Eating back exercise calories

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  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
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    To the OP - I eat my exercise calories. I may not be losing as fast as some others on the site, but I'm losing steadily and safely.

    ...while maintaining muscle mass.

    Truth! Actually gained some LBM over the last two months of beginner lifting. :bigsmile:
  • Rajrand
    Rajrand Posts: 13
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    so, to everyone who says they do not eat back their calories - what percentage of their maintenance are they talking about. For me MFP has given close to 480 cals deficit from maintenance and when i workout i burn anywhere between 500 to 600 cals. So, if i do not eat back my calories then my real deficit is around 1000 cals per day - so, if i eat my allocated 1800 cals. ONLY and let these 1000 in deficit will you not go into starvation mode. Now, on most days i am not able to eat all of them but since i have made some effort to eat them i have started to see weight loss. So, if you constantly stay lower then you will have to eat high atleast one day a week to restore your harmonal balance - - correct me if i am wrong
  • ilookthetype
    ilookthetype Posts: 3,021 Member
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    You shouldn't eat when you're not hungry, right? :)

    I wasn't hungry all day yesterday. Does that mean I shouldn't have eaten anything yesterday?

    Of course not. I forced myself to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner... and probably still under ate (taking the month off from logging).


    To the OP - I eat my exercise calories. I may not be losing as fast as some others on the site, but I'm losing steadily and safely.

    This ^ if I didn't make myself eat even when I didn't want to or wasn't hungry I would be back sitting in my ED. The above is solid, and I like how it's said.
  • SexyCook
    SexyCook Posts: 2,253 Member
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    Totally Agree with works for some and not others...I always eat most of my calories back including those exercise calories...I try only to leave no more than 400 on those days I am not hungry...Some people body needs the fuel back...
  • shenise734
    shenise734 Posts: 5 Member
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    I try not to eat more because 8 feel like it defeats the whole purpose of my exercising!
  • Scorpioangel
    Scorpioangel Posts: 951 Member
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    I am always confused on this but at times I do eat them back just because that day is a big eating day or something (parties, etc.) or I am just hungry. I don't make it a point to eat them back although maybe I should?
  • alantin
    alantin Posts: 621 Member
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    I try not to eat more because 8 feel like it defeats the whole purpose of my exercising!


    What is the purpose of your exercising?
  • chevy88grl
    chevy88grl Posts: 3,937 Member
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    I eat them because without them I

    A) am starving - especially right after the gym.

    B) gain weight when I don't consume enough calories in a day. No, it doesn't happen if I'm under one or two days, but if I start doing it for 3, 4, or more days - then I see a slow gain.
  • WeimingLi2979
    WeimingLi2979 Posts: 7 Member
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    In my opinion, if you are already creating a calorie deficit through your food intake already. Especially its a big deficit like 500. I think you definitely need to eat back your calories. If your exercise burns about 500 calories and you are not eating it back. Your deficit per day is at 1000. This is detrimental to your body in the long term because there is not enough nutrition to recover and protect your body.

    However if you are eating at maintenance and you are trying to create a deficit through exercise then it is reasonable for you not to eat back those calories. To a certain extent.

    Not eating back your calories that you burned through exercise because of fear of tracking it wrongly is not the right thinking. Why not take this opportunity to learn how to track properly and improve yourself? This way you can understand your own body at a even deeper level.

    Losing weight is important and we all want to do it as fast as possible but feeding our body properly for recovery and nutrition is needed for long term health benefits as well.

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