Exercise calories: To eat or not to eat?

ggxx100

It's really about hunger cues. Now, personally, once I do cardio (or god forbid, water aerobics), I'm usually ravenous and do fuel more after. I'm guessing you do know your target calories for the day, with your average activity level factored in. I'd say go by that as a general rule, and eat more if you feel hungry, plain and simple. I generally know my body needs 1800 to maintain with my workout regime, so I stay around that. If I'm feeling hungry, I fuel accordingly. If I'm not, I don't. I know intuitive eating seems to go against the idea of logging calories, but in actuality you can implement both.

watfordjc

Eat them back. Not doing so may take you to a point of severely under-eating (depending on amount of exercise you're doing) and overshoot your weekly deficit (weight loss) goal - would you have chosen 4 lb per week if MFP gave you that option and told you to do several hours of cardio per day, or did you choose what most people consider "safe"?

Disconnecting activity level with food intake may make a transition into maintenance harder.

N.B. This doesn't apply if you've modified how you use MFP so you can use TDEE-X%. I dropped out of A-Level Psychology so the previous paragraph may be nonsense.

sexymuffintop

And yet again the subject come up.....If you are following calorie amounts set by MFP it is designed so you DO include your exercise calories and eat them back. Your deficit is already built in by default without adding exercise calories, so in theory you can lose weight without any exercise at all following MFP's calorie allowance. Your exercise calories are a bonus. Eat them.

marc_s_johnson

I don't eat mine back, I eat my 2160 cals which is set to maintain and never eat back the 400-600 I burn a day, my weight has continued to drop and my muscles are still forming and coming through.

I am thinking about trying it for a week to see the other side but right now I'm eating plenty without the exercise calories and my progress is still continuing.

MouthyMatthewCHANGED

3000 calories in 1 pound of fat? I did NOT know that, thanks!!

You didn't know it because he's wrong to say it.

There are 3,500 calories in 1lb of fat, not 3,000.

Misinformation like this really winds me up, as it only serves to confuse people.

RonandDi

Misinformation like this really winds me up, as it only serves to confuse people.

Ha...then you're in the wrong place.

Nissi51

I tend not to eat mine and I'm losing weight every week. I'm very much like you in that I do all cardio and I'll work on my muscles when they appear! Haha!

If they appear.

Unfortunately muscles just don't APPEAR!! You Actually have to work at it! Lean tissue is active..it is your greatest ally in the battle to 'lose weight". A wise weight loss program includes weight training

I do not eat back my exercise calories.. But I only use MFP as a food journal really

knitwit0704

So I wonder, do you HAVE to eat your exercise calories or is it optional, like a "Oh wow! You worked out today! You can have these extra calories to treat yourself if you want, but you don't have to." type thing? I really have no clue.

If you calculated your calorie goal assuming you'd be sedentary, then yes.

If you calculated your calorie goal already factoring in exercise, then no.

Personally I calculate my calorie goal assuming no exercise, then add in exercise, because my exercise is highly unpredictable.

Exactly. But MFP's calories are sometimes WAY high.

Andrew_peter

Doing alternating cardio and weight days with total rest on Sundays, and eating back half of my cardio cals burned and is working good for me. Also using a Polar HRM and subtracting BMR from my exersize, as I am trying to stay as accurate as possible.

Tried not eating back any at all when I first started, but just found my energy levels were just too low! Listen to your body!!!

jonnythan

So I wonder, do you HAVE to eat your exercise calories or is it optional, like a "Oh wow! You worked out today! You can have these extra calories to treat yourself if you want, but you don't have to." type thing? I really have no clue.

If you calculated your calorie goal assuming you'd be sedentary, then yes.

If you calculated your calorie goal already factoring in exercise, then no.

Personally I calculate my calorie goal assuming no exercise, then add in exercise, because my exercise is highly unpredictable.

Exactly. But MFP's calories are sometimes WAY high.

You mean the calories MFP estimates for exercise? I agree.

jonnythan

3000 calories in 1 pound of fat? I did NOT know that, thanks!!

You didn't know it because he's wrong to say it.

There are 3,500 calories in 1lb of fat, not 3,000.

Misinformation like this really winds me up, as it only serves to confuse people.

This will throw you for a loop:

There's about 600 calories in 1 lb of muscle.

Want to take any guesses about the calories in a pound of bone, glycogen, or skin?

Beezil

Eat them!