Exercise Calories

angebrun

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but...
I know you're supposed to eat your exercise calories. I get it, and I it.

But- can I also use them to balance bad choices (read: Dominos cinnastix) over a few days? If I, say, went 550 calories over on Friday, does it make sense to eat 550 calories less of my exercise calories on Saturday and Sunday? Or am I then sabotaging my Sat/Sun metabolism but putting it in starvation mode?

Does that make sense?

MummyOfSeven

It takes a much longer time than a couple of days to go into starvation mode, so I wouldn't worry on that score.

It all depends. When you look at your diary, do you consider it a weekly goal or a daily goal? If it's weekly, then by all means balance it out over a few days. Personally, mine is daily and I don't 'carry over'.

HannahMarieMcDougald

You eat them back the same day, you can not use them other days......And bad choices are on you......Just try to eat healthier options :-D

rockgal01

One day of that won't put you into starvation mode.
I wouldn't make it a habit and make sure that if you cut by 550 calories you don't drop your intake for the day below 1200.

GBO323

You're fine! Ultimately, it's about net calorie deficit. So if you are supposed to eat what you burn but you "borrowed" it earlier for Domino's, then yes, you can balance it out by not eating all of your exercise calories later. What I'm mindful of is balancing it within the same week or even within a day or two. Sometimes, we need that spike day.

Some may disagree, but the numbers don't lie. Three words to live by: Net Calorie Deficit.

JacksMom12

I worry about my weekly goal vs. Daily because I zig zag calories to some extent. Everyone is different though. It works for me because I am hungrier some days than others.

rclay316

Not all calories are created equal. And calorie burn totals are really just estimates. Its OK to have a cheat meal (or snack) every once in a while. As long as its not a habit, you wont sabotage yourself. I would take each day as its own. Not conserve Friday to eat more on Saturday. You have to give yourself rewards and if you have been sticking to a good eating plan for a while (longer than 6months) one meal will not have you gaining weight. Takes 3500 calories to gain 1 pound. You'll be fine. Moderation is key.

gydwhoa

I am excersizing and not going over my daily allowances. However, I am not losing weight either. I think I should just stay within my calorie range and disregard the extra calories I get from my workouts.

Verbalcody

you eat your excersize calories? i dont. sounds like a good way to stop a good amount of progress. Maybe on a big workout day ill be hungry enough to eat an extra 200 cals like from 1700-1900 but if I jogged for an hour and worked out I wouldnt add 600 calories to my day that is crazy

IF you had a bad eating day just put it out of your mind and move on

cinnastix eh. sounds good... almost worth it haha

hayley0181

Personally, I do use them to balance out my bad choices/treats from during the week and it's working for me

OSC_ESD

There is a lot of research out there and you will get many responses telling you a ton of different answers ... But I will keep it simple. Going over on what some call a cheat day is perfectly normal and should not be used as punishment on a clean new day. Your body needs elevations in consumption to perform at peak ... These so called cheat days actually benefit your system.

Starvation mode is grossly over used on this site and the understanding of what that actually means is obsolete. The one thing it can do if on a regular basis is slow your metabolism making it extremely difficult to lose anymore weight. Healthy numbers are more about your daily intake than any number on a scale. Be smart and continue to make healthy choices on a daily basis ... And that does not include starving to make up for other days !

We need fuel to perform ... Therefore rev your engine, revs your metabolism !

claire7090

I would not carry them over I choose to treat it one day at a time. There are odd days I go over - on Saturday I went out for a chinese meal with my extended family I did not manage to keep to 1200 net calories that day but Sunday was a new day and I kept to the 1200 limit. This scenario has happened a couple of times and to be honest it only makes a little bit of difference to the weight loss that week in my experience. I am sure if I made the wrong choices every day I would gain weight.

tsornoza

Not all calories are created equal. And calorie burn totals are really just estimates. Its OK to have a cheat meal (or snack) every once in a while. As long as its not a habit, you wont sabotage yourself. I would take each day as its own. Not conserve Friday to eat more on Saturday. You have to give yourself rewards and if you have been sticking to a good eating plan for a while (longer than 6months) one meal will not have you gaining weight. Takes 3500 calories to gain 1 pound. You'll be fine. Moderation is key.

well said...

mgpage

I have only been doing this for a short while ( 4 weeks) but when I started I told myself that Sundays would be my day. I chose Sundays because my church likes potlucks and I'm just not that strong to not indulge. All other days I try really hard to stay with in my goal but on Sundays I eat what I want and don't worry about going over. I still log it just to see how bad I did, it helps keep me focused the next week. I have lost nearly 2lbs each week (9lbs so far) doing this so I wouldn't worry about going over one day. Pick up the next day and try to do better.

MissFit0101

No you won't go into starvation mode if you choose to do that, however there is no real need to do that. If you go over one day no biggie just keep on logging and moving forward. One day of going over by a mere 550 calories, will *probably* help you more than hurt you in your weight loss journey. It's good to get some extra calories in sometimes.

cherryb75

Back when I did Weight Watchers and reached goal, they allowed you to bank any unused Points, but you had to use them within the week. So I still take that approach here. I usually have leftover calories so I don't sweat it if hubby and I want to go out and splurge on Mexican food on Friday night. In fact I usually have a loss the next day.

It worked once, and this time it's so far so good.

angebrun

Thanks, all!

ncw89

Personally I look at it as more of a weekly thing than a daily one. I try to stay within 100 cals day to day, but if there's something I'm desperate for one day, it's late at night so I can't exercise to earn more, I sometimes (within reason!) have it and just balance up over the next couple days. Oh, and I reserve sundays for a cheat day It takes much longer than a day or 2 to go into "starvation mode" so I wouldn't worry about it, but I wouldn't try to catch up the deficit in just one day or anything!

714rah714

Its all about eating healthy and at the end of day, having a healthy deficit, as far as calories are concerned.