Anyone else feel guilty for eating back burnt calories?

oregonzoo

pretty sure I work out MORE so that I can eat MORE. I never feel guilty for eating the back.

zaithyr

No, because at the end of the day I'm still at a healthy deficit. Sometimes if I burn a lot of extra calories I might not be able to eat them all back if I'm just not hungry, but I usually try to eat them back (or at least most of them). I just make sure my net doesn't get too low.

hiker359

Nope....to eat the calories my body needs to burn fat would just be silly.

deksgrl

Then why not calculate your goal based on your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) minus a healthy deficit instead of a low cal MFP goal plus energy expenditure. That way you will still be eating at a correct deficit to lose weight, but won't have to add more calories for exercise.

BritneysStuntDouble

I feel guilty that the word "burnt" brings back memories of this. What a cast, though!

BrianSharpe

No guilt whatsoever, I don't eat them all back as I assume that there's a margin of error for both consumption and expenditure but yesterday I enjoyed 3,000 guilt free calories and was still under my net calories target.

secretlobster

I had to eat back my burnt calories yesterday too since I'm on a 1200calories/day diet and recovery would probably take way too long if I wouldn't.. but I couldn't even enjoy my food

I was on a 1200 calorie diet too, and like you I felt really crappy "eating back" calories. I felt more successful the less I ate. I didn't realize at the time that it would eventually become a fully blown eating disorder.

Beware of fooling yourself into thinking you're eating enough based on your goal. Don't blind yourself to how much you're actually consuming. If you can't NET 1200 calories of food, then you shouldn't be going out of your way to burn extra calories. You're not actually satiated - You just feel too guilty to eat.

MoreBean13

Start a marathon training program. It will teach you the inherent importance of eating back exercise calories. I'm dead serious.

sarah44254

Guilt should not be associated with eating. You will benefit from some deep personal introspection on why you would feel this way when giving your body fuel. Be careful with yourself. You are not on a healthy mental path.

xidia

I had to eat back my burnt calories yesterday too since I'm on a 1200calories/day diet and recovery would probably take way too long if I wouldn't.. but I couldn't even enjoy my food

WHAT DO YOU DO TO AVOID THIS FEELING?!

1) I love food, and if I have to exercise to be able to eat steak or chocolate pudding, that's fine by me
2) My body will only respond the way I want to if I fuel it right. If I put cracked gas in my car, or set off on a 500 mile trip with 1/4 tank, I wouldn't be surprised when it stopped right at the side of the road. Why is my body any different?

Now, I have fitness and body composition goals, not weight goals. So, my underlying approach may be different from yours. I do want to lose inches, but I want to do it by getting leaner, faster and stronger rather than purely by shedding fat. So for me, I have to train hard, and I know from bitter experience I do not enjoy the exercise OR see the changes I want if I'm running at 800+ deficit (500 from normal dieting deficit, +300-500 from exercise). Ergo, I eat back what I need to feel full and to give my body the macros it needs to perform as I expect.

jennifer_a00

Sometimes I do, if I'm hungry. If I'm not hungry, I don't go looking for something to eat just to fill those calories.

LorinaLynn

I feel guilty if I accidentally step on my dog's tail.

I'm sure as hell not going to feel guilty for giving my body what it needs to be healthy and strong.

Yanicka1

It is disordered thinking. Feeling guilty of feeding your body enough! The contrary of health.

lizziebeth1028

NOPE!!!!! I've worked hard to earn those calories and my body needs them for recovery and to get stronger!

Pixi_Rex

It's hard to feel guilty when I work out specifically to eat them back.

Jacwhite22

I still lift daily, Bench 3 sets 10 reps 310 lbs. I have a six pack now, just want to cut the rest of the fat. im currently 8 %. Running will burn the calories to shed the fat.

not to call you a liar......but vid of this or it didn't happen. I frankly don't believe at 160 you are putting up 310 10 times.

hamncheese67

I definitely don't feel guilty. You've made quite an achievement in your fitness goals but I don't see if getting to 6% bf is a necessary goal at this stage. If you are training for a 2nd marathon, concentrate on performance over getting from 8% to 6%. And work on maintaining a healthy mental perspective.

WendyTerry420

Nikki,

thats how I feel. I dont need them cause im not hungry so I feel like eating over 2000 calories even though i ran seems crazy expecially when I lost so much weight staying at 1000.

Ever notice that the nutrition labels on food are based on a 2000 calorie diet? There's a reason for that.

xprettyreckless

@secretlobster + @xidia

my problem right now is that I initially started running so I could eat more, since I love food too. Then it was all about running and running itself and nothing else. But ever since I joined MFP my mindset's changed, since now running has partly become means of losing weight. I only feel guilty when I'm not hungry, but know I need to eat back the calories so I have plenty of energy the next day.. do you know what I mean?

By no means though am I developing an eating disorder. I love food way too much for that. I guess I'm just stressed out since I just joined the track team for next semester and everybody's so tiny and so in shape. So now I want to be leaner AND faster, which is not all that easy!!!

wolfpack77

I still lift daily, Bench 3 sets 10 reps 310 lbs. I have a six pack now, just want to cut the rest of the fat. im currently 8 %. Running will burn the calories to shed the fat.

Seek professional help and benching more than 2x bw for 10 reps, impressive

I know right? So you're dieting and somehow have enough energy to bench twice your bodyweight for 10 reps? What's your 1RM? 400lbs? Wow, you must be superman. Shenanigans!

Oh and by the way, 6% is nearly impossible to maintain and isn't good for your health at all. If you're able to maintain that kind of strength at your size, it's the best you can hope for unless you plan to compete. You should NOT be dieting at 8% bodyfat!

