please help with calories

gazrec

im getting totally confused with mfp only been on 5days, is eating back the calories you burnt at the gym really that important?? my target is 1600cals per day i eat as close to that as i can, then i go to the gym in the evening till about 10pm, if i burn 500 cals at the gym am i expeted to go home and eat 500??

nxd10

Is it important, actually yes.

If you can't eat 500 that late at night, eat YESTERDAY'S exercise calories today. When you finish exercising this evening you'll be where you should be.

Finally . . . two pieces of buttered toast and a glass of orange juice is 500 calories. And it tastes really good when you get home from the gym and will help your body repair itself overnight.

gazrec

thanks for the advice:happy:

professorRAT

Agree with nxd10. You don't have to eat them the same day, but try to hit your weekly goals.

Or maybe just a protein or meal replacemtn shake right after your workout? You don't have to eat EVERY calorie back because calories burned is just an estimate anyway. Some protein/meal replacement shakes have a fair number of calories. Maybe find one with 300 - 400 calories and you should be ok.

kellicci

Yep I agree. If you're not using a HRM the exercise calories areprobably a little high so no need to eat 100% of them back.

I put my projected exercise in during the day if I'm going to exercise late and I eat most of those exercise calories before hand. It kinda forces me to work out b/c Ialready eat the calories so I have to go use them. But you can also go for a weekly overall goal and add them to the next day, or have a protein shake after your workout. Whatever works for you.

Baloostika

Hi nxd10, help with this maths. MFP give me a 1650 daily calorie number to lose 1 lb a week. I exercise and lose btw 400 to 800 each day, good. Now, am I supposed to eat 2050, 2450 calories or just the 1650 and maybe add 200 more? Mmm, hope u understand my point, thanks.

debzza

just found this on another post a few weeks ago............*I stopped losing weight when I did, and occasionally gained. So, I called a nutritional counselor. She said not to eat my exercise calories. Have been doing that since March and keep losing pounds weekly.*......... This lady had lost 115lb so it seems she knows what she is doing?!?!? :indifferent:

professorRAT

just found this on another post a few weeks ago............*I stopped losing weight when I did, and occasionally gained. So, I called a nutritional counselor. She said not to eat my exercise calories. Have been doing that since March and keep losing pounds weekly.*......... This lady had lost 115lb so it seems she knows what she is doing?!?!? :indifferent:

You will lose weight doing that. It proves nothing. The problem is if you continue this you will a) lose muscle (this is partly why you will lose lots of weight) and b) have a harder time maintaining the weight loss. So, yes it works for losing weight BUT it isn't as healthy, eats up your muscle (which you want to keep) and makes it harder to maintai the weight loss (muscle helps burn calories). You probably (hopefully?) want to lose fat rather than just "weight".

If you are gaining eating all exercise calories back then cut back and only eat some of them back and see what happens. That doesn't mean you should eat none of them back , there is lots of room in between for tweaking. MANY people who eat some of their exercise calories back have lost lots of weight without losing muscle so it seems they know what they are doing...

professorRAT

...it harder to maintain the weight loss (muscle helps burn calories). ...

sorry about the typo