Why you should eat your exercise calories

SergeantSunshine_reused

I posted this a while ago, but I have been seeing more and more new members asking whether or not they should be eating them back.

Short answer: YES!

Here is why: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

MFP has already created a deficit for you. When you don't eat your exercise calories back you are creating an even larger deficit which can cause you to stop losing. I strongly suggest you to read the link I provided for details!

Duelltolose

Maybe that's my problem.. Not losing anything anymore..

shovav91

Woo! Yay Sunshine!

LoveMy3Boys

I love exercising to give me those extra calories. I try not to eat them all though.... I figure there may be a day (like last Sunday) that I go way over and need that extra cushion for the week.

SergeantSunshine_reused

I sometimes leave a little cushion too. But this is more consistently. If you stall later I would suggest trying to eat them all back :]

@Duelltolose I would try to eat them back and see if it helps! It did for me :]

Jarnard

I work out and burn a lot in the gym and i'm still trying to figure out how I can eat more good stuff through out the day. It is nice having a few extra calories left over after you've eaten some of your exercise calories back.

Myrtlemama4

I think that has been my problem. Only lost 5lbs since Nov 30th and I work out 5-6x a week. I am trying that now..

Crystal_Pistol

I've already done today's workout but MIGHT be hitting the treadmill to eat cake. LMFAO at my love of exercise calories!!

sherimoss

is this true? does it really work? I'm new to all of this and really just want to lose about 10lbs.

Silvercivic

I am short and relatively small and I don't have a ton of weight to lose. I've lost 10 pounds so far (in 4 months) and have about 8 to go. I eat back all of my exercise calories. I've tried this before and I didn't eat the exercise calories back then. The weight came off faster, but I wasn't able to keep up with it. I gained back what I lost pretty quickly. I love eating back my exercise calories! It keeps me motivated.

hottottie11

I posted this a while ago, but I have been seeing more and more new members asking whether or not they should be eating them back.

Short answer: YES!

Here is why: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

MFP has already created a deficit for you. When you don't eat your exercise calories back you are creating an even larger deficit which can cause you to stop losing. I strongly suggest you to read the link I provided for details!

^^ Great article!

DaniJeanine

I agree. However, the only time I literally CAN'T eat them back is when I go hiking--I usually burn 750-1000 calories per hike, so it's almost impossible for me to eat it back without feeling disgusting! lol

5mule

Just be sure you don't overestimate the number of calories you burn while exercising. Calorie calculators, including the calorie numbers for exercises listed in MFP, are notoriously inaccurate. Don't go snarfing down a 600 calorie bonus meal after walking around the neighborhood. You'll DEFINITELY stop losing weight that way!

BeckyKSmith

I say "eat the exercise calories". Being able to eat more is motivation to exercise in itself!

kevinlynch3

Its a good article but there's also a lot of self admitted speculation in the article. Like anything else..it works for some and not for others and no one size fits all.

dilligaf274

I agree. My swim workouts burn over 1200 calories. That would mean eating double that day. I can't find that much food to eat, unless I chose something bad for me, but I don't want to go that route.

MlissaB

There's nothing better than planning a nice dinner out in advance. That way I get up extra early and spend a little extra time on the tread-mill and kick up the incline so I can have the butter on my baked potato or maybe an extra glass of wine. I actually think I do better those weeks because I'm more motivated to exercise.

I reached my first goal wait and took the holidays off of tracking (still watched what I ate and maintained for the month), but now that I'm back at it with the second half of my goal, I'm having a hard time losing anything. Any thoughts?

kevinlynch3

And let me clarify..I own Lyles "The Guide to Flexible Dieting" book. I like how moderate he is in his approach to nutrition etc. I also know that he is the first person who will say that different things work for different people. My experience has been that experimentation is key and MFP provides all the tools necessary to do that.

I just don't want any purists jumping down my throat

psychomomxs4

Thank you so much for that information.

bowmab21

I'm still researching on this one too. If that is the case, why workout, and just not diet. If anyone with letters behind their name would like to comment, I would like to read it. Some credentials would be nice.

1Timothy4v8

A;ll I know is when I lost all my weight before I stayed at 1500 cals and I work out like crazy all day, I lost all of it fast, would kept it off to if I hadn't faced hardships and gone back to food for comfort

psych101

I'm still researching on this one too. If that is the case, why workout, and just not diet. If anyone with letters behind their name would like to comment, I would like to read it. Some credentials would be nice.

Well, I don't have any letters after my name (none that would be relevant in here anyways lol) but the benefits of working out are SOOOOOO much more than just to burn calories!!

So peeps, eat your exercise calories, MFP already factored in your deficit for you - enjoy your exercise calories and fuel your body to become faster, fitter and stronger.

xx

MHunte

X2!!

Like i told someone before, your body needs fuel, when you excercise you burn the fuel, you need to eat to refuel your body!! yall going to force your body into starvation mode thinking you doing a good thing, your body will retain the fat, i bet the ones who don't eat back the calories or atleast most of it hardly lose any weight or lose weight it at a slow rate and not consistant.

MHunte

I posted this a while ago, but I have been seeing more and more new members asking whether or not they should be eating them back.

Short answer: YES!

Here is why: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html

MFP has already created a deficit for you. When you don't eat your exercise calories back you are creating an even larger deficit which can cause you to stop losing. I strongly suggest you to read the link I provided for details!

