Who does not eat back exercise calories???
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Good morning! As promised, I'm reporting my discussion with my nutritionist yesterday. We spoke specifically about me, and it doesn't mean everyone should do what she instructed me to do!
I am 26 years old, 5'6 and weigh 215. I started at 239 in June and have lost 24lbs very quickly. I started exercising at the end of July (swimming, elliptical, kickboxing) for 1-1.5 hours 6 days a week, with 1 day of rest. I had my calories set at 1600 per day, and if I felt hungry for any reason at all, I allowed myself to eat a few hundred extra calories. I didn't often feel hungry, however, and kept it at 1600, being sure I hit the 1600 every day. I have been pretty tired lately, though, probably due to waking up early for exercise before work (get up at 5AM every day), exercise my body is adjusting to, and probably eating too few calories.
Yesterday, my nutritionist advised that I should up my regular calorie goal to 1800, which will "account" for "eating back" SOME of my exercise calories. She still said that if I feel tired or hungry, I should eat a bit more if I want, but it's not necessary.
To summarize: increasing calories to 1800, continuing workout schedule, and eating a few extra calories if I find myself hungry or tired on a day of a hard workout. Do whatever works for you, though!!!0 -
Good morning! As promised, I'm reporting my discussion with my nutritionist yesterday. We spoke specifically about me, and it doesn't mean everyone should do what she instructed me to do!
I am 26 years old, 5'6 and weigh 215. I started at 239 in June and have lost 24lbs very quickly. I started exercising at the end of July (swimming, elliptical, kickboxing) for 1-1.5 hours 6 days a week, with 1 day of rest. I had my calories set at 1600 per day, and if I felt hungry for any reason at all, I allowed myself to eat a few hundred extra calories. I didn't often feel hungry, however, and kept it at 1600, being sure I hit the 1600 every day. I have been pretty tired lately, though, probably due to waking up early for exercise before work (get up at 5AM every day), exercise my body is adjusting to, and probably eating too few calories.
Yesterday, my nutritionist advised that I should up my regular calorie goal to 1800, which will "account" for "eating back" SOME of my exercise calories. She still said that if I feel tired or hungry, I should eat a bit more if I want, but it's not necessary.
To summarize: increasing calories to 1800, continuing workout schedule, and eating a few extra calories if I find myself hungry or tired on a day of a hard workout. Do whatever works for you, though!!!
Sounds like great advice, and I wish those on 1200-1300 cal diets that don't eat their exercise calories would do (up their activity level and not eat exercise calories, or keep your intake at 1200-1300 and eat your exercise calories).
Nice abs by the way.
This is almost exactly what I mentioned she would suggest, in my post yesterday. Most likely she based your intake on TDEE (which includes planned exercise calories) then created a deficit from that number. This puts you in almost the same place MFP would put you in if you followed their set up and inputted your goal and ate most of your exercise calories.0 -
I sometimes eat them all back, sometimes don't eat any back. Usually some point in between.
Enjoying reading everyone's responses!
(Um edited to add have only been doing this for 2 weeks! In the past when I dieted I never ate more than 1300 calories and it took ages to lose weight-even though I exercise 6-7 times a week. Have already lost 1kg in 8 days so this is working well!)0 -
I don’t eat exercise calories back.
Consuming exercise calories on purpose doesn’t make any sense to me.
My logic: I don't create calorie deficit to waste it by eating additional calories.
I lost 46 pounds in 2010 and 21 this year.
Agreed, thank you.0 -
I don’t eat exercise calories back.
Consuming exercise calories on purpose doesn’t make any sense to me.
My logic: I don't create calorie deficit to waste it by eating additional calories.
I lost 46 pounds in 2010 and 21 this year.
Agreed, thank you.
The person you quoted doesn't seem to understand that you are still in a deficit if you eat 100% of your cals, this is the deficit to lose your goal amount of weight. If you were eating maintenance cals and wanted to lose weight you should not eat the exercise cals and let the exercise be your deficit, but that is not how MFP works, MFP gives you a deficit without exercise, if you exercise you increase that deficit and a too large of a deficit can have numerous negative side effects.0 -
Let's just all agree to disagree and put an end to a thread that is discussed far too often with the same result.0
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2nd that motion…..
knowledge = knowledge
knowledge + application = wisdom
wisdom + consistent application = results
We can all get knowledge from others, and their experience, however, you have to put it in motion, learn what works on you, adapt, and repeat until you get the results.0 -
I do bike touring, so go on fairly long rides, sometimes for days at a stretch of about 80 - 100 km/day. training runs are about 20km daily in the form of commuting to and from work with some detours to make up the mileage, with one long ride during the weekend of 60-70 km. On ordinary days i eat some of those calories back, but in moderation. However, during long rides, in this kind of endurance scenario, you need to eat lots of calories just to be able to complete the ride and keep functioning. And you need to that over the course of the day. Even so, I try to stay within a sensible limit, but I don't think I eat them all back. I do try to keep blood sugars fairly low and under control, being well aware that my muscles need glucose first. I've been at my goal weight for 3 months now, and maintaining. I do try to not let my daily calories get out of control though.I don’t eat exercise calories back.
