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Replacing calories from big burn?

Ryan__V
Ryan__V Posts: 36
edited February 1 in Food and Nutrition
I normally try to eat extra to cover the burned calories from any exercise I do since I understand the idea of net calories and having a daily/weekly goal for a set amount of weight loss.

The trouble is that I have a problem wrapping my head around the thought of consuming the extra calories after I have a serious burn. For example the other day I went on a 20 mile bike ride. Weighing 297 pounds and averaging over 15mph with a top speed of 20mph, endomondo put me at 2100+ calories burned, and MFP put me at 1800+ burned. This was a solid 90 minutes of cardio, no breaks, no coasting and pushing hard the whole time so I know I burned some serious energy.

After a workout like this, should I really try and consume a good portion of those back that day or over the next few days?

What does everyone else do after a heavier workout and what have your results shown and/or experience been?

Replies

  • Ryan__V
    Ryan__V Posts: 36
    No one?
  • ucabucca
    ucabucca Posts: 606 Member
    Thats a Huge burn! Congrats on that I do struggle at times with my bigs days but they are 1200 calories but my set amount is also lower than yours I am sure at 1500 I di\o eat almost all off them back but I am trying to maintain not lose and at this point it is working. If you are going over some other days it will balance out and at times thats what I do so I wwon't get sick from eating too much in a day... just balancing it out some on a rest day.
  • jdm_taco
    jdm_taco Posts: 999 Member
    At that weight you can run a much higher calorie deficit. I did the same when I was heavier with no problems. My calorie deficit was over 1000 daily when I was between 250 and 351lbs
  • Ryan__V
    Ryan__V Posts: 36
    At that weight you can run a much higher calorie deficit.

    That's what I am thinking but was looking for confirmation. I mean if I "net" 1500-1800 calories a day, does it matter if one day I net zero? That's only an extra 200-300 calories a day at the end of the week. I just don't see myself boosting my intake up to 2400 calories a day to cover daily workouts and a large weekly workout. I still have way too much fat on my body to worry about maintaining.

    Don't get me wrong, I have lost over 100 pounds so far and am very happy with the program as I have been using it. However I have been hitting plateaus lately and I know that as I get smaller I have to pay more attention to what I do when.

    On the flip side, I don't want to starve my body of what it needs.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    At that weight you can run a much higher calorie deficit. I did the same when I was heavier with no problems. My calorie deficit was over 1000 daily when I was between 250 and 351lbs

    Agreed.

    Also, you can replenish those cals over a few days. Or, if you know you have a big burn coming, you can eat a bit more the day before, the morning of, etc. to make up for them.

    If it's happening regularly then it's a bit more important to eat most of them back. If it's only occasionally, I wouldn't worry about it.
  • arl1286
    arl1286 Posts: 276 Member
    Bumping to see the rest of the responses. Burned about 1000 calories yesterday (I try to net 1500) and as my long runs increase, I expect even more. I punched it into my calculator yesterday and promptly sent a text to a friend that said: "HOW AM I GOING TO EAT 2500 CALORIES TODAY"
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