Do you eat your exercise calories?

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  • LittleSpy
    LittleSpy Posts: 6,754 Member
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    Didn't eat them for my first 4.5 months here. Lost a bunch of weight (had a bunch to lose). Then I slammed full force into a wall and actually GAINED weight for a few weeks. I'm pretty sure this was the notorious "survival mode." I slowly started increasing what I ate and I'm up to eating 90-100% of them now. Each time I increase what I eat, I start losing weight again. Then hit another wall until I increase my calorie intake again. It's happened too many times (3 now) to really be a coincidence.

    So, yes, I've discovered that now I have to eat my exercise calories (which puts me eating 1500-1900 calories most days) because otherwise, at this point, I won't lose weight if my calorie deficit is too big.
  • Jovialation
    Jovialation Posts: 7,632 Member
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    I dont because I use weekends to eat practically whatever I want, so I figure I need the bigger deficit in the week even if I do some exercise on weekends.
    Besides the fact that if I train myself to think I can eat more because I exercised, Ill take it too far instead of having it be a buffer for if I go a little over.
  • MisdemeanorM
    MisdemeanorM Posts: 3,493 Member
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    Another thing to keep in mind and ask yourself is - and this might explain part of why it works with some people but not with others - how often are you exercising and to what extent? Someone who does not eat their cals might be burning 200-300 extra cals a couple times a week and maybe going over their cals on a couple of the days they are not exercising. They also might be set to a higher calorie intake to start with and can afford a higher deficit. You're body won't go into "starvation mode" if it is not a regular major deficit (though i admit, i don't know the science behind how often or how long is considered "regularly"). But if you are working out 600 or more calories a day and under eating 4 5 6 times a week it will affect you negatively. If you are doing this and you are losing weight, it is going to backfire on you. If you are burning 200-400 cals 2-3 times a week and maybe having a cheat day on the weekend - you're probably OK overall. (especially if you are not accounting for the calories already in your plan - if you burn 300 cals, you really only burned about 200 EXTRA over what you already have accounted for - if you eat all 300, you are overeating...) A lot of the "eat your calorie" debate has to do with patterns and your body predicting what is coming next - when it is predicting deficits, that is when you are in trouble.
  • CaseyLynn216
    CaseyLynn216 Posts: 19 Member
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    If I am hungry, I will eat some of them but never all. It has worked for me
    [/quote

    I second that emotion. :)
  • cullensbrunette
    cullensbrunette Posts: 115
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    I dont eat all mine but I always try to make sure I eat at least 1200 calories a day. I'll just repeat what a few others have said...If Im hungry I eat if Im not then I dont eat.
  • missysmission777
    missysmission777 Posts: 82 Member
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    Hello one dayI did, just felt I needed a little more food that day. I have been doing Zumba every other day since last Thursday and just felt that I needed more food...but limited it..... I also take a daily multivitamin just so I stay healthy and well...
  • Killeen_bride2be
    Killeen_bride2be Posts: 90
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    I personally do not eat all (or even most) of my exercise calories, but then again, I have a lot to lose.

    If I'm hungry, I'll eat something healthy. I wont eat just for the sake of eating unless I'm way low on calories for the day, but usually I try and plan better than that. On a non exercise day, I'll try and keep it under 1600. On a day where I go to the gym, I'll burn about 1500 calories, so I might eat anywhere between 1600 and 2000. At a bare minimum, I'll make sure to at least eat as many calories as I expended from exercise.

    There is actually a formula for determining your maximum calorie deficit for fat loss:
    http://www.mindandmuscle.net/articles/lyle_mcdonald/maximum_fatloss

    Basically, it's 31calories per day for every pound of fat you have. That is the maximum rate at which the body can convert fat stores to energy. So, if you know your body fat percentage, you can calculate how much that fat weighs, and multiply that by 31. That is the maximum calorie deficit you can have without the body consuming lean body mass as an energy source.

    Body Fat% * Body Weight * 31

    So for me, I could in theory run a deficit of just over 3500 calories a day without sacrificing LBM. Considering that number is much higher than my actual RMR though, I'm nowhere near that kind of deficit.

    As I'm losing body fat though, that maximum deficit is decreasing, which is why it's so much easier to lose weight in the beginning, and why the last few pounds are so hard to lose.

    I just did 164 times the 31 you said and it gave me 5084 since math was my worst subject can you please tell me the rest lol
  • mommyhof3
    mommyhof3 Posts: 551 Member
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    Depends on the day and how hungry I am. I always eat my 1200 calories but some days i am hungry and eat more and some days I am not hungry enough to eat them. I figure this way it keeps my body guessing lol
  • cmw72
    cmw72 Posts: 390 Member
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    I just did 164 times the 31 you said and it gave me 5084 since math was my worst subject can you please tell me the rest lol

    I'm assuming 164 is your total body weight?

    To figure it out you would need some estimation of your body fat percentage as well.

    Assuming your body fat percentage was 25% (just tossing out numbers here) and your weight was 164lb:

    0.25 * 164 * 31 = 1271 calories.

    Keep in mind ... this is just a theoretical maximum, and not necessarily something you should strive for. :wink:

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