Does everyone eat their workout calories?

Tinkaboo · October 2010

I really struggle to eat what i'm supposed to anyway so I don't. I see a personal trainer once every two weeks and she says I shouldn't eat less that 1200 calories a day or my body will start storing fat but I find it really hard to hit 1200 let alone my daily allowance of 1490! I just don't understand how I could lose weight if I eat more!? Ha!
XxX

Katie0429 · October 2010

The key for me would be to eat enough to not be hungry. If that means eating my workout calories, so be it. I just know that if i'm hungry, I'm miserable and that's not how I want to begin my lifestyle change. I have been trying to stay away from them though, I treat those lost calories like gold. So long story short, I think long and hard before I start using them up.

mangorabbit · October 2010

Whee! Talk about all kinds of answers! So...does that clear the sonfusion? ^_^

Really it comes down to finding what works for you and your body. Some people can avoid eating the extra cals, some choose not to, some work out in order to be able to eat as they wish while still staying in the green (or close to it) according to the MFP food log. Everyone seems to be making progress in their own way, so is there one 'right' answer? I tend to think not.

If you are working out pretty hardcore and have your weightloss goals set fairly high (~2lb/wk) and are finding that you are grouchy and hungry and generally not feeling much like a rock star, maybe it is time to consume some of those cals that you are burning at the gym.

On the other hand, it you are charging through your workouts and feeling awesome and staying within the original daily allowance as you have it set and seeing results, why change what seems to work?

A lot just comes down to: is what you are doing a sustainable life choice? Most all of us can or have done some pretty extreme stuff in the eat/don't eat/work out like mad realm at one point or another. And we are here because it apparently was not something we could keep up over the long run.

Try what you think will work for you - weigh/measure yourself at the beginning, go a week or two and see where you are with things. If it works and you are happy, rock on. If it wasn't quite what you were hoping for, change the plan a bit. Just remember to be patient with yourself! (I find I need to say that to myself regularly...)

Be well.
^_^

MyaPapaya75 · October 2010

I dont generally eat mine but I dont starve myself if Im hungry I eat some 100-200 for snack high protein ..never use them on junk food or dessert

ErinMarie25 · October 2010

Nope! Haven't done it since June when I started working out and still don't. Only 15 pounds to my goal! In fact, I never even heard of eating your workout calories until I came to this site.