not working out = not eating as much?

missxlaur

hey everyone,

i know that when i exercise i'm burning calories and therefore need to eat more. i also find that when i work out a lot i'm always WAY more hungry, because my metabolism is really working.

do any of you find that to be uncomfortable, when you want to eat more because of working out? do you almost prefer not working out and just not eating as much? i haven't been working out as much lately and i feel guilty, but i almost feel better because i'm more easily able to maintain my 1200 cals/day. please let me know! i hope i'm not alone. i know i'll start working out again soon, but i'm trying to reconcile this feeling.

thanks

erickirb

You should eat more when you workout, so why would you feel bad about that.

If you eat 1600 cals and burn 400 from exercise would be the same as eating 1200 and not exercising, as far as weigh loss goes as 1600-400 = 1200 - 0, both give you 1200 Net cals. On top of that you would be more healthy eating the 1600 and working out, and you will have a lower body fat % when you reach your goal weight then if you did not workout.

GymRatRaceRunner

I love working out to be able to eat more! I never eat all my workout calories back, but I like being able to have another meal or a couple of snacks. I'm still losing weight, so I don't feel guilty about it. It's like my treat for exercising...

erickirb

I love working out to be able to eat more! I never eat all my workout calories back, but I like being able to have another meal or a couple of snacks. I'm still losing weight, so I don't feel guilty about it. It's like my treat for exercising...

I don't view it as a treat, I try to view it as a necessity to fuel my workouts. If I didn't eat enough my workouts would suffer (lift less weight, not run as fast etc.)

PBJunkie

I love working out to be able to eat more! I never eat all my workout calories back, but I like being able to have another meal or a couple of snacks. I'm still losing weight, so I don't feel guilty about it. It's like my treat for exercising...

I don't view it as a treat, I try to view it as a necessity to fuel my workouts. If I didn't eat enough my workouts would suffer (lift less weight, not run as fast etc.)

There ya go

Jess22542

You definitely will need ot eat more when you work out. Nothing wrong with that. Just make sure what you're eating is healthy. To help, try eating something healthy right after your workout. That will help prevent you from feeling starving later. Try a protein shake, low fat yogurt with strawberry slices, or a bagel (or banana) with peanut butter. Get up the good work!

Hourglass25

I love working out to be able to eat more! I never eat all my workout calories back, but I like being able to have another meal or a couple of snacks. I'm still losing weight, so I don't feel guilty about it. It's like my treat for exercising...

I also feel this way

Goomph

I love working out !!! It allows me to eat more if I have the inclination. I have a very sedentary life stlye, as a result I am on a 1,200 calorie a day diet. Being used to eating whatever I wanted to eat whenever I wanted to, there is no way that I can stop myself at 1,200 calories. I exercise as much as my time allows me, and I usually have around 1,000 calories extra to play with.

That allows me to eat little bit more, have a few glasses of scotch usually, some chips and I am still ahead by 500-600 calories ahead , meaning I do not eat all of my exercise calories. If I had to eat just 1,200 calories a day I would feel very restricted, and probably fall off the train .... Knowing that I will have more calories allows me to suppress my appetite and I do not go into a fake hunger situation, becasue I know I can eat all I wanted.

I should add that I telecommute, and sit on my sofa all day in front of laptops, long working hours. Thus the sedentary lifestyle. I also eat (well used to, the temptation is always there) when I am stressed out or frustrated, and working at home does not help with that.

But, we are all different, if you do not have to loose fat, as long as you are loosing weight by eating healthy and within your calories you will loose weight, and I see nothing wrong with that. Of course, you realize that exercise makes us healthier .... and that reflects on everything we do ....

bcattoes

I don't usually eat more when I work out. I just go over on calories on days that I don't work out (which is how I packed on 30 lbs in the first place). If I only eat 1200 calories I can't include wine and still get enough nutrition. And I like wine, so I workout as often as I can.

Hearts_2015

I love working out to be able to eat more! I never eat all my workout calories back, but I like being able to have another meal or a couple of snacks. I'm still losing weight, so I don't feel guilty about it. It's like my treat for exercising...

I don't view it as a treat, I try to view it as a necessity to fuel my workouts. If I didn't eat enough my workouts would suffer (lift less weight, not run as fast etc.)

