Exercise calories..Confused!! HELP ME!

agarris4

hey! MFP currently has my daily caloric intake at 1620, but I typically only eat 1300-1400. I exercise at least 4 times a week, burning 550-700 each time. My question is, am I supposed to eat my exercise calories? I've heard so many different opinions and I want to know what is working for everyone. The main reason I am asking is because I am typically under my calories by 200-300 (as previously mentioned) and if I burn 700 that means I need to eat about 1000 more calories. Which to me is impossible! I used to eat that much without exercise and I could never eat that much again. Please help
Me! (Disclaimer, I realize I have lost 7 lbs in a week, typically unhealthy, but I went from never exercising and eating all the time to busting my butt in the gym and watching my portions!! My doctor has said I am perfectly fine. Please don't chastise me! Lol.)

Anyway, please help! I also work out later (8-9ish), so to eat that many calories before I go to bed is ridiculous!

jamielise2

If you don't start eating back some of your exercise calories you'll soon hit a plateau. You want to make sure your NET calories stay about 1200-1400 for the day. I tended to leave about 500-600 calories total at the end of the day after workouts, and when I stopped losing weight I started eating MORE and started dropping again. Now I'm keeping my net about 1400 calories, and right now my body seems to like that.

luminescence

Always eat your exercise calories. Always.

agarris4

If I way that much though I literally feel sick. I eat very good meals. Not like im eatin jello and water. Lol. I hate this!! Thank you though!

chevy88grl

You will need to figure out what works for YOUR body. For me, I eat them back because I know what happens when my daily calories are too low - I gain weight. So, I always eat them back. I am happily maintaining my weight.

I would try and be as close as possible to the number that MFP gave you for calories since MFP already figures in a deficit because it assumes you aren't going to exercise.

If MFP tells you to eat 1200 calories a day - 400 calories burned = 800 NET calories (this is how many calories you are really eating) + 400 calories eaten back after exercise = 1200 which is your original goal. Now, MFP is going to say you ate 1600 total, but you are only NETTING 1200 since you worked out and burned 400 of them off.

If you know you are going to workout later in the day and are concerned with eating back the calories at night (BTW, I eat EVERY single night before bed and have lost 60lbs - it isn't WHEN you eat, but WHAT you are eating!) than make sure to add some calories to each meal through the day. That way - you'll have eaten those calories before you even go to the gym.

Nuts, peanut butter and protein shakes are an easy way to up your calories. Have some almonds as a snack in the afternoon, have peanut butter and apples with lunch, eat a larger dinner and have a protein shake with milk after you workout - you'll be able to add those calories in easily without overeating.

muitobem

I know I should, but I just can't eat all those extra calories! I feel like such a pig when I do...I'm usually under everyday. And I exercise hard 3 days a week and moderate 2 days...I burn a lot of calories through the week and I don't workout on weekends because that is my family time...but even on those days, I don't eat my calories..I've lost about 30 lbs from last July to March doing this and since I started on here, another 8...so, I don't know..

vpsmith14

I've been there. If I don't consistently eat them back I plateau. Never fails. I went on vacation a few weeks ago and only continued my exercising not at all paying attention to what I ate. I stayed exactly the same weight. Got home, began my calories again and gained a pound. My husband told me, "I told you so. On vacation you were eating at least enough to maintain." I always eat them back. The road has been long and this has been shown to me over and over again that I need to eat them back. I was like you. I would burn those calories out in a workout too. Upwards to 700-800 a day and I couldn't come close to eating them back and I wasn't losing. Finally, I realized the truth that I HAD to eat them back so I had to cut my workouts down to burning between 4 and 500 calories a day. Otherwise, I just couldn't eat enough.

