Do you eat all your calories??
Army_Love89
Posts: 30
Alright so I'm curious do you all eat your earned calories? I've planned my daily meals around my 1200 daily amt & after I log my food it goes down to 200 but when I log my exercise it jumps up to 1200-1600 depending on the day/workout. Do you have to eat your workout calories back? I'm sure I read somewhere that your body will think it's starving itself if you don't but I'm thinking that's not true.
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I dont eat mine back... As long as im getting 1200 cal a day and take my vitamin i feel fine!0
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On average I do. I tend to overeat on days I don't work out and go under on days I do, but it usually balances out by the end of the week.0
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I do.
I eat around 2000 calories a day on average.
I love food. A lot.
I'm the type that thinks if the calories are there for me to use, hell yeah I'm going to use them. If not, that'd be like someone offering me a 100,000 a year salary and then my saying, " no thanks I'm good with 50,000".0 -
I find it difficult to eat all my calories back. I don't have any appetite when I wake up and go to work as I sometimes work really early. And even struggle to eat a lot at lunch. I eat normally at dinner and have a few snacks so I try and aim for 1200 (My limit is 1600). A few times a week I go for a 4 mile run and do exercise classes and have a high energy job (which is already taken into consideration) but when it jumps up to over 2000 calories I just can't eat that much. Unless I can eat chocolate but then my fat intake will go through the roof haha.
Anyone else have this problem too? I don't want my body to think its starving and hold onto the weight
Funny I can't eat as much now, as I could certainly eat for Britain a few months ago!!0 -
I do. Based on my TDEE I should be consuming 1732 calories a day, so I just subtracted 500 to lose a pound a week. On non-workout days I try to eat 1232 and on workout days I eat back whatever I have burned. I get to eat more and should still lose about a pound a week.
If you need to add more calories eat avocados or almonds...maybe use olive oil. Those are all healthy fats with a substantial amount of calories per serving.0 -
No, I never eat back my exercise calories....at least not all of them. As long as my food consumption is what my "daily" intake is supposed to be, I don't pay attention to the "net". I've done this since I started in January and have reached my goal weight. I've completed Insanity....gained muscle I have never thought I'd have and feel great!!!
However, I really think you have to do what works best for you. What works for one might not work for everyone.
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I eat ALL my exercise calories back because I want to lose fat and NOT muscle. As a previous poster stated ... she takes a multivitamin ... that won't help you keep existing muscle mass when your body needs fuel.
Be careful - I use a heart rate monitor to calculate calorie burns ... other sources of info can be exaggerated. This is why many people eat only a portion of their calories back.
Also, I set my activity level to sedentary. This is really a range .... if your activity level is too high ... and you eat your exercise calories ... this can be too much.0 -
If you need to add more calories eat avocados or almonds...maybe use olive oil. Those are all healthy fats with a substantial amount of calories per serving.
Thanks, I shall try that
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I do.
I eat around 2000 calories a day on average.
I love food. A lot.
I'm the type that thinks if the calories are there for me to use, hell yeah I'm going to use them. If not, that'd be like someone offering me a 100,000 a year salary and then my saying, " no thanks I'm good with 50,000".
Sums it up perfectly. Can not understand why anyone would not do it. I'm around 1950 with exercise.0 -
I do.
I eat around 2000 calories a day on average.
I love food. A lot.
I'm the type that thinks if the calories are there for me to use, hell yeah I'm going to use them. If not, that'd be like someone offering me a 100,000 a year salary and then my saying, " no thanks I'm good with 50,000".
^This, except I'm at 3250 - 3350 daily. Yay food and exercise!0 -
Everyone's situation is different. What works for me may not work for you. For me, I am eating back more than my calories I earned exercising. However, I am monitoring my weight with weekly weigh in. If I notice after fours weeks, my weight hasn't increase, I increase my calorie content by 100 calories more. If it has increased, I decrease my calories by 50. I am doing this because I am in maintenance mode and I am trying to find my sweet spot.
My settings:
-- lifestyle: sedentary (software engineer)
-- exercise:
(morning) 1 mile walk + 2 mile jog
(evening) 3 mile walk or jog + pushups, situps, pullups
My suggestion, find what works for you. If not eating back your calories works for you, then that is all that matters.0 -
Yep. I eat them. And enjoy them. And have lost the weight I've wanted. And feel super fit. I know everyone has a different approach of what works for them, but for me -- no downside at all to eating all my calories.
BTW, I started this journey by not eating all of them back. By the end of month two -- with a ton of really hard working out and lots of intense cardio -- I felt like crap. And the weight loss turned into a crawl. Upped my calories to 1300-1400 (from 1200), ate them all back (and probably then some), started losing weight more quickly, and felt much much better.0 -
I add them do eat more than usual, but since I burn 300-600 from exercise, i typically don't eat it all back. I leave 100-200 calories just in case I ate more than I thought I did or something. I always eat 2000+0
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I eat my calories. When on another weight loss site, it was supposed to be around 1200-1500 and I felt starved. When I found this site, I supposed to eat between 2200-2300 based on my workouts and I'm having more success with it...losing inches and weight. Don't understand how anyone can eat just 1200 calories?0
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I do.
I eat around 2000 calories a day on average.
I love food. A lot.
I'm the type that thinks if the calories are there for me to use, hell yeah I'm going to use them. If not, that'd be like someone offering me a 100,000 a year salary and then my saying, " no thanks I'm good with 50,000".
Sums it up perfectly. Can not understand why anyone would not do it. I'm around 1950 with exercise.
