gonna beat the dead horse...

michlingle

Okay. So. I know you're supposed to eat the exercise cals. I get it. I do. But just wanted to know what everyone else does and how they have fared with all this. In other words, do you eat all of them and still lose, eat all of them and not lose, or do you eat them and gain. I kinda want a consensus on what those who have been most successful have done. I went over my cals by 46. Bleh.

michlingle

Okay. So. I know you're supposed to eat the exercise cals. I get it. I do. But just wanted to know what everyone else does and how they have fared with all this. In other words, do you eat all of them and still lose, eat all of them and not lose, or do you eat them and gain. I kinda want a consensus on what those who have been most successful have done. I went over my cals by 46. Bleh.

PrincessLaundry

Here ya go! LOL



Tonight I have 700 workout calories to eat. That is two meals worth of calories to stuff into my face before I head to bed. So no, I don't eat all of them. I eat normally 1/2 of my workout calories or just under. It is just too much food. I do however spoil myself with having my favorite creamer in my coffee so I know I need to workout to compensate for these calories some time during the day. I just end up getting so busy working out with my family that I forget to stop exercising. Oops!

ohthatbambi

I eat some but not all. I tried eating them all. I really wanted it to work, but for me it was too good to be true. I have been exercising my tail off for months now and eating my "earned" calories b/c everyone kept saying give it time. I put 10 all ready lost pounds back on...which makes me sad:frown: . I talked to my doctor and also to a nutritionist and both of them told me that I needed to find what works for my body and go with that. So on days that I don't exercise (usually only one day), I don't eat over 1400. On days that I do exercise I try to stay b/t 1500-1700. I lose weight, I am not hungry and I don't get dizzy or anything like that.

Alot of people will disagree with me, but I am telling you what works for me and me only. I wish I could eat all those dang calories I burned off on my 20 mile bike ride today. But, I don't ride all those miles for sheer enjoyment--I do it to lose weight and when I eat them back not only do I NOT lose, I gain. It made me want to throw in the towel.

Also, I wear a heart rate monitor so I feel my calories burned are fairly accurate.

MumOfADuo

I am new to this, too and the only problem I have is that exercise calories burned are VERY subjective~! You can 'say' you walked 5 MPH but you REALLY walked 3 MPH so you would be giving yourself more exercise calories than you really earned so I try not to eat all of them...I try to leave at least 500 so we shall see after my friday weigh in at Weight Watchers. I need to see a loss !!!
Also, a heart rate moniter or body bugg might really help to determine exactly how many calories you are REALLY burning during your workouts and that might help....
We are in the same boat sister!
Blessings!
Kathey

michlingle

I think I'm gonna stick with 3/4ths of them. Today I did two classes together and used a hrm...burned 1020...ate all of them thank you very much. I'm finding that somewhere in the middle is always best so I think next time I won't go over by 46 like I did today. I sure did eat a lot (and drink) today.... Instead I'll eat like 750 of them, or whatever a quarter is of my next workout cals...

firegirlred

Tonight I had a melted cheese sandwich. But between 90 minutes of throwing my daughter in the pool (that just sounds bad) and 90 minutes of tae kwon do, I have about 1200 extra calories to burn. I still have 400 more I can eat. I feel like a pig for the melted cheese sandwich though...

PrincessLaundry

I am new to this, too and the only problem I have is that exercise calories burned are VERY subjective~! You can 'say' you walked 5 MPH but you REALLY walked 3 MPH so you would be giving yourself more exercise calories than you really earned so I try not to eat all of them...I try to leave at least 500 so we shall see after my friday weigh in at Weight Watchers. I need to see a loss !!!
Also, a heart rate moniter or body bugg might really help to determine exactly how many calories you are REALLY burning during your workouts and that might help....
We are in the same boat sister!
Blessings!
Kathey

Hey girlie! Do you mean something about calories or why would you say you walked further than you did? I don't get it? Someone gave me this link to share. You can map your run! http://www.mapmyrun.com/create

firegirlred

I just found out how far I jog. And it was very encouraging. Thanks for the link!!!!

Carrie6o6

I eat them as long as my total isnt over 1500cals. So I will eat about 300 more if I exercise that much haha

banks1850

I eat every single one of them if I can. I have lost 43 lbs with this site and 50 total.

