Should I eat my calories burned at the gym?

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misspink159
misspink159 Posts: 3
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello,

I need help!
I was wondering if I should be eating back my calories burned at the gym.
I workout almost everyday and burn from 750 to 1400 calories per day.
I eat around 1560 calories per day.

I am 5.4 and weight 149 pounds.... My goal is 135. I have lost 165 pounds so far but I am now using Myfitnesspal and loving it. I track everything down. I do let myself 1 cheat day per week since I do workout almost 6-7 times per week.

What would you suggest for me to do? Should I be eating back my calories or stay at my 1560 calories per day as my application tell's me.

Thanks for helping me ;)

Replies

  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Based on those numbers, yes you should.
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
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    How are you tracking your burns? BE careful, as MFP & gym machines can be way off (usually overstated).
  • DrBroPHD
    DrBroPHD Posts: 245 Member
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    usually you are not allowed to eat at the gym, also kind of rude to the other gym goers
  • jim9097
    jim9097 Posts: 341 Member
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    It should be based on how you feel. If you feel like you are running out of energy at the gym you should up the calorie count a little. But I would not add them just to add them. Either you need them or you dont.
  • Stumason2105
    Stumason2105 Posts: 12 Member
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    First off, congrats on the weight loss, thats amazing. Secondly, I would definitely reccomend eating back some of those exercise calories as it looks like you are burning quite a bit during your workouts. Curious what you use to track your burns? HRM? As stated above, machines and MFP are pretty generous on their estimated calories burned. If trying to continue losing weight you should stay under your NET calorie goal, so eating back exercise but still at a deficit is what you should do.
  • misspink159
    misspink159 Posts: 3
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    I track them with the machine at the gym and also my calories counter watch!
  • misspink159
    misspink159 Posts: 3
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    I was wondering how much I should eat back ;)
  • palmerar
    palmerar Posts: 489 Member
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    MFP is designed so that if you follow it you eat back all exercies calories. I would say because it can be difficult to get super accurate numbers, it is safe to eat back a decent amount of those calories, make sure you are eating healthy (fruits veggies whole grains and lean protein) for the most part and that you do not feel hungry. It is up to the users discretion but the program is designed so you NET your calorie goal, meaning you shoudl end every day having 0 calories remaining (ideally).
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Taking all out all context/perspective, the rule is this:

    If you factored in exercise when you calculated your daily calorie goal (as most TDEE calculators do), then you do not need to eat back exercise calories. If you did NOT factor exercise into your daily goal (this is how MFP and most BMR calculators work) then you should be eating them back.
  • jim9097
    jim9097 Posts: 341 Member
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    I was wondering how much I should eat back ;)
    Personally I would start with adding 150 calories and see how you feel. If you still feel like you need more energy I would just add a little until you find the right balance. Personally I am comfortable running a deficit of about 750 calories a day, any more than that and my workouts become unbearable. I use the body media to track my calorie burn for the day, I am usually around 3400 for a 24 hour period, my meal plan usually gets me around 2500-2700 calories in.
  • mich1902
    mich1902 Posts: 182
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    It might depend on how much calories you are intaking on a cheat day. it could balance out overall but as mentioned previously, watch your energy levels. I'd also make sure you get enough protein, helps with keeping more lean body mass as you lose weight. You could maybe log a cheat day one time and see how it affects your calories. If you have been losing up until now then you must be doing something right.
  • NutellaAddict
    NutellaAddict Posts: 1,258 Member
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    usually you are not allowed to eat at the gym, also kind of rude to the other gym goers

    Unless you goto Planet Fitness. I hear they actually have pizza days and other things like that.
  • ladyraven68
    ladyraven68 Posts: 2,003 Member
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    Hello,

    I need help!
    I was wondering if I should be eating back my calories burned at the gym.
    I workout almost everyday and burn from 750 to 1400 calories per day.
    I eat around 1560 calories per day.

    I am 5.4 and weight 149 pounds.... My goal is 135. I have lost 165 pounds so far but I am now using Myfitnesspal and loving it. I track everything down. I do let myself 1 cheat day per week since I do workout almost 6-7 times per week.

    What would you suggest for me to do? Should I be eating back my calories or stay at my 1560 calories per day as my application tell's me.

    Thanks for helping me ;)

    When you set up your details on MFP, you chose a goal of 1lb a week (for example), so it gives you a 500 calorie deficit.

    If you exercise and burn a further 1000 calories, you have made your 500 deficit into a 1500 deficit,
    But you said your goal was 1lb a week and you wanted a 500 calorie deficit, so MFP tells you to eat back the 1000 exercise calories, so that your deficit is back to the 500 you chose.

    This may explain it better - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/818082-exercise-calories-again-wtf
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
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    usually you are not allowed to eat at the gym, also kind of rude to the other gym goers

    Unless you goto Planet Fitness. I hear they actually have pizza days and other things like that.

    ^^^ Yum. PIzza! Wait, now I feel sabotaged! :sad:

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