Exercise Calories

Sweetie_Pie92

So, my usual calorie limit is 1600. Today I've earned an extra 528 exercise calories, which puts me up to 2128 to eat today. Should I really try to eat all those exercise calories?!? I have 1236 left to eat for dinner tonight, how do I eat all those without going over my fat/protein/carb limits?

mromnek

That is a complicated question that will get lots of different responses and will spark lots of debate. In my opinion it is deeply personal, insofar as what your numbers look like.

Take your BMR (found under the Tools tab) and compare that with your calorie goal. If your calorie goal is under your BMR, I might suggest eating enough calories to get your intake up to your BMR. If you are already eating above your BMR, I would say the choice is yours. Either use the exercise calories as a reward for your hard work, or use the exercise to increase your calorie deficit.

The best advice I can give is pay attention to both sides of the debate and decide for yourself as to whether or not to eat your exercise calories.


As for how best to eat them, continue eating responsibly. Remember that as your calories go up, so will your sodium, fat, protein, etc. I feel your pain, because yesterday my exercise calories almost equalled my normal calorie intake.

sheri3762

This is a tough one. Many believe you should eat all of them, some don't eat any and a lot of people eat half, at least thats what I have seen in past when wondering about this myself.

For me personally, I did not eat any of them in the beginning. Of course, I didn't know I should either. I always thought that excercise was just extra calories burned. Anyway, when I started, like I said I didn't eat any, then I saw all these posts about eating them and I was serously afraid too! I was so afraid I would gain or not lose anytthing! I then hit a plateau, so I increased my calories by 200. this was in itself just like eating back part of them. I got out of the plateau and hit another one. Now I eat as many extra as I can without feeling miserable. Its really hard to do someitmes. I also pay close attention to how active I am. If I've had a pretty lazy day then I won't eat many of them, If I've been super busy, I'll eat more of them.
Basically, I beleive, just like the first poster, that its your decesion based on what your body needs. Time will tell you how to handle it. If you decide not to eat them and are not losing then you really should start eating more. Trial and error. Good luck!

amapanda

I think if you have something going on like if you've got a party or going out for dinner, then eat your excercise calories to help you enjoy your evening. If it's just a normal day and you don't feel the need, then best not to eat them, that way it will speed up your weight loss. This way you can keep losing weight and still enjoy your lifestyle, good to treat yourself a couple of times a week, it can actually help you stay on track in the long run.

Well done, it sounds like you're doing great!

melathon

This is very helpful:

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

Sweetie_Pie92

Thank you all for your posts! They were very helpful! I'll eat to my normal calorie amount, and if I'm still hungry I'll start in on the extra allowance. It's just good to know that I don't absolutely have to eat all my exercise calories to lose weight.