A little confused... What say you?

CynTX82

Hey guys! I have a question... I know when I exercise, it allows me those extra calories in my food diary. Today I burned about 830 calories and while I did add an additional 350 calories to my food intake, I think adding 830 is too much! I know I've heard that you need to eat those extra calories because your body needs it for the additional energy burned, but is it bad if I don't do them all? I'm not starving myself or anything. Actually, I'm eating well. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner yet my diary says I still have 477 calories left for today (due to the calories burned from my workout) but I will have eaten plenty by the end of the day. Enough to be very satisfied. I feel like eating more would be eating just to eat.... Your thoughts/advice would be appreciated

jrompola

How many calories a day are you trying to eat? Depending on that amount would depend on if you should eat burned calories back. I would try to eat 1900 calories and if I burn 500-700 calories per say I would not eat them back.

bcattoes

I will have eaten plenty by the end of the day. Enough to be very satisfied. I feel like eating more would be eating just to eat.... Your thoughts/advice would be appreciated

If this is true. You've really eaten enough - enough veggies, enough fat, enough protein, enough carbs - then I wouldn't worry about it.

CynTX82

Thanks, that makes sense...My normal day (without exercise) is 1200 but today I'm at almost 1600 and I burned 830 from zumba and circut intervals. I have eaten well though and am not hungry that's why I say I feel like I'll just be eating to eat.

kini324

I will have eaten plenty by the end of the day. Enough to be very satisfied. I feel like eating more would be eating just to eat.... Your thoughts/advice would be appreciated

If this is true. You've really eaten enough - enough veggies, enough fat, enough protein, enough carbs - then I wouldn't worry about it.

I agree with this- if you have enough quality foods and you're full, I wouldn't tell you to keep eating. I do overall believe it is extremely important to eat enough calories to fuel your body. I was plateaued for about 10 months because I wasn't eating enough. There are things you can eat that aren't huge portions that will give you added calories and are healthy- like avocado, nut butters (almond, cashew, etc).

Good luck!

VincitQuiSeVincit

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/calorie-intake-to-lose-weight.php

So, let me explain- my BMR is 1700, my maintenance is about 2050, so I NET about 600 calories less than my maintenance a day for an approx 1.5 lb weight loss a week.
I want to make sure I take in about 1400 calories a day. If I eat 1600, workout and burn about 400, I would probably have a snack to make it back to 1400 NET calories. As long as intake & workout keeps you over 1200 NET calories, the decision is yours.

da_bears10089

if i know i'm going to have a day where i burn a bunch of calories, i make a conscious effort to eat more throughtout the day rather than just being stuck with 500 to eat at 8 pm

CynTX82

Thanks everyone! Great advice which is why I love this site! I'm requesting you all! lol

Timshel_

I say, if you exercise and you feel fine eat at your BMR caloric intake minus weight loss calories, don' add the extra calories. If your body needs a little more, you can add them with guilt.

joslynlpribble

My health coach told me that in the beginning while I am loosing the weight, not to add the exercise credit calories back into my daily allowance if I want to drop pounds. She says once I get closer to maintenance, I can do that. As an addition to this, she says if I do have a particularly hard work out or burn tons of calories for some reason, it is okay to add an extra low calorie snack or protein supplement to each day. So far, it's working for me. Her biggest reason for not wanting us to add the calories in right now is that we need to understand that the 300 calories you burn doing an exercise do not really mitigate the cupcake you may eat now. The idea of a calorie consummed and a calorie burned are not really the same when most of us are wanting to exercise to loose the fat, not burn the calories.

jcasebolt84

If you are feeling good then I wouldn't worry too much about it....but over time it can really add up. If you are already in a 500 calorie deficit a day, then you workout and don't replace what you used, then by the end of the week you could be a at a 7000 calorie deficit. Over time this could really mess with your metabolism....but that's a pretty extreme case. I agree with the others, if you are feeling good then don't fret, but if you find yourself with some pretty bad craving down the road then it may just be your body need that extra fuel. Hope that all makes sense, haha.

CynTX82

If you are feeling good then I wouldn't worry too much about it....but over time it can really add up. If you are already in a 500 calorie deficit a day, then you workout and don't replace what you used, then by the end of the week you could be a at a 7000 calorie deficit. Over time this could really mess with your metabolism....but that's a pretty extreme case. I agree with the others, if you are feeling good then don't fret, but if you find yourself with some pretty bad craving down the road then it may just be your body need that extra fuel. Hope that all makes sense, haha.

Makes perfect sense! I appreciate all the advice!

CynTX82

Thanks everyone!

NRSPAM

I try to spread it out over the week, and not just in one day. I would make sure the calories burned is accurate, though, first. I burn a lot doing zumba, but by the time I do it, it's usually in the evening, and I've already consumed most of my calories, plus it's late, and I'm not about to eat a bunch of calories that late. I may not use all of them, but maybe half. Atleast I know they're there if I want them.