Do I HAVE to eat my Exercise Cals???

emilysebastian

Hey friends... thoughts on finishing/eating your exercise calories? I'm just NOT hungry, but I've got 426 remaining and 1114 Net. And I've had about 15x8oz glasses of water today!!! I know you're supposed to eat at least some of your calories, and try to Net at least 1200 to stay out of "starvation" mode, but I really think my body is saying "no, we're cool tonight--thanks anyway". Ignore that feeling or not???

RedHotRunner

I think it's OK on occasion, but I wouldn't make it a habit of going under. I'd still think about a late night snack, maybe some almonds or a 100 calorie pack if I were you.

LifeMeansSoMuch

I Was wondering the same thing. because i always thought less calories=lose weight, But everyone on here usually recomends but i think im gonna give it a try and not eat my exercise calories:)

fitniknik

I dont think you have to eat them all the time, but if you are hungry eat! If your not hungry then, if you go a day or two every so often without eating them or eating some of them its not going to kill you or put you in starvation.

katbass

It wouldnt take too much to get those extra calories in tonight. A glass of milk, a banana, a bowl of cereal. I agree that its not horrible to dip low occasionally, just try not to make it a habit since it can eventually catch up with you.

crystal_sapphire

Hey friends... thoughts on finishing/eating your exercise calories? I'm just NOT hungry, but I've got 426 remaining and 1114 Net. And I've had about 15x8oz glasses of water today!!! I know you're supposed to eat at least some of your calories, and try to Net at least 1200 to stay out of "starvation" mode, but I really think my body is saying "no, we're cool tonight--thanks anyway". Ignore that feeling or not???

you don't HAVE to do anything you don't want to. I eat 1/4 to half back. especially until i get a HR monitor. and your net cal is fine.

everyone is soo stuck on 1200 as THE number. A few cals below that is not going to put you in starvation mode.

merrillfoster

For exercise calories, I tend to follow the 'eat them if I want them' rule of thumb. On the one hand, I've earned them, so if I'm hungry, eating them won't hurt me. But if I'm not hungry, I don't force myself to eat them, b/c, well...I kinda (and god am I going to get yelled at for this one) if I"m not hungry I don't need it, and if I cut calories because I'm not hungry for a day or 2 or whatever, it can only help (however, no more than 2-3 days in a row to prevent the 'starvation mode' issue). I like them because they build in a buffer zone for me--if I want to go a little over, I can without feeling guilty, but don't feel like I have to.

tlussier

I wouldn't worry about it if I were you....I rarely eat any of my exercise cals (but that is just me

tiffsNEWlife

I normally do not eat them back... Usually every 3rd or 4th day I will eat most of them back, then go back to my 1200 a day. This seems to be working for me. One night of not eating 1200 calories is not going to hurt your body.

poodlepaws

I try to hit the suggested "normal" calorie intake and that's it. I don't force myself to eat my exercise calories even to the point of really trying hard to NOT eat those exercise calories.

emilysebastian

Thanks, y'all! I think I'm going to be OK skipping the extra cals for one night... Lord knows I haven't in the past (haha--isn't how I got to this point?!), so I think my body would take awhile to actually go into ANY form or starvation mode

angelicpiece101

as long as your getting the reg amt of cals it tells you in a day(at least over the 1200 for most) then you dont have to eat the extra you burned off....the goal is to have a deficit in calories so you can lose the weight. they already calculated on your stuff that by being under your calories that your body runs on daily that you will (recommended by them) lose the 1 lb a wk. so anything you burn off in excess is up to you what you do with it. sometimes its nice to have a buffer for your calories per day with the exercise, but I would always recommend not eating all of them back.

piotr102pl

i totally agree with merrillfoster, i use to not to eat them, but since on average i burn up to a 800 calories a day running and swimming. I found my self week and out of energy by the end of each week, so i try keeping the calorie intake even at least on Thursday and Friday, Monday im usually lower, and Saturday or Sunday is my cheat day.

NoAdditives

Being under once in a while won't hurt anything. There have been a couple days where I burned almost 600 calories from exercise and I ended up with about 250 leftover and couldn't make myself eat them. If you normally meet your goal and eat your exercise cals, you don't have to force yourself to eat on days when you just aren't hungry. As long as this is the exception, not the rule, you'll be fine.

alyssa83202

You're not much under 1200, so I wouldn't worry about it personally!