Do you eat your workout calories? If you do are you still lo

allison0820

I do eat my calories back within reason..... sometimes I workout twice a day and according to MFP.... my martial arts for 90 minutes burns like 1,300 calories... well I don't eat that back... but if I only do my quick workout at lunch for like 40 minutes and burn like 400 calories..yes I eat back about 1/2 of those sometimes more... and I am losing..slowly but surely.... I think it may vary from person to person.. everyone is different.

aqua_zumba_fan

I eat them back because otherwise my body is functioning on too little. If you are already eating under 1200 even that is not enough, so take away those 246 calories or whatever and it's way too low. If you net 1200 you will lose weight cos MFP has set that at the number of calories you need to net to lose weight. I'm losing weight. I count my calories weekly rather than daily (easy if you have app as it includes a graph) so I can zigzag calories a bit and my body doesn't get into a rhythm.

mgmlap

I am on a primal diet..so I dont really watch calories..I mostly watch my carbs...I try to stay under 100 a day since I am still trying to lose body fat...

hlodwig

I don't usually eat back my exercise calories, just because it seems rather counterproductive to my system - I haven't been able to lose weight when I do that. That being said however, I do ramp up my exercise calories in anticipation of periods when I will be eating more than usual (i.e, family gatherings!)

Candy42adore

I:laugh: LOVE THE dR PHIL PIC!!! LOL

Scarlett_S

I've done both. I am experimenting right now because I've been stuck in the same 2-3 pound weight range for over a month, after consistently losing for ten months. I know I am close to goal but I want to lose about 13-15 more pounds. So I am trying eating more. Yup. I normally eat 1400-1500 calories a day and exercise anywhere from 200-500 off depending on the day. I usually take weekends off from exercising (unless I do a 5K) and I eat more, so my calorie average over the last four to five months is between 1500-1600. So I am increasing cardio AND weight training for the month of January, increasing calories and protein, and increasing water intake. We'll see what happens. Worse case scenario I'll stay the same and have more muscle, right?

musicgirl88

I don't because
A) I stop losing weight when I do and
I'm never hungry enough to eat more

I know a ton of people disagree with this and that's okay, this is just what personally works for me. You guys can hate on me all you want, but I truly believe that (at least for me) "starvation mode" is something you reach when you are at your absolute thinnest-- it just doesn't make sense to me that if you have excess fat, that your body wouldn't burn it.

I know that I lost 50 lbs in the past by not eating my calories back, and gained a ton of muscle and held at about 17.5% BF. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

I 100% agree with you. I gained weight when I ate back my exercise calories! I even only ate back half in case I was over estimating what I burned, and still gained! It is really up to the individual. No one is exactly the same, what works for one person won't work for another. You just have to test it out and find what works for YOU. Your body will tell you what works, you just have to try out your options. It is not required to eat your calories back from exercise. Many people will shove it down your throat that you have to, but like i said, it's what works for YOU. Try eating all for a few weeks, if that doesn't work, only eat half, and if that still doesn't work then you might not need to eat them back.

JeanniebeanL79

That's the only reason I work out. Just kidding, sorta.

HAHA, I am the same way! lol

walkwithme1

I have never eaten back my calories. On a 1200 calorie plan and typically work out 4 or 5 times a week and have lost weight every week. I'm never hungry and even if I take a week off as long as I stick with my calories, I maintain my weight.

CRMrunner

I eat my calories back. I have since I started. I was losing for the first 15 pounds while eating calories back. I haven't lost as much lately, but I didn't work out enough before Christmas and ate over my calories several times.

laneybird

I only eat some back if I happen to still be hungry, but I plan my days to be at or under my calorie goal. I have steadily lost since last May...with the exception of the Holidays lol

MrsNoir

That's the only reason I work out. Just kidding, sorta.

Lol, no kidding, but sometimes I just workout to deserve a laaarge dinner!, like the one I'm planning today!!

