Do you eat your exercise calories?

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  • junebug523
    junebug523 Posts: 196
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    I almost always eat at least half of my exercise calories. If I have an especially intense workout, I eat the majority of them. It doesn't seem to be slowing me down.
    For the last 8 weeks I have been eating my exercise calories, and I have lost 7 pounds. So if I can eat more and still lose weight, I'm not going to mess with that.:happy:
    Maybe if I didn't eat them I would lose more quickly, maybe not. I don't know. It's not about losing the weight quickly. I am happy with losing .5-1 lb per week. I'm getting healthier and fitter, I'm making changes I will be able to sustain once I get to my goal weight, and I'm getting to know my body.

    And good on you for running 12 miles! That's fantastic! Right now I can run a whole mile without stopping...on a good day. I'm working my way up slowly, so that I don't injure myself or get burnt out. Maybe by next summer I'll be able to run that far!
  • Superman79
    Superman79 Posts: 23
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    Your calorie intake before the exercise is for those who want to lose weight without exercise. For example if I choose to lay in bed all day and do nothing, then my intake is 1340. But because of the intense cardio my intake is close to 1700. Your body needs fuel.

    With working out 6 times a week at my weight (213) I'd need 3200 calories per day to maintain.
    1600 calories is a pound of fat.
    if I reduce my intake to 1600 calories less than 3200, then I lose a lb every other day average.
    So I try to stay around 1500 calories or less unless it's a day when I add other strenuous activity other than my normal workout.
    So eat those calories if your body tells you too is what i'm saying....

    right logic wrong math :D 3,500 cals is a pound :D




    Sorry meant to say approx. Half pound.
  • ridelikeagirl616
    ridelikeagirl616 Posts: 48 Member
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    I've wondered this too! MFP already automatically creates a calorie deficit for you based on how much weight you want to lose and how quickly... is it self-sabotage to NOT eat back a portion of your fitness calories? Or are you better to just try to eat like you normally would? Or why don't they teach this stuff to kids in school? :tongue: So complicated!

    Kate
    :flowerforyou:

    You have been successful in your weight loss. Which way did you do it?

    I started this journey NOT eating back any of my exercise calories and sticking to my base allowance and was losing weight, but very slowly. When I started working out with a personal trainer I continued to carry my plateau despite getting my butt KICKED twice weekly for the first month and a half. After bringing her my food journal I heard "You're not eatting enough!! Especially protein!" I hard a hard time grasping this concept at first, but tried increasing my protein levels as recommended and weight started to melt off. From early April until early July I lost 20lbs with this method of eating back around half (if not more) of my exercise calories.

    This is just my experience and not for everyone... Weight loss takes time. Patience IS a virtue :wink: Good luck everyone!
  • ridelikeagirl616
    ridelikeagirl616 Posts: 48 Member
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    It seems like MFP sets the calories burned per excerise too high. That is why I'm afraid to eat those excercise calories. Does anyone else feel that MFP thinks you burn more calories than you actually do?

    It's different for everyone! Your best bet is to get a good heart rate monitor. I have to run at 5.5 mph for 45 minutes to burn 300 cal according to my hrm but the treadmill says 587 cal burned and MFP says something totally different! If you can get a fairly accurate reading for you personally you will have a better shot at understanding the balance :smile:

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