To eat or Not to eat- That is the question...

jennipooh82

I was wondering how many people eat their exercised calories, Like, lets say you have 1000 calories for the rest of the day and you burned 300 working out ,do you eat or allow yourself to eat those calories that you worked off?
Please let me know how this is working out for you. I have been eating them but I was wonder if it would be better if I didn't. r if I would loose more. Thanks for the feed back.

seasonalvoodoo

I eat almost all of my exercise calories. There are some days when I have too many, but even then I always make sure to net 1200.

brndygrl98

I find that if I eat them all back, I don't lose any or I lose very little weight. As a general rule, I eat back all but 200-300 calories. If I've had a really good eating day and only eaten about 1300 calories, I don't work out at all. It seems to be working for me.

bjohs

I eat back at least 75% of my exercise calories. My weight drops slowly if I don't.

hazelnutflav

no i never eat them all back i have a rule not to eat after 8pm by that time i have logged everything for the day and i always have calories remaining from working out 5xs a week.

jennipooh82

Like I said, I have been eating them ,and I have been losing about 2 pounds a week So I was thinking that if I just don't eat them then I would be that much better off. and lose a few extra pounds along my journey-

Please add me if you like I could always use the extra friends and motivation Thanks!

jenilla1

I always eat back at least 80%. It would be foolish to starve yourself. You need those calories to rebuild after exercise. Even if you eat them all, you are still at a deficit and will still be losing. It works for me just fine. I think the only way it wouldn't work is if you have overstated your set activity level, you overestimated the calories you actually burned, or you underestimated the calories you eat.

jennipooh82

Well that makes sense, I didn't want to over eat, I guess is what my fear was.

jen_42

I save them up and have a night where i dont count caleries..i find that if im eating up then it takes alot longer to lose the weight..

Mads1997

I lost the majority of my weight so far eating all my exercise cals back. I am starving if I don't

bjohs

Like I said, I have been eating them ,and I have been losing about 2 pounds a week So I was thinking that if I just don't eat them then I would be that much better off. and lose a few extra pounds along my journey-

Please add me if you like I could always use the extra friends and motivation Thanks!

The reason you are losing up to 2 lbs per week is BECAUSE you are eating back your calories! If you stop, your weight loss will slow down. Your body needs the fuel to keep your metabolism cruising right along. When it is denied the fuel, your metabolism will slow down to conserve energy for the next workout. Keep doing what you're doing. 2 pounds per week is a safe way to lose weight. It also sets you up for a lifetime of healthy eating habits that you can maintain.

suzooz

Congrats on losing 2 pounds / week -- based on that alone, I think you're doing the right thing for your body by eating them back. You are seeing tremendous success!

Anyway, I will typically eat mine back, with the exception of when I have a huge burn like on the weekends when I mow lawn. In those cases, I am often not hungry on the actual day that I exercise, but boy, am I hungry the next day! I then allow myself to eat a few more back when I am hungry -- even if I go over by 100 calories or so. It's my way of unofficially zig zagging calories. At that, though, I am averaging between 0.5 - 1 pound / week. For me, it's a good pace.

Keep it up!