Exercise cals- spreading them out?

iRun4wine
iRun4wine Posts: 5,126
edited September 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey all-

Often, on days I run I burn a lot of calories but find that I'm not real hungry. Instead, I find that I'm usually super hungry the following day (which is always a rest day since it's the day after a long run). I've heard a lot of people say that this happens to them, too and that they sometimes allow themselves to eat more the following day to combat that hunger. It tends to work out because you leave calories left over one day, but eat them the other day instead.

So, I'm just looking for other's opinions...
Should I enter all my calories burned on the day I actually do the exercise, or enter half one day and half the next (the day I'm hungry and eat more), or does it really not matter since it all evens out at the end? :huh: I hope that makes sense!

Replies

  • themommie
    themommie Posts: 5,033 Member
    I think you should enter them on the day you do them, it makes it easier to look back over your diaries and see exactly what you did in the past. Sometimes you need this info to know how to change it up
  • leavinglasvegas
    leavinglasvegas Posts: 1,495
    Personally, I would enter it all on the corresponding days. Then I would note in the notes section why I'm over/under an those days.
  • iRun4wine
    iRun4wine Posts: 5,126
    That's what I typically do, but sometimes it's hard to keep track of how many calories, carbs, fat, etc. I have from the previous day.

    Thanks for your thoughts :flowerforyou:
  • canstey
    canstey Posts: 118
    I try to eat my exercise calories on the day I use them to prevent the next day hunger and potential overeating. What is happening the next day after a hard workout is you are putting your body through double duty. It not only has to maintain normal function on a calorie defict by getting the deficit from fat reserves but it also has to replace the calories used from your muscle reserves, i.e glycogen. If you eat either before or relatively soon after working out your body will have the fuel available to replace the muscle reserves quicker and you will be ready for another hard workout sooner all the while maintaining the same deficit.

    Now sometimes I cannot eat them same day so I try to balance out over 2 or 3 days if necessary. Typically though it is in reverse where I ate a little more than normal on a day or two because I couldn't exercise so I run a deficit a little higher on the following two days to balance out. However if I am really hungry I listen to my body and eat more than normal but still keep a reasonable deficit. I have lost a bit a weight and I figure eventually I will have to reduce my normal daily deficit to something less than 1000 a day.
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