People who burn 500+ calories a day

kaikaibeachtime
kaikaibeachtime Posts: 11 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Do you eat all of your exercise calories back? I have been and I seem to have gained weight. I admit…some days I go over my net calories (1,200), but I calculated it per a week and I should still be at a deficit of 1,000 a week. I don't really do much strength training. I'll do it (crunches, 5-10 pound weights) about twice a week. I do a lot of cardio. My minimum is 6 miles at an 8:30 pace, but some days I'll bike 30 miles or run about 13.
Here are some of my stats
Female
23
5'4
119-121.5 (up from 115-117)

Replies

  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    Lots say you should but I don't

    I seem to eat 1200 to 1500 a day (normally higher at weekend and lower midweek)

    I track steps through my fitbit which roughly gives me 1500 cals a day to eat and put gym in separately

    But I tend to stick around 1200 most days which inevitably gives me far fewer net calories, but I figure if I'm satisfied and not hungry its fine

    So far it's working very well but I will adjust if and when it stops (been about 8 weeks, lost 18lbs ...about 5 will be water weight though)
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    Very, very rarely. It's certainly not part of my plan.
  • paulaaah
    paulaaah Posts: 60
    I mean clearly it's impossible to be at a negative calorie rate if you're healthy and are consuming the appropriate amount of calories needed a day. What makes all the difference is

    1. WHAT you eat (a 200 calorie homemade smoothie with good antioxidant/fiber filled fruits and green veggies is way better than a zero calorie coke zero)
    2. WHEN you eat (try to avoid eating past 7 PM as food digest slower while you sleep)
    3. HOW OFTEN you eat (5-6 small meals/snacks a day has proven to be more effective than 3 normal meals)
    4. PRE-PLAN your meals. This is an option but has proven to be extremely effective! Fail to prepare, prepare to fail type attitude. Cooking your meals for the next day each night has helped many stay on track and buying a small cooler will insure that you follow your guidelines because now your food is traveling with you :)

    You are like me. Exercise is not the issue but food might be :( I find I crave sugar so badly and carbs to the point where I have dangerous bingeing periods. I am trying to find self control and even though I have given you the advice above I have yet to master it myself. I am knowledgable but am weak as far as will power goes. So don't get discouraged if you see you aren't perfect at first. Just keep trying!
  • paulaaah
    paulaaah Posts: 60
    Oh also your body is quick to get used to exercise if you perform the same actions each day for a long period of time ! Try HIIT and researching plyometric exercises to kick it up a notch! And strength training is extremely beneficial as well so try to hit the weight section 5 times a week and isolate different parts of your body I.e Monday- legs, Tuesday- biceps and back, Wednesday- chest and triceps, Thursday- shoulders and abs, etc etc etc and make sure that every single time you do cardio, you also do abs!! Your stomach NEEDS that to tone up. Every. Single. Time.
  • fleetzz
    fleetzz Posts: 962 Member
    If you are gaining weight then you may not be burning as many calories as you think--these calorie burn estimators are just that--estimators. You may have become efficient, like an electric car :wink:
  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    If I do not eat more to cover my exercise, I lose weight quite rapidly.
    I do boxing, cycling, weights and a lot of walking and I eat anywhere from 2300-3000 calories a day to maintain.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Yes, I do. I eat most of my running calories and about 50-75% of my cycling calories.
    My goal is to balance performance with weight loss (when I am not pregnant obviously).

    If you are gaining weight there is a calorie issue somewhere, whether it be underestimating food or over estimating exercise.
  • VeganEquestrian
    VeganEquestrian Posts: 59 Member
    I eat back most of my exercise cals. If I don't I start loosing, and my goal is to maintain/gain a couple pounds. I eat 2300 - 3200 cals a day
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    when I did MFP method, yeah (with allowance for estimation error)...

    I use TDEE now, so those estimates are just built into my overall calorie goal now.

    Properly fueling your fitness is pretty important...if you want to be more fit and get better and whatever it is you are doing anyway.
  • skruttan44
    skruttan44 Posts: 86 Member
    no I never eat back my exercise calories.

    Also, MFP seem to overestimate calories burned (which can be an issue with many electronic devices) so if you want to eat them back, I have seen others suggest trying to eat only half of them and see if that works.
  • woofer00
    woofer00 Posts: 123 Member
    Only if I'm still hungry at the end of the day. It was easier to not eat them back early on in the weight loss process. As you approach maintenance it gets harder to buffer consumption, so you can end up ravenously hungry and making bad choices as a result.
  • Jess__I__Can
    Jess__I__Can Posts: 307 Member
    2. WHEN you eat (try to avoid eating past 7 PM as food digest slower while you sleep)

    Calories can't tell time.
    3. HOW OFTEN you eat (5-6 small meals/snacks a day has proven to be more effective than 3 normal meals)

    This has been proven false.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    I'm doing TDEE method now so my exercise calories are already accounted for.

