Eating all of your exercise calories back?

aurorasangel2000

I know that it's better to eat at least a portion of your exercise calories back. I already do that, by at least half, if not more. I was just wondering if it's necessary to eat ALL of the exercise calories back. I actually aim to have a decent amount left over at the end of the day. Curious on what others may think or feel about this, and whether it may be more of a harm than help to my weightloss journey...

BeautyFromPain

bump

Marcel7

It doesn't make sense to me to force yourself to eat. I don't worry about eating all of my exercise calories. I try to stay under my calorie goal like you do since I am trying to lose weight.

mccgivens

bump

sarscott

I typically do not eat back any of my exercise calories. It doesn't make sense to me to eat back what I've worked so hard to burn off. But maybe that's a wrong thought?

LiL_MisS_C

I leave 4 at the most usually....and eat back the rest of each delicious calorie. lol.

unhinge

You will get loads of answers both ways on this and there are allot of posts if you search but this might help:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/61706-guide-to-calorie-deficits

Good luck!

Megan2Project

I have a lot of weight to lose, so I don't usually eat them back. As I get closer to my goal I plan on starting to eat them back.

laneybird

Because I weigh a lot, I burn a lot because I have intense workouts. I only eat back some of my calories if I am hungry. I know when I hit a plateau, I will try to eat more back or tweak my numbers, but in 5 months I've steadily lost this way.

Victoriav99

I don't..... Because most of the time I'm not hungry enough to eat my calories back. I won't force myself If i am not hungry.

karenbobaren

It doesn't make sense to me to force yourself to eat. I don't worry about eating all of my exercise calories. I try to stay under my calorie goal like you do since I am trying to lose weight.

So far I've been doing the same and then I also tend to fall off the band wagon so I'm wodering if I continue to eat under my calorie goal and don't eat my exercise calories will the affect me in the future?

chevy88grl

This website is designed for you to eat them back.

A lot of people do and a lot of people don't. I personally eat them back because I've found that NOT eating them back causes me to gain weight. Everyone's body is different and you'll just need to figure out what works best for you. But, if weight loss slows down or even stalls - don't be afraid to try something different.

sharonus

I always ate back my exercise calories. I always aimed to be within 100 calories (over or under) the total I was supposed to eat for the day. Frankly, I don't understand the people who talk about forcing yourself to eat those calories. I didn't become overweight because I had a problem eating! It doesn't take a lot of food to add up. Two tablespoons of peanut butter is nearly 200 calories, a container of yogurt (at least the kind I eat) is 180, 23 almonds is 160. Have a piece of chocolate or a beer. Feed yourself to help avoid the need to "break your diet" or "binge" later on.

killagb

I eat my exercise calories back, sometimes all, sometimes only most, but I try to get at least within 100 or so calories to the net goal with exercise included. It's helping to fuel your body to respond and recover from the exercise, it will help you be much healthier in the long run. Faster weight loss by depriving your body extra nutrients it craves from exercise is going to lead to more muscle loss than a nice slow pace. At least that's my opinion. :drinker:

daydream58

Nice - a couple of people actually mentioned staying within 100 calories of the daily goal... that is new information I've been wondering about as I noticed I have a HUGE tendency to do whatever it takes to make it about 250 under. No wonder I am not losing that fast. Very interesting!

aurorasangel2000

Thank you so much, everyone :-) I really appreciate the feed back. I had read something on a previous blog/post about how the site was designed to add the exercise calories back into what you were supposed to eat and still help you lose. I've just been burning a lot more calories recently, which is great :-) But, I've also found that when I have around 300-500 calories left at the end of the night, it tends to affect me differently than when I eat closer to my suggested calorie goals. I usually get sleepier and just don't have much of an appetite, which I know can't be a good sign... Thanks again! :-)

lovelee79

bump

What does "bump" mean ????

Birder150

I eat them back even when I don't exercise. :happy:

shorty458

Depends on the particular day. For example yesterday I took a 7 1/2 mile walk. Ended up having some pizza. I probably wouldn't have had pizza if I didn't exercise. However, if I am just doing the Wii Fit I typically don't eat those back. As long as I eat close to 1200 calories a day (w/o exercise) I am happy.

robinso5

bump back to the top!