Consuming exercise calories on purpose doesn’t make any sense to me.
My logic: I don't create calorie deficit to waste it by eating additional calories.
I lost 46 pounds in 2010 and 21 this year.0 -
As a general rule I never eat them back (occasionally I do if I'm out for dinner or fancy a treat or w/e) I've lost 34lbs. so far, no plateauing, and it's working for me, I personally don't feel like I *could* eat my exercise calories back to continue loosing and I'm generally sticking at a 2lb loss each week, but I'll re-evaluate when I'm maintaining obviously. I don't have any negative 'side effects' from it either, occasionally I feel more tired than normal, but I'll eat enough to perk myself up after it, what it boils down to is what works for you I guess, as an individual.0
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So when I first started losing weight I didn't eat back my exercise calories at all. I got stuck at 135lbs forever despite a substantial daily calorie deficit and 6x a week cardio.
The I joined MFP, learned about eating more (and strength training) and the last 11lbs have come off really quickly. I think especially as you get closer to your goal weight its important to eat more, the last 10 or 20 lbs are HARD to lose and then you have to maintain.
I still lose about a half to a full lb a week and I feel like I eat more now then I did when I was fat, which is awesome!0 -
For the life of me I can't understand why this topic is so controversial. If what you're doing is comfortable and works for you then keep doing it. The end.
Because some people keep on pushing others to eat back all exercise calories. It doesn't matter if you eat it back or no, the bottomline here is that if YOU EAT MORE THAN YOU BURN, YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT. BURN MORE THAN YOU EAT AND YOU WILL LOSE THE WEIGHT. Our body cannot tell a difference between the essential & exercise calories, PERIOD. Its up to you to eat it or not. As long as you take in more than you burn, don't be surprised if you're not losing anything.
Geez, you know what I never heard of a thing called "exercise calories" before. I only encountered it here but in real life, exercise calories are counted as calorie deficits.
Maybe it's just me, but I'm just not influenced by what other people are doing or think I should be doing if my program is working for me. This whole debate stems from people feeling that their approach to eating/not eating needs to be validated by others. I don't get it.
Btw, eating more than you burn doesn't cause weight gain - eating more than MAINTENANCE is what causes weight gain. This is why people on both sides are losing weight! Both groups are still in calorie deficit. This is why I say do what you're comfortable with if it is working for you. Validation from others should not be needed.0 -
As a general rule I never eat them back (occasionally I do if I'm out for dinner or fancy a treat or w/e) I've lost 34lbs. so far, no plateauing, and it's working for me, I personally don't feel like I *could* eat my exercise calories back to continue loosing and I'm generally sticking at a 2lb loss each week, but I'll re-evaluate when I'm maintaining obviously. I don't have any negative 'side effects' from it either, occasionally I feel more tired than normal, but I'll eat enough to perk myself up after it, what it boils down to is what works for you I guess, as an individual.
With only 18 lbs to go you should be aiming for a loss of 0.5-1 lb/week otherwise you will be burning lean muscle, which will lower your metabolism.0 -
Right now my exercise consists only of weight training so I haven't been eating exercise calories... but I suppose if I was burning way more calories during a workout I'd try to eat at least some of it back...
My daily calories are set at 1300 though... and if I burned like 200-300 calories in a workout I'd be living off 1000 cals a day... and I'm no genius but that doesn't sound terribly healthy to me.0 -
Of course, since then, I've really learned alot more about caloric intake and how it effects MY body. I won't preach to everyone, but I'm a big believer in lifting and lifting hard while maintaining lots of good fuel for my body and sticking to cardio to assist in burning fat. I'm a fan of the lemon guy...
And does PSU mean Penn State?
Thanks, and yes PSU does stand for penn state.0 -
Good morning! As promised, I'm reporting my discussion with my nutritionist yesterday. We spoke specifically about me, and it doesn't mean everyone should do what she instructed me to do!
I am 26 years old, 5'6 and weigh 215. I started at 239 in June and have lost 24lbs very quickly. I started exercising at the end of July (swimming, elliptical, kickboxing) for 1-1.5 hours 6 days a week, with 1 day of rest. I had my calories set at 1600 per day, and if I felt hungry for any reason at all, I allowed myself to eat a few hundred extra calories. I didn't often feel hungry, however, and kept it at 1600, being sure I hit the 1600 every day. I have been pretty tired lately, though, probably due to waking up early for exercise before work (get up at 5AM every day), exercise my body is adjusting to, and probably eating too few calories.
