When do I eat my "workout" calories?

I'm curious to see what the pro's say here. This is a good question that I don't know the answer to. Do we have to eat our exercise calories?

Although you should never eat a big meal before you work-out you should eat a small protein and complex carb. Accoring to what I learned from an "Eat to Burn " session that I went to. When you work out particularily with interval training you rev your engines. They become fat burning machines in fact after a good work-out where you have raised your heart beat and challenged your muscles, your body continues to burn calories at an excelerated pace for much longer than period of time than with just a cardiovascular activity. I was taught that the food you eat after is burned. I am no expert but I am following this theory and it is working for me!

Hi Dusty
I have a protein shake immediately after my weights session and whilst I'm doing my cardio. The shake is 300 cals and about 40g of protein. As for the rest of the cals then I try and eat them that evening but trying to avoid eating to late, although I have a large glass of milk and a table spoon of peanut butter before I go bed to give my protein a boost and to give my body something to keep my matabolism going through the night. I don't always eat all my cals (tonight I've got 1575 left and my milk/peanut butter comes in at 300 ish cals) and as long as I've had a good balanced diet that day I don't worry.
I hope this helps but it would be nice to get other opinions.
Take care Jay : ))

As far as eating them back--yes, you definitely should. The base rate MFP gives you is what you need to eat just to stay alive, minus however many you need to cut to get to your weight loss goal. If you're also exercising, but not taking in any more calories, you're setting yourself up for problems. You'll either be starving and binge, or you won't have the energy to get through your workout.

As for when to eat them: Typically, you'll get the best quality workout if you eat something before your workout (to give you energy to get through it) and then eat something after too (to help your body refuel and start rebuilding). Unless you're working out super early (which I do), you should generally eat a carb-oriented snack an hour to an hour and a half before your workout (to give it time to digest). What and how much you eat depends on the intensity of your workout. If you're just walking a few miles, then half a banana, an orange, some whole wheat toast, or some grapes would be plenty. If you're really pushing it (e.g., running 5+ miles, spinning at high intensity), then you probably want to eat a bit more beforehand to get you all the way through. After your workout, you should eat a small meal or snack with both protein and carbs (such as a small slice of bread with a little peanut butter, or a hard boiled egg and crackers, or cheese and an apple). Again, the intensity of your workout will dictate how much you eat--if you're working at high intensity for a long time, you'll want to eat a little more to help your body refuel. Listen to your body--for example, when I get done with a long run, I just can't stomach the thought of food for at least 45 min or an hour. The best refueling time is within 15-30 minutes after you're done, so I try to eat or drink something light within that time.

Spread the rest of any calories you "exercise off" over the course of the day. Just make sure you are really only putting back in what you burn off--it's really common to think "whew, what a workout, I totally need to refuel!" and drink a huge bottle of Gatorade, when in fact you only burned a couple hundred calories and that Gatorade is 250!

Can I ask, how much/what brand was your HRM that is also a calorie tracker? I'm really interested in purchasing one! Let me know!

My HRM was about $100 Canadian and I can't remember the brand, sorry.

Sian- Good explanation. A couple tweaks I would make in it, but a good explanation! A gentleman by the screen name of SHBoss (aka Banks) just posted this GREAT thread. It covers a bunch of questions (not the "What time" question, but several others). Check it out: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/101833-10-answers-to-common-questions

As the thread title states...when is the best time to consume the calories that I have burned off while working out? Before or after you work out? And, what are the best foods to eat, in order to get those calories back?

I bought a heart rate monitor yesterday, that is also a calorie tracker, so I will have a fairly accurate idea of how many calories I have burned that day. Once I get through each of my different work outs (I am on the P90X Lean plan) I should have a general idea of how many calories I burn for each workout. Since I will know that number, would it be better to eat them before or after my daily workout?

This is a commonly discussed topic here on MFP. There is a lot of information on this thread about exercise calories.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

A gentleman by the screen name of SHBoss (aka Banks) just posted this GREAT thread. It covers a bunch of questions (not the "What time" question, but several others). Check it out: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/101833-10-answers-to-common-questions

Banks always has the BEST threads! And this one is no different. I wish there was a way to force everyone to read it while setting up their account to avoid the same questions popping up daily!!!:laugh:

good point mrs.....

Wow great advise.. I have alot to work on..

Yep, polar ones are good (that's what I have), also Reebok makes a few decent ones, and garmon makes a good one too. Or you could go the body bugg route, but those can be a bit pricey (from what I hear very worth it though).