ChubbyBunny

I try to eat most of mine, I am still pretty new and am still adjusting to the balance.
By tracking, I've learned I needed to cut way back on workouts to actually lose weight with the amount of food I consume. I think the most I've ever had to eat runs in the 1800s and that's tough on me ( I tend to waste the calories when it's that high on junk).

PrincessLaundry

I eat every single one of them if I can. I have lost 43 lbs with this site and 50 total.

Listen to Banks...He's my hero!!! He has gotten me from eating 600 calories or less per day up to more than 1200, and then adding my workout calories!!! Make them good calories like a cup of blueberries or something healthy. That will help you stay healthy. Taking in 300 calories in a chocolate bar is just not the way to go! LOL So much berries and a glass of milk! YUM!

destiny_206

I usally only eat them if I am hungry, Which I usally am not. I also would not eat all of them right before bed, if you are going to eat them do it earlier in the day and plan ahead (but make sure you do that work out) My trainer said to limit carbs (other then fruits veggies and cottage cheese) for 4-6 hours before heading to bed because of how you digest them. I truly believe your body will tell you what you need, dont starve yourself and dont stuff yourself ether.

lynzz

I tried for the first time to eat a portion of my workout calories and uuuuggggggh........I am so full. I really don't know if I can do it. 1200 is hard enough to eat let alone the 900+ calories I exercise everyday. I am going to try to work into it slowly.

I ate a South Beach meal bar and some cottage cheese to get the extra calories today. I am going to try something else tomorrow.

TNTPete

I eat them... I don't always get them in but I eat them and I have slowly lost the weight. Some days I don't but -- there are also days when I eat a few more so as long as they balance... it's good. I also advise -- eat them through out the day not at one seating.. that is probably where a lot of mistakes happen. If you have 1000 calories left before you go to bed.. it's too late don't stuff your face, eat something healthy then... catch up tomorrow.

My advice - you'll find what works for you.. right now I am on a plateau so thinking of zig-zagging but I always say that and never feel comfortable doing it so.. who knows.

PedalHound

I eat all of my exercise calories and I've lost 22lbs in 7.5 weeks. That being said, I also listen to my body. If I'm really hungry I'll eat something little (my current choice is 1/4c blueberries because they're so nutrient-rich) and see if I need more, and I don't put more in if I'm full despite what my calories might say. But it seems that by listening to my body I'm usually hovering around 100 cals under my net recommendation and this includes high numbers of exercise calories through the day. Your leeway also depends on where you've set your weight loss goals. If you've set 2lbs a week you have a little more leeway to go over your net, and if you've set .5lb or 1lb a week you have a little more leeway to go under your net. As Bamboo said, you'll learn what works for you. We can give all the averages we want but each body is unique and will have nuanced differences. The bottom line is when you work out, eat a little more. And learn to hear your body's messages. That's the best you can do!!

stschulz

When I started counting here I found that after some exercise I had so many calories to eat that I just could not eat that much. So I started on days when I have planned to exercise a lot to eat some of them before I even start exercising. Works good for me as I need that base for long bike rides. But I still usually do not eat all my exercise calories. I agree though that if it is just a couple hundred extra calories you earned, you should eat them. It is a motivating thing too.

I DID gain 1 1/2 last week, but since I count my calories and know I was not eating too much, I attribute that to muscle gain rather than anything else. That is another good effect of this site. If you do honestly count every day, you know that you are in your limits, so if your diet does not go as planned in either direction you know that the reason is not how much you eat.

shorerider

To not eat your exercise calories is to risk doing harm to your system. The more you burn, the more you do need to eat them. If you're burning over 1000 calories a day, and only eating 500 of them, you are not giving your body enough to go on. Sooner or later, your body will suffer and begin to do many bad things--

1) consume muscle for fuel
2) begin to "bonk" all the time--simply not be able to keep going
3) digestion problems
4) hair loss
5) anemia
6) weight loss will stop
7 you may "not feel hungry" but your body may be starving. Listening to your body to tell you if you're hungry isn't always accurate. There is a point where your body maybe starved for fuel but you will not "feel hungry."
7) host of other bad bad things.