Same here. Between 1800-2200 most days. Sometimes lower. Sometimes higher.0 -
As a rule, I try not to touch them. On the occasion that I do, it's typically a small percentage of them. Although if you're hungry you may need them.0
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Depends on the day! I go up and down and I am having success. I listen to my body. I have hungry days and I have days that I am not and struggle to get in 900.0
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I tend to eat under my calories, I never eat my excersise calories unless I feel I really have to. Which is hardly ever :P0
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Depends on the day.0
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I do eat them back.. I realized that if I dont my body gets pissed !!!
i tried not eating them back and stopped losing weight, that was my bodys way of saying : hey I need more because you make me sweat and do cardio and weights !!!
this way you are sure your body's properly fueled
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yes, you need to eat them back. ESPECIALLY if you are at a goal of 1200 and are burning that many calories. you need to fuel your body enough if you want it to be a fire!!!! if not your health will pay the price. yes, you will lose weight, but you will also be flabby and unhealthy if you don't eat enough.
Most people lose at the same rate when they eat their calories back anyway. So why starve yourself if it makes no difference but a negative one?0 -
typically yes. I need the fuel for recovery. If i don't i start hurting and get tired. that is self defeating.
my recovery calories are mostly proteins and some organic fats.0 -
I was just wondering this, too, over the last few days. I have my calories set at about 1860 to lose .5 lb/wk. But I figure if I workout and DON'T eat back the calories, then I should lose 1.5-2lbs/wk. HOWEVER, I don't want to be hungry. So I am thinking about eating maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of my exercise calories. I guess we all have to just play around with what calculations work best for each of us and then also see what we can live with. My TDEE is about 2500 doing exercise 4x/wk. So I'm actually going to be eating around 1900-2100cal/day. Going to stay off scale for a few days and see what happens. I know I'm still retaining a bit of water weight from a not so great week...so the scale should be more accurate after my body gets back to normal.0
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As others have said, if you're set to 1200 calories a day and you're not eating back your exercise cals, you are netting a very low amount each day. That's putting a pretty big demand on your body to perform daily functions AND exercise with very little fuel. It may work for awhile, you'll see progress on the scale, but eventually you hit the wall, weight loss stalls, you're tired, grouchy, and have little energy for workouts.
A good plan is to know your BMR and your TDEE and eat in between those numbers. You can find info and the tools to figure these things out in this amazing topic that has helped bunches of MFP members: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12
Personally, through that topic, I have learned to never net below my BMR (around 1430 cals) - if my body burns that many calories in a comatose state, then I should certainly be feeding it more if I'm awake and mobile and exercising as well.
Food is fuel! Long term with low calories gives the body a reason to store fat - certainly the last thing you want! We want to burn the fat, keep the lean muscle and likely build a little (or a lot, depending on your goals) more!
Check out that topic (there's a group and a brand new facebook page for it too!) - great info in there.0 -
I eat ALL my exercise calories back because I want to lose fat and NOT muscle. As a previous poster stated ... she takes a multivitamin ... that won't help you keep existing muscle mass when your body needs fuel.
Be careful - I use a heart rate monitor to calculate calorie burns ... other sources of info can be exaggerated. This is why many people eat only a portion of their calories back.
Also, I set my activity level to sedentary. This is really a range .... if your activity level is too high ... and you eat your exercise calories ... this can be too much.
so if i want to keep my muscle i must eat back my exercise cals., even though i bench press everyday?0 -
typically yes. I need the fuel for recovery. If i don't i start hurting and get tired. that is self defeating.
my recovery calories are mostly proteins and some organic fats.
^^This!
Yes, I eat back my calories. I must because my limit is already near 1200 with my sedentary job. But as others have said, if I don't, I feel tired and cranky. Post-workout, sometimes I'll even go over a little on calories as long as I'm getting that protein I need. If I don't get the protein, I don't rebuild the muscle and I will hurt for DAYS! The fats definitely help too.
As another post said, if I need those extra calories, but it's getting late, almonds are my quick and easy fix.0 -
I always eat all my calories. Not always on the same day; sometimes I spread them out over the week. People often look at them as a special "bonus" to dip into only if it's an emergency, but MFP was designed to work with you eating back your exercise calories. Otherwise, it would give you a higher calorie goal to begin with. Now that I've started running, I'm acutely aware of when my body hasn't got enough fuel, so there's no way I'm skimping on cals now! Plus, I really want to minimise muscle loss as much as possible, so a small deficit is the way forward for me.0
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Alright so I'm curious do you all eat your earned calories? I've planned my daily meals around my 1200 daily amt & after I log my food it goes down to 200 but when I log my exercise it jumps up to 1200-1600 depending on the day/workout. Do you have to eat your workout calories back? I'm sure I read somewhere that your body will think it's starving itself if you don't but I'm thinking that's not true.
most of the time no. when i was eating bread and pasta and stuff i easily could eat twice my 1200 limit. but now that i cut it out and only eat meat, veggies, and fruit, i get fuller for longer. someone suggested i eat back calories i burn off, but i tried that and started gaining weight back. my body definitely isn't starving. i get plenty of good nutritious food and fats, but i don't worry about my calorie number.0 -
I'm trying to eat all my calories, but sometimes when I try to eat all of them I end up eating unhealthy food, so usually I don't eat all of them. My bmr is very low, so I'm not worried about that.0
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I can't help but eat them back! I'm always alot hungrier on days I work out hard! I just figured that's my bodies way of saying it needs more fuel!0
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