Do you eat the calories you burn?

janellnicole2

Is it ok to eat some or all of the extra calories I burn or should I just try to stay at my 1200 limit whether I exercise or not? I only lost half pound my first week and although I did cheat a bit, I tried hard majority of the time and exercised and stayed under my 1200+burn limit. Just curious what others have success with.
Thanks!

jrich1

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition

rml_16

If I'm hungry, I eat them. If I'm not, I don't.

I do try to use them for healthy foods, though.

ChubbieTubbie

It varies from person to person. I do best when I *don't* eat mine or eat just a small portion of mine. Some people eat half and that's their magic formula, others eat all. If I go over on my calories, I make sure I exercise enough to cover what I've eaten *plus* 100 extra. Also, remember to subtract out calories you would have been burning anyway from your exercise calories so you don't overeat if you do decide to eat them.

championnfl

Never go under 1000 calories,the calories you burn probably should be eaten in your case.If not your body will drop below 1000 cals a day and body will go into starvation mode. So eat your exercise calories! Good Luck!

erickirb

Never go under 1000 calories,the calories you burn probably should be eaten in your case.If not your body will drop below 1000 cals a day and body will go into starvation mode. So eat your exercise calories! Good Luck!

Should be don't go under 1200 for a woman 1(500 for men)

6Janelle13

i eat healthy food and snack through out the day but sometimes no matter what i can't make it up to 1000 calories. i watch my sugar intake and that is usually where working out lets me get away with eating something. everyone cautions about low calories and i will say i agree with the warning but if you are eating well and not hungry and not having negative effects (slow muscle recovery, dizziness, cramping or just not feeling like yourself ) i would not panic if i eat or don't eat. I know a lot of folks won't agree with me but that is ok. we all do what our bodies want

Clew

I absolutely do. And I'm about 2/3 to my goal weight so it must be working :bigsmile:

erickirb

i eat healthy food and snack through out the day but sometimes no matter what i can't make it up to 1000 calories. i watch my sugar intake and that is usually where working out lets me get away with eating something. everyone cautions about low calories and i will say i agree with the warning but if you are eating well and not hungry and not having negative effects (slow muscle recovery, dizziness, cramping or just not feeling like yourself ) i would not panic if i eat or don't eat. I know a lot of folks won't agree with me but that is ok. we all do what our bodies want

1200 is the min amount you should get. You really need to eat more, try adding nuts, seeds, nut butters, if you drink milk increase the %MF (if you drink skim, switch to 1%). Avocado is a great source of cals, maybe use regular salad dressings and full fat cheese and yogurt. you can add olive oil to sauces. If should not be difficult to get over 1200 cals, most people have a hard time staying under their goals, which are higher. I have no problem hitting my goal of 1900. Just eat the right food.

ShaneT99

I have set a self-imposed max of 2400 calories regardless of what MFP recommends after I exercise.

H_82

I dip into my exercise calories sometimes, but just a tiny bit. If I were to eat all of them, I'd stay the same or even gain weight....but that's just my experience so far... Good luck!

maureensm

If I'm hungry, I eat them. If I'm not, I don't.

I do try to use them for healthy foods, though.

I agree with the above. Most of the time I do eat back calories burned because exercising makes me hungry and I need fuel to complete my workouts.

lorifrost1

I debated about this when I first started MFP and thought, after reading everyone's comments, that if I ate my exercise calories then I wouldn't lose weight. False. I try and eat my exercise calories because I usually burn around 270-370 a day and I'm on the 1200 calorie intake a day... if I don't eat my exercise calories, then I'd be down under 1000 cals a day which throws your body into starvation mode.

Now I exercise every day, eat my 1200 + what I burned exercising (if I can eat all of those cals... sometimes I leave 100 or so uneaten if it's just too much for me to cram in after dinner), and I'm losing weight. That's my advice. It seems to be the most logical, mathematical way.

190bound

I like the idea of using up to 1/2 of the calories that I've burned through cardio exercise. I've been doing for a few days and it seems to be working.

gingermoon

I don't.
I ignore the extras I get and stick with my original caloric goals.

maroon58

i eat back half or a bit less everytime. at first i didn't but realized i probably should after reading all the posts about it. my intake is 1200 calories (i'm 5'3'') and if i exercise and burn 200 calories i am only getting in 1000 calories/day which is not good. you need the food to fuel your body after the exercise you have just done. i don't eat after the first hour and try to eat a healthy snack but i never eat all my calories because i know i am not always accurate when calculating my calories. sometimes, i will eat a small dessert, maybe one of those jello pudding cups if i want something sweet.