There ya go

+ 1 Great advice Eric! This is how I view my workouts/eating as well. Food is my fuel to keep my body going, I can always tell when I'm shorting myself as I feel it in my workouts!:sick:

To the OP I think in time you develop a balance between workouts and food, it takes some longer to grasp that (not saying you!:happy: ) but in general. I'm not sure many of us, unless we'd had a lot of knowledge when we first started on the site knew what the balance was. It seemed to come naturally to me after a bit of experimenting.

Have a great day All!:flowerforyou:

Scoobies87

I love working out to be able to eat more! I never eat all my workout calories back, but I like being able to have another meal or a couple of snacks. I'm still losing weight, so I don't feel guilty about it. It's like my treat for exercising...

I also feel this way

Me too! If I fancy a chocolate bar or something I will wait until a zumba/hardcore workout day coz I know I will burn it off!

GymRatRaceRunner

I love working out to be able to eat more! I never eat all my workout calories back, but I like being able to have another meal or a couple of snacks. I'm still losing weight, so I don't feel guilty about it. It's like my treat for exercising...

I don't view it as a treat, I try to view it as a necessity to fuel my workouts. If I didn't eat enough my workouts would suffer (lift less weight, not run as fast etc.)

There ya go

Haha! Well I usually do my workouts in the evening, so when I know I'm going to the gym after work, I will consume the majority of my daily calories before I even go (leaving nothing left for the evening, but gives me plenty of energy for my workout). If I don't go to the gym, I can't eat anything that night. And when I do go the gym, depending on how good or bad I do, I can treat myself afterwards...usually a high protein, after-workout meal, followed by a before-bed snack (that's what I consider a treat). I usually try to burn 1000+ calories while at the gym. (1-2 hrs strength training + 1-2 hrs cardio)

LorinaLynn

I like how I feel after I exercise, but I really do it to eat more. :laugh:

I love food. Running a few miles seems like a great price to pay to not feel deprived.

marianne_s

When I first started on MFP, I worked out just so I could eat more... lol...!

Now 7 months on, my appetite has shrunk... I still work out because I want my body to be as toned as possible when I get down to my goal weight.

I like the added benefit of being able to eat more on high calorie burn days, because this allows me some flexibility in my diet (e.g. larger lunch, light dinner or vice versa)

Personally, I found it a struggle to stick to 1200 without exercising.

VeganGal84

Nope, I love to work out and eat my exercise calories! Give me more food, please.

I had such a hard time sticking to my calories on days off from exercise. I've just accepted that my body wants about 1600 calories a day, exercise or not, and some days that means I go over, and some days that means I go under.

Whatever works for you is great, but I don't recommend not exercising just to avoid eating more... that sounds pretty counterproductive to me.

elfy66

Lauren, did you mean more a control problem? For example, you want to lose weight so you *should* be eating less. But you exercise and then eat lots more (which is understandable and healthy), but you have to log all those extra calories and it can make you feel a little bit out of control?

gdengler

MFP calculates your calorie needs for weight loss so if it says to eat 1200 calories a day but then you work out and burn 300 calories, you actually need to eat back the 300 workout calories so that you stay at 1200 calories overall for the day.

Whether or not you exercise, you want to always stay at the number of calories MFP calculates for your weight loss goals. If you eat less calories then what MFP recommends this could stall your weight loss since your body will be in starvation mode. A lot of people think that if they eat less than what is recommended, then the weight will come off faster but the truth is it will have the opposite effect.

Another suggestion would be when you do start working out again to focus on strength training instead of cardio. You can do a small amount of cardio to warm up and/or cool down, but you'll have greater success with the strength training.

Good luck!! :-)

ItsCasey

I prefer working out because I know exercise is the only way I'm going to keep the weight off in the long run. The older you get, the less room there is for error in your diet if you aren't getting regular exercise. Plus, I just love the way I feel when I'm on a regular exercise schedule. I feel lazy and sluggish and fat when I'm not working out, even if I'm barely eating 1200 calories per day.

And since I have transitioned my workouts from about 40% strength training/60% cardio to about 90% strength training, I have noticed that I just cannot do the work if I don't eat properly (meaning the right foods and the right amount of calories). So I do not feel guilty at all about eating more on training days.

Punkedpoetess

Personally I like being able to eat more on active days. I try to make healthy choices the majority of the time so that I fuel my body and feel good. I find rest days the most challenging and I feel better in general when I exercise both hunger wise and mentally as well.