NEED SOME TYPE OF ADVICE...

Nikki143
Nikki143 Posts: 491 Member
edited September 20 in Health and Weight Loss
sO, i HAVE BEEN DOING really well since the begining of the month.. kept off the 8 lbs I fought with for months..
Now, most days since I walk atleast 45-70 minutes, I have anywhere from 400 to 1,300 extra calories.. Some times (most) I don't eat my excercise calories.. SO that leads me to this;
Is it that bad if i don't eat my excercise calories? with so many calories left in my day?

Replies

  • That is a great question....although I cannot answer it I was wondering the same thing!!! Hope we get some good answers!
  • Nikki143
    Nikki143 Posts: 491 Member
    me too!
  • KatWood
    KatWood Posts: 1,135 Member
    1,300 calories from walking seems really high. What intensity are you walking at and what source are u using to tell you how many calories you burned?

    It is important to maintain a minimum number of net calories to ensure your body is sufficiently fueled to keep your metabolism up. This will help you to continue losing weight at a steady, healthy pace and avoid going into starvation mode.

    In general, how many calories do you have once you minus off those burned by exercise?
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Also bear in mind when you see the cals burned during exercise that you would have burned some of them anyway, even if you didn't workout. usually you can take off 10% or (2-3 per minute) of exercise cals as cals you would have burned at rest. So if your HRM shows you burned 400 cals only about 360 should be counted as additional cals to consume as your activity level entered in MFP would already include the other 40.
  • Each person's body is different ... you'll have that person who exercises a lot, doesn't eat those 'exercise calories' and loses a lot. Then you'll have a different person who exercises a lot, does eat the exercise calories & loses a lot. And all the various combos. There are many variables, but essentially, what works for one won't necessarily work for another.

    Personally -- I am one of those ones that will not lose if I eat my exercise calories. I do much better if I don't eat them. My good friend, however, will stay on a plateau if she doesn't eat her exercise calories.

    If you're still losing, and not eating the calories, then don't try to fix what isn't broken.

    But, if you're not losing and have hit a plateau, try to eat some of them to see if you can kickstart your system again. The body will adapt to all the additional exercise and will slow in the losses column. This is when it's important to keep your body on its toes, so to speak. So vary things up .... eat some of the calories one day, but not another. Try some different exercises ... try some new foods ... whatever you can do to keep your body guessing.

    Hope this helps .. and good luck!!
  • ali258
    ali258 Posts: 403
    The rule I go by is to eat if I'm hungry. Make sure that's an accurate calorie count first, since that is a LOT of calories to burn unless you're pretty much jogging. I weigh almost 230 and I would only burn 400-500 calories if I jogged at a good pace for 30 minutes. But, even if you are earning over 1000 calories in exercise, if you're not hungry and your weight loss is fine, don't force yourself to eat. When I work out a lot, it makes me very hungry, so I will use my extra calories for something like oatmeal, or sliced turkey on light bread with pickles and mustard, or peanut butter on bread or apples.
  • Nikki143
    Nikki143 Posts: 491 Member
    1,300 calories from walking seems really high. What intensity are you walking at and what source are u using to tell you how many calories you burned?

    It is important to maintain a minimum number of net calories to ensure your body is sufficiently fueled to keep your metabolism up. This will help you to continue losing weight at a steady, healthy pace and avoid going into starvation mode.

    In general, how many calories do you have once you minus off those burned by exercise?

    WELL, I BURN UP TO 400 FROM WALKING.. NOT 1300! THATS INCLUDING MY DAILY CALORIES... AND i DONT EAT AFTER 7...
  • ali258
    ali258 Posts: 403
    1,300 calories from walking seems really high. What intensity are you walking at and what source are u using to tell you how many calories you burned?

    It is important to maintain a minimum number of net calories to ensure your body is sufficiently fueled to keep your metabolism up. This will help you to continue losing weight at a steady, healthy pace and avoid going into starvation mode.

    In general, how many calories do you have once you minus off those burned by exercise?

    WELL, I BURN UP TO 400 FROM WALKING.. NOT 1300! THATS INCLUDING MY DAILY CALORIES... AND i DONT EAT AFTER 7...

    Gotcha. If you've got 1300 calories left over during the day, you might want to add in more protein or nuts to boost your diet a little. There isn't anything wrong with eating after 7pm. Calories are calories no matter when you eat them. If you're hungry after 7pm, you should eat something healthy.
  • pannellkat
    pannellkat Posts: 709 Member
    Each person's body is different ... you'll have that person who exercises a lot, doesn't eat those 'exercise calories' and loses a lot. Then you'll have a different person who exercises a lot, does eat the exercise calories & loses a lot. And all the various combos. There are many variables, but essentially, what works for one won't necessarily work for another.

    Personally -- I am one of those ones that will not lose if I eat my exercise calories. I do much better if I don't eat them. My good friend, however, will stay on a plateau if she doesn't eat her exercise calories.

    If you're still losing, and not eating the calories, then don't try to fix what isn't broken.

    But, if you're not losing and have hit a plateau, try to eat some of them to see if you can kickstart your system again. The body will adapt to all the additional exercise and will slow in the losses column. This is when it's important to keep your body on its toes, so to speak. So vary things up .... eat some of the calories one day, but not another. Try some different exercises ... try some new foods ... whatever you can do to keep your body guessing.

    Hope this helps .. and good luck!!

    I think this is a great answer!
  • Nikki143
    Nikki143 Posts: 491 Member
    tHANKS EVERYONE!!
This discussion has been closed.