Anyone else feel guilty for eating back burnt calories?

Game8

Personally I find this approach almost a borderline eating disorder. I just calculate my daily goal based on my general activity level and go from there. I don't record everything I do and then go eat the calories I burnt. That's like binging and purging, except you do the purging before the binging.

micheleld73

Eat the burnt calories. If your net calorie count gets to low, your body believes it's starving. If your body thinks it's starving, especially after long runs, its going to get rid of that which uses the most calories which is your muscle mass. Going too low on net calories will ruin your metabolism as well. If you're going to work it, you have to feed it!

I have just got this concept through my thick skull. I was feeling guitly if I ate more calories than the "goal" MFP set, but after a lot of reading and advice, I am on the road to eating the calories my body craves so I can lose the weight it doesn't need.

closenre

3 to 600 % huh... well i must be doing it all wrong then...lol

cwolfman13

I do what I need to do to fuel my body. I may or may not eat all of my burn points back...I usually eat about 75% of them back. If I'm feeling particularly sluggish, I will eat them all back and may even go a bit over my net goal. I have my net goal set to lose 1 Lb a week and am currently happy with losing anywhere between 1 and .5 Lbs per week, so I do allow myself to go over a little if I need to/want to.

I'm also assuming I'm burning a little more than what I put in my diary since I only put cardio that I have calculated as accurately as I possibly can...I don't log my strength training, burpees, etc because I have no idea how much of a burn I'm getting and just let my body tell me when it needs a little fuel.

So far it's been working for me and I'm averaging just a smidge over a pound a week lost. I'm 5' 10" and started out around 208-210 and I'm down to 199 over the last couple of months. Once I lose some of this fat I intend to intensify my strength training...I promised my wife the 6 pack abs and pecs that I used to have but she's never seen (other than pictures of me from my Marine Corps days). Also training for my first 5K in over 15 years...and it hurts like a mofo even though I'm taking it slow.

closenre

marine corps!! i miss those days.. got out 8/21/2010. What was your MOS?

cwolfman13

marine corps!! i miss those days.. got out 8/21/2010. What was your MOS?

Got out in '96...had a bad accident and really bad back injury. They gave me a convenience to the gov't discharge because it would heal, but buy the time they could put me on full duty again, I'd be out anyway because I wasn't intending to re-enlist. I was pretty much out of commision for a good year + doing physical therapy and whatnot, but no real exercise...that's when I started packing on some pounds. Once everything was healed up, I had a hard time getting myself motivated to get back into it and figured...meh...I'm still healthy and fit, no biggie...15 years later, well let's just say my former DI would not have anything good to say about me.

I started off in Air-traffic control and had a complete melt-down at 18 years old...I think they actually upped the requirement for that MOS to be a certain age or in your 2nd tour or something, but my memory is foggy. Spent the rest of my time 1833 3rd Tracks (I think they've since changed the MOS number) and had a secondary as a Hazmat tech which is actually where I spent most of my time.

closenre

ok, i was 6492 which is avionics technician... spent my time in the wing..lol spent alot of time as a range coach. The best part is I spent my entire time in struggleing with weight around my limit which was 172 or 18% bf and now I love running and lifting and im 8 % at 148.. wish I had this motivation while I was in, would have made for a better time..

auntiebabs

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.

Put out by the World Health Org. They base their data on what's healthiest. So something to think about.

zaph0d

Hahaha.. I love watching people over react. The 310 is bowflex weight, regardless, the point is that I am not losing muscle, I am gaining, and have now maxed out my bowflex and will be upgrading soon to 410. I want to say thank you to all of you who are generally supportive in the actual topic. I do feel I may have a problem in terms of fearing gaining weight by eating them back. I am still trying to lose to get to 6% or less. I have been heavy my whole life and struggle maintaining the weight standards while in the military. So, I guess now that I can, I want to transform as much as possible. It still amazes me how many people would rather bash others on this site instead of be helpful. Anyway, I appreciate the real responses!

The bowflex to the best of my knowledge is an exercise machine, not a body composition analyzer. I don't see how your bowflex can help you conclude anything about muscle gained or loss. Remember, mass is not necessarily tied to strength.

When specifying bench press weight, the standard is with a barbell. Try 310 with a barbell and get back to us. Please use a spotter.

People do tend to get riled up when people post absurd lifts. The other day my friends and hung a chevy camaro from tow straps and I deadlifted it (don't get excited, it was only for 5 reps). <--- example of an absurd claim

closenre

not sure what the point of your post was. You may want to research a little. Or maybe im wrong. I guess if I get stronger, meaning I can lift more now than before, that I am gaining muscle. This would then mean that the bowflex can build mass... Again, maybe not, im no scientist, but i doubt you are either. Again, I could care less about the opinions of self proclaimed body builders.. I was simply looking for advice on eating burnt calories.

zaph0d

I guess if I get stronger, meaning I can lift more now than before, that I am gaining muscle

No, it means you are gaining strength.

Also, a common mistake on this website is that people think you need to be a doctor or scientist to be able to refute nonsense or state anything factual. You don't need a degree in exercise science to understand the difference between strength and hypertrophy; just as you don't need to be a physicist to comprehend gravitational pull.

grawrrrr

No because I took the time to learn how this site works...

