Calories Question

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duncanryan
duncanryan Posts: 122 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been reading a few threads in which lots of people are saying to make sure you "eat your exercise calories." There have been a few days after I've had a really good workout to where I'll have 1500 - 2000 calories left afterwards. I'm guessing this means I should be eating more during the day? Not sure it'd be a good idea to eat that many calories late at night after a workout. Any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks!

Replies

  • Angela4Health
    Angela4Health Posts: 1,319 Member
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    If you know you're going to get in exercise later, try to add some more calories during the day, but it's okay to eat at night as well. I wouldn't have a 500 meal at night before bedtime, but you know, you can eat at night, because contrary to popular belief, we do still burn calories during our sleep!
  • duncanryan
    duncanryan Posts: 122 Member
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    Thanks! I was also thinking that I might want to increase my weight loss goal from 2lbs/week to more because I haven't really been that hungry during the day. Do you think that would be appropriate or that I should stick to the 2lbs/week and eat more?
  • rhirvo
    rhirvo Posts: 162 Member
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    What I have been doing is eating only part of them back- since I am on the lowest calorie allowance of 1200 - when I do workout and burn lets say 500cal I will eat 300 of them back - so 1500 cal.. that way I am still getting the benefit of the extra negative calories.
  • Angela4Health
    Angela4Health Posts: 1,319 Member
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    More than 2lbs a week is not healthy, and it's also not healthy to net less than 1200 calories. Not that you won't lose weight that way, you will in the beginning I'm sure, but you will hit a plateau, and when you start eating more, you will gain it back! So that's not really a good idea.
  • Angela4Health
    Angela4Health Posts: 1,319 Member
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    What I have been doing is eating only part of them back- since I am on the lowest calorie allowance of 1200 - when I do workout and burn lets say 500cal I will eat 300 of them back - so 1500 cal.. that way I am still getting the benefit of the extra negative calories.

    If you're already on a 1200 calorie limit, then you should be eating every single calorie back because if you're not that means you're netting less than 1200.
  • duncanryan
    duncanryan Posts: 122 Member
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    Sounds good, I'll start eating more then!
  • sh0ck
    sh0ck Posts: 168 Member
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    You body needs calories to survive (i.e. keep your body running all day). I don't know what your food diary looks like but if you end the day with a 1k+ deficit then chances are you aren't eating enough.

    MFP automatically programs in a deficit to help you lose the weight that you want so you are supposed to eat the calories it assigns for you each day. Of course it is ok to go over/under a bit but going 1k+ under your already programmed deficit sounds a little iffy.

    What sort of stuff are you eating during the day? How often? What sorts of foods? How many calories?
  • hydrosmak
    hydrosmak Posts: 16
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    What kind of exercise are you doing that burns enough calories to get that big of a deficit?
  • duncanryan
    duncanryan Posts: 122 Member
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    My diary is public, so you can take a look if you'd like. Usually have cereal for breakfast. Lunch is a sandwich, yogurt, rice cakes (mini), applesauce and reduced fat chips. Dinner is variable, but usually between 400-700 calories. So I probably eat around 1300 calories a day before a workout.

    When I workout, I usually do the elliptical for 60 minutes at a pretty high pace (>5.5 mph) which burns 1000 calories for me. I try to mix in a little lifting after but need to get better at that.
  • MalDunc2012
    MalDunc2012 Posts: 170 Member
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    How about addingi n some kind of protein shake, to up your calories and help build muscle? Any advice on that, anyone?
  • cardbucfan
    cardbucfan Posts: 10,396 Member
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    I'd change up breakfast and have something with protein in it. Also, add in an afternoon snack. You ought to be eating every 2-3 hours. Up your protein levels. Additionally, are you using a heart rate monitor (HRM) to determine your exercise calories or are you relying on the machine? If you are relying on the machine, be careful because I have found that the counts for me are off quite a bit from my HRM.
  • duncanryan
    duncanryan Posts: 122 Member
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    Recently, my job has not allowed for me to eat every 2-3 hours as I'm with patients most of the day. In the near future, we will slow down so I will be able to do that. Also, I am taking my calories from the machine as I do not have a HRM. I'm thinking my speed on the elliptical may be above that needed to burn fat, because I'm usually going at an intense pace.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    It doesn't matter what time of day you eat your calories. If you are hungry throughout the day then eat more throughout the day.

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