i know this has probably been posted 1000 times, but...

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eva_lawlor
eva_lawlor Posts: 81
in Food and Nutrition
do i have to eat back my exercise calories?

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  • Pamela259
    Pamela259 Posts: 74 Member
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    i dont why work so hard just to eat it back?
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

    That's what they say.
  • 1985Andy
    1985Andy Posts: 161 Member
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    In a word no. You don't 'have' to eat them back. The reason why it's encouraged to stick to close to your target carlorie amount is that it's healthy to do so and if you fall far underneath it continuously your mind will slow your metabolism down which will slow down weight loss.

    If you've done a workout and it's put you below your target by a few hundred then that's a good thing for your goals!
  • stfuriada
    stfuriada Posts: 445 Member
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    i dont why work so hard just to eat it back?

    I agree.

    Especially since it;s SOOOO EASY to overestimate your calories burned.
  • kayleesays
    kayleesays Posts: 564 Member
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    Eat them back until you're at your BMR.
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
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    If you know that it has been posted 1000 times (which no, you're wrong, it's been posted 5120545+61.3248 times) then why didn't you just use the search function??
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Actually it's 1,001 times ... lol

    Seriously ... YES eat back (most) or all of your exercise calories. MFP calculates a calorie deficit BEFORE exercise. So when you do exercise you make the deficit bigger. So people who don't exercise do lose weight , and people who do exercise lose weight & eat more.

    You are eating more ... to fuel your workouts. Your body needs a basic minimum calories for living (heart, lungs, brain). The reason you may eat only some of your calories ...... machines & MFP overstate calorie burns. Heart rate monitors are much more accurate.
  • eva_lawlor
    eva_lawlor Posts: 81
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    thanks!(:
  • mfp_junkie
    mfp_junkie Posts: 359
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    www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com
  • ball858
    ball858 Posts: 395 Member
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    Eat them back until you're at your BMR.

    ^^^ This ^^^
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    i dont why work so hard just to eat it back?

    I eat back exercise calories so that I burn fat and NOT muscle tissue. Yes, I care about the scale .... but I care about my metabolism more.

    Look up "skinny-fat"
  • DJStewie
    DJStewie Posts: 92 Member
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    www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

    That's hilarious!
  • Irish_Lanie
    Irish_Lanie Posts: 100
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    Last yr I ate my exercise calories back, not every single one of them but still. I did that for 1 month and gained 15 pounds. i was not a happy camper. Went back to eating my way and working out my way and dropped the 15 pounds. To each their own.
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
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    If you know that it has been posted 1000 times (which no, you're wrong, it's been posted 5120545+61.3248 times) then why didn't you just use the search function??

    ^
  • thesarahsundae
    thesarahsundae Posts: 240 Member
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    www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

    HAHA!!
  • sandrajune72
    sandrajune72 Posts: 550
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    do i have to eat back my exercise calories?

    I eat back about half. Seems to work for me, but yes, everyone is different, you need to find what works for you :smile:
  • ipsamet
    ipsamet Posts: 436 Member
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    www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

    I thought I was gonna get to this first for once! One day!
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
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    www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

    Quoted for Awesomeness.
  • B21goddess
    B21goddess Posts: 35
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    no.
  • davidmcgowan1987
    davidmcgowan1987 Posts: 111
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    It all boils down to what your trying to accomplish

    Basically, when you exercise past your glycogen stores (your immediately available blood sugar) your body starts to look for sources of energy.

    if your only doing cardio you will lose muscle as well as fat, which is why people can lose 100+ lbs and still have "loose skin" even though loose skin would be an inch thick at most...

    if your doing strength training as well as cardio you need to eat your exercise calories back after your strength training so that you can rebuild the muscle that your body will inevitably metabolise during the cardio.

    like i said it depends on what your goals are but i would recommend that you combine cardio with strength training and eat high carb a few hours before and high protein immediately after strength training sessions in order to build definition... if you dont want the definition (some women dont like the idea of having any definition) then do less weight training and more cardio but unless you want to look like a stringy marathon runner make sure you do some strength training

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