Do you "eat back" your calories burned?

thepetiterunner

I used to not eat them back and didn't see the results that I wanted. I started eating them back and while I haven't weighed myself in awhile, I feel much more statisfied with my progress and I'm full and happy all day. I don't have those days where I have a huge appetite and feel more in control.

It's a personal choice. You can try it and see if it works for you. If it doesn't, you can go back to what you were doing. If it does, then you can look forward to greater progress.

ebony__

I'm curious about this too, I'm on 1300 a day plan so far I haven't felt hungry enough to eat more than that regardless of exercise

( except one silly day )

NoAdditives

Yes, and I always have. It hasn't kept me from losing at all. Right now I'm having a hard time because I'm burning 800-900 calories from breastfeeding and that's a lot of extra calories. I can't even exercise until I'm eating more. But, I know that I need to. I've started to lose a lot of hair in the shower, and that scares me. It could just be hormones, but since I didn't lose hair after either of my first two pregnancies, I'm thinking this has more to do with me not eating enough.

scoyne999

Always and I thoroughly enjoy every single one. I work HARD for them!

krystina_letitia9

I eat them most of the time, or at least 1/2 of them. Plus, I work night shift, so sometimes I NEED the extra fuel to get me through the night :happy: It hasn't affected my weight loss... that being said, I know everyone is different!

krystina_letitia9

Always and I thoroughly enjoy every single one. I work HARD for them!

Amen!

fionarama

I will now I have a HRM. Just be careful you are ABSOLUTELY sure how many calories you burned. Don't go by the machines or MFP figures as if its wrong you will self sabotage.

What brand HRM did you purchase?

jsut a cheap; one from tesco's.

ConnieM20

I always eat between 75% and 110% of them. Your 1200 cal goal it to lose your goal amount of weight without exercising, once you exercise your body requires that fuel to be replenished or you want have enough fuel for the rest of the day.

As an example your day to day requirements are like a tank of gas. if you use a tank of gas/week going to and from work, if you go on any extra trips or errands you will need to add more gas in order to have enough gas to get to work. So if you need 1200 for day to day stuff (you will lose weight with 1200 cals and no exercise), then when you do extra (workout) you need to put more calories in your body.

great way to explain it, now i understand

mstemen

YES! I do eat back most of my calories burned. My experience is this:

My BMR (which is the amount of calories your body needs just to survive) is about 1800. You're going to burn more calories then just from all your day to day activities. When factoring in my TDEE (total daily energy expendature) at a sendentary lifestyle (eventhough I do exercise) this bumps up my calorie needs to about 2300 per day.

If you subtract 1800 from 2300 there is your 500 calorie per day deficit. When you add in your exercise you're only adding to your deficit.

I'm a huge advocate of eating at your BMR only because for my this is a lifestyle change not a quick fix. Another great way to figure out what you need to be netting is to use the numbers you would need to maintain your ideal weight.

Good luck

TKHappy

I find (for myself) that NOT eating calories burned leaves me run down, tired, and with no results...I'm pretty sure my body goes into starvation mode. I eat 75% of my calories burned and I lose weight, see more musle definition, and am not tired by noon. I think everyone is different and you just have to find out what works best for you!

ramon3

my goal is about 1600 and i am usually at about 1400 on average for what i eat in a day. Typically when i go to the gym I'll burn between 400-600 calories and ill maybe eat half back. This kind of comes into play if you reach plateaus. I've hit 3 and each time i would increase my calorie intake for a bit and i would finally overcome them after being stuck for like a month at the same weight. If your body doesnt get enough it will just hold onto what it can and so this may be why people say to eat them back.

Not good, as a guy your minimum should be 1500 net (1500 plus what you burned from exercise) any less and you risk losing a large % of lean muscle instead of mostly fat. You have to ask yourself, do you want to lose weight, or lose fat?

Sorry for the double post! but clearly hit the wrong button.

well, Im also only 5'6'' so im short for a guy. I run a lot and I have been increasing time and distance when I do and notice the muscles in my legs gettting stronger. I have quite the story from going to a spin class at the very begining of my gym experience where i couldn't keep up and struggled but now it is not a problem any more at all.

That doesn't really change things much. 1400 is too low. 1600 is the goal to reach, not something you want to be way below, and 200 below is way below especially if you only eat half your calories back. You will likely lose a lot of muscle. I have seen it, and it is a lot harder to put muscle on than it is to maintain it in the first place.

Thanks all! I appreciate the feedback and will definitely try it out! It will probably keep me from hitting plateaus every 10 pounds as I have been doing.

tialynn1

I see a lot of people that don't eat their calories that they burn not lose weight. I have almost always eat most of the calories back and I have always lost an average 2.4 pounds per week.

erickirb

my goal is about 1600 and i am usually at about 1400 on average for what i eat in a day. Typically when i go to the gym I'll burn between 400-600 calories and ill maybe eat half back. This kind of comes into play if you reach plateaus. I've hit 3 and each time i would increase my calorie intake for a bit and i would finally overcome them after being stuck for like a month at the same weight. If your body doesnt get enough it will just hold onto what it can and so this may be why people say to eat them back.

Not good, as a guy your minimum should be 1500 net (1500 plus what you burned from exercise) any less and you risk losing a large % of lean muscle instead of mostly fat. You have to ask yourself, do you want to lose weight, or lose fat?

Sorry for the double post! but clearly hit the wrong button.

well, Im also only 5'6'' so im short for a guy. I run a lot and I have been increasing time and distance when I do and notice the muscles in my legs gettting stronger. I have quite the story from going to a spin class at the very begining of my gym experience where i couldn't keep up and struggled but now it is not a problem any more at all.

I'm only 5'6 as well, but I am eating a net of 1750 to 1850 to lose weight (0.5lbs/week). I could see a net of 1600-1700 for 1lb/week, but not less than that.

AmyRhubarb

I do eat mine back! Some days more than others, depends on how hungry I am. This past week I have been over my net calorie goal several times, and this morning my scale finally moved - down a half pound! I don't have a lot left to lose, so these last pounds are the most stubborn. I've been working hard, mixing workouts up and eating a bit more - gotta fuel the machine! :bigsmile:

Meaganandcheese

Some, but not all. I try to let my WL be my guide.

I can't say I fully understand the concept of net calories though, so it's a work in progress.

Connie1979

It depends on how many I have burned, some days I burn over 1000 calories, and because I work out late there is no way I want to eat that many calories and then go to bed...... but if I work out in the morning, I may grant myself an extra snack.

Glamour60Xtreme

Nope... I do not. I eat when I'm hungry. I don't see a point in forcing myself to eat.



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rbn_held

Not always. Depends on the day