everything you eat is broken down into small particles which are then used by your body as fuel. This fuel is to help you make it through the day and your workouts.

Also, change your workouts! Running does not produce the results that weightlifting does! My hour of weightlifting burns ~600 calories not to mention the calories you burn in the next 24-48 hours while your body is rebuilding the muscle! Additionally, one pound of lean body mass burns ~50 calories a day just from your normal activity! 10 pounds of muscle (which is a very realistic goal) increases your TDEE by roughly 500 calories!

Um......sorry to burst your bubble. 1 lb of muscle does NOT burn 50 calories a day.

http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/news/cals.htm

http://weightology.net/?p=192

How did you come up with a measure of 600 calories (HRMs are unreliable for this activity)?

You are forgetting that the 6kcals/hr is for 100% sedentary. That means if you were sleeping for 24 hours a day the one pound of muscle mass would burn 6kcals/hr.

Are you sleeping for 24 hours a day? The number drastically increases when you consider the oxygen uptake of the muscles when they are in use. Think about how much you walk a day! Your leg muscles are almost constantly using oxygen/glycogen to maintain adequate ATP/ATP-PC levels used for exercise (unless you're walking long distances which instead this would change to more aerobic pathways such as glycolysis).

Not to mention the extra calories needed to rebuild the microtears that occur from day to day activities.

50kcals a day is a generous estimate, you would definitely need an active daily lifestyle to reach this amount. I would say at LEAST 30kcals/pound for each day as long as you aren't sedentary.

leannems

I also use the TDEE method. I didn't like eating back my exercise calories. It messed with my noggin (it felt like I was rewarding myself with food, which just sort of fed into all the other junk regarding my relationship with food). The TDEE method builds them in, and if I miss a workout, I just eat a little bit less that day.

You could also try using weekly calories instead. Maybe then you'd have one day where you had more because you felt like eating more.

Honestly, I exercise because it makes me look better, feel better, and my doc says I'm healthier now (despite having not lost a lot of weight, but inches) because of it. So "earning" food isn't the only reason to work out (although I do understand a lot of people like to earn more calories with their work outs, and it's awesome that it works for them).

lucan07

Maybe is just me, but I really don't get when people say they can't eat 300 calories more. Man, a spoontable of Nutella is 100 cal, give me a break. I think is all BS. I wonder how they got fat, seriously

Cancer, Steroids, Surgery and inactivity during recovery was the way for me!

Why would I want to eat rubbish just for the sake of it?

Francl27

Maybe is just me, but I really don't get when people say they can't eat 300 calories more. Man, a spoontable of Nutella is 100 cal, give me a break. I think is all BS. I wonder how they got fat, seriously

Cancer, Steroids, Surgery and inactivity during recovery was the way for me!

Why would I want to eat rubbish just for the sake of it?

Because it's delicious.

lucan07

Maybe is just me, but I really don't get when people say they can't eat 300 calories more. Man, a spoontable of Nutella is 100 cal, give me a break. I think is all BS. I wonder how they got fat, seriously

Cancer, Steroids, Surgery and inactivity during recovery was the way for me!

Why would I want to eat rubbish just for the sake of it?

Because it's delicious.

I can't stand it, so you can have my share and the exercise calories I don't eat each day so you don't gain weight, that way everyone's happy if the calories get eaten!

Iggy1992

Wow guys...

I got a lot of mixed messages from this haha!


I still walk my dog, because it's what I enjoy to do - its nice to see him walking off lead next to me He is a Shih Tzu, so really, just looks like a mop head but he LOVES walking and I never used to do it with him. The old me would just take him to a park, sit down and let him run around. I'm pretty sure he loves walking with me better

To those who noticed my profile, I'm still waiting for a scan to confirm, however yes, PCOS is probably what I have - I have researched into it, but mainly looking at how it will make finally having a family harder and not really sure about the way if affects my body with food and exercise...

To those to recomended I eat some chocolate...It is my weak point, and so I don't stop having it all together, I am trying to limit the amount I am eating. I don't see the point in eating just because, as thats what got me here in the first place.

Often, I walk Toby at night, after I have had my dinner - this is prime time for me to sit in bed / on the couch and munch away at something out of habit - so walking is just something better to do, and gives me Toby time

I DO NOT like planning meals - I did it all the time with weight watchers and I don't want to do it like that this time.

I don't have a job, so I am at home all day every day unless I go to work with my partner, go to the gym, or go for a walk...Not sure if that gives you more of an idea into how hard this is for me.

OLD ME: I would wake up around 1-3pm and get on my computer and play games...around 6-8pm I would eat 3 pies and then about 1am I would eat about 3-6 cheese toasted sandwiches. Then, I would go to sleep around 7am.
(If i was with my partner at work - 4am get up, sit in truck all day, eat a pie and redbull around 1pm and then BK or McDs for dinner around 8pm)

NEW ME: Get up before 10am, eat breakfast, sit in bed / on couch watching tv then lunch around 12 (usually a salad etc with chicken or beef) then dinner around 7pm - meat and vegies - then a snack around 9 if im peckish or want something sweet.
Gym for weights or cardio or dog walking with my current goal of gym 3 times a week (just started c25k) and min of 10min walk a day.

I am on 1200 calories a day and haven't changed my life that much, I'm just eating more often, regular times and MAKING myself eat breakfast. Trying to get fruit and vegies in my meals and just over all making better choices. I still allow myself to eat BK when i'm with my partner - thats what he loves, and chocolate bars - yummy, i'm just eating them less...

My issue was that after reading things on the forums, I felt like I NEEDED to eat my extra calories, and yes it made sence i know my body needs fuel to work, but i just wasnt hungry and it was an easy reason to NOT get out...which is what i'm trying to change!

Canuname

My daily calories are at 1860 right now and I have been doing a lot of walking and swimming. Getting between 1000 and 2000 calories earned back, but I never eat any of them back. I have been losing about 5 pounds a week. This week I probably won't lose much, though. I have been sick and haven't exercised in 3 days now. Going from swimming a mile and walking 5 miles down to nothing.
Any way. Just eat what you are comfortable eating. There is nothing that says you have to eat back all your exercise calories. Also the estimates that MFP gives for activities aren't always accurate so you might be eating back more than what you actually burned. One reason I never eat back calories.