Should you eat your exercise calories ?

arsenalbates
arsenalbates Posts: 25 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
After burning about 200 calories should i be eating those back ?

Replies

  • Just1forMe
    Just1forMe Posts: 624 Member
    If you are extremely confident in the burn... yes, I usually eat about 80% of my burn (measured by HRM) back-- I leave 20% for HRM burn margin of error and/or possible miscalculation of calorie intake.

    Perfect answer! Your calorie deficit to lose weight is already built into your MFP goal, so those extra burned calories are a bonus for you :)
  • kristal_1973
    kristal_1973 Posts: 33 Member
    But will it hurt you if you don't eat them back? I really enjoy working out, and really don't feel like eating anymore than what is in my initial plan for the day. I am used to only eating once a day, so eating three meals and three snacks is already a challenge...
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    It hurts some people not to eat them back-- it depends on how big your deficit already is before exercise. If you're on the low end (1200 cals) it can hurt you not to eat them back. If you're eating more (1500 cals or more) it probably won't make a huge difference, at least not at first. If you stall out though that's the first thing people will tell you to do.

    You don't have to eat 6 times per day, you just need to eat your calorie goal for the day.
  • myuva
    myuva Posts: 67
    If you are hungry after your workouts...eat.....if not....don't eat.
  • livinginwoods
    livinginwoods Posts: 562 Member
    On days I work out many times I am 400-700 calories under at the end of the day and just can not eat because I am not hungry. I eat all day long most days. Then told I am supposed to eat back those calories and I think, wow ... how?
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,142 Member
    That question should never come up simply because a deficit should be based on your total daily calorie needs which include all movement and exercise. From there a deficit should be formulated, and it's generally accepted that around a 20% reduction in calories is the best course of action or not exceeding a 1% fat loss compared to a persons overall weight.

    As soon as you ask that question, then all factors on the outside of the energy balance equation needs to be formulated properly, so simply deciding whether to eat back exercise calories, leaves quite a bit of the other confounders up in the air as to their importance.

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