Question regarding Calories gained.

csw5048

Do most people here use all the calories that they gain from exercising? Did 18 miles today on the bike and gained over 1100 calories- but it seems excessive to eat that much.

csw5048

Do most people here use all the calories that they gain from exercising? Did 18 miles today on the bike and gained over 1100 calories- but it seems excessive to eat that much.

tig3rang3l

I eat most of mine... you need to fuel your body. There are lots of posts on this, however, so read the sticky posts in the forums.

alapointe

You opened a can of worms.

There are different opinions about this, if you go back to message boards and type excercise calories you will see all the threads on this topic.

Some say to eat them back, some don't, and others say eat some not all. I think you need to find what works best for you.:drinker:

nat96

no i just eat the allocated calories, I guess thats how you loss weight. Good on you for doing that much exercise

tig3rang3l

no i just eat the allocated calories, I guess thats how you loss weight. Good on you for doing that much exercise

Problem with this, as I'm learning, is that if there is too large a deficit, your body thinks you are starving (ie: not able to obtain enough food) and begins to slow down the metabolism and shuts down things it doesn't think you need. Basically, over time, it's going into survival mode, and not only is it unhealthy, but you won't lose weight. PLEASE read the sticky forums posts before you come to a conclusion on how your body works.

ivykivy

You could always eat half and save some for tomorrow.

Or I could log them on my diary and eat them for you.:laugh:

sassiebritches

You should try and eat some. But like if I workout and burn say 500 or less I will up my cals 300 to 1500 cals for the day. And sometimes I don't eat that many. If you are not hungry do not eat. Just because you didn't eat them all today does not mean you will not lose weight. You don't go into starvation overnight. Eat if you are hungry.

Good for you for getting a good workout in.

nat96

no i just eat the allocated calories, I guess thats how you loss weight. Good on you for doing that much exercise

Problem with this, as I'm learning, is that if there is too large a deficit, your body thinks you are starving (ie: not able to obtain enough food) and begins to slow down the metabolism and shuts down things it doesn't think you need. Basically, over time, it's going into survival mode, and not only is it unhealthy, but you won't lose weight. PLEASE read the sticky forums posts before you come to a conclusion on how your body works.

nat96

Hi tig3rang31 as you can see I joined today and as far as I knew you go into starvation mode when you dont consume enough calories.
In stead of being judgemental you could try being more helpful to the newer people on this site and maybe explain how I would find the sticky forums post
THANKS

csw5048

One thing too is I'm not very overweight so I'm pretty fit but the Coast Guard is changing it's weight standards to BMI which is pretty tough- so I just figured I would trying burning some extra fat and muscle off to get down to a more desirable BMI (even though I believe BMI is flawed).

kallio

Nope! I try to stay in my healthy calorie range (1200-1400) If I earn extra calories I may use some, but the bigger the calorie deficit the quicker the results!!!

csw5048

haha- Well I have a beer tasting on Monday which some local brewers so I am planning on saving some for then! :smokin:

aromans

yes, i add them & eat them all because i'm so hungry after i work out. I do alot of exercise and if you don't eat quality nutrition after workouts, especially hard ones, the body puts out the stress hormone called cortisol & causes you to gain fat. That's why some people say, i'm working out harder than ever but gained weight instead of lost... way too many women just don't eat enough. It just needs to be quality but you need to meet the calorie goal that includes your bonus calories from workout.

crystal_sapphire

I eat 50-75% of them back because I don't have a heart rate monitor to know 100% accuracy of how many I burned for sure and I don't trust this website in it's accuracy of how many calories I burned doing certain activities. There are too many variables. Example, the intensity I put in that day, etc.

Rottiemama

I eat 50-75% of them back because I don't have a heart rate monitor to know 100% accuracy of how many I burned for sure and I don't trust this website in it's accuracy of how many calories I burned doing certain activities. There are too many variables. Example, the intensity I put in that day, etc.

