Anyone else feel guilty for eating back burnt calories?

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Replies

  • zaph0d
    zaph0d Posts: 1,172 Member
    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
    grawrrrr Posts: 336
    No because I took the time to learn how this site works...

    ^ lol This.
  • emtjmac
    emtjmac Posts: 1,320 Member
    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
    kelly_e_montana Posts: 1,999 Member
    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
    closenre Posts: 225 Member
    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
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    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
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    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
    hiker359 Posts: 577 Member
    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
    Aeonis Posts: 24 Member
    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
    closenre Posts: 225 Member
    @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
    vanguardfitness Posts: 720 Member
    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
    closenre Posts: 225 Member
    No, i cant stand legs.. I just run long distance. Always training for the next marathon.
  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
    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
    closenre Posts: 225 Member
    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
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
    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
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    No. Food shouldn't make you feel guilty.

    you should feel guilty for what you did to that sandwich.
  • closenre
    closenre Posts: 225 Member
    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
    closenre Posts: 225 Member
    always feel bad for the sandwich!! lol
  • KourtneyP83
    KourtneyP83 Posts: 319
    My doctor told me not to...so I don't. But if I go over into them I don't feel guilty.
  • jesswait
    jesswait Posts: 218 Member
    No, there should not be any guilt tied to eating enough food.

    Eating too much food, sure. Cry like hasselhoff into your burger.
    david-hasselhoff-drunk.jpg

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