good luck,
Tricia

jenebean1983

Now this is just what I have been told from my Curves trainers. The calories MFP gives us is far too many. I'm doing 1200 one week and then 1500 for 3 weeks and doing the cycle over again. Then your body never has a chance to plateau. Also my trainer says never eat your exercize calories. No one can really ever know how many calories they burn (i.e. sleeping, breathing walking, being alive in general). You can do it and I know you'll still get a lot of different answers on here, but kudos to you for doing something about your weight and health in general!

chevy88grl

Now this is just what I have been told from my Curves trainers. The calories MFP gives us is far too many. I'm doing 1200 one week and then 1500 for 3 weeks and doing the cycle over again. Then your body never has a chance to plateau. Also my trainer says never eat your exercize calories. No one can really ever know how many calories they burn (i.e. sleeping, breathing walking, being alive in general). You can do it and I know you'll still get a lot of different answers on here, but kudos to you for doing something about your weight and health in general!

One thing is.. MFP works differently than other sources. When it gives you your daily calories - it has already figured in a deficit based on the information you put in. It just assumes you aren't going to exercise at all. This website is designed for you to eat your exercise calories back if you are following the calorie guidelines MFP is giving you.

For me, MFP gives me far too few calories a day. I have figured out what works for me and it isn't even close to what MFP wants me to have in a day.

dancingphoenix

The first chunk of weightloss that goes real fast is gonna be the extra water you may be holding and also the extra weight from dooky... I just started too, and I noticed that went first... especially if you aren't putting as much in as you were before, it has to work itself out.. LOL. My plan is to do what I am doing (which seems similar to what you are currently doing) for a few weeks, then if I seem to plateau and not loose weight, then I plan to look more closely to what the calorie intake is and perhaps eat more in order to kick-start my metabolism again, and also look at my exercises and switch up intensity. Best of luck to you!

ashleymmc20

I started eating them back this week, and after a two weeks of busting my *kitten* with no results, I dropped two pounds in one night. It works. That's all there is to it!!

agarris4

Thanks everyone! Like I said it's just almost near impossible for me to eat that much. Even before I started this my main caloric intake was junk food, and I'm not going back to that. I actually ate pretty healthy meals. So my weight gain was from junk. It's literally hard for me to eat that much. I can't even eat my 1600 of just my regular calories, before exercise!

afwg1979

I am so glad someone brought this up because I had the same exact concerns.

I copied and pasted the best feedbacks and will review them tomorrow to see what's what. (It's too late for "brain" work.)

I'm so excited about waking up tomorrow morning: I get to weigh myself and expect to smile at the numbers - I've been super good for seven straight days. :bigsmile:

100lb

How are you working out calories burnt by exercise? MFP tends to be over generous, so if you are going by them then you will think you need more than you do.

You don't say whether you are taking protein drinks or whether you are doing mainly cardio.

If you haven't reached a plateau then maybe it's not such a big worry yet? I wouldn't try and increase by eating junk.

I lost 10lb first week and have only being going a month so far. So don't think your initial loss is anything to worry about, as started above the initial is water

agarris4

I do about 20 mins of strength training and about an hour of cardio, so most of my work out is from cardio. I don't take protein shakes, but I might eat a protein bar or something high in protein.

100lb

I'm keeping a low fat diet and do cardio n strength. Your body needs protein to repair muscle and so it doesn't strip it from elsewhere, you need to keep levels up. You do need some fat but like me you have stores ready for use :-)

My legs are powerhouses so I tend to do elliptical trainer for 30 mins on highest resistance or a couple points below at 70rpm which today was 520 cals, lower than the 550 MFP states, but higher than the 400 when I first started a month ago. I'm aiming to get to 550 in under 30 mins eventually. I'll then do strength n loose weights before a 30 min cycle and/or maybe 20 min HIIT jog.

I only log the cardio, but the 1000 kCal knocks my counter in to the negative, but I only add a couple of shakes back in.

Ignoring the exercise ensure you are not going below 1200, otherwise your body may go into station mode and strip muscle before fat. MFP says I need 1900 and I usually do 1600, on gym days I'm adding 300 more but then burning lots more.