I agree, i don't trust the accuracy of the amount of calories burned for certain activities. I find it hard to know which websites to trust when it comes to this issue. I waled 40 minutes the other day, one website said it was 338 calories burned at a fast pace, another said 450...that's alot of caloric difference and boy, I don't want to eat the wrong amount of calories....so I too question the right thing to do.. I do know you need fuel to stoke the calorie burning fire....but hmmmmm....???:grumble:

hiddensecant

Here's that link on eating your calories and why it's important.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

... and another interesting read about how a woman couldn't lose weight at 700 calories a day.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

tig3rang3l

Hi tig3rang31 as you can see I joined today and as far as I knew you go into starvation mode when you dont consume enough calories.
In stead of being judgemental you could try being more helpful to the newer people on this site and maybe explain how I would find the sticky forums post
THANKS

So far as I knew, I wasn't being judgemental at all. If I came across that way to you, my apologies, I was just explaining what I've found out in the month I've been here. At the top of every forum there are a number of topics that have a pin next to them on the left hand side that will always be at the top. Ghanie's posted them further down.

CarmenSantiago

You could always eat half and save some for tomorrow.

Or I could log them on my diary and eat them for you.:laugh:

:laugh: OMG I'm dying!! That is hilarious! What a generous soul you are! LMAO :laugh:

Thanks for the chuckle!

fiddlechic

i have decided to eat half my exercise calories. not sure if this is good or bad.

aromans

i wouldn't eat 1100 extra based on the system but rather, based on your heart rate monitor that tells how much you burned. Sometimes it says alot but i only burn 400 during some 17 mile bike rides because i'm more fit on the bike. Those are just estimates but you need the hrm to determine what YOU are actually burning & then yes, i would eat those extra or at least within 100 - 200

MacMadame

Hi tig3rang31 as you can see I joined today and as far as I knew you go into starvation mode when you dont consume enough calories.

This is a common dieting mythology based on some studies, but often based on a misunderstanding of them.

First of all, a starvation diet is when you eat 50% (or less) of the calories you need to maintain. It's not just not eating your exercise calories. For example, if your maintenance calories should be 1500 and you burn an extra 500 working out hard, then a starvation diet would be eating 1000 calories or less. It's not eating 1500 or even 1200.

Secondly, while dieting does slow down your metabolism, it does it even if your deficit is quite small. So you can't stop that. It is true if you engage in *drastic* calorie reduction, you will get to a point of diminishing returns. For example, let's say eating 1500 calories would have you losing 1 pound a week. If you cut down to 1000 calories, you will probably lose 2 pounds a week. But you may only lose 1.75 pounds. So, more than with 1500 calories but not as much as you'd expect. Then, if you go nuts and drop down to 500, you will definitely NOT lose 3 lb. a week. It could be as little as 2.25. Which means you are suffering greatly and risking your health for a .25 to .5 extra loss a week. That's crazy IMO!

As for your body going into "starvation mode" and "hanging on" to every calorie, in some famous studies of starvation, they did find this happened. But it didn't happen until the subjects had gotten down to 5% body fat! Plus, even at that extremely low body weight, they *still* were losing weight. But most of us are no where near that point. We're experiencing some slow down of metabolism, but only enough to have diminishing returns, not enough that our bodies are canabalizing themselves.

So why do people find they lose more weight when they eat more? Because humans are not machines. Often they under-report what they eat and over-report their exercise. They also tend to slow themselves down if they aren't fueling enough and often aren't even aware of it.

The bottom line is that you need to eat enough to fuel your body and have the energy to engage in your daily activities. If you are draggy and tired, you will start doing things that cause you to burn less calories including not pushing yourself in your workouts, sleeping more, sitting more, etc. If it gets extreme, it can slow down your weight loss. Sometimes upping your calories as little as 100 a day is enough to give you the energy to kick start your activities and that will pay dividends on the scale.

But you need to be careful. A lot of people use "starvation mode" as an excuse to eat more. And, just like with eating less, there is a point of diminishing returns. After all, it's not like you can up your calories indefinitely and continue to lose weight. At some point, you will be eating more than you consume just like before you started trying to lose weight.

MTGirl

Again, I would argue MacM, that it is not a "common dieting mythology". This whole site is based on that "mythology". Maybe the term starvation mode is what gets you - really what it indicates is that your metabolism slows down due to being underfueled.

