Should you really use the extra calories from exercise?

2

Replies

  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    If I do a lot of extra physical activity (800-a few thousand calories worth) and don't eat enough calories to compensate over the next few days, I get hungry, grumpy, and get headaches indicating to me that I have low blood sugar.

    I don't typically eat them all back, but I certainly eat as many of them as I am hungry for. When I look over the last several months, I can clearly see that the day of and a few days after a lot of exercise I will eat more calories than is normal for me. I did this without planning - it's just what my body wants and I seem to do naturally.

    When I just do my normal 200 or so calories of exercise, I use it if I want it and don't eat it if I'm not hungry.

    I like to listen to my body. My body says it needs at least some of them back and I have been losing steadily. And I hate being hungry.
  • BrewerFan2
    BrewerFan2 Posts: 53
    Normally I don't eat back my exercise calories and lately I've been having a hard time eating my actual calories to start with. But, the thing that really bothers me is that some people complain that they are not losing weight on here, but they are logging high amounts of calories lost by doing little exercising. I have a pedometer that keeps track of steps, miles, calories and stuff like that, it is the one that Weight Watchers uses (my mom belongs and bought me one). I also have a stationary bike that I use at home that records calories burned and such, but the accuracy is better on my stuff, than on myfitnesspal's accuracy. When someone is logging that they are buring 400 calories by walking 90 minutes at a dog walking pace I find it hard to believe, please tell me your secrets. I want to be happy for you, but I can also see why you are not losing the weight all that fast too. Sorry for the complaints, had to get it off my chest.

    Anyway, I'm not starving myself, but can't seem to eat all my calories for the day, any suggestions?
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    Normally I don't eat back my exercise calories and lately I've been having a hard time eating my actual calories to start with. But, the thing that really bothers me is that some people complain that they are not losing weight on here, but they are logging high amounts of calories lost by doing little exercising. I have a pedometer that keeps track of steps, miles, calories and stuff like that, it is the one that Weight Watchers uses (my mom belongs and bought me one). I also have a stationary bike that I use at home that records calories burned and such, but the accuracy is better on my stuff, than on myfitnesspal's accuracy. When someone is logging that they are buring 400 calories by walking 90 minutes at a dog walking pace I find it hard to believe, please tell me your secrets. I want to be happy for you, but I can also see why you are not losing the weight all that fast too. Sorry for the complaints, had to get it off my chest.

    Anyway, I'm not starving myself, but can't seem to eat all my calories for the day, any suggestions?

    Eat higher calorie foods; nuts, avocado, cooking in EVOO or my favorite, grab a spoon and some peanut butter and go to town. Just did that today.
  • mystikalbeanz
    mystikalbeanz Posts: 192 Member
    I just read on another post that when you calculate your TDEE - 20% that you should eat the same # of calories a day and not eat back any exercise calories because thats already calculated into your TDEE. Which makes sense but now im confused because others say that since you have the 20% deficit already taken out you can eat back your exercise calories to keep you at that deficit and maintain muscle. Can anyone clarify this. I dont understand why it has to be so confusing and controversial.

    If you are doing 20% cut from TDEE, was your regular exercise routine included in the TDEE calculation? If yes, then don't eat them. If no then YES, eat them. Does that help?

    The point is, you don't want to eat the exercise calories twice.

    Thanks! Yes they are because i selected that im moderately active and exercise 3-5 days a wk. So ill just stick to my TDEE -20% and not eat the exercise calories! I got myself all confused because I originally had my calories lower then TDEE-20% and would eat some of my exercise calories back but wasnt losing weight and was always tired and hungry so i was advised to eat at TDEE-20%
  • OTchic
    OTchic Posts: 205 Member
    Unfortunately, I do see a lot of "I exercise so I can eat more", which is not the point of it... not at all.

    Why not? It's worked great for me - it gives me a little extra incentive to exercise.

