Does everyone eat their workout calories?

laheart
laheart Posts: 10
edited September 22 in Fitness and Exercise
hi...I was wondering if most people eat the extra calories that they burn during a workout or do you stick to your normal daily allowance?

Thanks!

Replies

  • I eat at least half of them, more if I am hungry enough.
  • Ebby0525
    Ebby0525 Posts: 11 Member
    Most of the time, I dont! I feel like to loose u have to burn what you eat, but if I get hungry I eat something lite like, fruit ...usually I dont tho...not sure if tthats good or bad just my way lol...
  • I eat all of mine sometimes. It just depends on how hungry I am that day. More often than not, I do have at least 100 or more calories left for the day when I complete my entries.
  • Amarillo_NDN
    Amarillo_NDN Posts: 1,018 Member
    I eat most of mine
  • goron59
    goron59 Posts: 890 Member
    I eat mine, but only up to about 400.
  • I rarely do, I just feel like I will get to my goal faster if I don't. But once in a while I might go a few calories over my daily allowance and I am super happy when they are covered by my extras from exercise :bigsmile:
  • MichelleFirestone
    MichelleFirestone Posts: 212 Member
    I ate them. The 1200 calories is set for me to lose 1lb a week. if I don't eat the additional work out calories, say 400-500, then I'm under on calories and that would put your body in starvation mode
  • deblynnc
    deblynnc Posts: 1 Member
    Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It depends on how hungry I am that day. I usually try to leave at least some of them, if not all.
  • lynne_p
    lynne_p Posts: 173 Member
    I usually eat about half of them. I'm usually under my daily count by 100-200.
  • amylynne26
    amylynne26 Posts: 195 Member
    I work out mostly so I can eat more. :laugh: My 1 lb a week goal has me at 1200 calories (the 500 cal deficit is built in) Without the exercise calories I would be so hungry and probably cranky I can only imagine my husband would sit on me and force feed me cookies. :noway:
  • edorice
    edorice Posts: 4,519 Member
    I eat only a few of them.
  • myricksmom
    myricksmom Posts: 15 Member
    I usually eat about half of them - it achieves a balance in mind where I feel like I am rewarded for exercise...and I feel like I still burned extra...
  • Somenameioi
    Somenameioi Posts: 43 Member
    I work out mostly so I can eat more. :laugh: My 1 lb a week goal has me at 1200 calories (the 500 cal deficit is built in) Without the exercise calories I would be so hungry and probably cranky I can only imagine my husband would sit on me and force feed me cookies. :noway:
    lmfao!
  • I am new but I'm going to try to not eat my work out calories since my daily allowance is pretty high (I'm pregnant so it's set at my DR's minimum for pregnancy).
  • sjaudio
    sjaudio Posts: 52
    I don't. Sometimes if I workout a lot, I might go over my daily allowance a little bit, but I rarely have more than 1600 calories a day. My workouts are generally burn around 1000 calories (I'm kind of a gym rat). I don't think there is anything wrong with eating some of your workout calories if you're hungry, but for me, I feel like it defeats the purpose if I eat a lot. So far, my strategy seems to be working just fine (I'm down 16 pounds in less than six weeks).
  • I try to eat my exercise calories, but I cannot eat them all every time. I usually have better results when I eat as many of those workout calories as possible. I have to be careful because I don't want my calorie deficit to be too high all the time. Right now I have a deficit of about 400. My workout calories in one day can exceed 1500 calories. I'm a long distance runner. Don't panic. That puts my deficit at 1900. That deficit is way too big to lose weight safely. So, I try to bring that deficit under 800 the best that I can. And because I'm a long distance runner and an aerobics instructor, it's actually hard work. Eat as many of those workout calories as possible. You'll have better results.
  • missyhse
    missyhse Posts: 189
    I always eat my workout calories, especially as an endurance athlete. The system is designed for you to loose weight at a healthy pace if you eat the number of calories suggested. So if you're consistently way under caloric intake your body actually suffers and could go into starvation mode.
  • laheart
    laheart Posts: 10
    Thanks for all the replies!
  • I am set at 1.5 pounds a week and even with eating most of my workout calories I have lost almost 3lbs a week for the last two weeks. If I think I am going to go over my calories I will go do an extra workout to counter act the food.
  • NatalieWinning
    NatalieWinning Posts: 999 Member
    I try not to. Half the time I do anyway. I'm loosing about a pound a week overall. The more I leave of my calories the better to make up for the days i'm not so good at the diet. Some days my food choices takes the calories up unintentionally, or I'm just hungry.

    I take advantage of extra because I "earned" them. It's a reward for the effort when I need a little something, and I don't enjoy exercise. So I might work out when I didn't want to because I know i'm going to be hungry that day. I have to work for it. Or, I know I'm going to enjoy something that will put me over, so I have to work it off. Enjoying eating is still imortant to me. Hopefully I keep making better choices overall, but never loose the enjoyment of food. A person needs a cookie or an ice cream here and there!
  • I really struggle to eat what i'm supposed to anyway so I don't. I see a personal trainer once every two weeks and she says I shouldn't eat less that 1200 calories a day or my body will start storing fat but I find it really hard to hit 1200 let alone my daily allowance of 1490! I just don't understand how I could lose weight if I eat more!? Ha!
    XxX
  • The key for me would be to eat enough to not be hungry. If that means eating my workout calories, so be it. I just know that if i'm hungry, I'm miserable and that's not how I want to begin my lifestyle change. I have been trying to stay away from them though, I treat those lost calories like gold. So long story short, I think long and hard before I start using them up.
  • mangorabbit
    mangorabbit Posts: 219 Member
    Whee! Talk about all kinds of answers! So...does that clear the sonfusion? ^_^

    Really it comes down to finding what works for you and your body. Some people can avoid eating the extra cals, some choose not to, some work out in order to be able to eat as they wish while still staying in the green (or close to it) according to the MFP food log. Everyone seems to be making progress in their own way, so is there one 'right' answer? I tend to think not.

    If you are working out pretty hardcore and have your weightloss goals set fairly high (~2lb/wk) and are finding that you are grouchy and hungry and generally not feeling much like a rock star, maybe it is time to consume some of those cals that you are burning at the gym.

    On the other hand, it you are charging through your workouts and feeling awesome and staying within the original daily allowance as you have it set and seeing results, why change what seems to work?

    A lot just comes down to: is what you are doing a sustainable life choice? Most all of us can or have done some pretty extreme stuff in the eat/don't eat/work out like mad realm at one point or another. And we are here because it apparently was not something we could keep up over the long run.

    Try what you think will work for you - weigh/measure yourself at the beginning, go a week or two and see where you are with things. If it works and you are happy, rock on. If it wasn't quite what you were hoping for, change the plan a bit. Just remember to be patient with yourself! (I find I need to say that to myself regularly...)

    Be well.
    ^_^
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
    I dont generally eat mine but I dont starve myself if Im hungry I eat some 100-200 for snack high protein ..never use them on junk food or dessert
  • ErinMarie25
    ErinMarie25 Posts: 733 Member
    Nope! Haven't done it since June when I started working out and still don't. Only 15 pounds to my goal! In fact, I never even heard of eating your workout calories until I came to this site.
  • only on the weekend I do cause me and my hubby drink our calories LOL!
  • ley1
    ley1 Posts: 115
    i only eat mine if i'm hungry :)
  • Margiewar
    Margiewar Posts: 15 Member
    I eat them and have just realized that is why I'm not losing much weight. Today I vow to stop.
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