Do you eat the calories you earn through cardio exercise?

smashley_mashley
smashley_mashley Posts: 589 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I wear a HR monitor so I have a pretty accurate idea of how much I burn while exercising. How many of you consume those calories and how many of you use them as a calorie deficit?

Replies

  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    I eat them........ :drinker: I worked my *kitten* off for them.... lol
  • Mrsmonas
    Mrsmonas Posts: 37 Member
    Yea I eat them, I love my snacks!
  • FoxyLifter
    FoxyLifter Posts: 965 Member
    I eat 50 - 80% of them.
  • Eselte
    Eselte Posts: 49
    Great timing, I was about to ask the same thing. So I guess I'll eat them.
  • helengetshealthy
    helengetshealthy Posts: 171 Member
    I keep seeing on here that you should eat back your calories, so I do! Maybe I leave 200 or so at the end of the day or something, but never really more than that, especially if I've burned those calories through like a gym session or something, i.e. a concerted workout effort!

    Don't forget, if you've set your MFP profile accurately and have a goal of 1 or 2lbs per week loss, MFP factors the necessary calorie deficit into your daily goal, so even if you're over your goal by a 100 calories or so, you'll still be at a loss.
  • Sonja1211
    Sonja1211 Posts: 58 Member
    My trainer tells me to eat them, especially as fruit (but he doesn't particularly mind if I have a handful of chips, also).
  • smashley_mashley
    smashley_mashley Posts: 589 Member
    Do you only eat the cardio calories or the ones you burn from strength training too? (I add the calories burned from strength under cardio because my hr monitortells me how many I have burned and fitness pal doesnt add calories from strength).
  • FindingAmy77
    FindingAmy77 Posts: 1,268 Member
    sometimes yes, and sometimes no. depends how hard I worked out. if I worked out hard that day then I tend to be more hungry. Then I can have an extra snack and not feel guilty. It all depends on my stomach rumbling or not.
  • BlitzClipz
    BlitzClipz Posts: 154 Member
    I try not to eat all of them but I usually end up eating some of them. I ate about 50% back today.
  • Sobus76
    Sobus76 Posts: 242 Member
    I dont plan to eat them back but i do a lot of times on days when im going out to eat and i've worked out that day.
  • fatcity66
    fatcity66 Posts: 1,544 Member
    Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't, sometimes I go over. Since I cut back on starches and sugars, I just eat when I'm hungry and don't really worry about the calories much. I am only tracking them at this point for my own information, and to prove to others that watching carbs works, and allows you to eat more calorie-wise. (At least for me)
  • Soccerg1rl1987
    Soccerg1rl1987 Posts: 6 Member
    Do you only eat the cardio calories or the ones you burn from strength training too? (I add the calories burned from strength under cardio because my hr monitortells me how many I have burned and fitness pal doesnt add calories from strength).

    I wouldn't use your heart rate monitor to measure your calories burned during strength training - I think they're only supposed to be accurate for steady-ish state cardio, not for other activities. At least, that's what I've been told. It's possible I'm wrong :)
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
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  • georgiagreeneyes
    georgiagreeneyes Posts: 69 Member
    Do you only eat the cardio calories or the ones you burn from strength training too? (I add the calories burned from strength under cardio because my hr monitortells me how many I have burned and fitness pal doesnt add calories from strength).

    This answer really differs for everyone... If you find yourself eating those calories back but your weight loss stalls then try reducing that intake until you find that happy medium. Protein is your best friend if you're trying to build muscle!

    Another thing you can try with your HRM is to measure your "afterburn"... aka how much your body burns in the hour after you stop working out. Eating a post-workout snack that matches that afterburn in calories is a great way to start replenishing those energy stores that were depleted in your workout! If you're not going to eat back your exercise calories, I recommend at least doing that!
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    I add the calories burned from strength under cardio because my hr monitortells me how many I have burned

    Your HRM will be overestimating the calories burned in resistance training as the asusmptions made in the algorithms are based on operating in the aerobic, tempo and threshold ranges. When you go anaerobic the algorithms break down.
  • YamaMaya1
    YamaMaya1 Posts: 49 Member
    It all depends on the mood I'm in and if I'm out with friends or at home. Usually I leave around 300-100 calories at the end of the day, sometimes more if I've worked my butt off and no matter what I can't seem to eat enough. Never thought I'd ever have days like that :P
  • buffalospiritdancer1
    buffalospiritdancer1 Posts: 11
    Wait.. What? Isn't that WHY we work out? :))))
    Yeah, I eat them. I try to leave a little defect, but I eat most of them anyway. Although I only eat the cardio, I don't add in strength training calories.
  • hmaddpear
    hmaddpear Posts: 610 Member
    Nope - I cardio for wine. :laugh:

    Seriously, yes - I do consume most of my exercise calories - 75-80% - it would be all, but there's inherent inaccuracies and that seems to be what works for me.
  • ExpectantHope
    ExpectantHope Posts: 60 Member
    I eat half of them :)
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Yes - all of them, both when I was losing weight and when maintaining.
    Averaging just under 5000 cals a week so far this year.

    I would have a pretty miserable daily calorie allowance if I didn't!
  • Jezebel_Barbie
    Jezebel_Barbie Posts: 198 Member
    I'm always astounded when people don't.
  • Carrieendar
    Carrieendar Posts: 493 Member
    You would have really high deficits if you don't eat most of them back. If MFP says your goal is 1600, that has a calorie deficit built in. Let's say you are at a 500 cal deficit with that number. You burn 800 calories going for a long run. If you don't eat them back, now you are at a 1300 calorie deficit and your body will just compensate by eating away at your muscle to sustain itself.

    The numbers here are usually overestimated. If you use an HRM during cardio, that is pretty accurate. My rule of thumb is to subtract 150 calories an hour from MFP numbers when I am not using my HRM for cardio, that usually make the number match what my watch/HRM gives me. But that works for me personally.
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
    I don't eat back my exercise calories per se. But on a gym day where I spend a large portion of the day active. I usually allow myself an extra 2-400 calories.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    Short answer: I eat every single calorie of them.

    Longer answer: I find net calories (instead of a fixed %) and eat those back. Not the whole gross amount.
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
    negatory
  • Inkratlet
    Inkratlet Posts: 613 Member
    I use them to give myself a bit of flexibility, so I don't have to stick strictly to a 1350 limit.

    I will burn an extra 400-1400 calories a day depending on what I'm doing. I don't eat all of them back, probably only about 200 of them. So depending on my actual burn, 20-50% I will eat back. I'm currently losing at around 1-2lbs (0.5-1kg) a week so I'm happy with this set up.

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