    You have to be realistic about how many calories you are burning, and not use 15 minutes on the treadmill as an excuse to eat a Whopper with Bacon.

    haha whopper with bacon. i also workout to eat more. i eat healthy stuf or whatever ill have a brownie. but i exercise to eat more!! thats how i lost my 30lbs
  • ohcarolinna
    ohcarolinna Posts: 3
    As long as your net calorie intake is at least 1200kcal I wouldn't worry about it. Your body needs a minimum of 1200 calories to function. If you're exercising some of theses calories away you risk muscle wastage (which will lower your BMR) and malnutrition. It will also be a lot harder to maintain your weight loss if your net intake falls below this 'magic number'.
  • onyxgirl17
    onyxgirl17 Posts: 1,722 Member
    I don't, but I get why people do. I also focus on a weekly average instead of a daily average.
  • SmileyFaceGuy
    SmileyFaceGuy Posts: 201
    I don't agree with the "listen to your stomach." Your stomach sends signals based on the volume of food, not the caloric content of food, so it's rather irrelevant to the discussion of weight loss.
  • Sevio
    Sevio Posts: 181 Member
    I exercise so that I can eat more!

    AMEN!!!
  • krystina_letitia9
    krystina_letitia9 Posts: 697 Member
    I exercise so that I can eat more!

    Me too! I rarely have a difficult time eating them back :tongue:
  • 101hellokittys
    101hellokittys Posts: 32
    honestly? its your call. feeling hungry? eat them back.
  • stephyj528
    stephyj528 Posts: 93 Member
    DONT EAT EXERCISE CALORIES. while losing weight you are trying to lose weight..and you worked out to burn more not to eat more.........................im no expert but it never helped me lose.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    I am a bit confused about the extra calories you are awarded when you exercise. It is extremely important to eat that many more calories or will you lose more weight if you ignore them? I am set at 1200 calories because I sit at a desk all day. But I do zumba twice a week and walk about thirty minutes the other days. I find it's hard to use up all the calories I am given on a zumba day. Any suggestions? Thank you.

    Don't eat them back. If you were training like an Olympic sprinter, maybe. See how you do. If you exercise and lose weight at a furious rate (unlikely) then eat a little more. See how that goes. Adjust.
  • mmtdjl
    mmtdjl Posts: 1 Member
    Hi,

    I just love this program as it helps me stay on track. To answer your question (as a total novice) I only eat the allocated number of calories eg 1200 and take the exercise as an added bonus to loose those unwanted kgs! Hope that I am not leading you up the garden path but that's the way I read the program. All the best! M
  • rudimae
    rudimae Posts: 107
    I started out saying I would not eat back my exercise points. I know my daily calories before exercise is already set with a deficit, but I figured any additional calories burned through exercise would be bonus.

    There are some days when I've eaten enough and don't eat all my exercise calories back. But I've descovered that I'm much happier and more able to stick within my limits if I eat the exercise calories back. I don't feel so deprived for one thing. And I think my body is responding better to exercise with more fuel to burn.

    I don't eat them back if I'm not hungry, but I do enjoy being able to give myself a small treat if I want and still be within my calories.
  • manda1978
    manda1978 Posts: 525 Member
    I'm very skeptical about eating them too. Here in Australia, Michelle Bridges (trainer from The Biggest Loser) has a hugely successful weightloss plan that works on 1200 calories a day, and you exercise off 500 a day and DON"T eat them back.

    On the weekends I can burn 650-700 in a 55min run. I may eat 100-200 of those if I'm really hungry but I try not to, otherwise whats the use!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    For all those who dont eat back their exercise calories.... track your body fat. When you realize how much muscle you lose instead of fat you might change your tune.
  • Violetta86
    Violetta86 Posts: 150 Member
    I've been eating back about half the last few weeks and I've stll been loosing weight. I think you need to test out what works for your body - everyone is different. Good luck.
  • MemphisKitten
    MemphisKitten Posts: 878 Member
    I found that if I ate back the calories I "earned" with exercise, I did not lose any weight, and sometimes even gained weight! But I think it varies from person to person. If you can eat them back and still lose a pound a week, then I say go for it! Also, 1200 may not be enough calories for you; I found it was not enough for me, so mine are set at 1400. I would use the tools and find your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and set your calories at that number. Good luck on your journey! :flowerforyou:
  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
    I eat them.....always have and it's served me well. I love food and if I "earn" the right to eat more and still lose weight, why wouldn't I.
  • CokeBottle84
    CokeBottle84 Posts: 28 Member
    When I have really intense workouts I'll usually go over my calories because I have morning and evening workouts. On days where I have low intensity workouts I'm usually not hungry enough to eat my extra calories. Not to mention I don't measure my servings, I'm pretty much guessing ounces etc. so I think sometimes I may be over or under the amount I actually had.So most of the time it balances out.
  • misskristy30
    misskristy30 Posts: 76
    Sorry, I didn't read the other responses.

