Eat or not to eat

kaymd

Are those calories gained during workouts supposed to be eaten or not.? I haven't been and I need to know if that is good for my body or not.

my2loves04and06

This is a topic that you'll get various answers on. Personally, I eat back my calories. If I burn a huge amt (1,000+) I don't eat them all back. I've still lost weight.

gnrshelton

I think they say to eat them because a deficit is already built into your calorie count for the day. If you don't you may not eat enough. I can't seem to eat them all. Some say they eat half.

Dawn_2013

MFP says eat them WW says no...but I have more success when I eat the calories or at least some...or my body starts freaking out...

cassandra67

I have the same question!! When we exercise, it adds calories back into our Net, but does that just show our caloric deficit, or does that mean we can eat that much more when we exercise?
Obviously one would lose more if they didn't eat them, but is it "bad" to use those extra earned calories?

sngnyrslp

Search the forum for "exercise calories," as this topic has been discussed extensively over the years and people have differing opinions.

rbdurham

I have read two things that are pertinent to this question. If you go into a huge caloric deficit, your body can respond by slowing its metabolism. It almost goes into shock from the lack of calories, this can counteract your attempts to lose weight. Also, when you have a large caloric deficit, much of the weight that you are losing can be muscle mass. You are not giving your body enough resources to recover from your workouts and this can minimize your progress while working out. If you eat back the calories from working out, you might lose weight more slowly but it is healthier in the long run. That is strictly my opinion from personal experience. Take it for what you will.

Fernella13

I eat them back because #1 I haven't been exercising as much as i should and i don't have a lot of them and #2 it stops me from feeling deprived and then overeating.

kaymd

Thank you everyone. I'm new to this sight so all the tips and advice are great considering I have A LOT of weight to lose. I don't think I will eat all the calories but try to. My body isn't used to eating like this all the time so in the beginning I think if I eat most of them I won't notice too much of a difference as long as I workout.Thanks again

fitnesscalv

This is simple.

To lose a healthy 1-2lb a week you need to create a 500-1000 calorie per day deficit. You can do that without cardio, cardio helps burn calories, yes it also has a bonus of increasing your fitness etc, but in terms of weight loss it helps create that deficit.

On days you do cardio eat more and on your rest days eat less, but make sure that after everything is taken into account you dont drop below your (maintenance - 1000) or 1200 calories as that is unhealthy.

redhotsmacker

Here is what I have found, for the longest time I was not eating back the calories, yes I lost weight, about 60lbs actually....but then it slowed right down, I have been bouncing around the same number for a few weeks now...So, I started to investigate the problem a little. What I found was that if I don't eat back atleast enough calories to cover my MFP daily goal I will not lose. So everyday I have a goal of 1200 calories, I usually consume about 1000 cals before I even begin my workouts for the day. By the time I have finished my workout, I have burned approx. 800 cals. So basically, this puts me at a point where I am at a net deficit of about 1000 cals. This number is ridiculous to attempt to eat before going to bed. So I settle for eating a snack before bed, something that is about 300 cals, which puts my original consumed goals to around 1300 for the day.

I know this is a little hard to wrap your head around, I think it took me about 2 weeks to completely understand the theory behind eating back your exercise calories. But, what I have found is that my body has already responded to it and my weight loss no longer seems stalled.

Good luck! Its a matter of finding what personally works for you! You will get there if you believe in yourself!