Excersize calories

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Jess22207
Jess22207 Posts: 11
in Health and Weight Loss
If I dont eat my excersize calories how much does that effect my weight loss?
I feel guilty eatting back 300 calories after i just worked me @$$ off!!

Replies

  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    think about it in these terms.


    you don't feel guilty about eating your regular calories right? Well it's the same thing. Remember, if you set a goal with a calorie deficit (I imagine you have, cuz very few people on here are at maintenance), you're already at a deficit, eating exercise calories is just the way to maintain your existing deficit, not to shrink it.
  • lilangel7671
    lilangel7671 Posts: 353 Member
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    Banks- I AM currently trying to maintain (just want to tone up the abs). I am pretty active, usually burning somewhere between 200-300 cals a day weekdays, and over 600 weekends. My question is I have my MFP setting on "lost 1/2 lb a week" which gives me 1460 for net cals. If I change it it says 1700 net cals, should I change it? It just seems like alot to maintain! Right now I have been trying to stay around 1600-1700 cals not including exercise. I am about 115lbs, 21 yrs. Say like today my cals are at about 1650 consumed (I log everything in ahead), MFP says I would weigh 110lbs in 5 weeks..I have about 550 exercise cals to use, should I eat them?
  • aimstein
    aimstein Posts: 94
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    I'm going to bother you with yet another exercise calorie question. I read your posts concerning exercise calories. I reset my goals using my current weight, made sure my activity level was set on "light" and removed the exercise goals from my personal settings. My daily calories are 1200 (without exercise calories). Am I now able to trust the added exercise calories and eat them? Thanks!!! :smile:
  • lizzys
    lizzys Posts: 841 Member
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    dont eat if your not hungry.dont get in the habit of eating just to be eating .that is a bad habit and in twenty years when your in your fiftys you will have 100 pounds to lose like me instead of a littel pouch i try never to eat my exercise calories the only thing that going to do for me is put on more fat before i get what i have trun to muscle only use your excercise calories when your really need than. eat like a protein bar before you work out so you don"t get hungry you can eat all the food you need to eat on your alotted calories don"t eat more
  • glandis
    glandis Posts: 89
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    I am living proof you will lose weight eating your exercise calories. I started in June and I am down 21 pounds so far. I faithfully ate back my calories everyday and consistenly saw the pounds drop every week!! It makes sense when you think about it. This topic comes up but I just wanted to tell all of you that don't believe you can lose weight by eating back your exercise calories... it really does work! If i can do it, anyone can. Good Luck everyone!
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
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    I am living proof you will lose weight eating your exercise calories. I started in June and I am down 21 pounds so far. I faithfully ate back my calories everyday and consistenly saw the pounds drop every week!! It makes sense when you think about it. This topic comes up but I just wanted to tell all of you that don't believe you can lose weight by eating back your exercise calories... it really does work! If i can do it, anyone can. Good Luck everyone!

    This^^ :heart:


    And if you're in the habit of ignoring the signals your body sends, you might need to retrain yourself by yes, forcing yourself to eat (healthy) foods throughout the day.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    Banks- I AM currently trying to maintain (just want to tone up the abs). I am pretty active, usually burning somewhere between 200-300 cals a day weekdays, and over 600 weekends. My question is I have my MFP setting on "lost 1/2 lb a week" which gives me 1460 for net cals. If I change it it says 1700 net cals, should I change it? It just seems like alot to maintain! Right now I have been trying to stay around 1600-1700 cals not including exercise. I am about 115lbs, 21 yrs. Say like today my cals are at about 1650 consumed (I log everything in ahead), MFP says I would weigh 110lbs in 5 weeks..I have about 550 exercise cals to use, should I eat them?

    absolutely you should eat them. BUT and this is a BIIIIIIGGGGGG! but;
    don't just suddenly up your calories by 2 to 400 all at once, you most assuredly gain weight if you do that, do it slowly, like 50 cals a week for a month or so. Give your body time to adjust. Remember, the metabolism will take what is given, so if you've been depriving your body long enough, that will be it's new baseline, so you must slowly raise the cals to keep from storing fat.
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    dont eat if your not hungry.dont get in the habit of eating just to be eating .that is a bad habit and in twenty years when your in your fiftys you will have 100 pounds to lose like me instead of a littel pouch i try never to eat my exercise calories the only thing that going to do for me is put on more fat before i get what i have trun to muscle only use your excercise calories when your really need than. eat like a protein bar before you work out so you don"t get hungry you can eat all the food you need to eat on your alotted calories don"t eat more

    Whoa whoa whoa! This is far far far to general and vague.

    Now, for many (and most I imagine) of us on here, at least at the beginning, our bodies are (in laymans terms) hormonally challanged. Given that hormones govern when we are hungry, you CANNOT trust your body to tell you when it's ok to eat.

    NOW, when you are healthy, all your blood numbers are within the normal range, and your weight is where you want it to be, that's one thing, then it's generallly ok to trust your body for hunger signs, but not for people who are overweight, have hormone imbalances, or have symptoms of metabolic syntrome (diabetes, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, insulin resistant...etc).

    IMHO, the BEST way to approach this is to find out how many calories you SHOULD be eating, generate a plan, and stick to that plan, come hell or high water. After a month or so, re-evaluate, if you aren't progressing like you should, then you tweak, but generally for people who are overweight or obese (or have extremely high body fat %) it's not a good idea to trust your body's internal hunger mechanisms.
  • lilangel7671
    lilangel7671 Posts: 353 Member
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    Thank you very much Banks. I have heard that before and I definitely have increased my cals slowly. When I first started on MFP I was only eating at MOST 1200 cals. I was exercising like a beast, but started feeling really run down. I decided to come here and everyone told me that I needed to increase. So slowly from around 1200 I have increased to 1600ish now (depending on the day). I was eating most of my exercise cals for maybe a week or so but I just started to feel really full all the time. Any suggestions there?....
    I just want to make sure this is correct- I should change my MFP setting to "maintain" which is like 1700, and eat my exercise cals??(Increasing again slowly of course)
    So now I just have one more question:blushing: -my exercise varies from day to day- sometimes with a great difference. Should I be keeping my cals somewhat the same day to day? Because like I said on weekends I could eat 2000 cals sometimes whereas say tomorrow maybe only 1700 (unless I change my setting):huh:
    I know it shouldn't be this confusing! Geez!:noway:

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