CyberEd312

I eat my exercise calories back everyday... I need to fuel my workouts and keep from having a huge caloric deficit. I gauge my calories burned off my FT60 Polar HRM and make sure I eat back what I burn to keep myself around my MFP setting of losing 1 pound a week... Working for me......

cmstrauch

MFP already builds in your daily intake requirement. Its all about the Net atthe end of the day! I am currently at 1200 a day and I always go into my workout with a negitive balance of a couple hundered calories b/c I like to eat! I call the gym "singing for my supper" How hard I work at the gym dictates my dinner..if I wanna eat, Ill work out hard!

rsouthland

MFP already builds in your daily intake requirement. Its all about the Net atthe end of the day! I am currently at 1200 a day and I always go into my workout with a negitive balance of a couple hundered calories b/c I like to eat! I call the gym "singing for my supper" How hard I work at the gym dictates my dinner..if I wanna eat, Ill work out hard!

My new matra. "singing for my supper". "if I wanna eat, I'll work out hard."

I love this!

Stacyanne324

I try to eat back at least enough to net 1200 calories. You really don't want to fall below that on a consistent basis. On days that I have something special going on I may eat all of them but most days I don't.

northwjj

I am trying to decide if I am doing the right thing by not eating my workout calories. Right now I eat just under 1200 and have just started Jillian Micheal's 30 day shred which burns approximately 246 calories for my body....what are your thoughts?

Thanks!

Simply stated MFP has already figured out your total calories you need to eat per day to lose 1lb etc. a week. That's WITHOUT exercise. You'll notice that when you actually add exercise in, the calorie limit goes up. Why? Because it's telling you to eat your exercise calories. Large deficits aren't really good to do because while you will lose weight, what kind of weight will it be? In many cases you'll lose lean muscle tissue which LOWERS your metabolic rate even more. Then you have to eat even less to compensate for less of a calorie burn to continue to lose the same amount of weight each week.
Be efficient. Exercise hard and eat back the calories. The hard exercise will RAISE your metabolic rate and burn more fat at rest.

Agree with above

KimmehL

Always net at least 1200-1300. Typically eat back most of my exercise calories...those are the hard-earned ones and I enjoy every single bite.

alyssamiller77

I lost 25lbs. I am now working on building lean muscle and I never ever eat back my exercise calories. I wouldnt want to sit there after all that work eating to then go to sleep on a full stomach. After my workouts I always drink a protein shake for recovery and Im good. In my opinon I feel like it defeats the purpose of working out. But then again thats what works for me and itsmy opinion. To each their own. Do what works for u.

Based on the fact you're not eating them back, it sounds like you're eating at a deficit. You may find that you'll have a hard time gaining any real muscle mass if that's the case. You need to have a calorie surplus in order to build muscle. I've tried various supposed approaches to building muscle while on a calorie deficit and it just doesn't happen. So from that perspective alone you may want to adjust your approach. Just trying to offer up a helpful suggestion, not meant to be a criticism.

blondefox30

I had the same question. I am trying to lose weight and build muscle and I'm not sure what is the right approach. Help!

skygoddess86

As many as I possibly can!

Train like a beast so you can eat like a beast!

skygoddess86

I love that

99cherrypie99

I work out every day and most times 2X per day. I wear a heart rate monitor and when I run I burn about 500 calories per session (4 days per week) in addition to the 200 or so that I burn doing DVD's like P90X. I don't ever "eat back" the calories, but I may eat 100 or so more. I try to listen to my body and see if I am really hungry or not. On the days that I do strength training I try to eat more protein but not more calories.

blondefox30

Do we not receive workout calories for strength training? Just cardiovascular?

CMmrsfloyd

I eat my exercise calories and I have consistently lost weight at the rate I request MFP to help me lose. The site is set up to credit you those exercise calories for a reason.

LindseyDD

I NEVER eat my workout calories - EVER!

tigerblue

Eat your calories back, but be careful that you are not over-estimating your calorie burn. I like to leave about 100 calories as a buffer, for errors in calculating both calories eaten and burned.

francekelley

In Reply to Blondefox30---Yes, you definitely do! However, it is listed under cardiovascular, not strength training (i know, weird). So basically search "Strength Training" under cardio instead of strength training. Thats what i do, and i usually get about 180 calories out of it for an hour's work. Hope this helps

TinaS70

bump

killingtheantagonist

To blondefox30

There's actually a strength training option in your cardio database, but I'm not sure how accurate it is.