Working out to eat?

tarapin

I am really enjoying working out lately but I also find myself wanting to workout so I have more calories to work with and so that I am able to eat more during the day.

Do you think that is a positive or negative thing?

00trayn

I've recently seen the benefits of actually eating more instead of less. I enjoy working out and it is great for getting your metabolism going. One result of this is that you actually need to eat MORE. I wasn't eating enough (under 1200 calories) and I completely stopped losing weight for a month! So it actually makes sense to workout more and eat more. I still leave some exercise calories uneaten, but now I'm shooting for at least 1300 calories a day (base is set to 1270 to lose a pound a week). The exercise fires up the metabolism and the food fuels it, so you burn away the fat

pamp1emousse

Positive I hope, because that's exactly what I do!

messyhare

I would like to know others feelings on this as well.

I too am thoroughly enjoying working out, for the first time in my life actually, but I find that I will look at those calories as extra for me to "spend". I don't use them all but always use at least half, sometimes it will end up being more.

SO I'm looking forward to some wise ones responses too!

tarapin

Good stuff, thanks! I do try and leave a few hundred leftover just to make up for any errors in calculating food/exercise calories here on the site.

LuckyLeprechaun

this is FINE! what's wrong with fueling your body? Earning the calories you want to spend on food? NOTHING!

If I said , OMG I ate cheesecake what should I do? Is it ok to exercise extra to burn it off? You'd say OF COURSE! This is no different!

4lafz

Well - if that is bad I have been doing it all wrong for the last 5 1/2 months! Anyway - it's working for me - 47 lbs down. Just a note - I have never eaten all my exercise calories and usually end up around 1200-1500 calories each day :-)

a1schwei

i do it every single day...i will run an extra mile if it means i have a little more wiggle room to eat what sounds good that day

jenneyd

well said 00trayn! And if you are enjoying the workout, what harm is there?!
When I found that I went over my calorie intake, I hopped right up on the elliptical glider I have in my home, and burned up those calories I was over:laugh: . You earn those extra calories by working out, enjoy them!

Kelly2708

Not sure if it's good or bad but I have benn doing the same thing!

ProTFitness

You need to reboot your thinking. Working out just to eat more is never a good thing and you will not get the results you want. Food should be looked at as FUEL. FUEL your body. Don't live to eat! Eat to Live!

sexygenius

i do the opposite- eat to much then have to work it off

mt2008

I do the same thing! Especially if I know I'm heading out to dinner, want a glass of wine or am eating something someone else made, etc. It gives me some wiggle room. Last night I wanted a snack, didn't really have the calories left in my day for it, so I hopped on the bike for 25 minutes. That gave me enough calories for the snack and plenty leftover. It's a motivator to exercise more in a way!

CharityD

I see no problem with it. at the beginning of the year, I was the same way. Food was my motivation to exercise. I LOVE food and doubt I will ever think of it just as fuel. Who care what motivates you? As long as you're exercising, what difference does it make? It will be enough to pull you through until you actually start looking forward to exercising. It took me about 9 months, but I stuck with it and now I love it!

donbogi

i do the opposite- eat to much then have to work it off

Sexygenius - I too find myself sometimes overeating - but then I take it up a notch at the gym!

Cheers!
Don

bethrs

Should one work extra hours to buy a new pair of shoes, car or gaming system? Not all the time, but if you need a new Kia, overtime is one way to get there. ProT has a point in that food should be conceptualized as a normal part of life, as fuel and not as a reward- but on occassion this is fine, and exercise is better than no exercise. If it's a cupcake that gets you up and doing it, then so be it.

TaneeisFitforLife

You need to reboot your thinking. Working out just to eat more is never a good thing and you will not get the results you want. Food should be looked at as FUEL. FUEL your body. Don't live to eat! Eat to Live!

I agree! Working out to eat/eating extra and having to workout is a messed up reward system.

bhelmreich

I do work out to be able to eat more but I still only eat about half of the exercise calories.
If I know I am going out to dinner with my friends, I will workout extremely hard in order to make up for extra calories even if I do eat healthy.

TateFTW

You need to reboot your thinking. Working out just to eat more is never a good thing and you will not get the results you want. Food should be looked at as FUEL. FUEL your body. Don't live to eat! Eat to Live!

Funny, while cutting I found I had trouble sticking to my numbers on days I didn't exercise, so I exercised more so I could eat more, and I got exactly the results I wanted.

Food is fuel, and when you workout more, you get to/need to take in more fuel. Wtf is wrong with that?

