Eating back high exercise calories...

stefa711
stefa711 Posts: 196 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I run about 40-50 miles per week, strength training 2-4 times per week, and sometimes I burn up to 6000 calories a week.

My question is: does anyone on here with high calorie burns eat all of the calories back? My net is set to 1500 cals per day so, for example, when I run 18 miles my diary allows me 3500 calories in one day.

I'm comfortable eating around 2000, which I normally do. I just wonder if not eating all of my calories back is going to cause more harm than good, but it also seems absurd for me to eat in excess of 2000 calories (sure, 2100 or 2200 is okay, but 3500??).

Replies

  • epros39
    epros39 Posts: 17
    Hi Stefa,

    I have the same concerns. Test your body to see if eating more will cause you to lose weight; vice versa. Personally, eating more has been working for me in addition to working out everyday. Like you, I weigh in daily to check my progress. So far, so good. If you're burning it up, try not to leave so many on the table:) Have a great one~
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
    I run about 40-50 miles per week, strength training 2-4 times per week, and sometimes I burn up to 6000 calories a week.

    My question is: does anyone on here with high calorie burns eat all of the calories back? My net is set to 1500 cals per day so, for example, when I run 18 miles my diary allows me 3500 calories in one day.

    I'm comfortable eating around 2000, which I normally do. I just wonder if not eating all of my calories back is going to cause more harm than good, but it also seems absurd for me to eat in excess of 2000 calories (sure, 2100 or 2200 is okay, but 3500??).

    Whatever you have to eat to NET 1500 (which I read in another post is your BMR) you should eat.

    Or you could change your settings to reflect your TDEE-10%, since your ticker indicates that you only have a little more weight to lose.
  • missybct
    missybct Posts: 321 Member
    I have this issue as well - especially considering the exercise calorie values are calculating by MFP which aren't necessarily indicative of the calories I've burnt (I'm going to buy a HRM to resolve this issue!).

    I would play around your calories - I found for me that if I stuck to my basic calorie allowance of 1380 and only ate that despite burning perhaps 500 exercise calories a day my scales didn't really shift. I wasn't starving, and didn't feel the need to eat them if I wasn't hungry, but I have found that if I at least bump another 200cal onto my daily allowance (providing I earn over 400cal from exercise) then I'm more likely to lose - I weigh myself daily as well.

    I work out hard 3-4 times a week and the other days are just walking, so adjust accordingly.
  • fudJy23
    fudJy23 Posts: 87 Member
    I think this is how I manage to always gain weight when training for marathons, or at least my first one. Also, until I realized that I wasn't eating back my calories, I think I was driving my metabolism rate down. I've been doing better in terms of weight gain on the last couple because I've been trying to eat it back and my RMR has been steady. My trainer has the ability to measure this and my VO2 Max so I know exactly what I'm burning.

    It's horrible to say this but on those long run days (10+ miles), I just order a large pizza and make it my goal to finish it for the day. I do take food with me to fuel along the way. Aside from that, I try to get to within 500 of my net calories and call it a day. It's exhausting and my body is tired and so I'm taking a break from the long distance running for sanity and recovery.
  • waylandcool
    waylandcool Posts: 175 Member
    I eat them back as needed. I tend to burn about 1000 calories per workout (300lb. runner) and I do eat some of the back normally. But I try to keep things balanced and not over eat but if I'm hungry, I will have something to keep me going.

    I also have my calorie settings set to lose 2 lbs.a week so anything on top of that is gravy.
  • sarahg148
    sarahg148 Posts: 701 Member
    I like this thread. I've been going back and forth between NOT eating exercise calories, eating them, doing TDEE, NOT doing TDEE. I just need to do ONE program and give it a few months to see what happens. I'm just so impatient. I think I'm going to just do what you are doing. Eat a base amount of calories which allows me to lose 1 lb/wk and then eat back my exercise calories. I think I try to eat a bit under what I should and then end up bingeing at some point. Maybe a little more consistency in my eating would allow the scale to finally get to where I want it...150, baby!!!
  • Cr01502
    Cr01502 Posts: 3,614 Member
    My burn today was 1935 calories.

    Hell yes, I'm eating those suckers back.

    I've got ice cream in the freezer and cookies in the oven.
  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
    for me personally, I found that when I eat back my exercise calories (or close to it) then I lose weight the most and I feel better. As long as I am in a deficit still then I will lose. :) Mine is about 1400 a day NET .. sometimes over and sometimes not. I always eat it back :)
  • dazzo62
    dazzo62 Posts: 78
    All of you are amazing athletes and I am so impressed by your burns!
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    It depends. On Tuesdays, I have dance classes, usually on top of my normal workout. I don't think I have ever managed to eat all of the calories. But if I am not careful to bring lots of healthy food to work the next day, I will end up at the vending machine.
  • stefa711
    stefa711 Posts: 196 Member
    Whatever you have to eat to NET 1500 (which I read in another post is your BMR) you should eat.

    Or you could change your settings to reflect your TDEE-10%, since your ticker indicates that you only have a little more weight to lose.

    The reason I haven't, and probably won't, switch to TDEE -10% is because my burn varies so much, some days I burn 2000 calories and some days 500. So I just do BMR + exercise on a day by day basis. I think it evens out.
  • stefa711
    stefa711 Posts: 196 Member
    Hi Stefa,

    I have the same concerns. Test your body to see if eating more will cause you to lose weight; vice versa. Personally, eating more has been working for me in addition to working out everyday. Like you, I weigh in daily to check my progress. So far, so good. If you're burning it up, try not to leave so many on the table:) Have a great one~

    Epros, I just want to say that I'm glad we're friends because you are, by far, one of the most supportive people I know on MFP!
  • stefa711
    stefa711 Posts: 196 Member
    My burn today was 1935 calories.

    Hell yes, I'm eating those suckers back.

    I've got ice cream in the freezer and cookies in the oven.

    I wish I could still eat like that! I tried to hit 3500 yesterday and came in at about 2400. That's including chocolate and wine!

    I was about 1700 under for last week. :/ Probably why I'm feeling so famished today.

    My biggest problem is that once I see I have eaten 2000 (even if I'm only netting 500) something in my mind tells me to stop because I'm afraid to gain. I'm going to try actually eating back all of my exercise calories for a few weeks. Let's see how this goes!


    Thanks to all for the advice :)
  • rebbylicious
    rebbylicious Posts: 621 Member
    One thing I have read a lot here is that if you net less than 1200 your body is in starvation mode.

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