Eat my exercise calories?

acgarner

I am working out and trying to eat right. Do you eat all of the exercise calories you earn, part, or none?

SheilaSisco

Eat back enough so that your net calories total 1200. As long as you hit that, you're good.

Newfiedan

depends on how much you have to lose and what the daily intake is that mfp recommended for you.

SaraTonin

http://www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/210249-consult-with-a-dietician-key-lessons-learne

Newfiedan

Eat back enough so that your net calories total 1200. As long as you hit that, you're good.

not really, it depends more on your size, for a 6ft tall woman this is certainly not enough for optimal fat burning.

HelenTheKitchen

I don't know if your interested but I'm doing an experiment where for two weeks I'm eating back at least half of my exercise calories everyday to actually see if it does help me lose more weight. I'm writing about it on my blog. I'm really confused about this whole thing too. I've heard arguments from both sides and both make sense. Anyway, I'm trying it out.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/HelenTheKitchen

buhller

This might be helpful: http://shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com/


In general, I make sure I net at least 1,200 calories/day. If I've worked out a lot that day and had a lot of water, I sometimes find that I literally don't have room to eat more. It's also tricky if you eat later in the day, because it doesn't feel like there's time to eat them all back before bed.

So yes -- feel free/encouraged to eat some or all of them back, but at the *very* least, be sure to always net enough so you're not shutting down your metabolism.

TiDinzeo

SaraTonin's posted a link to a message board here where a poster asked that question to a professional and they said yes, you should eat your exercise calories so that you maintain a healthy weightloss. Exercising uses energy too which means calories. Eat too few calories compared to what you burn and your body goes into starvation mode and stored all the calories it can.

vwbug86

Yes.

slimyfishy

I know it sounds crazy, but you need to. If you exercise a ton, you will find yourself eating up into the 1800+ calories a day. The number to look at is your NET CALORIES. I make sure that mine is between 1250-1350 a day. Some days (when I don't exercise), it can be a challenge to only eat that much. When I do long distance running or a hardcore kickboxing class, I have to eat quite a bit to get my NET up there. Everyone is different. It will take quite a bit of trial and error to see what works for your body. Some folks swear by not eating their workout calories. I've seen quite a few folks on MFP lose a bunch of weight by working out, eating healthy, drinking water, and eating half or more of their exercise calories back. It is all a balancing act.

Best of luck!
Shan:flowerforyou:

morganadk2_deleted

Are you eating enough?

You should eat your calories from exersise back! on days i know i'm going to the gym, i log my exersie in the morning , then have bigger meals those days!


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

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficit


This is just a part of it! please read the link above


Generally someone with a BMI over 32 can do a 1000 calorie a day (2 lbs a week) deficit
With a BMI of 30 to 32 a deficit of 750 calories is generally correct (about 1.5 lbs a week)
With a BMI of 28 to 30 a deficit of 500 calories is about right (about 1 lb a week)
With a BMI of 26 to 28 a deficit of about 300 calories is perfect (about 1/2 lb a week)
and below 26... well this is where we get fuzzy. See now you're no longer talking about being overweight, so while it's still ok to have a small deficit, you really should shift your focus more towards muscle tone, and reducing fat. This means is EXTRA important to eat your exercise calories as your body needs to KNOW it's ok to burn fat stores, and the only way it will know is if you keep giving it the calories it needs to not enter the famine response (starvation mode)



Good luck on your journey