Why Eating Exercise Calories is so important.

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  • NBabi91
    NBabi91 Posts: 270 Member
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    I eat when I'm hungry. If I'm hungry I eat them. If I am not hungry I don't.
  • StephL0711
    StephL0711 Posts: 141
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    I call BS! I want my body to burn muscle rather than fat, thank YOU very much!

    This guy is HILARIOUS!!
    but thanks for posting this, ive been netting around 1000-1100 because i have been scared to eat back my calories since ive been losing weight so consistently, i have been a little hungry so maybe i should net the 1200 im supposed to in a day. well off to do my workout so i can have a bigger dinner!
  • misscase
    misscase Posts: 36
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    I really want to try eating back my calories because I feel like I've stalled a bit...but I am terribly afraid it will backfire for me.

    Anyone else?

    Well you have two choices. Potentionally stay stalled or try something new. The body will either gain, stall or lose. Nothing to lose bar a week or two, which you'll soon forget!

    And don't forget, you have to give your body about three or four weeks to adjust. You may initially gain a little the first two weeks, but when your body figures it out, a lot of my friends can attest, you will get over that plateau you've been stuck at in the next two weeks.

    Thanks for the suggestions! You're right...I have really nothing to be afraid of. If it works, it works, if not, well then I'll try something else. But I am certainly going to try this beginning next week!
  • cjack19
    cjack19 Posts: 158 Member
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    bump! Thanks OP! Excellent explaination :wink:
  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
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    Do you have any links or references or anything? Any legitimate source I've ever checked out doesn't exactly agree with this. I generally eat well over my BMR anyway so it's not a big deal but I'd just like to have the info, if you have it. :)
  • dare2love81
    dare2love81 Posts: 928 Member
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    Great topic, and one that has caused a lot of controversy. However, unless you are doing intense forms of exercise every day, I would hesitate to eat back ALL of the exercise calories back for one major reason - you really don't know how many calories you burn while exercising (unless of course you've paid the thousands of dollars to have your oxygen rate medically tested). And I've found that the calories burned on MFP's site seem to be on the high side, especially when compared to my heart rate monitor. It's there to provide an estimate of calories burned, it's not exact.

    So what I've done is upped my daily calorie intake from what MFP provided by about 200 calories and make sure to exercise between 30-60 minutes everyday and I do not eat my calories back and so far I've lost between 1-2 pounds each week.

    Keep in mind, everyone's body is different. If we were all the same and responded the same way to things, science would have figured out a way to cure obesity. So really, the best way to lose is to try it one way for a few weeks and if that's not working, try something else until you find something that works.

    And don't worry about throwing your body into starve mode. That takes weeks of significantly reduced calories to trigger. A few days here and there isn't going to hurt you. In fact, I've been told by multiple nutritionists and personal trainers that you shouldn't eat the exact same amount of calories every day. If you eat a little more one day and a little less the next, it keeps your body guessing and keeps the metabolism going.
  • HulkDiesel77
    HulkDiesel77 Posts: 219 Member
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    If anyone is like me and kills it at the gym (between 750 - 1200 calories burnt a day) its hard to find the "right" things to eat to achieve this goal, that is without throwing your sodium, carbs, or sugar all out of wack!!! I discovered that having some type of meal replacement after a workout keeps me closer to where I need to be. I was eating about 1800 calories per day but burning an avg. of 900 calories at the gym and not losing weight!!!! When I started getting closer to my calorie range I started losing agian. Great observation and good comments from everyone. Make sure you feed the machine :)
  • kbugsmeemaw
    kbugsmeemaw Posts: 107 Member
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    bump
  • tbskipp
    tbskipp Posts: 184 Member
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    As most others have said here - thanks for posting this info. I am always seeing on here "should your eat your exercise calories back?" This certainly helps clear it up for me.

