Eat Your Exercise Calories?

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readanddance
readanddance Posts: 311 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi everyone!

I just started using this website on Friday. Today, I logged my exercise and it added the "burned" calories to my net calories for the day. Should I eat those calories?

Also, I find that I am typically coming in about 500 calories less than stated. For example, my net calories is suggested 1780. For the past several days, I have averaged 1200-1300. That's enough not to go into "starvation" mode....correct?

Thanks in advance for all the assistance!

Replies

  • GreyEyes21
    GreyEyes21 Posts: 241 Member
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    Not sure about the net calories but if you go into starvation mode depends on what amount of exercise you do. If its high intensity then you should eat more. Do you think you are eating enough to support the kind of activity you do?
  • spangey13
    spangey13 Posts: 294
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    Yup - eat back your exercise definately.

    If you struggle to eat it all have something like some nuts that are high in calories.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    Yes. Eat those calories.
  • MemphisKitten
    MemphisKitten Posts: 878 Member
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    You need to calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate. 1200-1300 calories a day may not be enough for you. If you eat below your BMR, you can slow your metabolism, but it is unlikely you will go into starvation mode at these calorie levels. Play around with your calorie counts and see what works for your body. Also calculating your Total Daily Energy Expenditure and not going over that amount of calories is helpful. Good luck to you! :wink:
  • MemphisKitten
    MemphisKitten Posts: 878 Member
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    www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

    LMAO!! :laugh:
  • RobfromLakewood
    RobfromLakewood Posts: 684
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    www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

    pretty damn funny
  • RobfromLakewood
    RobfromLakewood Posts: 684
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    I saw a bunch of people saying you should with some good comments about why...plus it allowed me to have a chocolate shake tonight. :happy:
  • strikerjb007
    strikerjb007 Posts: 443 Member
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    Depends how you use MFP. I personally think it's not good to set it up where you have to. Mostly because people use HRM which are innacurate anyway. I set a calorie level that is suitable for my goal and eat that. I don't care how much I burn per workout because at the end of the day, I know what my body will do. In other words, I dial in my eating to reflect my goal. Example: right now I'm eating 3200 calories to bulk up and I'm doing Beachbody's Body Beast Workouts. I don't care how much I burn because I know that at 3200 calories, I will gain weight!
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

    Ummmmm... oops.
    That used to lead to a page that said yes! With links to some article. Guess I'd better stop posting it now :)
  • Nefetete
    Nefetete Posts: 343 Member
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    www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

    ^^ Roflmao

    But yes, if ur using MFP calculated numbers for ur daily goal.
  • Jes_ika
    Jes_ika Posts: 72 Member
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    I was wondering this too so I will be following this post!!
  • readanddance
    readanddance Posts: 311 Member
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    No worries! I laughed anyway!
  • MissBernie73
    MissBernie73 Posts: 115 Member
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    www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com


    Thats funny...LOL
  • mschichi26
    mschichi26 Posts: 12
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    Hi everyone!

    I just started using this website on Friday. Today, I logged my exercise and it added the "burned" calories to my net calories for the day. Should I eat those calories?

    Also, I find that I am typically coming in about 500 calories less than stated. For example, my net calories is suggested 1780. For the past several days, I have averaged 1200-1300. That's enough not to go into "starvation" mode....correct?

    Thanks in advance for all the assistance!

    Depends on how high you've set your daily goal for really (eg, if you have set your goal to maintain your current weight, don't eat them back, but if you've set it to lose 2lbs per week then it would probably be pretty extreme to not eat them back - at least over time, you'll end up with no energy.. look at your overall calorie deficit)
  • readanddance
    readanddance Posts: 311 Member
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    Thanks, everyone! I will keep going as is for a while and see what happens. My goal is to lose about 1.5 lbs per week. I don't feel hungry nor is my exercise that intense that I need the calories to sustain me. Eating the calories when wanting to lose weight just seems so counter-intuitive. Guess I will need to do some more research...... :)
  • geekyjock76
    geekyjock76 Posts: 2,720 Member
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    If you want to follow the plan laid out for you based on the information you provided, then yes, you should.

    Let's say you choose a 1 lb per week weight loss goal and you should be netting 1300 after 300 calories of exercise is added. If you do not eat those exercise calories, to give you a gross intake of 1600, your net will actually be 1000, not the planned 1300. Thus you are increasing the deficit greater than the 1 lb per week weight loss goal.

    The key is to choose a weight loss goal that is realistically attainable according to how much weight you can actually lose in that given timeframe. For example, I lose about .05 lbs of actual fat per week when I am around 10% body fat. So it is pointless for me to choose a 2 lb per week weight loss scheme.

    Another consideration is what your actual resting metabolic rate is and energy expenditure through out the day as well as accuracy in reporting food intake vs exercise calories.

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