Eating back calories from a strength-training DVD?

mdcoug
mdcoug Posts: 397 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I've been doing Chalean Extreme for about a week and a half now. I've been wearing my HRM and getting about 260 cals for about 35 min. work. So not really intense cardio, thus not a lot of calories burned. However, it's enough for a protein shake after my workout.

My question is, if you're doing a workout that is primarily strength training, do you like to eat back the calories earned? Am I really just counting normal calorie expenditure during those 35 min. since it's not really heavy cardio?

Replies

  • bradwwood
    bradwwood Posts: 371 Member
    if i'm hungry, I eat.

    I hurt myself, so I stopped, but when I was doing P90X, I ate back as much as I could. This was following their program direction and it was really needed due to how much energy it took to get through a workout.

    You are going to get a wide range of responses, from "eat it all back" to "don't eat it back". I think the truth is in the middle and I think you need to listen to your body. If you need the food for energy, you should provide it and not deprive yourself.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    Its fine to eat back calories from strength training. You just have to be a little careful about how much you eat back because the estimation of how many calories are burned during strength training can have quite a bit of error. You almost have to resort to trial and error to see how many calories you can eat back.

    That said, if you are hungry after a strength workout, I'd eat something. You KNOW you burned some calories, you just don't know exactly how many.
  • cschiff
    cschiff Posts: 209 Member
    I agree completely ^^^.

    If you're hungry, you should give your body something so that it doesn't go into starvation mode, slow down your metabolism, or detriment your motivation. That said, if you're bored and looking for something to do (which is how I gained my weight) eating something is not the right answer.

    Just listen to your body. If you're hungry, have something. Deprivation has never been a successful meal plan.

    Best of luck!
  • Goal_Line
    Goal_Line Posts: 474 Member
    I wouldn't. The HRM is designed for cardio, it will not be accurate with strength training.

    Go Cougs. Everyone is Coug all of a sudden?
  • mdcoug
    mdcoug Posts: 397 Member
    I wouldn't. The HRM is designed for cardio, it will not be accurate with strength training.

    Go Cougs. Everyone is Coug all of a sudden?

    I've been a Coug for 20-mumble-mumble years! I haven't seen many other Cougs here, but I haven't been here for long either.
  • alpine1994
    alpine1994 Posts: 1,915 Member
    if i'm hungry, I eat.

    I hurt myself, so I stopped, but when I was doing P90X, I ate back as much as I could. This was following their program direction and it was really needed due to how much energy it took to get through a workout.

    You are going to get a wide range of responses, from "eat it all back" to "don't eat it back". I think the truth is in the middle and I think you need to listen to your body. If you need the food for energy, you should provide it and not deprive yourself.

    This. For the week, I probably average eating back a little less than half of my exercise calories (mine also includes a lot strength training DVDs). Doing this has kept me with a strangely (but awesomely) consistent weight loss of 1 lb per week, which is what my calorie goal is set to. It took me a long time to figure this out though.
  • CrisN99
    CrisN99 Posts: 159 Member
    I'm on Week 2 of CLX as well and also wear a HRM. I eat a small snack afterwards of meat and cheese (2 oz meat, 1 oz cheese usually) and have been having great results with that. I generally burn 350-400 calories per CLX weight session according to my HRM.

    So I probably eat back about half of that.
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    Yes, I always eat back exercise calories, whether it's from strength or cardio. I love to get my calories in a protein shake after a good strength workout!

    I usually don't eat all of them back just in case I overestimated the burn, but I eat most.
  • rudegyal_b
    rudegyal_b Posts: 593 Member
    i would not eat back HRM strength cals...i mean an HRM will give you cals for sitting on the couch

    my fitbit only gave me 40 cals for CLX, i think eating at maintenance or TDEE -20% if you want a deficit on lift days is safer than HRM cals

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