Do you guys eat your excersise calories?

Yasmine91

Well I did the other day but something didn't seem right don't think I'll be doing it often.

Chenoachem

I do every time. That is why I exercise; to eat more. :happy:

ARSchaeffer

I've heard many people say that you can eat half of your exercise calories back. Two of my friends are doing it and they are consistently losing weight. Haven't had any problems yet.

Romba

sometimes but not always. I mix it up

aprilgicker

If you need to lose weight you can;t eat your calories. if you are hardcore you have to eat those cals but in the right nutrients.
My husband cut back on carbs while working on his run time. I don't think he did it on purpose but he has been in lagging for the last 2 weeks.
Were as,I am trying to lose, and I don't eat them back. I aim for 6/200 meals and I have no issues and lots of energy.

dresdenkali

I do and don't at the same time. In order to lose weight like I wanted, I planned in exercise to meet my caloric goals. One thing I don't do is that if I work out more, I don't eat more. I try and balance my exercise so that if I am feeling really drained I will tone it back some.

Kminor67

YES! That's the best part about exercising! I can eat more! Plus, if I had a bad meal (like yesterday's breakfast) I can work it off and not have to starve the rest of the day.

HippyGalore

I don't below about 300 exercise calories as that is just daily minimum and no real effort (dog walks and cycle commute). Above 500 I eat back half as I really feel I need to, I think I've reached a stage where I know when I need to, if it didn't feel right to you then don't do it. Occasionally my exercise calories are higher than my whole daily allowance, and I would be ravenous, in negative calories if I didn't. It also depends on your goals, if they are already at 2lbs a week I would be surprised if you could get away with not eating them, if 1lb then you still have some healthy leeway.

asallen7

I am not eating my exercise calories because I'm trying to lose weight. Those that are trying to maintain can eat their weightloss calories in order to break even.

carreen

You can, but it depends on what your calorie goal is set on as to whether you should or not. My calorie goal is 1200 which is the minimum a person should take in and remain healthy, so when I burn 600 calories in exercise, that only leaves me with 600 net calories taken in, so I asked a dietician about that yesterday, and she said I should eat back half of them. If your daily calorie goal is higher (like 1600), and you burn 400 in a workout, then that's a safe #. You can choose to eat them back, but if you don't you will lose a little faster. Hope that made sense.

asallen7

Here is a post that deals specifically with that. I am not officially confused.:ohwell:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

Terryoke

Yes, I have been. And I'm losing weight. I eat all the exercise calories too - not just 1/2 of them.

get_wrapped_by_me

GREAT QUESTION!!!! When I exercise more I feel soo much more hungrier, I ignore my roaring stomach because I tend to get hungry after 9pm and tv shows alll types of food commercials so I have been testing my WILL POWER but to answer ur question I eat half of them, even tho seeing all of those EXTRA earned cals makes me want to pig out.

MacMadame

I didn't when I was losing. I was on a specific program and my normal exercise load was accounted for in my calorie allowance. I didn't even log it here.

I do now that I'm maintaining but I don't do it exactly. (I.E., I don't necessarily eat them all the day I "earn" them. I might eat most of them that day but the rest the next day). I don't think our bodies turn on a dime like that. I know that my body knows I usually do a big bike ride on Sat. and so I tend to be hungrier on Friday, my rest day, and on Sunday as well because there is no way I can eat 3000-5000 extra calories in one day (Sat).

Jamiebee24

Nope, I do not. I eat some, but not all. How hungry I am depends on how much I cut into the exercise cals, but I never eat all of them. Some do, have success and some don't have success....you just need to figure out what YOUR own body needs! Good luck

healthysolutions

If you want to lose weight you need to burn 3500 calories to lose 1 pound. I was advised to not eat the exercise calories to lose weight.

Good Luck.

Shawna_831

There are a lot of people who are confused on this. I see it posted all the time and then I see people who have no clue answer the question. (not attacking anyone).

Once you set up your profile it gives you the total calories needed for the day. This is taking away some of your typical calories needed if you want to lose weight. That is why we pick 1/2 pound a week, 1 pound a week or 2 pounds. Your body needs this amount to survive. If you exercise then you are burning some of these needed calories away. You have to eat to get those calories back. If you do not eat your exercise calories on a normal basis then your body will go in to survival mode. It will start to store the fat to survive. If you stay under your calorie count once in awhile, no it won't hurt you. Just as if you go over once in awhile, it won't hurt you. Don't force yourself to eat just because you need the calories still. If you're full then you're full.

I work for a weight loss doctor and once I started my weight loss journey I got all the rules handed to me. I hear about all the patients and what they are doing wrong. They all take the pills and get the shots and still gain the weight back. I just exercise everyday, count calories and eat pretty much the same foods....no sodas!

http://www.georgiabariatrics.com/


Here's her website. She has 100 weight loss tips on there and much more. She just won clinician of the year. She knows what she's talking about and I'm not just saying that because she signs my paychecks. :happy:

Steelytop

I do not eat hardly any of my exercise calories. Nope. My goal has always been 1500 calories or less but never lower than 1200. There are occasions, usually 1 day, where I do eat up those calories. It's usually a day where a friend has a gathering or I'm going out to eat on those rare occasions. I not only avoid soda and fast food like it's stinky garbage but I limit my meals out completely.

Soda has been no problem to quit even though it's what put a great deal of weight on me. But fast food is something you've been brainwashed to eat by 30,000 commercials a year since birth. It's harder to kick. And if you slide backwards with it, that is why you're gaining and not losing. Very simple. Sure, at your ideal weight you could have a fast food meal once or twice a month with no real issues but my metabolism doesn't process it or HFCS's. I'm certainly not perfect in my eating. Far from it. But I've had pretty good success since June 30th.

amandabrady

I do because this website already puts you at a deficit. Mostly everybody here has there's set to 1200, which is also the minimum of what you should have for the day, bottom line. If you exercise and don't eat anything back, you are putting yourself way below minimum nutrition for the day! I love getting to work out because then I can eat more, and it still puts me back to my calorie goal. Some people say they don't eat them back, and they're fine; for others, the weight didn't really start coming off until they started eating them back. It probably depends on your body. Do what works for you, just make sure you're being safe and eating enough!

Hova1914

i TOTALLY eat back my exercise calories. and I've been losing 2+ pounds weekly. Being able to eat more is my SOLE motivation for working out! its like my reward for the work I put in. However, I will say I don't set out trying to purposely eat them all back everyday. Some days I'm left with 1000 calories at the end of the day, others I'm left with 5. Just depends on how hungry I am

lt3ag4s

I do my best to be within 100 calories of my daily total. If I am hungry at the end of the day, I will hop on my exercise bike and burn off 200-300 calories so I can have a snack.