Eating back calories - ups, downs or averages?

Yogi_Carl
Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I usually exercise and burn around 2 - 300 calories and may or may not eat back say 150 - 200 of them.

If, like today, I go for a longer faster run and burn 2000 calories - am I supposed to eat back something like 1800 calories, 1000 calories (eat half back) - or will the sky not fall in if I don't eat any of them back and look forward to a drop in fat weight?

What I do find most uncomfortable is eating high on high exercise days and then eating comparatively less on a low exercising day. Am I able to average those 2000 calories across the week and eat back most of them shared across the week?

If I do eat some back, I guess I need to focus on proteins to save muscle?

Replies

  • Jillian52
    Jillian52 Posts: 21 Member
    bump
  • jesswait
    jesswait Posts: 218 Member
    Personally I find it's much easier to eat lighter on heavy exercise days and go over a bit on rest days.
  • yoginimary
    yoginimary Posts: 6,788 Member
    Eat if you're hungry, don't eat if you're not. There will come a time when you no longer wish to count calories, and you will have to have another guide (hunger) to decide how much to eat.

    Usually when I have a large burn, I'm hungrier that day so I eat more, but I'm also hungrier the next day. So one day I'm under, the next I'm over.
  • miadhail
    miadhail Posts: 383 Member
    Well, I follow MFP's 1200 calorie intake + exercise calories. How much exercise calories I eat those depend on the calorie intake recommended by http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12 . Since I put mine as moderately active in the site recommended above (I exercise at least 4 times a week about 1-2 hours each session, burning 800-1000 calories roughly, on rest days I eat about 1600 since 1200 is just too little haha), it puts me to about 2032 calories. So, while still following MFP's rule, I eat back exercise calories until the 2000 ballmark which usually is pretty accurate. Henceforth I am debating just saying screw it to MFP's system and migrating to Dan's roadmap. lol.

    Always remember you didn't get fat from eating 1200-2000 or even 3500 calories. You got fat from eating more than you burn, so its really depending on your TDEE, activity, etc :)

    All the best!
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    Eat if you're hungry, don't eat if you're not. There will come a time when you no longer wish to count calories, and you will have to have another guide (hunger) to decide how much to eat.

    Usually when I have a large burn, I'm hungrier that day so I eat more, but I'm also hungrier the next day. So one day I'm under, the next I'm over.

    OK - so split the extra calories over the day of work and the day after - and only if my body tells me I need to. That makes sense.
  • marikevr
    marikevr Posts: 389 Member
    I find that when I do an LSD, I simply have to eat the cals back. I am hungry. Also, the energy drink that I take on long runs is quite high in cals, that quickly eats up my exercise cals. The only thing that fills me up after a long run is protein, so low cal salads and fruits sort of get bypassed until I don't want to lick the paint off the walls anymore.

    I try to maintain a deficit but if I cut too much back I simply do not have the energy to sustain training. My dietician has mentioned that I could even out my daily calories a bit. I just find that if I 'flatten' my overall daily intake it doesn't sove the hunger problem on my long run days....

    My guess would be to eat according to hunger on long run days and see how it goes! If you have the stamina for training, great. If you don't up the cals a bit.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    I usually exercise and burn around 2 - 300 calories and may or may not eat back say 150 - 200 of them.

    If, like today, I go for a longer faster run and burn 2000 calories - am I supposed to eat back something like 1800 calories, 1000 calories (eat half back) - or will the sky not fall in if I don't eat any of them back and look forward to a drop in fat weight?

    What I do find most uncomfortable is eating high on high exercise days and then eating comparatively less on a low exercising day. Am I able to average those 2000 calories across the week and eat back most of them shared across the week?

    If I do eat some back, I guess I need to focus on proteins to save muscle?

    If your daily calorie goal includes exercise, then no, you don't need to eat them back, regardless of how many you burn. If it doesn't, then yes you should... at least until you find the "sweet spot" where your body responds well, you feel good, have energy, etc etc.

    Yes, you can average them out. Look at your weekly numbers... as long as your weekly numbers are in check, your daily numbers are somewhat irrelevant. I wouldn't net 500 1 day and 3000 the next on a regular basis... but pay more attention to the bigger picture. Very little happens on a day-to-day basis.

    After longer runs, if you're burning 2000 cals as you said, you should probably be focused more on simple sugars to refill glycogen stores, then have a good protein heavy meal after that.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Eat if you're hungry, don't eat if you're not. There will come a time when you no longer wish to count calories, and you will have to have another guide (hunger) to decide how much to eat.

    Usually when I have a large burn, I'm hungrier that day so I eat more, but I'm also hungrier the next day. So one day I'm under, the next I'm over.

    If I ate when I was hungry, I'd never stop eating. For other people, they might never eat. That's such arbitrary advice... why would you suggest that to someone you know so little about? Maybe that's why they are on this site in the first place... because they have lousy eating habits.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Averaging is just fine. What you want is to be in a deficit over a period of a week to 10 days, rather than a day. So no, you don't have to scarf down an entire pizza today if you don't want to
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    If I ate when I was hungry, I'd never stop eating. For other people, they might never eat. That's such arbitrary advice... why would you suggest that to someone you know so little about? Maybe that's why they are on this site in the first place... because they have lousy eating habits.

    It's ok - I used to have lousy eating habits - which is what brought me here in the first place - but I am on a different path now. Yoginimary knows a little bit about me so her advice was relevant to me.

    Thanks everyone for levelling me out again - what the forum is all about; really appreciate it.
  • Pema10
    Pema10 Posts: 13
    I agree with yoginimary. It will all harmonize in the end.

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