Who eats exercise calories?

meka0703

I have not been eating back calories burned from exercise and I think that is the reason that I'm not losing as quickly as I could be. I've been sticking to 1200 calories a day even though I burn approx. 600 through exercise most days. Do you think that eating exercise calories is important? If so, do you eat ALL or just some of those calories back?

angiesteele

I would try to eat half of them and see of that helps.

morganadk2_deleted

I do!


after reading this and my stalled weight lose is moving again!

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo


think of it this way if you were going on a long trip would you just put in 1 litre of fuel....

good luck on your journey!

louiseei

I eat most of them, definitely at least half.
Louise

shoe0513

You still need to fuel your body. I eat them and I'm still losing weight. A friend that is a trainer told me the more you exercise the more you can eat.

scrappymel

yes. eat them.

clahut

I eat at least half back to allow for inaccuracies in how much I have actually burned.

C

Sherri71

I agree that you should eat at least half of them.

NancyQR28

I eat most of them too. Usually I only have about 35-75 left over. I think if you are alloted so many, then you should try to eat as close to your allowance as possible.

hpsnickers1

I have not been eating back calories burned from exercise and I think that is the reason that I'm not losing as quickly as I could be. I've been sticking to 1200 calories a day even though I burn approx. 600 through exercise most days. Do you think that eating exercise calories is important? If so, do you eat ALL or just some of those calories back?

So basically you are only getting 600 calories per day which will cause your metabolism to slow down and your body to start holding onto fat and burn protein from your muscles. When you Daily Goal is at 1200 you have to eat those calories to bring you back to at least 1200 or you will stop losing fat. Link below will explain it.

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

byHISstrength

Like others, I eat at least half. I definitely agree with those who say, the more calories your burn the more you should eat, BUT it is important that you make healthy choices.

If you are only taken in 1200 calories and then burn around 600 of them, then basically you are only getting about 600 calories in that day...that doesn't sound very healthy.

ajbeans

Yep, you need to eat them, especially if your base intake is only 1200. Your body needs that much to keep going and keep your metabolism up. Try making sure your net caloric intake is at least 1100 each day and see if that helps. You might want to go even a little over that for one day just to give your metabolism a kick start and let your body know that you're going to start giving it more fuel.

tinkerbell1964

I eat most or all of my calories burned

luv2ash

NOPE! but I never burn that many calories either. Are you positive you are burning 600 calories? I wear a HRM and MFP always gives me very over-inflated values. I trust my HRM with a chest strap over MFP. Trust me, I am not in starvation! I keep my blood sugar level all day long! If I happen to feel hungry from exercising (rarely) I add extra protein.

ChellieIrish

Yes I do :bigsmile: I eat back at least half of them and somedays more but I use a HRM not the MFP calculations It's working so far for me :drinker:

MelissaL582

Yep, you need to eat them, especially if your base intake is only 1200. Your body needs that much to keep going and keep your metabolism up. Try making sure your net caloric intake is at least 1100 each day and see if that helps. You might want to go even a little over that for one day just to give your metabolism a kick start and let your body know that you're going to start giving it more fuel.

Capucine72

I eat almost all.

Chenoachem

Isn't that why we work out? So we can eat more. I have always eaten all my exercise calories and I have never gone below 1380 calories a day.

fuhrmeister

Yes, I eat at least half of mine back. I always make sure my net calories are at lesat 1200. No one should net much under 1200. Your body may not be gettign teh nutrients it needs. if you get a note about starvation mode you need to eat more. Good luck!

MericoX

Yes, eat them back.

If I eat any lower than around 1400 my weight will stall, so I often will have to eat half a quarter to half the amount of calories I burned.

Enigmatica

I usually eat most of them and try to get as close to that calorie goal as possible. Some days it's just too much food, so if I'm happy I don't worry about being a couple hundred calories under. Every once in awhile I go over by a bit too, so it tends to even out over a week or so. But consistently being hundreds of calories under goal could lead to problems.

ChellieIrish

Just a wee note on eating the exercize cals If you haven't before then increase them slowly everyday maybe 50 or 100 just to give your body time to adjust to the increase :drinker: or you may show a gain (it happened to me :grumble: )

kld4239

I generally eat half of them sometimes more if I am hungry. If you are only eating 1200 cals per day I would definitely eat some if not most of them.

