Exercise and Extra Calories

toobigbuddha

I've been wondering about the comment on the Food tab after entering aerobic exercise:

"You've earned 635 extra calories from exercise today"

Is it really true? Could I eat a Pepperoni, cheese & tomato pizza (1000 calories) if I did the equivalent exercise to burn off the calories?

cmduncan

Theoretically, yes! Be careful of other factors like sodium (which can be very high in pizza), but in terms of calories - you can eat what you burn :-)

LovelySnugs

you could eat that pizza - but it's better to consume those calories in healthier, more appropriate ways that fit into the new lifestyle you're trying to build for yourself.

there's a sticky thread here in the forums, i think it's called 'links in mfp you'll want to read again and again'. i think that has some information relevant to what you're asking.

oh, wait. here's one that'll help you: www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com - just follow the links back here and read up. also, you can search the forums for 'eat back exercise calories' or something similar. as you stay longer and longer, you'll realize this issue is one of HOT debate. some people do it, some people don't, and they all have good reasons for their decisions. this one's personal.

irishwitch

I guess you could if you really wanted to. Probably not the best thing to eat. But as I have been told you want to eat at least 1200 calories a day Net. So yes you want to eat back some of your workout calories. If not all. Since you don't know if that is 100% correct in that you burned that many calories.

fatkidlovescake

Theoretically yes (agreed) but don't forget the fats, carbs and sodium in that pizza!
I don't tend to purposefully eat into my exercise calories as my exercise is very limited at the moment to due a recovering broken ankle - I have listed walking with crutches etc as exercise as well as the ab work I've been doing but don't consider that to be proper exercise - only listed as it is more than I was doing when unable to walk at all!!

Also, I feel that by cancelling out my exercise with food I may as well have not done either - once I am able to get back to higher impact exercise such as running or even a real workout - most dvds involve jumping about - I will aim to only eat my exercise calories if I feel hungry rather than swapping my healthy dinner for a high calorie one that won't make my tummy any happier than the low calorie alternative!

zeeeb

yep, but if you carry on eating junk food with little or no nutrition, it really won't do your body any favours. and will most likely lead you to eating more and more junk and start a bad cycle, especially if you have a habit of getting obsessed with or addicted to junk as many people (like myself have a tendency to do).

I eat my exercise calories, but try to eat more healthy and nutritious foods so my body performs better for me. i eat dried fruit and nuts, fresh fruit, full fat hommus with carrot sticks, full fat yohurt with honey as my extra foods to eat up my exercise calories, plenty of nutrition to fuel my workouts, as well as not being diet-ish type of food. I know it's good for me as well as being yummy and making me feel like i'm eating normal foods, not just lettuce and steamed vegies.

I have my treat at the weekend, usually dark chocolate to allow myself some sense of normality and a feeling as thought i'm not on a diet. I allow myself to have a couple of drinks every now and then, but keep it all controlled so it doesn't turn into a mega binge. I allow myself desert if i go out to a party or something, but make sure i control the portions.

deb_rn

Since I don't use a HRM, I am always unsure if the amount of calories that MFP says that I have burned is correct. So, I try not to eat all of the extra calories!

LovelySnugs

Since I don't use a HRM, I am always unsure if the amount of calories that MFP says that I have burned is correct. So, I try not to eat all of the extra calories!

this is another VERY valid opinion - some people buy heart rate monitors and discover that MFP was spot-on in its calorie counts for them. others, however, discover that it totally wasn't. - which is one reason why so many people are afraid to eat their exercise calories.

it is true that back when i was working out, i didn't eat very many of my exercise calories at all until i got my own HRM and figured out some more accurate numbers for myself.

irishwitch

It kind of depends on what your Goal calories are from MFP. And what your net calories end up after you enter your workout. I personally try to just get to about 1200 net calories. Any less and you can be doing harm. I was to myself anyways. So that is my personal experience. Once I started eating at least up to 1200 Net calories the weight started coming off. Before MFP I lost 50lbs like that.

Hope that helps some.