Also - the theory that that would only happen when you eat 50% or less of what you need to maintain is flawed, because if you are exercising hard, your body needs more calories. So that 50% in your example may be 1500 calories - which you would deem as overeating, but would be "starvation"

To the original poster - at least give the system as it is set up a try. It has a build in defecit based on what you put in when you signed up. You probably won't be able to eat 1100 calories extra in one day - but try for 1/2 anyway. Try it as it is set up, if after 3 - 4 weeks it doesn't work for you, then only eat 75% of your exercise calories back. Etc., until you find the level that works best for your body! Some people eat every single one of the calories they earn through exercise, some eat part, some eat none. You will find what works best - but if you aren't eating enough you will lose initially, but may stall out after 4 - 6 weeks as your body doesn't have the fuel it needs.

Good luck and enjoy your journey!

JoyousMaximus

I don't even log my exercise. I never have. It wasn't until I started useing this site that even heard the notion of eating your exercise calories. I doubt the average exerciser needs to increase their food intake to account for excerise. If you are exercising with extreme intensity, then you should probably increase you caloric intake, but, if you're only exercising 1/2 hr to hour everyday or every other day, its probably not important. The most important thing is to listen to your body. Eveyone is different. If you have an intense work out and you feel hungry, eat. If not, don't.

molsongirl

Holy crap, I probably shouldn't even poke this one, whatever you choose to do, make sure that you're not eating..just to eat, because you see all these extra calories, be hungry., then make a healthy choice. :happy:

JoyousMaximus

Also, MTGirl, I believe that McMadame included excercise calories in her 50% calculation with the statement "For example, if your maintenance calories should be 1500 and you burn an extra 500 working out hard, then a starvation diet would be eating 1000 calories or less" as 50% of 1500 is only 750 where as 1000 is 50% of 2000 (the sum of maintenance calories and exercise calories).. Just thought I would clarify.

MTGirl

Uh, no jbuerer. Maintenance calories doesn't include exercise calories. And we've had this discussion (MacM and I) before. Thanks for trying to clarify though. And, just because you've never heard of something before doesn't mean it is without merit. It is the basic premise of this site. You are free to have your opinion about it, but it is what this site is based on. You get a basic allotment of calories, with a deficit built in to allow you to lose 1 or 2 lbs per week. Any calories you burn exercising you get to eat back. Now that doesn't work for everyone - we all have different metabolisms. But it, in general, is good science and will work for most people.

2joe2

CSW,
It sounds like you're very active if you're doing 18 miles on a bike, so you probably need the extra calories. It really all depends on your workout routine. I'm doing P90x and the nutrition plan is designed so you eat most, if not all, of your "gained" calories. I'm about 3/4 of the way through the first cycle and have eaten everything they say to eat and have dropped only about 4 pounds but dropped my body fat % by 5 points. That's a big change (dropped 3 pant sizes). The P90x materials say that the extra calories actually help you reduce your body fat and continue to build lean muscle mass since the extra fuel gives the energy to work out with more intensity. All I know is that it's working for me. I'm sure you've heard the stories of Michael Phelps eating 12,000 calories per day because he was burning about 5,000 per day in the pool and his metabolism was incredibly high. Hope Phelps is not still eating that much. Bong hits and pancakes will do some serious damage to his physique :laugh:

Good luck.

Joe

MisoSoup79

I wear a HRM and eat back what I burn. I found that when I wasn't eating enough, I was kind of cranky and the scale wouldn't budge. :flowerforyou:

MTGirl

I wear a HRM and eat back what I burn. I found that when I wasn't eating enough, I was kind of cranky and the scale wouldn't budge. :flowerforyou:

OT - Miso I love that flower pot your holding. I want one so bad. Someday!! :happy:

JoyousMaximus

And, just because you've never heard of something before doesn't mean it is without merit. It is the basic premise of this site. You are free to have your opinion about it, but it is what this site is based on. You get a basic allotment of calories, with a deficit built in to allow you to lose 1 or 2 lbs per week. Any calories you burn exercising you get to eat back. Now that doesn't work for everyone - we all have different metabolisms. But it, in general, is good science and will work for most people.

I didn't mean the statement that I had never heard it before to mean that it had no merit. If it works for you, it works. I also don't think that it is a necessity as if it was I believe that I would have read about it at sometime in an article in a health magazine, my personal trainer would have meantioned it to me, or it would have been mentioned in one of the fitness/nutrition classes I've taken. I've tried to find something that has a definative yes/no answer but I can't which leads me to believe there is no correct answer.