Do you eat the calories you burn?

Options
24

Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Options
    No because all of the factors are too iffy. I enter my food assuming I measured correctly and that the calorie counts are right. I exercise with a HRM and assume that it's giving me the right readings. If I were a pro athlete or running marathons I might consider eating some back but if you're hungry (really hungry not just craving junk) then you should probably be looking at your food budget and tweaking there.
  • guardian419
    guardian419 Posts: 391 Member
    Options
    absolutely, depending on the day. Thursdays are often a 1000 calorie burn, so no way am I eating 3200 calories, but lifting days are 250cals, so I try to get most of those eaten, as protein if possible.
  • wolfgate
    wolfgate Posts: 321 Member
    Options
    I have to. With running about 30 miles per week, strength training 2-3 times per week and general other activities with the kids, I'd be in a serious deficit if I didn't. So much so that I 1) would be hungry all the time 2) wouldn't have energy to do my workouts and 3) would likely see poor results as body would go into starvation mode.
  • yo_andi
    yo_andi Posts: 2,178 Member
    Options
    Eating back some calories is generally why I exercise :)
  • bellydancer124
    bellydancer124 Posts: 248
    Options
    I never do. I don't own an HRM, so I never have an accurate reading of calories burned. I would rather not risk eating too much. I don't even log my exercise because of that.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Options
    I have follwed ww before and it was known as " activity points" and we were told to eat them or not bother so im not sure what to do. Im aiming to follow 1200 calories a day and would usually burn between 250-500 calories per gym session and prob go to the gym 3 -4 times a week or at least ill aim to! Just wondering how it works with the net value etc...? xx

    ALWAYS ....every single one*

    The way MFP is designed .... the calorie deficit is built in BEFORE exercise .... when you exercise you increase the deficit. When the calorie deficit it too big you will lose fat AND muscle.

    I eat my calories back* because I want HEALTHY weight loss (just the fat please) ... and not weight loss at all cost

    * .... the asterisk is because I use a heart rate monitor to calculate calorie burns .... If you are using MFP calories ... you are using estimates which may be inflated .... some people use MFP calculations and just eat a % of calories back.
  • laserturkey
    laserturkey Posts: 1,680 Member
    Options
    If I were planning to follow 1200 calories a day, I would try to NET that many calories, so any exercise calories I burned that took me below that would need to be eaten back.

    I couldn't do 1200 calories. I'm doing about 1450-1500 a day, losing weight slowly but surely.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Options
    I never do. I don't own an HRM, so I never have an accurate reading of calories burned. I would rather not risk eating too much. I don't even log my exercise because of that.

    Wow ....... so you think zero is a closer number? Why not eat at least 1/2 back .... much less risk at losing muscle mass. Besides, too few calories ....plateaus ... too frustrating for me.
  • PinkHurricane88
    PinkHurricane88 Posts: 156 Member
    Options
    Not always. Sometimes I will eat half of it back, sometimes I allow myself to have a mixed drink which equals about half those calories. But it just depends on what my body is telling me. If it's hungry, it obviously needs fuel. If I am satisfied, I don't bother with it. It just depends on the day, the workout, the intensity, how much moving I am doing during my day, etc. It tends to be a hot topic on these boards so it's all about what works for you.
  • tjmist
    tjmist Posts: 45 Member
    Options
    During the week I try to net 600 calories total. I'll eat about 1000-1200 and then burn 600+ so I end up netting between 400 and 600. I swear I eat every meal and even snack, but once you find out which foods to eat and get into a pattern it makes it almost impossible to eat more than 1200 calories unless I drink alcohol or eat pizza (which I try to save for the weekends)
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Options
    I usually eat most of them. The point is to be eating under maintenance, but not too far under. If you have too high of an energy deficit due to exercise, it can stress your body too much and could make it harder to reach your goals.
  • osualex
    osualex Posts: 409 Member
    Options
    Only if I'm hungry for them. I usually eat between 1500-1700 a day so I don't worry too much about this, plus I'm never burning more than 400 a day.
  • bellydancer124
    bellydancer124 Posts: 248
    Options
    I never do. I don't own an HRM, so I never have an accurate reading of calories burned. I would rather not risk eating too much. I don't even log my exercise because of that.

    Wow ....... so you think zero is a closer number? Why not eat at least 1/2 back .... much less risk at losing muscle mass. Besides, too few calories ....plateaus ... too frustrating for me.

    I'm not trying to lose, only maintain. I actually have my calories set kind of high for this reason (I think it is anyway). I do want to invest in an HRM, but just haven't yet. :smile: I will though! lol
  • AsellusReborn
    AsellusReborn Posts: 1,112 Member
    Options
    During the week I try to net 600 calories total. I'll eat about 1000-1200 and then burn 600+ so I end up netting between 400 and 600. I swear I eat every meal and even snack, but once you find out which foods to eat and get into a pattern it makes it almost impossible to eat more than 1200 calories unless I drink alcohol or eat pizza (which I try to save for the weekends)


    I'm sorry, but that does not sound safe unless you are being monitored by a physician or have a health condition that precludes normal eating. Regardless of the "is 1200 a magic number" debate netting 600 is going to severely stress your body unless you are extremely tiny.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Options
    During the week I try to net 600 calories total. I'll eat about 1000-1200 and then burn 600+ so I end up netting between 400 and 600. I swear I eat every meal and even snack, but once you find out which foods to eat and get into a pattern it makes it almost impossible to eat more than 1200 calories unless I drink alcohol or eat pizza (which I try to save for the weekends)

    :flowerforyou: OMG! .... you poor thing. Is this medically supervised? Please, please, educate yourself (unless you are under a doctor's care). Your body needs 1200 calories minimum for basic bodily functions ..... heart, liver, kidneys.

    This is some seriously bad advice. The faster weight comes off .... the more likely you will put it right back on when you stop dieting. This is because by losing large amounts of muscle mass (with extremely low calorie diets) will result in a slower metabolism.
  • onedayillbeamilf
    onedayillbeamilf Posts: 966 Member
    Options
    On the rare ocassion that I exercise, I eat them.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Options
    I never do. I don't own an HRM, so I never have an accurate reading of calories burned. I would rather not risk eating too much. I don't even log my exercise because of that.

    Wow ....... so you think zero is a closer number? Why not eat at least 1/2 back .... much less risk at losing muscle mass. Besides, too few calories ....plateaus ... too frustrating for me.

    I'm not trying to lose, only maintain. I actually have my calories set kind of high for this reason (I think it is anyway). I do want to invest in an HRM, but just haven't yet. :smile: I will though! lol

    If your calories are already set kinda high already ... then it's taken care of already. Sorry I jumped to a conclusion.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    Options
    If I earn another 500 or so calories from exercise I often struggle to want to eat those calories back - which has an intersting effect on me because I have always been the kind of person who is always thinking of food and snacking, which is how I got to be overweight.

    Now I am thinking - do I really have to eat another 500 calories? I don't want to! some days I eat them all back if I feel the drive to eat. Other days I don't and I don't stress over it.
  • marywanoKC
    marywanoKC Posts: 176
    Options
    Not usually. I find that I tend to eat the wrong things when I try to eat back calories, so I'd rather have a large deficit than eat crap foods just to get rid of that deficit.
  • IronPlayground
    IronPlayground Posts: 1,594 Member
    Options
    Only if it's ice cream, cake, pie, cookies, pop tarts, etc. I'm not going to bust my butt exercising then eat back those calories with salad.

Categories