extra calories given

sk1214
sk1214 Posts: 2 Member
I'm a little confused with the extra calories given after exercising. I walk 4 plus miles a day 3=4 days a week and after each walk i gain an additional 500 plus calories. I can't use them all each day, weight seem to come off very slowly. what am I doing wrong?

Replies

  • Live4theLift
    Live4theLift Posts: 329
    I dont log my exercise, most people dont use the calories they burn from exercise. All cardio does is give you a bigger deficit to aid in weightloss.
  • Pamella513
    Pamella513 Posts: 72
    I log my exercise, but I don't consume the extra calories it gives me unless I'm going out to dinner or to an event where I might need those extra calories. I have a difficult enough time consuming the calories I get without exercise.
  • doctorsookie
    doctorsookie Posts: 1,084 Member
    Thanks for posting this, that confused me too. Thought it kind ofdefeared the purpose of a calorie limit. Calories in and calories out, right? So why do they tease us and say we can eat back all those calories we managed to burn off? I try to stick to the plan they gave me when I signed up but 1200 calories seems so low and I feel so hungry.
  • sk1214
    sk1214 Posts: 2 Member
    Thanks for your insight
  • dray2211
    dray2211 Posts: 2 Member
    I use all my extra calories...reward yourself for the hard work. If you are losing weight correctly, it comes off very slowly. Dieting should be a life change, if you hate it...you won't keep at it. Good Luck!
  • Alicia_P_28
    Alicia_P_28 Posts: 76 Member
    Thanks for posting this, that confused me too. Thought it kind ofdefeared the purpose of a calorie limit. Calories in and calories out, right? So why do they tease us and say we can eat back all those calories we managed to burn off? I try to stick to the plan they gave me when I signed up but 1200 calories seems so low and I feel so hungry.

    From what I understand, the calorie limit you're set at (1200) is already making you at a deficit (you need a lot of calories just living) and any calories you burn off can (and theoretically SHOULD) be eaten back so you don't end up with too much of a deficit, possibly compromising normal body function ability (brain, lungs, heart, digestion, etc)...so if you're hungry still and have calories you can eat because you worked out, then eat some of them! Also, I don't know your diet, but eating more veggies in your diet will leave you fuller with WAY less calories.
    With all of that being said...I have a hard enough time eating all my calories in a day before exercise so I almost never eat workout calories, and never all...I've only been here 5 days but I KNOW what I'm doing is working *for me*...now, if I hit a plateau or something I'll try to *force* more calories and/or up the workout to break through.

    Good luck on your journey! And remember, you'll never make it if you're feeling hungry all the time..so maybe do a diet over haul if you need to so you can consume MORE food without going over calories.
  • I eat my back calories because there's no extra credit for not doing it.

    The weight is going to come off at the same rate (1lb a week just about) it seems silly to deprive myself if I'm losing the same weight at 1,200 calories as 1,800 calories. I log the exercise and plan most of my meals in advance so it's super easy to know what the day is going to look like.

    I'm less likely to binge if I don't feel deprived.

    I probably burn around 2,500 calories a day at 1,200 MFP already has me at a deficit, when I work out I'm still only at 1,500 or 1,800 and I'm STILL at a deficit.