Do you eat your execise calories?

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  • sarawoertink
    sarawoertink Posts: 62 Member
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    Oh heck yes!

    I can't ask my car to drive an extra 500 km without extra fuel.

    I shouldn't ask my body to work extra had without extra fuel.

    I'm exercising to be strong & healthy, not for the saking of eating more!

    I think this is a wonderful analogy!
  • beckylawrence70
    beckylawrence70 Posts: 752 Member
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    I exercise to eat so most def eat your exercise calories........
  • helenbeee
    helenbeee Posts: 130 Member
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    It shouldnt be a set rule that you just unconsciously just eat your exercise calories in food just because they are there. Listen to your body if you feel genuinely hungry and you have those extra calories have something to eat it doesnt have to be all of them just enough till you feel satiated. If you are eating out or going out for a drink then you can maybe out your extras towards negating that one off event.
    What I find is the most important thing about those exercise calories is that it teaches you to listen to what your body is telling you to think about and preplan your calorie consumption and exercise on a daily basis. You learn to manage the calories in and the calories burned.
    Obviously as we are all individuals no one method or reason is the 'right' way.
    There are days where I physically could not eat my extra calories and other days where I feel like I could eat them twice over.
    So assess it on a daily basis based on the signs your body is giving you. Just dont stress about it :smile:
  • picol
    picol Posts: 19
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    i sometimes do. i sometimes dont. its good to know that theyre there if you get hungry
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
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    from what I can gather-too many people here exercise just to be able to eat more food. That just doesn't work for me-sorry if that isn't PC but its honest!
    and let me state in advance-this is my opinion and not directed AT anyone.
  • xcrushx28
    xcrushx28 Posts: 182 Member
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    The problem that most people encounter is that they will overestimate their calories burned when doing cardio. So if that's the case and they eat back exercise calories you can see how that would be detrimental to their weight loss.
  • jamiedailey
    jamiedailey Posts: 7 Member
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    Oh heck yes!

    I can't ask my car to drive an extra 500 km without extra fuel.

    I shouldn't ask my body to work extra had without extra fuel.

    I'm exercising to be strong & healthy, not for the saking of eating more!

    I think this is a wonderful analogy!


    I don't know...just started this journey but I'm thinking you wouldn't need extra fuel if you have a lot already stored away:) if ya know what I mean
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,887 Member
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    I do! I do!
  • vguynes
    vguynes Posts: 794 Member
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    I generally don't eat back my exercise calories simply because I'm not sure if the number of calories burned provided by MFP is correct. After I get my HRM, I may eat about half the calories back. It will depend on whether or not I'm hungry. It's nice to know that the extra calories are there if needed.
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
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    from what I can gather-too many people here exercise just to be able to shove more food in their mouths. That just doesn't work for me-sorry if that isn't PC but its honest!
    and let me state in advance-this is my opinion and not directed AT anyone.

    And what exactly is wrong with that? My TDEE is about 3,000 on some days and I sure do eat more to make up for it. Exercising and eating more to make up for it is a good thing if you have your estimations correct. I would rather not lose more muscle than I have to.
  • munchkinhugs
    munchkinhugs Posts: 278 Member
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    Yep. If I'm going to push my body to exercise, then I'm going to make sure I feed it so it functions well.
    Could be different for me though since I'm not trying to lose a whole heap of weight?
  • mdebbie1026
    mdebbie1026 Posts: 164 Member
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    Thanks to Banks' post I decided to eat
    them back for a week or two.
    I find out tomorrow at weigh in
    how it has worked out for week one.
    Hoping for the best news yet!
    I have to say it has been yummy incentive
    To work out! Thanks Banks!
  • nicehormones
    nicehormones Posts: 503 Member
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    YES. I always at least try to eat all of my exercise calories so that I can NET at my calorie goal. I exercise for fitness now. Plus, it's bad to have a humongous calorie deficit.
  • Wilson336
    Wilson336 Posts: 76
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    I am of the opinion that you should eat most of the exercise calories you earn. You are asking your body to break down and build up muscles, which take more calories than just sitting around. Yes, you might lose weight a little slower, but if you don't eat sufficiently to build back your muscle, you will not gain muscle mass...and muscle mass also burns calories.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    from what I can gather-too many people here exercise just to be able to shove more food in their mouths. That just doesn't work for me-sorry if that isn't PC but its honest!
    and let me state in advance-this is my opinion and not directed AT anyone.

    I'm not sure it's either PC or honest. It just seems rather ill informed, ignorant and a teensy bit rude.

    'shoving'? Great choice of inoffensive terminology that obviously won't offend anyone at all. Really.

    You don't appear to have a very good grasp on how healthy bodies are built or maintained.
  • ElectricMayhem
    ElectricMayhem Posts: 214 Member
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    i found it on here somewhere?
  • ElectricMayhem
    ElectricMayhem Posts: 214 Member
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    btw i just got a hrm and used it for the first time last night, did zumba for 60 minutes and hrm says i burned 667 calories vs mfp says i burned 1000- that's a HUGE difference

    How did MFP tell you you burned 1,000 at Zumba? Zumba isn't in the MFP database is it?

    I found it on here somewhere?
  • sukatx
    sukatx Posts: 103
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    I don't, most of the time. I try to stay to my original 1550 a day. But, if it's a day that I've worked out and earned extra calories, I'm not super-careful about the 1550. Sometimes I go as much as 50 calories over. But on days that I don't exercise, I am usually under my calorie goal.
  • ElectricMayhem
    ElectricMayhem Posts: 214 Member
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    I've been on mfp for a month today and this topic gets asked (and answered a million different ways) often! I'm very confused, i'm given a budget of 1200 calories a day to eat then i usually workout 4-5 days a week and burn At least 500 calories each time... does that mean i'm supposed to eat 1700 a day when i workout and 1200 on the days i don't?! I get the whole deficit is already added into your daily caloric budget, but in order for me to lose 2 pounds a week i'm supposed to have a weekly deficit of 7000?! (i'm 235 pounds now) I'm getting a headache just typing this out :-/
    Well based on your weight and age (I guessed your height to be average 5'4") your BMR is over 1800. Add in daily activity and exericse you're well over 2500 calories for the day. So if you're just eating 1200 and NOT eating back your exercise calories, your deficit is TOO high.


    No wonder i'm starving all the time! i started off with a 9 pound weight loss in the first two weeks , and have lost nothing since!! and yes i am 5'4. good guess and 35 years old ;-)


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    btw i just got a hrm and used it for the first time last night, did zumba for 60 minutes and hrm says i burned 667 calories vs mfp says i burned 1000- that's a HUGE difference

    How did MFP tell you you burned 1,000 at Zumba? Zumba isn't in the MFP database is it?

    I found it on here somewhere?

    Don't think so. None of the 'branded' exercise forms (e.g. body pump, 30 DS, zumba) are in the database.

    I just double checked, and nope, no zumba in the DB.

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