Yesterday, my nutritionist advised that I should up my regular calorie goal to 1800, which will "account" for "eating back" SOME of my exercise calories. She still said that if I feel tired or hungry, I should eat a bit more if I want, but it's not necessary.
To summarize: increasing calories to 1800, continuing workout schedule, and eating a few extra calories if I find myself hungry or tired on a day of a hard workout. Do whatever works for you, though!!!
I agree with this approach 100%. When I first started tracking my calories, I had myself set as lightly active so I didn't realize it at the time but I was technically eating some of my exercise calories, but I would make it up in good nutrition, tons of fresh veggies & fruit and a good amount of protein. I was on a high protein diet so I was eating mostly foods high in protein which tend to be kinda high in calories. Even a lot of protein supps are high in calories.
When I joined MFP, it set me at 1200 calories. I was starved. It didn't make any sense to me to always be so miserable if I was in it for the long haul. Your body does not want to be starved - eating back some of exercise cals gives me enough room for breakfast, a snack, lunch, a snack, a pre-workout shake, a post workout shake & an end of day snack. I don't know a single skinny, fit person that only eats 1200 calories. So I upped my cals & changed myself to lightly active again. I was eating my exercise calories again and started seeing real results. The first week I did that I lost 2 lbs and have been losing a good amount of weight every week eating part of my exercise calories back.
For those of you who don't eat any of your exercise calories, why would you not want to? Our bodies are a lot smarter than we know, and adapt to fewer calories pretty quick. Once your body gets efficient at using less calories, we plateau. Ok so for a few months you may lose a little extra but what happens when you plateau - are you going to stop eating altogether?0 -
Good for you!
Maybe it's just me, but I'm just not influenced by what other people are doing or think I should be doing if my program is working for me. This whole debate stems from people feeling that their approach to eating/not eating needs to be validated by others. I don't get it.
Btw, eating more than you burn doesn't cause weight gain - eating more than MAINTENANCE is what causes weight gain. This is why people on both sides are losing weight! Both groups are still in calorie deficit. This is why I say do what you're comfortable with if it is working for you. Validation from others should not be needed.
The problem here is some people, like myself are still at a trying stage and would like to be convinced with successs stories from those who actually found their way of making things working.
As far as the discussion/argument/debate, what did they say? "Every man's way is a good way but for some reason we tend to think other's is just not as good as ours". LOL0 -
Good for you!
Maybe it's just me, but I'm just not influenced by what other people are doing or think I should be doing if my program is working for me. This whole debate stems from people feeling that their approach to eating/not eating needs to be validated by others. I don't get it.
Btw, eating more than you burn doesn't cause weight gain - eating more than MAINTENANCE is what causes weight gain. This is why people on both sides are losing weight! Both groups are still in calorie deficit. This is why I say do what you're comfortable with if it is working for you. Validation from others should not be needed.
The problem here is some people, like myself are still at a trying stage and would like to be convinced with successs stories from those who actually found their way of making things working.
As far as the discussion/argument/debate, what did they say? "Every man's way is a good way but for some reason we tend to think other's is just not as good as ours". LOL
So here is my question, define success. Some people want the athletic look, some just want to be very skinny without definition. Some people probably wouldn't consider my story a success because I didnt' need to lose 100 lbs or 50 lbs but only 20. I started with 18% body fat and last I checked (60 days ago) I was 11.75%. Overall, that is a 33% reduction in overall body fat.
Here is the thing. I guarentee almost every one in this thread has an idea of what they want to look like but my question is, do they train like that person. Essentially, if you want to look liek an athlete, you have train and eat like one. Athletes eat a lot because they use a lot of calories. it's why so many of them get fat when they stop playing sports because they dont know any other way to eat. If you want some more proof, here is a thread I started. If you look at all the people who have low body fat, they all eat a good amount of calories.. Many over 2000. There is a reason for it. Something to consider.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/282320-caloric-intake-body-fat0 -
Of course, since then, I've really learned alot more about caloric intake and how it effects MY body. I won't preach to everyone, but I'm a big believer in lifting and lifting hard while maintaining lots of good fuel for my body and sticking to cardio to assist in burning fat. I'm a fan of the lemon guy...
And does PSU mean Penn State?
Thanks, and yes PSU does stand for penn state.
Well in that case... Roll Tide!! Lookin' forward to the game... I kinda feel bad for your QB.0 -
Right now my exercise consists only of weight training so I haven't been eating exercise calories... but I suppose if I was burning way more calories during a workout I'd try to eat at least some of it back...
My daily calories are set at 1300 though... and if I burned like 200-300 calories in a workout I'd be living off 1000 cals a day... and I'm no genius but that doesn't sound terribly healthy to me.
As someone who started only doing cardio and then switching to hard lifting, I need MORE cals from the lifting program.
But this discussion frustrates me... No one is going to change their mind. I will bow out...0 -
I don't normally eat them back. Exercise is for keeping my thoughts positive. When I start not wanting to workout I know the diet is next.0
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