I get frustrated when I plateau and think that if I eat less than I will lose more but that is really not the case. Our bodies get used to what we eat and our exercise and if we always do the same thing we plateau. So if you eat more sometimes and mix up your exercise you keep your body guessing and you'll actually end up losing more weight.

Sometimes I break the plateau doing a zig-zag diet. Basically, you eat your daily goal calories, etc. for a few days and then on day 3 eat 20% more than your daily goal, day 4 eat 10% less than your daily goal and then go back to you standard daily goal on days 5 through 7 and repeat if needed. This is suppose to trick your body into thinking like you are eating less even though you are eating what you are suppose to.

Pinkranger626

Hi,
You may want to recalculate your caloric needs. Honestly, most people need a minimum of 1200-1500 calories a day to cover basic metabolism function. the problem may not be you not eating your exercise calories, it may be that you're not eating enough period. I personally shoot for 1800 calories a day, this is after i did the math myself using a BMR equation and the Harris Benedict equation. BMR is the basal metabolism rate which the the amount of calories you need to perform everything from breathing to digesting to thinking, that's the minimum amount of calories you need to maintain optimal weight and function if you are completely sedentary. If you're exercising then you need to eat more calories to maintain proper function and weight. the Harris Benedict equation will tell you how many extra calories you should be eating with your activity level, so if you add those together that wil be the amount of calories to eat to maintain your current weight. if you're trying to lose weight then you should take that number and subtract 300-500 calories and no more than that. I hope this helps a little, I'm going to school for exercise science and I actually just finished a course on exercise assessment and how to train and recommend things for people trying to lose weight. here are the equations:

BMR

women: BMR=655 + ( 4.35 * weight in lbs) + (4.7 * height in inches) - (4.7 * age in years)

men: BMR= 66 + (6.23 * weight in lbs) + (12.7 * height in inches) - (6.8 * age in years)

Harris Benedict equation

sedentary (little to no exercise) : calorie - calculation = BMR * 1.2

lightly active (light exercise/ sports 1-3 days/week) : calorie - calculation = BMR * 1.375

moderately active (moderate ex/sport 3-5 days/week) : calorie- calculation = BMR * 1.55

very active (hard ex/sports 6-7 days/week: calorie-calculation= BMR * 1.725

extra active (very hard ex/sport + physical job or 2x training) : Calorie - calculation= BMR * 1.9

staceyb_2003

i do but so far i've been here a month not budged much on the scales but lost an inch everywhere and looking a bit leaner i have around 45 lbs to lose

princess_f

if im hungry i eat some but not all. Most ive eaten is 100 back and ive been loosing 2lb steadily per week

carrieliz81

Me!! Me!! I eat them!!! I couldn't survive without those extra calories....... I like food too much.

damaramj

I eat them. If you daily intake is 1200, and you burn 600, that means that your body only has 600 calories to live off for that day. The end result is that you're putting your body into starvation mode and it thinks that you are starving, so it holds on to all of the fat in your body for survival. You have to eat what you burn. I found the easiest way to do this, start eating as soon as you wake up especially if you know that you are gonna workout, and if you know about what you are gonna burn. Eating six times a day does work! It keeps your energy going. After that first small meal eat every 2 hours until you get to six and then stop, this allows your body to digest everything and gives you a couple hours before you lay down (depending on your schedule) to naturally burn some calories so you don't lie down on them. Ex. if your first meal is at 8am your last should be 6 bed between 8-9 to insure proper rest-again based on schedule. If you absolutely get hungry after the 6th meal eat a piece of fresh fruit or veg or something very lite.

lesleyk26

HHHmmmm now i have read this and my calorie intake is too only 1200 but half the time im not eating them all but then i can go to the gym and zumba and i work off like 1000 cals but i dont eat them and guess what ive done this for 5 weeks and ive stayed the same but this week im trying to be a little less strict on eating less cals as i wanna see if ive stayed the same cos im not eating enough.
but i still prob wont eat my cals i work off tho :huh:

princess_f

i burn approx 400 cals when at the gym but i really couldnt eat all of them back, my targets 1290. 3rd week in and im still loosing steadily. Today ive burned, 500ish cals, ive eaten both my lunch & breakfast with snacks and have a filling dinner planned and im still under my goal. I would be forcing myself to eat another 600???

appleshells

I generally eat some of them back but usually I "save" them for a splurge at the end of the week.