    I have my calorie deficit set to lose approximately 2 lbs/week. I do eat my exercise calories, but I don't always eat all of them. On the days I do turbo kick I burn a ton of calories (1000-1200) and I don't usually eat them all. I do try to eat more throughout the day if I know I'm going to have a high calorie burning workout. For.example, tomorrow evening I'll have turbo kick. So I'll try to eat a higher calorie lunch and snacks. That way I don't have over 1,000 calories left at the end of the day.
  • misskristy30
    misskristy30 Posts: 76
    Thanks for all your posts. I guess my concern is I am not eating enough and so I won't lose weight. I am still hungry on the 1200 calories. But I am hoping that will get better over time. I really only got serious two weeks ago. I have found it's easier for me to stay between 1300-1500. So I've been eating that much on work out and non work out days. So far not much weight loss. So I figured I would throw it out there to see if maybe it's because I am not eating enough? Or maybe I am eating too much on the non work out days? I just was introduced to protein shakes. Which is actually helping me feel full. :) Total I've lost about 2.5 lb's in the last week and a half. So I guess that's not bad. Thanks again. I appreciate it!

    You said nor much weight loss, but then said in the last week and a half you've lost 2.5 lbs....that's really a good loss for that amount of time.

    Also, I think if you're actually hungry you should increase your calories and/or eat some of your exercise calories.
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
    Here's the deal about calorie deficits and the way MFP works:

    You can establish a calorie deficit by: eating less; including or upping exercise; or both.

    If you wish to lose 1 lb of body weight per week, MFP automatically deducts 500 calories from your TDEE. It assumes you are only using calorie restriction to create the deficit needed to lose 1 lb per week. So if your TDEE is 1700, then you'll be left with 1200 after the 500 calorie deficit.

    Now if you exercise in addition to the above, but want to stay losing the 1 lb per week plan, you must eat back 100% of your exercise calories. If you do not, you are increasing the deficit and will "try" to lose more than 1 lb of body weight per week.

    Simply put, a calorie deficit is the sum of calorie restriction and exercise calories. MFP assumes only the deficit from calorie restriction. You need to add exercise calories to stay with the plan set up.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    I eat all my exercise calories back and it's working well.
  • bradp1979
    bradp1979 Posts: 154 Member
    I exercise so that I can eat more!

    ^^^THIS

    If I have a particularly weak day where it is clear that I'm going to overdo it on my calories, I make sure to burn a few hundred at the gym to stay below my limit.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    I consider them bonus calories to eat if I want. There's always such a debate on the forums as to whether or not you can/should eat them back that no one could really say. Well, except for every person that thinks they're absolutely right. ;)

    Remember, MFP already gives you a deficit to lose weight at a reasonable pace. It might be easier to eat back your exercise calories and just rely on MFP's goals.
  • Valencia123456
    Valencia123456 Posts: 62 Member
    I'd listen to the person who lost the most weight!!
  • raebels
    raebels Posts: 45 Member
    I always wondered on this one and finally decided that the best option for me was to listen to my body. If I'm still hungry, then I will eat something. If I'm not hungry, then I stay where I am. I beat myself up over this but just can't justify eating just to eat, especially if I'm not hungry.
  • raebels
    raebels Posts: 45 Member
    Sorry, I didn't read the other responses.

    I have my calorie deficit set to lose approximately 2 lbs/week. I do eat my exercise calories, but I don't always eat all of them. On the days I do turbo kick I burn a ton of calories (1000-1200) and I don't usually eat them all. I do try to eat more throughout the day if I know I'm going to have a high calorie burning workout. For.example, tomorrow evening I'll have turbo kick. So I'll try to eat a higher calorie lunch and snacks. That way I don't have over 1,000 calories left at the end of the day.

    Good plan ;) I like to do the same on high calorie burn days as well.

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