^^ Great article!

This needs to be a sticky!!!!

whtlatina1214

maybe im slow but i dont understand the article

rockerbabyy

I'm still researching on this one too. If that is the case, why workout, and just not diet. If anyone with letters behind their name would like to comment, I would like to read it. Some credentials would be nice.

you can just diet and lose weight just fine. if you want a fit, healthy body and all the benefits that come with it - then you need to exercise as well.

MHunte

maybe im slow but i dont understand the article

Eating too few calories can actually slow down the rate at which you lose weight. This can be confusing as all too often you are told that the way to lose weight is to eat less calories and exercise. While technically this is true, it is important to understand that your body needs a certain amount of calories in order to function. If you are eating too few calories, your body feels like it is starving. At this point, your body will actually begin to store fat and your metabolism will begin to slow down. When your metabolism slows down, it burns calories at a slow speed and basically puts your body into neutral mode. Basically, your weight loss efforts are going nowhere and you stop losing weight. The amount of calories you should intake to remain healthy depends on your body weight and activity level. Before you can determine how many calories are too few calories, you must find the amount of calories that your body needs to survive. There are many online calculators that are able to calculate this for you. These calculators generally do not include exercise. Therefore, if you do any activity at all, including walking to the car, you must add calories to this number. This is an important number and you must take it seriously. Eating too few calories below this number will cause serious damage to your body. Never take in less than 1200 calories per day. Once you determine what you need to survive, you will need to determine what calories you need to maintain your existing weight. There are also online calculators to help you with this task. After you determine what calories are needed to maintain the weight, you will be able to determine how many calories you need to lose weight. It is important to understand that you must lose weight at a reasonable rate, or your body will go into starvation mode. This is usually about one to two pounds per week. All you need to do this is to reduce or burn about 500 extra calories each day. It is important to include exercise into this equation. Try cutting back on 300 calories per day as well as burn 200 calories by exercising. Eating too few calories can slow down your weight loss efforts by slowing down your metabolism and causing serious health problems.



Hope this helps....

psuLemon

I'm still researching on this one too. If that is the case, why workout, and just not diet. If anyone with letters behind their name would like to comment, I would like to read it. Some credentials would be nice.

Exercise isn't for losing weight but it's a benefit from it. You can lose weight on a basic caloric deficit. You workout for several reasons; to be able to eat more as you will need more calories to fuel the body, to improve cardiovascular and physcial wellbeing and to maintain lean muscle mass which is the driver for your metabolism.

is this true? does it really work? I'm new to all of this and really just want to lose about 10lbs.

Here is the results of a study i did about eating more to lose more. If you note, all the women with low body fat eat 1800+ calories. So if you want to have low body fat, you need to eat like someone who is already there. And the second one is a ton of people who eat more to lose more. I will note, if you try this method, you can't only try it for a week or two. You need to monitor for at least a month.




http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/395948-caloric-intake-results?hl=caloric+intake+results&page=1

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/395881-people-who-lost-weight-eating-more?error_user_id=252210&error_username=psulemon&hl=eating+more+results

Azdak

X2!!

Like i told someone before, your body needs fuel, when you excercise you burn the fuel, you need to eat to refuel your body!! yall going to force your body into starvation mode thinking you doing a good thing, your body will retain the fat, i bet the ones who don't eat back the calories or atleast most of it hardly lose any weight or lose weight it at a slow rate and not consistant.

"Refueling after a workout" and "eating back all your exercise calories" are not the same thing. #1 usually requires a lot less food than #2.

There is no single correct answer, primarily because the body's response to a calorie deficit changes as one's body composition changes.

A beginner who is large, heavy and has a high percentage of body fat can sustain a high calorie deficit with little or no adverse effects--in my experience, as long as they eat enough food (I'm talking 1400-1800 calories per day, not 1200). These people will not go into "starvation mode" (and neither will most people).

The type of exercise program can make a difference as well.

And lastly, as someone else noted, calculating exercise calorie burn -- yes even with a sacred HRM -- is a pretty rough estimate. If you reflexively eat back all exercise calories, there is a pretty good chance you could overeat, resulting in slower loss than necessary.

If someone is over 200 lbs with a body fat over 30% for males or 35% for females, most registered dietitians will put them on a calorie-restricted food plan of 1400-1600 calories/day with no allowance for exercise (really heavy people might be put as high as 2000 cal/day).

As one approaches one's "ideal" body fat level, then keeping a smaller deficit becomes necessary. But there is no hard and fast rule that says that beginners MUST eat back all exercise calories.

HotBodUnderConstruction

As one approaches one's "ideal" body fat level, then keeping a smaller deficit becomes necessary. But there is no hard and fast rule that says that beginners MUST eat back all exercise calories.

Thank you for your post. I've been assuming that the calories burned provided by MFP might be an overestimation of what I have actually burned, so I have not consumed all of my exercise calories back (just some). Glad to see that I wasn't totally off base with that.

cyclingben

I completely agree. Its all based on your weight and BMI . If i ate my cal that i burn in the gym 2 times a day i would have to eat an xtra 1000-1500 cals a day. I lost 60 lbs in 4 months and i was eating 2000 cals a day and riding 15 miles a day burning about 800-900 calories each time.