^ lol This.

emtjmac

also ur never gonna get to 6% by running - u need build muscle and eat low carb... trust me... how many marathon runner do u see with a tight six pack? How many bodybuilders?

Nope. Losing fat exposes muscle and just like that you have a six-pack. Everyone has a six pack already; some are visible, others are not.

kelly_e_montana

I exercise for health, strength, and stamina. I eat at an overall calorie deficit. I feel great eating back calories. I feel like if I don't eat them back I will be stuck in the cycle I've always been, which is lose weight fast, gain weight back fast.

closenre

I really dont mean to be rude... I want to appologize. Not sure if you have read the who thread but apperently running long distance will cause me to lose muscle. So my point was that I am still gaining "strength" regardless of my low calories and marathon training. It then got blown up into this debate on whether or not i am a liar. The 310 lbs was not a point of my strength, only that I have maintained strength thru my marathon training.

Yogi_Carl

I feel like I exercised and did all that hard work for nothing if I exercise and then eat my exercise calories back....how do you lose weight if you eat back all the calories you just burned?

because if you have set your MFP goal settings up properly, you are already less calories than your daily needs so you can go ahead and eat your exercise calories back.

JesterMFP

I dont know why I am so hard on myself but I feel horrible for eating back the calories I have burnt. Today I burnt 700 cals from a 6 mile run and I ate the suggested 1600 calories for the day but MFP wants me to eat the 700 back. As soon as I go over my original goal of 1600 I feel horrible. Any opinions?

For my back story, I was 225 lbs and stuck to a 1000 cal a day diet and lifted daily. I lost 60 lbs or so in 4 months then started running long distance. I am training for my second marathon and am currently 148 lbs. I started eating more and not tracking calories when I first started running and still was losing weight but I am now trying to get to 6 % body fat so I joined this site in an attempt to track my calories again. I dont have a problem dieting, I just feel horrible for eating more than the recommended calories for a pound a week, even when i burn calories from running.

Thank you for your responses.

That's the way MFP works. You don't have to do it MFP's way - you can work out a calorie goal based on your TDEE that includes your planned exercise, with no need to log exercise & "eat back" calories. Either way, work out how many calorie you need to be eating to achieve your goals. Once you have done that, feeling guilty or horrible for eating that number of calories is, to a large extent, a choice. You can choose to let those feelings go. Sometimes, for some people, beating yourself up over little things like that serves a deeper purpose. If you can't let go of those feelings, that might be a sign of disordered eating.

hiker359

I guess if I get stronger, meaning I can lift more now than before, that I am gaining muscle

No, it means you are gaining strength.

Also, a common mistake on this website is that people think you need to be a doctor or scientist to be able to refute nonsense or state anything factual. You don't need a degree in exercise science to understand the difference between strength and hypertrophy; just as you don't need to be a physicist to comprehend gravitational pull.

QFT: Gaining strength doesn't automatically indicate muscle gains, especially when you're just starting. At first, strength can be increased by increasing the recruitment patterns of your nervous system. Basically your brain sends signals to your muscles to use more of the fibers to lift. Over time, when there isn't any more muscle to recruit, the body can start building more. This is how you can appear to get stronger on a calorie deficit.

I'm not sure that running marathons (or any other cardio activity) when coupled with a resistance program would lead to straight muscle loss. Any time you're in a caloric deficit, and losing weight you are going to compromise *some* muscle. They key is to minimize muscle loss through strength training.

Aeonis

I used to eat all my calories back, but I wasn't losing much at all. What I do now, is always make sure to eat back at least til I'm a little over my BMR. I noticed, if I don't eat to satisfy my BMR I get a wicked series of migraines and binge cravings. I also have a lot more trouble running on a day preceded by too little calorie intake.

closenre

@hiker- thats the goal..lol I lift daily to maintain muscle and run because i enjoy the marathon! and

@Aeonis- I havnt noticed any issues with sluggishness when I dont eat them back. I will look out for it now tho. thank you.

vanguardfitness

it can but i lift daily (chest, bi's, tri's, abs, back, and shoulders). I have been building strength. Im no elite runner, lol but I enjoy the distance.

What about legs?

closenre

No, i cant stand legs.. I just run long distance. Always training for the next marathon.

sarah44254

You haven't mentioned anything again about your guilt for eating food. I will repeat that GUILT and FOOD should not be in the same area of thought. That is dangerous.

closenre

Sarah,

Thats what the topic was about originally.. I feel guilty about eating back burnt calories so I dont which puts me at nets of 800-900 when I run. More as the distance increases (up to 20 miles)

sarah44254

Did you notice the comments about the original idea of the topic though? From your responses you seem to only have read the muscle/strength argumentative ones.

wellbert

No. Food shouldn't make you feel guilty.

you should feel guilty for what you did to that sandwich.

closenre

Yea I read them and It is encouraging.. I posted to get opinions... and I thanked thos people.. The argumentitive ones required a different responce. I know its not good but again, I fear to gain.

closenre

always feel bad for the sandwich!! lol

KourtneyP83

My doctor told me not to...so I don't. But if I go over into them I don't feel guilty.

jesswait

No, there should not be any guilt tied to eating enough food.

Eating too much food, sure. Cry like hasselhoff into your burger.