Do you eat your workout calories?

emo1234

Different for everyone my dear, some have faster metabolism that are use to burning through calories quicker and if they dont eat all the calories there metabolism actually slows down were there body goes into starvation mode and starts to "store" the food to use as energy later. best to find what works for you.. i would try eating them all at first and then cutting back if you don't see any improvements. For me it does not make a difference with how little i eat its what i eat and when i eat, that controls my weight loss. but like i said everyone is different good luck hope this helps!!

DawnieB1977

I don't eat mine, but then I rarely eat the allowance it sets me anyway, even before exercise is factored in. I usually manage 1200-1400 a day, so there's no way i could manage an extra 500+ for exercise.
Plus the idea, for me, is to create a calorie deficit.

tmauck4472

Different for everyone my dear, some have faster metabolism that are use to burning through calories quicker and if they dont eat all the calories there metabolism actually slows down were there body goes into starvation mode and starts to "store" the food to use as energy later. best to find what works for you.. i would try eating them all at first and then cutting back if you don't see any improvements. For me it does not make a difference with how little i eat its what i eat and when i eat, that controls my weight loss. but like i said everyone is different good luck hope this helps!!

Ignore the Starvation Mode BS.

erickirb

Most of the time I do. MFP already takes a 500 calorie deficit off.

Wait, what?? So I have a 500 cal leeway? So if what was "set" for me was 1,200 but I work out 4+x a week and there's a 500 cal defecit...I should be taking in much more, correct?

I just HATE when the number turns red!!! LOL

MFP does NOT assume anyone will exercise. In your initial set up you stated "I want to lose XX pounds per week" MFP gives you the numbers to accomplish that .... or 1200 in your case ... which is the minimum MFP will give anyone.

When you ADD exercise into the equation .... (think of exercise / activity as calories out) ...... you increase the deficit. So it's like 1200 calories eaten LESS 500 calories burned. That's 700 net calories per day.

Your body needs 1200 calories (most women) just for basic bodily function: heart, lungs, kidneys. The problem with too large a deficit, your weight loss will stall, and your body may burn muscle as well as fat.

Your body won't start burning muscle until your body fat is below 5%, so don't worry about that

That is wrong. You will lose lean mass during your weight loss. If I drop 5-6 lbs are least 1-2 will be lean muscle. Even body builder drop lean mass while cutting, even before they get to the 5% threshold. The smaller your deficit the less muscle you will lose while losing weight.

angmarie28

I do if I had a hard workout that burnt like 600 calories I drinka protein shake after my workout, but if my only workout is cleaning and doing normal daily routines, then no, I try not too.

Taneil27

Most of the time I do. MFP already takes a 500 calorie deficit off.

Wait, what?? So I have a 500 cal leeway? So if what was "set" for me was 1,200 but I work out 4+x a week and there's a 500 cal defecit...I should be taking in much more, correct?

I just HATE when the number turns red!!! LOL

You can eat 1700 calories a day and maintain your weight. MFP takes a deficit of 500 calories off that amount which equals to 3500 calories a week, which is equal to a pound of fat. The 1200 calories you are eating is to lose weight, and if you exercise you should eat most of those calories back to stay around 1200 calories. Does that make sense?

susannamarie

Your body won't start burning muscle until your body fat is below 5%, so don't worry about that

5%? So since essential body fat for women is usually either listed as 10-12% or 8-12%, it's *impossible* for me to burn muscle? Cool!

chicbuc

Wow. The amount of misinformation in this thread alone is alarming. Of course your body will burn muscle if you're not eating enough. Muscle burns more calories, and your body will try to hold onto calories if it's starving. Therefore, it will get rid of muscle FIRST if you're eating too little to sustain normal functions.

Eat your exercise calories!

chicbuc

Oh, and I drink my exercise calories

blonde71

I do and hasn't affected my weight one bit.

kiminikimkim

I don't eat all of them back because:

1) Burned calories may not be accurate
2) Calorie intake may not be accurate

I always leave a deficit margin of calories, just in case.

hiker359

Results may vary....eat them back, don't eat them back, find the sweet spot of what works, though I'd bet that MFP may lowball the estimate.

darkandlovelyj

Not anymore. In the beginning of my journey, I did. However, I found that I do better when I don't. Even when I do eat some of the workout calories, it's no where near all of them.

ShifuYaku

You know... I eat mine, but then again I am not sure if they are hindering or helping me at all. I haven't done enough research to find out if they are affecting me. But I'm a hungry person, so I just usually eat them.

johnnys30

I eat some of them back. I am hesitant to eat them all back mainly because what you figure as calories from weight lifting and the numbers the treadmill, bike, or other machines give you are not necessarily dead on. What if your estimates are higher than reality?

hhump

I usually do, but i'm not having much weight loss at all, i'm thinking i'm going to start to try to limit to just some of the workout calories, and I try to not over estimate my workouts just in case. I like what most of the other posts are saying about somewhat making up the calories, but not overindulging in the workout cals. best of luck

MassiveDelta

Do you eat your workout calories? What if you don't? Will that impact weight loss?

YES it will!

Please go read this....
part 1
http://massivechanges.blogspot.com/2012/03/compromising-your-metabolism.html
part 2
http://massivechanges.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-hardest-thing.html

aquabeauty1187

If you don't eat all or most of the calories you burn, your body will go into starvation mode and hold on to everything else it can get. So yes, you should eat your workout calories. You have to understand, you are still burning calories when you are doing nothing, called your resting metabolic rate, or RMR. You are also burning calories with your active metabolic rate, or AMR. As long as you know these, it is easier to keep track of how many calories you should take in and how many calories you should burn during extra exercise per day (I say extra exercise because some people like to get technical and say that the walking of everyday life could be counted as exercise). The more you exercise, the better your RMR and AMR will get, and the more calories you will burn during the day without exercise. Hope this helps!

MoveTheMountain

Different for everyone my dear, some have faster metabolism that are use to burning through calories quicker and if they dont eat all the calories there metabolism actually slows down were there body goes into starvation mode and starts to "store" the food to use as energy later. best to find what works for you.. i would try eating them all at first and then cutting back if you don't see any improvements. For me it does not make a difference with how little i eat its what i eat and when i eat, that controls my weight loss. but like i said everyone is different good luck hope this helps!!

Bingo...

allywood90

Oh, and I drink my exercise calories

Haha! I do that sometimes too