And yes, seek help.

islandnutshel

I eat back at least half. I use the extra allowance to give my body something it needs like the good fats in avocado or raw nuts and seeds. Something that will benefit the bodybuilding, cardio loving machine you are working on. Reward your body for it's hard work and fuel it.

Mbishop7684

1) Trust that the reason you were overweight was not because you ate back exercise calories.

2) I had that issue as well. Mentally it came down to this: I set my goals for 1500. I try my HARDEST to hit said goal as BEST I can everyday. Sometimes I'm over, sometimes I'm under. I burn an average of 600 calories per spin class; it is VERY difficult to eat all of those back without feeling stuffed. Now I have two scoops of Isopure after spin class (220 cals) and then maybe splurge on a small 100-200 calorie item I normally wouldn't have (glass of wine, piece of dark chocolate). THAT way, I'm not stuffing myself if I'm not hungry, I'm putting protein in my body right after a hardcore workout and I get a little "something" for my hard work.

3)Hope that helps!

Cranktastic

Set your goal higher.

xidia

@secretlobster + @xidia

my problem right now is that I initially started running so I could eat more, since I love food too. Then it was all about running and running itself and nothing else. But ever since I joined MFP my mindset's changed, since now running has partly become means of losing weight. I only feel guilty when I'm not hungry, but know I need to eat back the calories so I have plenty of energy the next day.. do you know what I mean?

By no means though am I developing an eating disorder. I love food way too much for that. I guess I'm just stressed out since I just joined the track team for next semester and everybody's so tiny and so in shape. So now I want to be leaner AND faster, which is not all that easy!!!

Ok.. If you love running for running's sake, can you identify what switched your mindset when you joined MFP? I had the opposite experience, where I joined to lose weight (with some training on the side) and I've flipped to it being about how to make my body the best it can be (which just happens to have a lower BF%).

I've just gone back to using protein/carb recovery shakes after a workout - it's not food, but it does a great replenishment job, and then I can make sensible choices about dinner rather than finishing up a workout and battling the twin drivers of nausea and hunger for a couple of hours. Recovery shake settles the nausea (if there is any), replenishes the carbs and proteins I need and gives me a window in which to wait until I feel hungry again before I eat a proper meal.

I also went from couch potato to 8 mile runs in 4 months and lost not a single inch, so running alone didn't work as weightloss or inch-loss approach for me (I also didn't track calories)!

secretlobster

@secretlobster + @xidia

my problem right now is that I initially started running so I could eat more, since I love food too. Then it was all about running and running itself and nothing else. But ever since I joined MFP my mindset's changed, since now running has partly become means of losing weight. I only feel guilty when I'm not hungry, but know I need to eat back the calories so I have plenty of energy the next day.. do you know what I mean?

By no means though am I developing an eating disorder. I love food way too much for that. I guess I'm just stressed out since I just joined the track team for next semester and everybody's so tiny and so in shape. So now I want to be leaner AND faster, which is not all that easy!!!

If you love food, then why do you have a problem eating more?
There is more than enough justification to eat. Running is a serious activity that requires good nutrition, like any sport. You know this to be true, you just said it. I'm not saying you have an eating disorder, I'm just saying that this kind of disordered eating for me personally turned into something worse without me fully realizing it, and I'm not a stupid or unaware person. I'm just saying you really want to change your perspective now while you're able to think rationally about it. Your objective should be to meet your calorie goal, it's really important to not consistently go under, especially when you're not eating that much to begin with. Even if you don't feel very hungry, keep some cashews around or something. Get rid of anything "low-fat" or "low-cal" you have in the house, if you have any, and just eat normal non-diet food. I think there is a tendency to favor the idea of filling yourself up as much as you can with low-calorie foods that take up a lot of space (at least I know I fell victim to this idea of dieting). Don't be afraid to eat stuff that's dense in calories and nutrients.

You made a lifestyle change, a serious one, I think you need to trust yourself

gingerveg

I don't feel guilty per se, but I am not sure if the burn # is 100% correct so I don't usually eat them all back.

xidia

@xprettyreckle

Also, if it's the track team that's motivating you, do you want to lose weight or do you want to tone up? For the former, eat less. For the latter, eat more and lift.

MoreBean13

@secretlobster + @xidia

my problem right now is that I initially started running so I could eat more, since I love food too. Then it was all about running and running itself and nothing else. But ever since I joined MFP my mindset's changed, since now running has partly become means of losing weight. I only feel guilty when I'm not hungry, but know I need to eat back the calories so I have plenty of energy the next day.. do you know what I mean?

By no means though am I developing an eating disorder. I love food way too much for that. I guess I'm just stressed out since I just joined the track team for next semester and everybody's so tiny and so in shape. So now I want to be leaner AND faster, which is not all that easy!!!

Setting some running performance goals might help you- try bringing running back to being a sport from being a means of burning calories. Go Faster, Longer, tackle some new hills...whatever it is. Eating the calories lets you perform better....it's a nasty cycle- you don't eat enough, running becomes some kind of torture to burn calories, then if it's only purpose is burning calories, of course you don't want to eat them back! Performance goals might help break the cycle.

xidia

Setting some running performance goals might help you- try bringing running back to being a sport from being a means of burning calories. Go Faster, Longer, tackle some new hills...whatever it is. Eating the calories lets you perform better....it's a nasty cycle- you don't eat enough, running becomes some kind of torture to burn calories, then if it's only purpose is burning calories, of course you don't want to eat them back! Performance goals might help break the cycle.

Thank you for articulating why I need goals, and why I could start running in May having professed for 25 years that I hated it. I had a goal that was an event, not a goal that was weight.

ourglasswalls

I feel bad everytime I have to eat back exercise calories. I know that I have to in order for my body to get the right nutrients, but I feel like I'm losing some of the benefit of exercising. THE LOST CALORIES.