Exercise Calories - YES OR NO?

lclarkjr

Everyone is different. I say do what works for you. Eat them back, don't eat them back, It's your choice. A lot of people on here are so critical and judgmental when it comes to the topic of exercise calories and like to throw starvation mode around a little too much. What it really comes down to is what is more important to YOU? Is it weight loss or is it your overall health? I'm sure at one point or another all of us has put weight loss above being healthy. And even now I'm sure many of us would sacrifice our health in the short term in order to reach our weight loss goals faster. But once you reach your goal, then what? Was the route you took to get there sustainable? Did you learn how to make healthy food choices and eat proper portion sizes? Or did you restrict calories so much that you you were miserable and gave up all the food you really enjoy eating. Is the method you took to reach your goal weight something you can do for the rest of your life? Or did you give up too many of the things you enjoy and worked your body too hard just to get there. For those people that don't eat back their exercise calories, do you actually care what is happening inside your bodies? Or is the number on the scale the only thing that matters? Whether the weight lost is water, muscle, or fat, it doesn't matter as long as the scale is lower, right? It's your body, you be the judge. If you are following the calorie goals set by MFP and eat back your calories and gain weight, you need to realize something is off. Either you are underreporting your calories in or overestimating your calories out. The quick fix would be to not eat any of your exercise calories...but by doing that have you really identified the source of the problem? Based on the number of different diet books out there, there seems to be an infinite number of ways to lose weight. Everyone should find what works best for them. Eat them, don't eat them, it's your choice.