Listen to Banks on this one.

I have a lot more to lose than you do and thought I could push the envelope with limiting calories a lot more than others. Then, I plateaued after just 3 months--I was eating 1200 a day plus about 80% of my exercise calories. I do long-distance bike riding, so I was burning sometimes 1500 calories a day or more. Not only did my body simply not get enough to eat, it began to horde everything--and after only 3 months. I upped my daily calories to 1300 and now eat every single exercise calorie. In the last week, I've lost 3 pounds.

You're already getting a built-in deficit with MFP, that is what many seem to overlook or, for some reason, feel just "isn't enough of a deficit." But you should never go below that--your body needs that to function at the most basic level. However, for many, 1200 isn't enough. Age, sex, activity level, all play a part in what your body needs day to day to function at a healthy level.

Given the small amount of weight you wish to lose, and your age, you really should be looking at the max of 1/2 to 1 pound weight loss per day to be able to lose in a healthy manner. It's not fast but it's healthy.

shorerider

I HATE THAT--I'm on here every day at 5:30am, and the site always goes "down" about then. So I hit the reply button, and it sits and sits and sits. and then posts the same thing multiple times. !!:grumble:

shorerider

multiple posts:grumble:

shorerider

multiple posts:grumble:

shorerider

multiple posts:grumble:

MumOfADuo

[Hey girlie! Do you mean something about calories or why would you say you walked further than you did? I don't get it? Someone gave me this link to share. You can map your run! http://www.mapmyrun.com/create
[/quote]


No, certainly not, but what I AM saying is that for example...YOU might work out at the gym taking an aerobics class and THINK you are working at a high intensity level thus giving yourself more 'burned calories' than what you REALLY earned. I guess my mentality is still on the weight watcher way. You earn 'points' for activity and it is VERY subjective. You have to decide if you are working at a low, moderate or high rate of intensity which then determines your actual points earned. So with this way of thinking, SOME people might say they are working at a high intensity when in reality they are working at moderate or low and that means it would GREATLY change the amount of activity points earned. I dont know if I am making sense, but it makes sense to me. And my example on walking wasnt about distance, it was about how fast because that makes a difference on calories burned as well, not so much how far, but how fast and how long. SO, I know when I walk I can walk just over 4 miles in one hour so I put 4.0 MPH in my speed when I am trying to calculate my calories burned...BUT someone else might not pay ANY attention to how are they are walking, they just walk 30 minutes and then guess the rest...it would make a HUGE difference on burned calories. SO, back to my original post, exercise can be very tricky. If you are eating all your exercise points and NOT losing over time, then you are either adding too many exercise points or your body is just different.
Thats all I meant.
Blessings!
Kathey
PS LOVE that site...we use it for our training walks....(especially when we are walking 20 miles in a day we need to find bathroom stops Ü)

MiaEllie

I eat most or all of my earned exercise cals. I tried to not do this a while back and my body started to get used to less calories and I reached a plateau with no where to go from there (couldn't cut back cals anymore without going into starvation mode). SO eat!

PS I don't know if anyone else is bothered by the title of this post but I feel that some of these "old-fashioned sayings are a bit outdated and barbaric sounding such as: "beating a dead horse", "killing two birds with one stone", "more than one way to skin a cat", etc.
Many people don't think about where sayings come from and their real meaning because they are so used to hearing and saying them. Just in case you didn't know...a "rule of thumb" is how thick a branch or stick should be to beat a woman (as thick as your thumb).
It kind of makes me feel bad to keep seeing the title of this post in the recent post list.
I'm not trying to be PC but I feel that in these modern times we can try to avoid some unnecessary outdated phrases.

Oh, and I'm not a vegetarian or vegan, if that what you are thinking...

Phoenix_Rising

I eat my 1200 cals a day, eat all my exercise cals (usually around 250), and then typically eat another 1-200 cals in addition....

... and I'm still dropping weight FAST.

I'm down 8 lbs in 4 weeks. 5 weeks? I can't count. Anyhow, 8 lbs, one pant size gone since the last week of June. Permanent weight loss occurs slowly, which is what I'm going for, and this weight is staying off (I am amazed!).

I MFP!