    But back when i was doing the MFP way I was and eating up to 800 calories back. I lost 30 pounds just fine that way. I was going by my HRM too. There's no way I would have been able to consistently get through my workouts eating only 1400 calories :laugh:
  • Shalaurise
    Shalaurise Posts: 707 Member
    Lots say you should but I don't

    I seem to eat 1200 to 1500 a day (normally higher at weekend and lower midweek)

    ^^ This.

    I use them to not feel guilty if I want that extra snack in the evening, but I rarely eat them all unless I am going out somewhere worth it like... Texas Roadhouse or somewhere else for a celebration... Like yesterday we went to Chili's for my daughter's birthday (her choice) and I went over for the day. I wouldn't have if I had been able to get my walk in but her father was sooooooo late picking her up that she gave up on him showing up around 9:00 pm.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    My net goal is 1800 and most days I end up eating closer to 2300 because of exercise. So yeah, I often burn 500 and I do eat it back.
  • Bostonsoul
    Bostonsoul Posts: 151 Member
    On many days I like to keep myself in a calorie deficit. Between running at night and doing weights/kettlebells I burn quite a bit but I don't like to eat them all back just because I'm supposed to. If at the end of the day I'm full and have an overall deficit, I enjoy it and ride it out.
  • AmberM82479
    AmberM82479 Posts: 18
    My dietician told me not to eat back my exercise calories. Once I stopped doing that, the weight started coming off... But that's just my personal experience.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    My dietician told me not to eat back my exercise calories. Once I stopped doing that, the weight started coming off... But that's just my personal experience.

    Did your dietician give you a calorie goal as well?
    Most dieticians will use the TDEE method which accounts for exercise. In that case, you should not eat them back.
  • JG762
    JG762 Posts: 571 Member
    I've never eaten back any exercise calories, I decided early on that if I was going to work my *kitten* off (literally) I wasn't going to do it so I could eat something else, I was doing it to get rid of all the crap I'd already eaten.
    I've gone over my daily calories a few times but I don't think I've ever done it without some exercise to draw a few cals from.
    Everybody is different I guess but it seems to be working for me.
  • MJ_Watson
    MJ_Watson Posts: 180 Member
    I eat back 80% of my cals burned as reported by my HRM. It hasn't hurt my progress any. :)
  • JoeCampbell85
    JoeCampbell85 Posts: 140
    I eat 100% of my calories back and it hasn't hurt my weight loss and it makes life a lot more enjoyable.
  • kaikaibeachtime
    kaikaibeachtime Posts: 11 Member
    Thanks for the help everyone! I think I'll start eating back only 50% of my exercise calories and see where that gets me.
  • Cardio4Cupcakes
    Cardio4Cupcakes Posts: 289 Member
    Sometimes I do. More often or not, I do not. But if I'm really hungry that day, I'll let myself eat or whatever.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    I eat bac 50-75% of my exercise calories. I eat back closer to 100% of them if I earned them using a heart rate monitor. I am meticulous with tracking my calories, so I have had no problem eating some of them back. If you find yourself gaining/not losing when you eat back some of your exercise calories, then one or both of your tracking numbers (calories in or calories burned) are off.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Averaging 700 cals a day and eat them all back, both when losing weight and now maintaining - the ones you earn taste the best.
  • ten5039
    ten5039 Posts: 19
    I do 30 minutes of biking at about 21mph. I almost never eat it all back. My goal is 1800 calories, and I am usually at 2000, maybe 2100. On the high days, I am even only at the most at 2300 calories. (high protein diet to support lifting as well)
  • ingehooper
    ingehooper Posts: 37 Member
    I try to eat most of them. I find Im more hungry in the evenings if I do heavy workouts during the day (jillian michales/t25) so I save some calories for a before bed snack. I use my hrm which I believe is the most accurate way for me to judge calorie burn at home. I did a double t25/ripped in 30 workout today, and Im starving now so il be using those calories to bulk up my main meals
  • cincysweetheart
    cincysweetheart Posts: 892 Member
    Generally, I do not eat them back. When I have, it's only been a small amount. Mostly because my calorie goal is high enough as it is, that I would be stuffing myself to the point of sickness if I ate them back. Secondly, MFP estimates are typically high. Most people recommend only eating 50% of them back. If your not losing weight there is an off count somewhere. Either in your intake or in your burn. If you're confident in your logging,then try eating less of your workout calories back.
  • emtjmac
    emtjmac Posts: 1,320 Member
    I regularly burn 1000+ calories in a single workout because I cycle around 20 miles at a time. I also am doing Stronglifts 5x5. MFP is actually the lowest calories estimate given my workout so I go with that to be on the safe side. I also try to leave a 500 calorie deficit just to be sure. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I don't. So far so good though. I honestly work out as much as I do because I love to eat. I have very low tolerance for hunger and I get very angry when I have to suffer with it. It is better for me to out-exercise my appetite.
  • emtjmac
    emtjmac Posts: 1,320 Member
    Averaging 700 cals a day and eat them all back, both when losing weight and now maintaining - the ones you earn taste the best.

    This is absolutely and literally true.

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