    :wink:
  • Fay84Vegan
    Fay84Vegan Posts: 225 Member
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    Bump

    Thank you so much!!!
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    If anyone is like me and kills it at the gym (between 750 - 1200 calories burnt a day) its hard to find the "right" things to eat to achieve this goal, that is without throwing your sodium, carbs, or sugar all out of wack!!! I discovered that having some type of meal replacement after a workout keeps me closer to where I need to be. I was eating about 1800 calories per day but burning an avg. of 900 calories at the gym and not losing weight!!!! When I started getting closer to my calorie range I started losing agian. Great observation and good comments from everyone. Make sure you feed the machine :)
    Wouldn't you just eat the same food as usual, but more of it?
  • lds72
    lds72 Posts: 12
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    bump
  • iremmy
    iremmy Posts: 77 Member
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    BUMP
  • HulkDiesel77
    HulkDiesel77 Posts: 219 Member
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    No because some of the things (such as bread, cheese, etc.) I limit myself because of the added carbs, sugar, and sodium. So eating more of it would throw everything out of wack by the end of the day (at least it does for me). So discovering a meal replacement (High calories, low carb, high protien) works great!!! Thanks for the response!!!
  • HulkDiesel77
    HulkDiesel77 Posts: 219 Member
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    If anyone is like me and kills it at the gym (between 750 - 1200 calories burnt a day) its hard to find the "right" things to eat to achieve this goal, that is without throwing your sodium, carbs, or sugar all out of wack!!! I discovered that having some type of meal replacement after a workout keeps me closer to where I need to be. I was eating about 1800 calories per day but burning an avg. of 900 calories at the gym and not losing weight!!!! When I started getting closer to my calorie range I started losing agian. Great observation and good comments from everyone. Make sure you feed the machine :)
    Wouldn't you just eat the same food as usual, but more of it?


    No because some of the things (such as bread, cheese, etc.) I limit myself because of the added carbs, sugar, and sodium. So eating more of it would throw everything out of wack by the end of the day (at least it does for me). So discovering a meal replacement (High calories, low carb, high protien) works great!!! Thanks for the response!!!
  • FireTigerSoul
    FireTigerSoul Posts: 274 Member
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    Bump for later. :)
  • Ruger2506
    Ruger2506 Posts: 309 Member
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    Anyone having trouble eating their calories? With the exercise I'm supposed to eat around 2300 calories/day. However eating healthy I'm constantly full and usually consuming about 1500-2000 calories/day (I'm averaging 1941 calories/day since I started MFP). I can't imagine eating junk just to fill my caloric requirement would be beneficial.
  • azazelrabbit
    azazelrabbit Posts: 137
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    why should my body start burning muscle when I still have 40% fat? it buffles me. since i have just joined, i will try not to consume my exercise calories and see how it goes!

    Good question. It's true that your body will start burning fat rather than muscle to begin with, but if your defecit is too low your body registers that it not getting enough food. After a while it will go into the much disputed 'starvation mode'. Here, your metabolism drops, natural processes (skin, hair, nail growth etc) slow down and the body will choose to burn muscle instead of fat to keep you warm and to preserve you for as long as possible.
    This generally only happens at high defecits (netting less that 1200 calories).
  • azazelrabbit
    azazelrabbit Posts: 137
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    Anyone having trouble eating their calories? With the exercise I'm supposed to eat around 2300 calories/day. However eating healthy I'm constantly full and usually consuming about 1500-2000 calories/day (I'm averaging 1941 calories/day since I started MFP). I can't imagine eating junk just to fill my caloric requirement would be beneficial.

    Well, you see. This is where a lot of people dispute eating their exercise calories.

    I would have to say, but only from my own opinion because I don't know a lot about this particular topic, that you should listen to your body and eat how much it is telling you to eat. If you're full at 1900 calories, then don't push it. This could just be naturally how much your body needs. If it needed more, it would tell you to eat more.
    *If anyone has any information here, i'd be forever grateful*
  • Ruger2506
    Ruger2506 Posts: 309 Member
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    Well, you see. This is where a lot of people dispute eating their exercise calories.

    I would have to say, but only from my own opinion because I don't know a lot about this particular topic, that you should listen to your body and eat how much it is telling you to eat. If you're full at 1900 calories, then don't push it. This could just be naturally how much your body needs. If it needed more, it would tell you to eat more.
    *If anyone has any information here, i'd be forever grateful*

    That seems perfectly logical and seems like sound advice. I would have to agree. My only slight concern is my metabolism slowing down which is what none of us want. However I'd be surprised if that were to happen when I'm still around 1900 calories.

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