I eat my exercise calories too, almost every time. Sometimes I stay under, sometimes I go over. eating exactly X number of calories every day isn't realistic.

theseus82

Exercise IS important in keeping our metabolism going as we lose weight. The truth is, our body works against us when we want to lose weight. Losing weight means restricting calories. It means in a slight way, our body is going into starvation mode and depleting its stores of fat.

That's what we want right? To get rid of that fat? Well, our body evolved over a long period where this was a last resort. Before food was plentiful, it helped if humans could store un-used energy as fat for leaner times (like when we were starving for periods of time).

Fast forward to today, and we're essentially evolved to keep the weight on in case we have limited access to food. It help us survive for millennia before farming.

Exercise actually represents very little of the overall calories your body uses. It usually only represents 25% of our body's caloric needs. The reason it's crucial to losing weight is because our body resists losing weight by slowing down the metabolism (and this is where exercise is so important).

Keep up the good work! I sometimes don't want to use my calories that I earn through exercise. As long as you're getting enough calories, nutrients, and minerals to sustain what your body needs (save a few hundred calories short a day to actually LOSE weight), then you're good to go.

If you get exactly what your body burns a day, then you stay exactly where you are on the scale. All successful weight-loss programs comes down to calories in and calories out.

Sorry for the long post!

Uptopargolf

I do the opposite. I never eat exercise calories. I try to eat 1900 a day. Regardless of working out or not. BUT I do workout 6 days a week.

TateFTW

Exercise IS important in keeping our metabolism going as we lose weight. The truth is, our body works against us when we want to lose weight. Losing weight means restricting calories. It means in a slight way, our body is going into starvation mode and depleting its stores of fat.

That's what we want right? To get rid of that fat? Well, our body evolved over a long period where this was a last resort. Before food was plentiful, it helped if humans could store un-used energy as fat for leaner times (like when we were starving for periods of time).

Fast forward to today, and we're essentially evolved to keep the weight on in case we have limited access to food. It help us survive for millennia before farming.

Exercise actually represents very little of the overall calories your body uses. It usually only represents 25% of our body's caloric needs. The reason it's crucial to losing weight is because our body resists losing weight by slowing down the metabolism (and this is where exercise is so important).

Keep up the good work! I sometimes don't want to use my calories that I earn through exercise. As long as you're getting enough calories, nutrients, and minerals to sustain what your body needs (save a few hundred calories short a day to actually LOSE weight), then you're good to go.

If you get exactly what your body burns a day, then you stay exactly where you are on the scale. All successful weight-loss programs comes down to calories in and calories out.

Sorry for the long post!

+1. Nice to read a post I actually agree with completely.

championnfl

Both because able to eat more,negative because you have to eat more! You know always look for the positive!

lilRicki

I work out so i can eat...especially if i'm going out for supper...or i'm "in the red" in my calorie goals...sometimes i strap on the HRM and JUST work out until i've balanced out my calorie goals...but i try and switch up how many calories i eat (as long as i'm staying above 1200)...it helps when losing weight.

amelia_atlantic

Totally fine! It's all about balance!

whittrusty

Absolutely eat your workout calories!! They figure out your calorie limit assuming that you are not working out, so if you are, you've burned more calories than expected. I tend to leave about 250-500 calories uneaten, unless I'm just really hungry that day. By all means, if it will help you to stay on track by eating those extra workout calories, I say go for it. You earned them!

binary_jester

I am finding I have to cut back my workouts because I was creating a caloric hole I was unable to eat my way out of. Workout less, eat more. If this works...

edorice

You need to reboot your thinking. Working out just to eat more is never a good thing and you will not get the results you want. Food should be looked at as FUEL. FUEL your body. Don't live to eat! Eat to Live!

I have been trying to look at it as fuel. I mean, I'm sitting here eating freakin' baby carrots. Not from enjoyment, but because it's a veggie. However, I do realize that I can eat a little more because i exercise a lot.

ItsMeTime

This is the point! Calories in v. calories out for weight loss. What would be bad is if you obsess over it in anyway. For example, measuring is a great practice but if you refuse to eat anything that you can't weigh/measure and you stop enjoying meals with people because you won't be able to measure every little thing that is probably not good. So if you obsessively count your calories and exercise calories then you may need to evaluate how you think about food. But what youre doing is what we should be doing.

Keep up the good work!

vaavamom1

Positive. I love doing cardio since i can eat a lil more without feeling guilty :laugh: