should you eat your workout calories?

chanstriste13

hi there. i know that you should, especially if you are only eating 1200 calories, but my mom is visiting and is giving me a hard time because this doesn't make any sense to her. she is conveniently ignoring the fact that i have lost nearly 6 pounds in under 4 weeks with my calorie intake sometimes being as high as 2000 calories on my workout days. she keeps insisting that i should only eat 1200 calories a day, burn 300, and not replace any of them. does anyone know of any journal or article that i can site and print and go give to her? thanks!

MMLong3996

I'm not sure of the correct answer, and I'm sure it's different for everyone, but my friend at work says no. She doesn't enter her exercise info until the end of her day after she's completed her food entries so that she doesn't get concerned about having more calories to eat. She's consistently been losing weight and this works for her.

jeffcummings

It's really up to you. There are two schools of thought here:

1. If you are working out really hard, you have to fuel your muscles. Your body will store fat if you don't feed it when you are burning so many calories.

2. Use the extra calories to get you to your goal more quickly. MyFitnessPal seems to recommend a slow weight loss regimen, no more than 2 pounds per week. If you want to lose more quickly, then you can exceed your daily goals.

Check this article out. There are a lot like it:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7080440/ns/health-fitness/

Personally, I split the difference, so I can enjoy the rewards of extra calories but still beat my daily goal. I have lost 10 pounds since mid-jan taking this approach.

Good luck, and always remember, a healthy lifestyle is a journey, not a destination. Don't let others define your journey!

lisawest

Send SHBoss1673 a PM. He's researched all this a LOT and has a bunch of articles.

P.S. If it's working for you, why change it?! When it STOPS working, THAT'S when you change it. IMO

Livi_Loves_Pink

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

tlynnweb

Basic answer from what I gather is this:

MFP already gives you a 500 calorie deficit. You need to burn 3750 calories to lose a pound. 500X7 days a week is 3500.
If you are working out and say you burn 200 calories and your daily goal is 1200 calories. That brings you down to 1000 calories. If you remain at 1000 calories a day for an extended period of time you will go into starvation mode and you will hold onto your weight. So eat it up sister!

gennyvieve

i agree that if it's working for you, just keep it up. i think it's just a mom thing to want to always stick your nose in----my mom does the same thing, or at least she used to until i told her i needed her to back off so i could do my thing. shockingly, it seems to have worked.

kwardklinck

I say do what works. I do better if I don't let myself get hungry. Working out makes me hungry. I usually don't eat all of my cals but I do go over my 1200 on days I exercise. I have been consistently losing since I joined 3 weeks ago so I say, "If it's not broke, don't fix it."