Finding it hard to eat back exercise calories

wyze

Hello all

I have been on MFP for over a month now and i have found it very useful, made new friends and enjoy the community.

My only problem is this. I find it hard to eat back exercise calories. This bothers me cos this is the premise upon weight loss on this site is built. But on days that i burn like 500-800 calories, i find it hard to eat them back cos i am already full from the 1550 calories i ate for the day. So usually my net calories end up being abt 800-1000 depending on how much i burn.

I really try to eat some back, but most times i am too full and dont want to deal with indigestion/heart burn (i get those when i over eat) the next day. Just how bad is this for me? i weigh 229lb and i am 5,8.

Thanks

TheMaidOfAstolat

Eat a few things that are really high in calories/fat. PB on toast, full fat yogurts, a protein shake with PB.

*edit: Also...add nuts and oils to salads, use full fat dressings, cook in olive oil when possible. Fat isn't the enemy.

schnarfo

if you cant manage it everyday it wont do you any harm particularly if you want to lose. like the poster above said try eating high calorie foods which are still healthy such as nuts and full fat yogurts. PB is also good especially after workouts.. its a shame i hate the stuff lol x

billylindsay

I can never claw them back especially as I am getting fitter so am on the bike longer so I have gave up trying so it's probably having a negative effect on the whole diet thing.

schnarfo

i personally think its ok to leave like 100 calories spare of exercise cals because our tracking isnt always accurate and we never really know how many we burn during work outs. machines might over estimate or mfp might be slightly off.

wyze

alrite, thanks for the advise, will try as much as i can to eat some back. I guess it is more important to listen to my body. If it says it is hungry, i will feed it :-)

NightOwl1

I think if you can eat back at least half, you'll be okay. A lot of time calories burned are overestimated, so you actually don't burn as much as you think. And if you're putting 1500 calories in your body, I think you're probably alright. I worry more about people who are eating 1000-1100, and then they burn 500+ with exercise.

wyze

Thanks. I try to tell myself that the fact that i eat 1500 of good and dense food should help. Dense in the sense that they are actual foods and not empty calories.

Azdak

If you are finding it a problem, then don't eat them back. If you are just starting a program, the risk of overeating exercise calories far outweighs the risk of some supposed "starvation mode". Exercise calories are rough estimates anyway--IMO it is foolish to try include all of them in an eating plan.If your body fat % is above 30%-35%, you are not going to have any problems with 1500 cal/day, esp if you are including strength training in your routine.

As you get closer to your GW, or if you maintain a calorie deficit for an extended time, it will be necessary to fine tune things a little, but, for now, do what makes you comfortable.

NoAdditives

If you are finding it a problem, then don't eat them back. If you are just starting a program, the risk of overeating exercise calories far outweighs the risk of some supposed "starvation mode". Exercise calories are rough estimates anyway--IMO it is foolish to try include all of them in an eating plan.If your body fat % is above 30%-35%, you are not going to have any problems with 1500 cal/day, esp if you are including strength training in your routine.

As you get closer to your GW, or if you maintain a calorie deficit for an extended time, it will be necessary to fine tune things a little, but, for now, do what makes you comfortable.

This isn't strictly true. Everyone is different, everyone's metabolism is different. For some people, it is extremely important to eat back all their exercise calories. Some people's genetic history mandates that they eat more than others. For some people, 1500 total calories isn't enough, especially if they are burning 500 or more.

So Wyze, if you're having trouble eating all you exercise calories, don't worry too much. Try adding in more cals slowly. But, you don't have to eat them all. You just need to find the balance that works for you.

wyze

Thanks :-)

VialOfDreams

I also recommend talking to your doctor, and see what the doc recommends. I made the mistake of not talking to my doctor about my diet and exercise plan, lost almost 100 lbs in 9 months and developed gallstones due to the rapid weight loss. As I am not familiar with your diet, nor am I a doctor, I can't offer advice on what you should do apart from saying it would be a good idea to talk things over with you doc.

pkgirrl

While it varies from person to person, I'd say as far as general advice goes Azdak's post was pretty solid. That being said, everybody is different.

Quick question, do you wait until after you've exercised to try to eat back all of your calories? If you know you're going to be exercising, say later in the day, try to add the extra calories in over the space of the day. When I did p90x I stuck to 1700 a day, every day, regardless of exercise. I had to up it after awhile, but I found it really helped me. I used to have a hard time eating back the exercise calories to, but just generally sticking to a higher exercise included type amount helped me to space them out over the day. So the 250cal breakfast I used to have when I was eating 1300 became closer to 400, and so on. It's a lot easier to add an extra 75-100 cals to each snack and meal than it is to eat 500-800 extra later on.

Hope this helps! And congrats on your exercise burn, it sounds like you're literally working your bum off!

wyze

Thanks for the extra advice. I havent seen a doctor. Will definitely try to see one. The good thing is i am not losing more than a pound and half per week, and thats on very good weeks so i doubt if i will lose that many pounds so soon. Taking it really slow.

On the average i burn abt 450 daily and once in a hwile hit the 800 mark. I really do try to work out. The bulk of my calories is eaten after work out, So i eat before my workout like say 350 calories and eat the remaining after my workout. I try to eat, and if i am hungry, i definitely eat more- but for the most part, i usually cant eat them all back. I also drink alot of water too. So maybe thats it.

Thanks for the advice and keep it coming. I am learning from each and everyone of u. :flowerforyou:

macw1_2000

I eat them back if I'm hungry but if I don't feel like it, I don't bother. My calorie limit for the day is 1200 so it's rare that I don't want to eat the extra calories back after exercise.

Only eat what you feel like you can handle...don't stuff the calories in if you don't want them...your body will tell you what it needs.

wyze

thanks