Eating the calories you burn?

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DeanThorpex
DeanThorpex Posts: 27 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have been eating the calories I burn from cardio but is it necessary? do I need to eat that? will I lose more weight if I dont eat it? or will I lose more weight if i do eat it?

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  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
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    Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. MFP is set up for you to eat back your exercise calories. I would caution you to be sure of the burn as MFP overestimates on their site. You will lose more not eating them back, but your body will suffer in the process.

    Weigh/measure everything you eat; Log everything you eat; Use an HRM to monitor exercise calories.
  • lucan07
    lucan07 Posts: 509
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    I do not because I choose to eat the ones I need or feel like I need, I refuse to eat calories for the sake of eating them because I do a little exercise, I probably eat 60% of exercise calories. If your nett intake falls to low while your body is being asked to perform more exercise than usual it will use every trick in its book to hold on to as much energy as it can slowing weight loss.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    If you're hungry, eat them. If you aren't, then don't.
  • cingle87
    cingle87 Posts: 717 Member
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    If you are using the MFP method then it is design for you to eat exercise calories back, thats being said I don't eat 100% of them back to allow for underestimate of food and overesitmate of calories burned. Depending on how much you have to lose, your body can only oxidize a certain amount of fat per day, and if the calorie deficit it too large it will use lbm as well as fat.
  • MG_Fit
    MG_Fit Posts: 1,143 Member
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    If you're food log is correct, then you need to absolutely be eating your calories back. Unless you have a medical condition where your caloric intake should be that low, there is not any reason why a male, you are should be averaging 1500 calories / day. There were some days where you were less than 1000. You need to eat more man.
  • jackielou867
    jackielou867 Posts: 422 Member
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    try to eat them back. I recently dropped back to 1200 calories for just 10 days, I lost a kilo but when I checked my stats at the gym I had lost muscle, my %body fat was up by 2%. I went straight back to maintenance cals and 2 weeks later had dropped that 2%. basically if you try to lose it too fast it just doesn't work long term, trust me, I have been doing the wrong thing for 20 years, only just figured out how to do this right. Somedays I struggle to eat back my calories. Hence this evening I have eaten peanut butter and chocolate with my yogurt (Sadly Tuesday is my day off and I tend to go hard at the gym)
    I think I have to restrict myself to no more than 500 cals in exercise, because otherwise I have to resort to eating rubbish to get the calories back.
  • judilockwood
    judilockwood Posts: 134 Member
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    Whilst I was losing weight I tried never to eat back exercise calories - I used them to increase my deficit and lose weight more quickly. If I had a special occasion , I 'stored' these calories so I could eat more and not feel guilty. This worked for me; the calorie balance just doesn't go over a day, its for the long term. Now I'm maintaining, I eat some back to feel comfortable if I need to, but generally don't. Exercise calories are a bonus in weight control for me. Its what you feel comfortable with, experiment with it and do what you thin best; its your body, listen to it xx
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    try to eat them back. I recently dropped back to 1200 calories for just 10 days, I lost a kilo but when I checked my stats at the gym I had lost muscle, my %body fat was up by 2%.

    No, you didn't gain 2% BF from not eating exercise calories for 10 days. More likely the wild inaccuracy of those BF scales they have at the gyms. They're known for being off by as much as 5% either way depending on your hydration level.

    To the OP, you should be eating a minimum of 1800 for an adult male. If you aren't hitting that then start eating your exercise back or save yourself the hassle and just reset your budget.
  • lthames0810
    lthames0810 Posts: 722 Member
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    I eat back my excercise calories, but not day to day because they fluctuate greatly. I eat them back on average over the week. MFP has my goal net calories at 1200 but I aim to eat 1400 every day and record my excercise. Some days I'm over and some days under, but at the end of the week I have averaged 1200 over the whole week. The phone app has a helpful chart under weekly nutrition that shows the 1200 calorie line and the weekly average so I can see if I'm on track.

    This way I don't have to eat when I'm not hungry on heavy excercise days just to get to the daily calorie net goal.
  • skittle316
    skittle316 Posts: 128 Member
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    Eating back what you burned slows weight loss from what I hear. I don't really care but I eat 1200-1500 then burn around 200-300 calories from walking and 300-500 calories from working out at the gym and I don't eat back it. It depends on the person, but i'm not going to eat when i'm not hungry let alone what I burned off.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Eating back what you burned slows weight loss from what I hear. I don't really care but I eat 1200-1500 then burn around 200-300 calories from walking and 300-500 calories from working out at the gym and I don't eat back it. It depends on the person, but i'm not going to eat when i'm not hungry let alone what I burned off.

    It may slow your loss if you're over exaggerating your burns but what you're doing is extremely unhealthy and taking it way too far the other way.
  • jpalocy77
    jpalocy77 Posts: 114 Member
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    I would say eat it back..but what I really say is listen to your body..if you are hungry you eat... you have to eat healthy choices..have an apple and a T of natural PB..or some cottage cheese...or greek yogurt..something healthy..and make sure you are drinking your water for the day.. .when i find I'm hungry or feel like i'm dragging.. I throw in a snack of yogurt and coco roasted almonds (only 2g of sugar in the almonds, and satisfied choco cravings!)
  • IndiaGuerita1983
    IndiaGuerita1983 Posts: 98 Member
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    I have been eating the calories I burn from cardio but is it necessary? do I need to eat that? will I lose more weight if I dont eat it? or will I lose more weight if i do eat it?

    I tried to eat the calories back but I burn 500-1,000 calories jogging and doing high impact calisthenics. I gained 10 pounds in two months doing this.

    I'm back to not eating mine back and I feel better.

    -IndiaGuerita
  • sydneyplainjane
    sydneyplainjane Posts: 140 Member
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    Doesn't it all depend on the kind of cardio? Because, if I'm out for a walk and it turns out I've walked 2 miles in a day, I don't always feel I need to eat that back. It depends on if it's a brisk walk and my heart rate is up or if it's just casual walking.
  • MagicalLeopleurodon
    MagicalLeopleurodon Posts: 623 Member
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    I eat my regular calories. Im not eating 3000+ at 10pm just because a website tells me to. I work out late-there would be no way i could consume that much an hour before i go to bed, id be miserable.
  • jpalocy77
    jpalocy77 Posts: 114 Member
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    well the point is...you should be doing some strength training.. it not only burns calories by elevated heart rates..but also give you an extra 24 hours of calorie burn as your body tries to repair yourself!! It is difficult for me, I have a job i am on my feet for 8-10 hours a day..and I burn alot of calories..I have a fit bit (glamorized pedometer) and in order for me to loose weight I have to eat 1700 calories a day..i burn close to 2400 to 2500 a day...if I go to less I seem to starve..and who likes to starve?? NOT ME!

    here after I wrote this..I found this article in my email.. its a good explanation..

    http://www.shape.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-strategies/5-reasons-running-may-not-help-you-lose-weight

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