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Eating Exercise Calories

ladysvs
ladysvs Posts: 61
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Is anyone else freaked out about eating their exercise calories? For some reason I can't bring myself to do it, or when I do I feel guilty.

Replies

  • hjy319
    hjy319 Posts: 269 Member
    Today was my second day using this site, and my 1st with exercise. I knew how many calories I had left for dinner before my workout and was surprised by the extra calories after I worked out. I didn't eat them because I was too freaked out by that!
  • mirenner
    mirenner Posts: 205
    eat what you can, if youre not hungry, then don't... to be honest, don't worry unless your exercise calories make you go under 1200 for the day
  • NightOwl1
    NightOwl1 Posts: 881 Member
    Eat them! I can't tell you how many people I've responded to on these boards who stopped losing weight because they were not eating back their exercise calories. If you have a low calorie intake, and you are exercising and not eating your calories back, your metabolism will show and your body will store any calories as extra fat.

    Trust me, eat at least most of your exercise calories back. It's healthy and it encourages weight loss.
  • michlingle
    michlingle Posts: 797 Member
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/3047-700-calories-a-day-and-not-losing

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/6556-the-answers-to-the-questions

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/9433-expectations

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo
  • simplexserenity
    simplexserenity Posts: 116 Member
    I was honestly JUST thinking about that today. Since I joined this site..two days ago lol..I've been way more on track
    with the amount of calories I'm actually burning. I have A LOT of calories left over on days that I do intense workouts but
    I can't figure out if that means I should eat more than I normally would if I hadn't worked out?

    I think if I really FEEL hungrier, I'll throw in more healthy snacks without guilt. I wouldn't dare eat anything out of the norm though,
    that would make me feel guilty too. Those people who say "I can eat whatever I want because I workout all the time"...I'm not buyin' it, unless they're in the Michael Phelps category.
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
    Think of it like oil in a car: You can run the car on low oil, but over time, that can cause damage to the car and it may not run as efficiently as it should. Repairs can be expensive and time consuming! When you workout, you're burning more calories and you NEED more for your body to run as efficiently/effectively as it should - if you always eat the minimum, then fewer calories are available for the day to day functioning on the days that you exercise.
  • merimeaux
    merimeaux Posts: 304 Member
    Per my dietitian--and everyone's different, of course--you don't necessarily need to eat your exercise calories. Personally, I've been losing weight since the end of May on a pretty steady downward trend, and I asked her about eating exercise calories a few weeks ago because of all the talk on the MFP boards about it. She said that in *my* case I didn't need to worry about it since I'm still losing, but did stress that everyone is different and said that I may start having to do it at some point. So unfortunately it isn't a question that's easily answered...you have to experiment to see what works for you. My doctor agreed with the dietitian.
  • binary_jester
    binary_jester Posts: 3,311 Member
    BUT...just to add to the confusion, becareful how you calculate your burned calories when eating your exercise calories. For example, if I go on the elliptical for almost an hour, according to my HRM (and subtracting my BMR), I burn about 650 calories. I enter that same time into the MFP calculator, it says I burned 900+ calories.
  • ginnyroxx
    ginnyroxx Posts: 763
    Eat them! I can't tell you how many people I've responded to on these boards who stopped losing weight because they were not eating back their exercise calories. If you have a low calorie intake, and you are exercising and not eating your calories back, your metabolism will show and your body will store any calories as extra fat.

    Trust me, eat at least most of your exercise calories back. It's healthy and it encourages weight loss.
    preach it!
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,493 Member
    Eat them! I can't tell you how many people I've responded to on these boards who stopped losing weight because they were not eating back their exercise calories. If you have a low calorie intake, and you are exercising and not eating your calories back, your metabolism will show and your body will store any calories as extra fat.

    Trust me, eat at least most of your exercise calories back. It's healthy and it encourages weight loss.
    preach it!

    yeah, good luck and may they some day believe you.........EAT.
  • Krizzle4Rizzle
    Krizzle4Rizzle Posts: 2,704 Member
    I do mine like this. If I'm hungry, I eat. If I'm not, I don't. You DO have to be careful with the calories. MFP is very..generous when they tell you how much you burn. I usually work out for an hour and a half, but I put about 70ish minutes. So the calories match up. I recommend an HRM to get a better feel.

    But PLEASE don't feel guilty about eating your exercise calories. I know it's easier said then done, but sursiously Lady, you are doing fantastic. So, if you are hungry. Please eat!
  • ladysvs
    ladysvs Posts: 61
    Thanks everyone, this really helped!
This discussion has been closed.

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