Must I eat extra cal on cardio days?

jahnlaw
jahnlaw Posts: 95 Member
edited September 21 in Food and Nutrition
MFP gives me about 250 extra calories on each of the 3 days I run each week. I'm ok not to get extra calories on my 3 wt lifting days bc itd be hard to guess the amount burned. But on cardio days I have felt content eating the right foods amounting to 1500 calories.

Do I really need to eat 1750 calories? Do I need to be concerned about losing muscle if I eat the minimum?

BTW, I'm shootin to lose 2# a week, butmore would be great.

Replies

  • kerryrief
    kerryrief Posts: 8
    I have wondered this myself!
  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10665-newbies-please-read-me-2nd-edition
  • championnfl
    championnfl Posts: 324 Member
    If your not hungrey don't eat your exercise calories. Remember that your body is still burning calories after your through exercising!
    Don't go under 1000 calories,body will go into starvation mode. Body needs the calories that you burn off.[protiens & carbs] Try eating half and see if that changes anything.
  • Beth720
    Beth720 Posts: 661 Member
    If you DON'T eat those calories, your body only has 1250 for the whole day to work off of.

    I don't always eat ALL my exercise calories back, but I eat at least half - and so far I'm losing a couple of pounds a week. The exception was the week I hardly ate any of my exercise calories back. I had a less than 1 pound loss that week.
  • msemejuru
    msemejuru Posts: 229
    I eat back most of my exercise calories and have consistently lost 2lbs a week. When I wasn't eating back my calories I was only losing 1lb a week. It's probably different for everyone.

    I normally drink water but I'll drink a low sodium v-8 to get some of those calories back. A 200 calorie fitness bar (special K, slimfast, Fiber One) with protein is also a good option. I don't eat all the calories because MFP can be a little generous with how many calories I burn.
  • mc1217
    mc1217 Posts: 108 Member
    i don't go as "high" as MFP suggests, but i do eat more calories than i would be eating if i were not exercising.

    for example, i burn between 300-370 calories (my machine @ the gym says this--i don't go by the estimated amount on MFP) on the elliptical 5 days/week, plus i do strength training 5 days a week (swap days between legs & arms). anyways, when i work out, it tells me i should be eating between 1787-1808 cals (in order to follow my plan & lose 1 lb./week). but, i usually eat between 1570-1620 on those days.
  • adrianhelen
    adrianhelen Posts: 31 Member
    If you are hungry eat them back. If you are not, don’t. There is no cardinal rule in weight loss that says you have to eat them back. Just don’t overdo it. Being too excessive can make your body go into starvation mode. But if it is only 250 calories, I would not worry about it. Some days I am hungry to where I do eat them back and some days I am just fine going with out. I think you are doing well with it.
  • Paige1108
    Paige1108 Posts: 432 Member
    I find that if I don't eat back some of my exercise calories I stop losing weight. For me, I have to eat to lose. I hope you find a way that works for you. Good luck on our journey.
  • jahnlaw
    jahnlaw Posts: 95 Member
    I'm not sure I understand the concept of needing to eat more to lose weight, assuming one is not starving oneself. Maybe starvation according to ones body, is a sling scale so I might have to experiment with what works optimally. This is why MFP might be a great help bc of the ease of record keeping. Thank you for all your great suggestions.
  • willimh
    willimh Posts: 227 Member
    OMG, I just had the same experience with exercising and not eating atleast 1/2 my earned calories. I didn't lose a pound and I worked overtime with walking for an hour every single day. I bet I won't do that anymore
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