calories you earn back from exercise?

Options
so heres my question... so some days i do my work out 2 times a day..... when i do I earn back almost my daily allotment of calories.... sooooooo if i dont eat more is the exercise still working or is this program going to tell me I didnt eat enough calories today and that slows down my metabolism.... lol yes ive gotten that red flag message once since i joined ..but that day i just really didnt eat enough throughout the day... but this time had i not did the 2 workouts i would have consumed almost allllll of my calories for the day.... so im just curious

Replies

  • wanttoloseweight4
    Options
    i dont ever eat back the calories from excercise its says that i should eat 1200 calories a day ive taken it up to 1400 i workout 70 minis a day and there intense so i need a little more food but i dont burn 700 calories and eat it all back it would defeat the purpose
  • pe4sandra
    pe4sandra Posts: 102 Member
    Options
    Your body needs the calories and you're burning a lot during your workouts, so I would have to say EAT!
  • Buff2022
    Buff2022 Posts: 373 Member
    Options
    Depending on the day I eat them back. I never eat them all back because I don't believe MFP nor the treadmill are exact at what I am burning.

    My weight loss had slowed to a half a pound. So I started eating more. And I have lost over a pound the last two weeks.
  • Mr_Excitement
    Mr_Excitement Posts: 833 Member
    Options
    You should be eating back the calories you spend exercising, but calorie counters and exercise trackers are never that precise. You'll need to diligently track your food, exercise, and weight over a few weeks and see if you're losing the amount of weight you "should" be losing.

    If you aren't, then you're either overestimating the amount calories being burned in your workouts, or underestimating your caloric intake.
  • twinkfran
    twinkfran Posts: 54 Member
    Options
    I don't eat all of them back but I will have some extra calories on work out days - so usually I try and keep under 1600 - if i do a circuit train and earn 500 I won't eat 2100 but will give myself some healthy snacks extra that take me to say 1800.

    So normally (non workout days) i eat breakfast at work and rarely snack in the morning. If I work out before work, i will have a snack before as i hate working out on an empty stomach but i would still go into work after and have the same breakfast and maybe if I felt tired & hungry another healthy snack mid morning.

    Snacks are usually fruit, nuts, a muesli bar etc
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    Options
    I was set on 1210 and it was just too little, even with exercise calories. So I upped to 1400 and eat back exercise calories and the weight is coming off again - bit more slowly but I've only got 11lb to go now so i expect that, especially as I've probably got more muscle (especially on my legs) than ever before.
  • laurasuzanne2006
    laurasuzanne2006 Posts: 103 Member
    Options
    You need to eat enough or your body will just hold onto the weight. I make sure to eat healthy thinkgs after a work out. protein for example. I wouldn't work out and eat a donut.
  • xoxolj
    xoxolj Posts: 4
    Options
    Thanx for all the advice ya'll ... I never eat it back that would be nuts i just didnt want to get discouraged from all the working out if the weight stays on... and if its my fault for eating 1250 calories then burning off 900 of them and i dont loose then i need to rethink somethings thats all im trying to figure out :)
  • savoiaS1
    savoiaS1 Posts: 129
    Options
    I rarely eat calories back. Most people "think" they have burned more then they have.Without a HR monitor and a proper reading on your TDE and Metabolism its hard to judge. They figure oh i did 300 calories worth of cardio ill eat 300 extra. When in reality you would have burned 35% of that standing doing nothing. On occasion I eat back maybe 50% worth of what I think I did. As long as your macros are setup correctly and youre not starving yourself and getting your carbs in during a deficit you will be fine not eating back any caloires. Its mostly an excuse to eat more.
  • sammilou68
    sammilou68 Posts: 6
    Options
    From my own experience last week I lost half a pound and weight loss generally slowed right down. Circuits x2, body pump x2, ab class, core class, and a couple of hours in the gym. Same this week but ate some of the exercise calories but not all and loss was 2 lbs. increase with good stuff like nuts, seeds or avocado
  • laurasuzanne2006
    laurasuzanne2006 Posts: 103 Member
    Options
    for me it also depends how much i work out. I don't bother eating extra for a 30 min run but I give myself extra for a 2 hour run. I also agree the calories burned aren't necessarily accurate. If I eat i make sure it is something healthy that will also fill me up
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    Options
    Let's see. I've gone back to eating just over 1200 a day, because I've stalled & need a boost. I work out enough that today alone I have almost 2000 calories to eat back..... I've had lunch, dinner & about to have a nice desert as well.... then perhaps some oats. I wont get anywhere near what I have to eat back... I'll get my BMR & that's it...... I'm not dead, starvation mode or anything else.... and this has been like this for just on 19 months.
  • KANSASGIRL69
    KANSASGIRL69 Posts: 28 Member
    Options
    just eat between your TDEE and BMR...dont go any higher...listen to your body...if its hungry feed it...pay attention though there could be an underlying medical problem if your not feeling hunger...especially when you wake up...for TDEE and BMR calculation google it...hope this helps...listen to your body! I know on my really hard training days i eat like its the end of the world and cardio days are just normal calorie days for me...but on them days that i am tearing up and rebuilding muscles i really do need the calories back and i do eat them...been losing fat very steady...meeting my goal of 1-2 pounds per week....good luck!