Time spent exercising / eating back cals

sheerjay

Looking for some opinions.... :indifferent:
If we eat back our exercise cals (or a % of them).....what is the difference between working out for 1 hour a day compared to 2-3 hours?

The food log already allows for a deficit to lose weight. Some days I try burn 1000+ cals thinking it will make the weight start dropping again (its a little stuck at the moment)....but doing this level of workout means less home-time and im eating the cals back anyway....

So are their benefits to pushing myself as hard as I can, or you think Ill get the same results to backing it off from 2.5hours down to 1.5hrs....maintaining the right balance of food, but gaining more time to do things at home **** little confused and this is the battle my heads having at the moment...need different opinions or logic to help **

rockerbabyy

the difference between working out 1 hour a day, or 2-3 hours a day is the number of calories you should eat back
really i dont see a point in exercising more than an hour a day... especially if you arent eating all of your exercise calories. if your deficit gets too big it will slow your weight loss and can cause other problems in the long term.
i think you should push yourself with each workout, but try not to over do it. i workout 5-6 days a week, but no more than an hour (unless i overate really badly, but even then the longest ive gone is 90 minutes)

runnercheryl

The benefits I suppose are in fitness, rather than calorie burn. Personally, I don't burn more than I can eat back.

yesthistime

I personally wouldn't eat back all of my exercise calories if I exercised 2-3 hours a day. I would eat maybe half so that my body was replenished and refueled and then I would count the rest toward a bigger calorie deficit at the end of the week (and hopefully a bigger loss on the scale).

Maybe I've been watching too much "Biggest Loser" but I like the idea of a nice big calorie deficit if it doesn't cause harm to my metabolism or overall health.

jamiesadler

I dont eat back my calories I stay right at 1200 and work out 30-45 minutes a day.

frugalmomsrock

Getting fit?

Building stamina. Burning FAT. Building muscle.

I exercise for a couple hours or more per day. I do strength to build muscles, and cardio to both burn fat and work my heart.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

well, if you don't LIKE eating more then it's pointless but i LOVE FOOD! (hence the screenname). It makes it easier to maintain a deficit if you dont have to starve to do it.

Asavitzk

I'm curious what others are going to say here. I only started really working out a couple of weeks ago and have followed the general rule of eating back my exercise calories - and my weight loss seems to have slowed down. So now I'm rethinking things and considering a strategy of eating back only half of my exercise calories to see how that goes.

I usually work out 30-45 minutes a day but there have been a few times when I know I have to burn off a certain number of calories due to overeating and in those instances I just go until I'm done which can be as long as 90-100 minutes. And I ache after (but it's a good feeling of accomplishment).

noexcuses84

hmmm i get soo confused with the whole eat back/don't eat back thing when it comes to exercise. I only eat when i'm hungry now and at the mo i'm only exercising for about 30-60 mins 5-6 times a week. i would LOVE someone to explain it to me in a way i can get it! i leave about 400-500 cals for the day so i know i'm going to lose weight. I had lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks but just gained back 6 pounds over night when my monthly started!!! does anyone else have this problem??

mrmanmeat

Back in September I rode my road bike 25 miles, burned 2400 calories.

I ate them all back that day, I had 4400 calories for the day. I didn't feel full at all.

I lost 2lbs the following weigh in (2 days after). I woke up the next morning and had a normal breakfast too.

maryd523

Although 2 to 3 hours of exercise per day will definitely increase your fitness level, I would think the risk of burn-out would far outweigh the benefits.

You should be trying to establish an exercise routine that is sustainable in the long-term, something that fits into your life. I don't know too many people that can or want to work out that long every day.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

hmmm i get soo confused with the whole eat back/don't eat back thing when it comes to exercise. I only eat when i'm hungry now and at the mo i'm only exercising for about 30-60 mins 5-6 times a week. i would LOVE someone to explain it to me in a way i can get it! i leave about 400-500 cals for the day so i know i'm going to lose weight. I had lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks but just gained back 6 pounds over night when my monthly started!!! does anyone else have this problem??

that's water weight. you didn't really "gain" anything..it will go away again.

If you have your setttings set to lose weight, 1/2, 1, or 2 pounds, then the deficit is already calculated. When you log your exercise you get a new calorie target and you SHOULD eat to that target...leaving a "0 remaining" every day.

sheerjay

Thanks for the responses everyone Going by averages Im thinking 1 hour 5 days a week would be good....might try drop the amount of time and increase the intensity of the workouts.

And burnout in the long run/ getting bored and giving up, is what I want to avoid. Will try find the balance

noexcuses84

hmmm i get soo confused with the whole eat back/don't eat back thing when it comes to exercise. I only eat when i'm hungry now and at the mo i'm only exercising for about 30-60 mins 5-6 times a week. i would LOVE someone to explain it to me in a way i can get it! i leave about 400-500 cals for the day so i know i'm going to lose weight. I had lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks but just gained back 6 pounds over night when my monthly started!!! does anyone else have this problem??

that's water weight. you didn't really "gain" anything..it will go away again.

If you have your setttings set to lose weight, 1/2, 1, or 2 pounds, then the deficit is already calculated. When you log your exercise you get a new calorie target and you SHOULD eat to that target...leaving a "0 remaining" every day.

ok thanks for that

taxidermist15

Thanks for the responses everyone Going by averages Im thinking 1 hour 5 days a week would be good....might try drop the amount of time and increase the intensity of the workouts.

And burnout in the long run/ getting bored and giving up, is what I want to avoid. Will try find the balance

^^^^ THIS IS ME!!!

I get so bored easily!! i have to change my workout every single day, and even then, i hate doing the same thing day in day out. which has kinda made me have a bit of a stump this week. SO BORED