Food question

Jcrowe0317

I am a female running trying to loose 20 pounds. I am tracking my running and food via myfitnesspal. I really like it. I am provided a total calories before I exercise and then my total calories increase by 800 or so. Should I be eating the additional calories. It seems as though I would not loose weight if I increase my calorie intake. I have always been 20 pounds or so over my goal forever. I have been running for 10 years and just cannot drop the weight. Thoughts?

SimonLondon

The very best thing you can do is invest in a heart rate monitor. The exercise calories on here could say 800 but my heart rate monitor would say 400...that's a big difference.

If possible don't go cheap and make sure you get one with a chest strap because the results without one are pretty inaccurate.

I have a polar HRM which automatically links in with the lifefitness equipment in the gym so I can visually see what's going on and adjust what I'm doing accordingly.

Best thing I've bought for losing weight!

Jcrowe0317

Thanks for the suggestion. I have used a heart rate monitor in the past. Maybe I will try it again.

mirgss

There are numerous posts on here about eating your exercise calories - do a search and you will find some good info

pixiestick

There are many thoughts on eating your exercise calories back. I think that everyone I have talked to on here who has been successful eats at least half of their exercise cals back--TamTastic, who lost over 100, says she always ate back all of hers.

I eat back all of mine, but I start with a fewer allotted cals to begin with, so it always evens out to about half. You can read dozens of threads on here with any number of opinions. The key is to see from weigh-in to weigh-in what works and what doesn't work. Every person is different.

If you do eat back exercise cals, make sure that all of them are good cals--it's so easy to say: "wow, I have 450 cals of extra food to eat... hm, what about that chocolate cake..."

Hope that helps.